Chelsea Duo Shortlisted for PFA Young Player of the Year

Chelsea’s next generation is no longer waiting in the wings. It is front and centre – and now officially recognised by their peers.

Two of the club’s brightest young stars, defender/midfielder Isa Buurman and forward Alyssa Thompson, have been shortlisted for the PFA Young Player of the Year award after eye-catching debut campaigns in blue. The honour carries extra weight: it is voted for by fellow professional footballers across England.

Buurman’s route to this moment has not been straightforward. The Dutch youngster signed for Chelsea in September 2024 but went straight back to PSV on loan, her development carefully managed rather than rushed. Last summer she finally walked into Cobham as a full member of the first-team squad – and stayed there.

She did not just make up the numbers. Buurman featured 24 times in all competitions, growing in authority as the season unfolded. Her first Chelsea goal arrived on a big stage and in emphatic fashion, swept home during an FA Cup quarter-final win over Tottenham Hotspur. It was the sort of strike that announces a player, a reminder that this is not simply a prospect but a performer ready for pressure.

If Buurman embodied quiet progression, Thompson brought electricity.

Signed last summer from Angel City, the 21-year-old wasted no time adapting to English football. She played 33 games across the 2025/26 campaign – the joint-highest total in the squad alongside Erin Cuthbert – a statistic that underlines the trust placed in her by the coaching staff. Thompson repaid it with end product: nine goals in all competitions, bettered only by established star striker Sam Kerr.

Those numbers tell only part of the story. Thompson’s willingness to drive at defenders, her relentlessness off the ball, and her knack for arriving in decisive moments turned her into a fixture in Chelsea’s attacking plans. For a first season in England, it was a statement.

Chelsea’s influence on the PFA shortlist is unmistakable. A third of the six-player field comes from the club, with Buurman and Thompson joined by four rivals from across the domestic game: Laura Blindkilde Brown of Manchester City, Freya Godfrey of London Lionesses, Tottenham Hotspur’s Toko Koga, and Arsenal’s Olivia Smith.

It is a group that reflects the breadth of young talent reshaping the women’s game in England – from midfield metronomes to wide forwards, from rising creators to emerging leaders. Only one name will be called, but the competition itself speaks volumes about the league’s depth.

The verdict will arrive on one of the game’s grander stages. The winner of the PFA Young Player of the Year award will be revealed at the union’s annual awards ceremony at the Manchester Opera House on Tuesday 25 August.

On that night, under the theatre lights, Buurman and Thompson will discover whether their breakthrough seasons earn the ultimate seal of approval: the votes of those who share the pitch with them.