R. Watson

Reggie Watson's route to Chelsea's first team began in south London, at Crystal Palace, where he came through the youth ranks until leaving for west London in the summer of 2024. Chelsea paid a substantial, undisclosed fee to prise the midfielder away.

At Chelsea, Watson worked his way up through the age groups, scoring on his debut for the under-19s against Bournemouth before adding two appearances for the under-21s in Premier League 2. On 10 July 2026, he signed his first professional contract with the club. Two months later, on 9 September 2026, he was named in Chelsea's starting line-up for a Carabao Cup tie against Leeds United, playing 45 minutes and picking up a yellow card as Chelsea won 6-3. The appearance made him the fourth-youngest player to turn out for Chelsea's first team.

Watson has represented England at youth level, featuring for the under-15s and under-16s. He scored against Japan at the Vlatko Marković International Tournament and came off the bench in the same competition against Portugal, as well as appearing against Italy's under-16 side. For the under-16s, he has been capped nine times and scored three goals.

Football runs in the family: his father, Ben Watson, was a professional midfielder himself, with a career that took in Crystal Palace, Wigan Athletic, Watford and Nottingham Forest.