Jamal Blackman can see the funny side when friends remind him that he is Chelsea’s longest-serving player. The 27-year-old was present for the club’s finest moment in 2012, holding the Champions League trophy on the Allianz Arena pitch, but he has not made a senior competitive appearance for the club he joined in 2006.
Yet, anyway.
With his contract up at the end of June, the chances of that debut ever arriving seems slim but it would be wrong to presume that his experience of Chelsea’s loan army is negative. He first appeared on the bench in a Premier League game in 2011 but his only first-team action has come in friendlies.
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In that time there have been eight temporary moves and one serious leg injury.
The South Londoner is currently enjoying his time at Rotherham United, who are battling to stay in the Championship, and he feels strongly about the benefits of a system that will be scaled back once restrictions are implemented by Fifa next season.
“I get the jokes from friends. ‘Long-term player but never gotten a game’,” he tells football.london . “But I’ve experienced everything with Chelsea – I went to the Champions League final, have been part of the first-team set up, had great managers, trained with great players.
“That’s helped my own journey, taking those things and using them in my world as a professional. Being there such a long-time, you learn a lot. I’m fortunate to still be at Chelsea. I take it as a blessing, really.”
Rotherham are Blackman’s latest loan club and he has racked up more than 100 league appearances, from Sheffield to Sweden, but that is far better than being on the bench or third-choice at Stamford Bridge.
“I’ve always seen being on loan as a good thing,” he says. “Like any player you want to get as much experience as possible. You want to play football, whether it’s for Chelsea or someone else. You want to earn your money. I’ve been fortunate not to be sitting around at Chelsea where it would be much harder for me to get into the first team with so many great players there.
“Instead I get the chance to go out and show people my ability. Going on loan is a massive part of growing up as a player because you learn that it’s a man’s games and the ups and downs. It’s better than the reserves because there are three points to play for, your game management improves. Those are all good things.”
Blackman has also fought back from a long-term injury sustained while at Leeds United in 2018, offering a dose of perspective about how precious this career can be.
He was playing a friendly for the Under-23s against Bristol City scheduled to get him some minutes before making his debut for Marcelo Bielsa’s first team. Then he collided with Beryly Lubala and was stretchered off with a broken tibia.
Bielsa came to the medical room afterwards and broke the bad news before giving the 6ft 7in goalkeeper a hug.
“It was my first serious injury so I wasn’t sure what to expect,” he says. “It was quite new to me but I was lucky to go back to Chelsea for my rehab. Because I was back in London, close to home and my family, that helped me get through it all.
“You don’t think about how long it will take to get back. You have to take baby steps to get back to it and it takes time. Obviously you want to get back as quick as possible but you have to be aware of how the recovery is going, make sure you’re doing the right things to be in the best shape to come back in.
“Going into it I was trying to get back on my feet, then training before looking towards games. As a goalkeeper it’s harder to get a position somewhere but you need to be in the best position to get into contention.”
Mentally it was difficult but rehabbing at Cobham alongside Marco van Ginkel, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and for a brief period Reece James helped.
“It was good to have other players,” Blackman added. “Ruben, Marco were going through it at the same time and when you go into the training ground and see the others outside, you want to be out there with them too.
“But it’s always good to have other people downstairs in the same situation as you, who know what you’re going through. You can lean on each other, so I was lucky to have that.”
Van Ginkel, a fellow perpetual loanee, and Lewis Baker are his closest friends from Chelsea but it is telling that the majority of his team-mates from the 2012 Youth Cup were released or sold. “All the players I grew up with have moved on to different clubs and I get to play against them now. In any league there is an ex-Chelsea player there, which is amazing.”
Rotherham, unbeaten in three, face high-flying Swansea at home this afternoon knowing that a win could lift them out of the relegation places. Blackman’s personal aim for now is to continue improving and learning. The chances of making it at Chelsea may appear slim but he still feels that he is on a steep learning curve and has proven his ability in the second tier.
“I’m still learning as a goalkeeper,” he says. “I want to build a good career. I’ve shown what I can do in the Championship and I’m capable of playing at a high level, whether that’s at Chelsea or somewhere else.”
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