Harvey Vale has been handed a lifeline by Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca in the past eight days.

The 21-year-old winger been used in Chelsea's last two matches in the UEFA Conference League, playing for 23 minutes in Kazakhstan against Astana last week and being brought on for the second-half in the win versus Shamrock Rovers on Thursday night. It looked as if Vale was destined to leave the club he has been at since Under-13 level in the summer, but a move to Saudi Arabia collapsed.

Vale's contract at Stamford Bridge is due to expire in the summer of 2025, but Chelsea have an option to extend the deal by a further 12 months, football.london understands. Unfortunately for Vale, though, becoming a staple under Maresca is going to be extremely difficult.

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The Cobham graduate, who has eight direct goal involvements in seven Premier League 2 games for the Development Squad this season, can play virtually anywhere across the front line but that area is where Chelsea are particularly stacked.

On the wings, the Blues have Noni Madueke, Pedro Neto, Jadon Sancho, Mykhailo Mudryk (provisionally suspended from football) and even Tyrique George, Vale's academy teammate who has been more frequent in Maresca's plans this season. Also, the likes of Christopher Nkunku, Cole Palmer and Joao Felix can all play out wide, so a pathway into the first-team is very tricky for Vale.

This is almost a second wind for Vale in terms of his Chelsea career. He was handed his senior debut by former head coach Thomas Tuchel back in 2021 where he made a surprise start in the Carabao Cup victory against Brentford.

Tuchel was a huge admirer of Vale's potential and talents, so much so that the incoming England manager actually blocked offers from Championship clubs for the winger to move on loan. In fact, Vale's mother, Collette, even spoke about how good the former head coach had been with her son.

She said: "Harvey says that Tuchel has been absolutely brilliant with him. All the players are great wit him too... [Reece] James, [Mason] Mount, [Kai] Havertz; all so welcoming."

While Maresca has certainly handed Vale a lifeline in recent matches, his future at the club remains uncertain. There are several clubs from the Championship and some teams abroad that have registered an interest in Vale, football.london understands.

So, whether or not Vale stays or goes remains to be seen. One thing is for sure, though; playing European football over the last week certainly won't harm his chances of getting a move.