Son of ex-Chelsea star and Ballon d’Or winner signs for non-league club | Football

The son of a Ballon d’Or winner has signed for a non-league club after spells in Chelsea and Tottenham’s academy.

Sholing FC, who play in the Southern League Premier Division South in England’s seventh tier, announced two new signings ahead of their FA Cup clash on Saturday.

One of them is Kristian Shevchenko and the Boatmen will be hoping he has inherited some of his father’s skills.

Kristian is, of course, the son of Andriy Shevchenko, the legendary Ukraine international who is regarded as one of the greatest strikers of his generation.

He is best known for his heroics at AC Milan, where he scored 175 goals in 322 appearances, winning Serie A, the Champions League and, most notably, the 2004 Ballon d’Or.

He made a high-profile transfer to Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea in 2006 but it proved to be an ill-fated move, with Andriy struggling to adapt to the Premier League, scoring just nine goals in two seasons.

It was not a total disaster however, as the No.9 did lift the FA Cup and League Cup at Stamford Bridge and reached another Champions League final.

Kristian, a right-sided forward, began his youth career at Chelsea before moving to rivals Tottenham, where he played under Manchester City legend Yaya Toure.

After just eight months with Spurs, the 19-year-old switched to Watford and signed his first professional contract last year, but a lack of opportunity at the Hornets has seen him drop down the divisions.

Born and raised in London, Kristian is eligible to play for England but it seems he wants to follow his father’s footsteps having been capped for Ukraine at youth level and playing at the Under-20 World Cup last year.

The teenager was on the bench for Sholing’s FA Cup shock third-round qualifying win against Ebbsfleet United on Saturday.

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