The 17-year-old Welsh under-17 international, who can play in both attack and midfield, has already made his senior Wolves debut this season, playing 68 minutes of the Carabao Cup fourth round match against Aston Villa.
Campbell, who was aged just 16 years and 10 months when he stepped out at Villa Park, just behind the legendary Jimmy Mullen as Wolves’ youngest ever senior player, has been a regular fixture among the first-team squad this season after impressing head coach Nuno Espirito Santo.
The talented forward player scored twice in his first four games for the under-18s in U18 Premier League North this season, before progressing into the under-23s as well as the senior side. Campbell netted twice in his last game for the under-18s ahead of Christmas, helping Wolves to a 3-0 win over Nottingham Forest in the FA Youth Cup at Molineux.
Head of Academy, Scott Sellars, said Campbell has truly earned his first professional deal. “From what Chem’s done this season, as well as his whole time at the Academy, he’s always been pushing, challenging and playing above his age groups,” Sellars said. “I think for that reason he deserves to be a professional footballer.
“He’s now training every day with the professionals and behaves very much above his young age. He’s developing quickly and we wanted to reward him for his hard work.
“Chem has not surprised me with the speed of his development, his inclusion with the first-team at Villa Park might have been a surprise, but he has certainly been a player we have marked and seen the potential in for a long time.
“He’s always been technically good, and he’s always been physically good, but we’ve still been impressed with his performances this season, as well as his attitude, work rate and professionalism.”
After offering Campbell his first pro deal, Sellars now hopes the young starlet will continue to work hard and take each opportunity which comes his way.
“Chem’s got a lot of individual ability, but he needs to keep working hard, keep focusing. From a performance point of view, we need to see more goals from him at under-23 level after his two goals in the FA Youth Cup.
“He gets to train with Nuno on a regular basis, and the opportunities he is getting are fantastic for a 17-year-old. He’s already had an opportunity to play in front of 40,000 at Villa Park, but when further opportunities arise, he needs to make sure he’s ready.”
