Hamble's Stuart Gates is within touching distance of fulfilling his dream of a professional contract with Chelsea, through Sky television's Football Icon. 2 soccer talent show, writes Mike Vimpany.

The 17-year-old former Barton Peveril and Hamble Community College student is one of the last three youngsters who reach this Friday's (8/12) final from a nationwide search for a talented player to join the Barclays Premiership champions.

In last Friday's programme, the number of starry-eyed aspirants bidding for a year-long academy contract at Stamford Bridge was trimmed from 14 to three.

Former Saints and ex-England star Jamie Redknapp, now a Sky Sports soccer pundit, has landed the job of one of the judges on the Football Icon show, which follows Chelsea in their search for a future soccer star.

"In the final, we've got Stuart Gates alongside Tom Bird, who's a left back from Basingstoke and a big Chelsea supporter, and Carl, who's a centre-half and a mad Newcastle fan," he said.

"All three of them are great lads and whichever one of them is chosen will be well equipped to do well, I think.

"But it's tough as they're going to the Chelsea youth team for a year, not Rotherham or Barnsley."

Gates and Bird, a member of the Basingstoke COT team which won the Hampshire Sixth Form Colleges League in April, will go head-to-head in the final, which is being screened live on Sky One this Friday evening (Friday December 8).

The prize is a Chelsea contract - and the chance to spend a year alongside multi-millionaire internationals such as John Terry, Ashley and Joe Cole, German captain Michael Ballack and Ukrainian striker Andriy Shevchenko.

All under the guidance of head coach Jose Mourinho and his staff.

The Hamble ASSC striker was originally selected from thousands of hopefuls who took part in regional trials across the country.

Gates was short-listed among the 14 young footballers who went forward from gruelling summer-long trials at Chelsea's state-of-the-art training academy in Chobham, Surrey.

The group has been living together in a lavish £5 million Football Icon mansion, just a stone's throw from the training academy in stockbroker Surrey.

Sky television cameras have been following the trials and tribulations of the group - with every step being caught on camera.

One trainee has been eliminated during each episode of the eight-week long series.

As much as Redknapp revels in being a mentor to the young soccer hopefuls, he confesses he hates sending the disappointed lads home when they don't make the grade.

"It's a bit like the X-factor without the sensational element, and most of the guys I spoke to said it gave them a real insight into what it's like to play for a big club."

This Friday, the Sky One cameras follow Gates and Tom Bird across to Holland for a Chelsea youth team friendly against FC Twente.

Can Gates find his goalscoring touch in the Chelsea contract winner-take-all final?

It's the definitive footballing showdown!

After the game, Mourinho and his coaching staff will decide the winner of Football Icon 2.