Eric Asiedu might not be the most recognisable name in the Chelsea academy success story, but the catalogue of heartfelt social media tributes reacting to the kit man’s passing offers a sense to the unfamiliar of just how significant a figure he was in the journeys of so many young footballers.

Posts from Reece James, Mason Mount and Callum Hudson-Odoi are just the tip of the iceberg. Chelsea academy staff have been flooded with messages from current and former players, staff and family members expressing their shock and sorrow since news of the death of Asiedu, who had been on holiday in his native Ghana, reached Cobham.

You was more than a kit man. You had a real clean heart, funny personality and always wanted the best for all the academy lads. Miss the days when I used to rummage for fresh Nike socks 😭

Until we meet again💔 fly high & rest easy. Will miss you🥲 pic.twitter.com/pg0nyue8P7

Most knew him fondly as “Boss” or “Bossman”, though many Chelsea academy boys took to calling him “Uncle E”. In a sport where kit men often build close relationships in dressing rooms, Asiedu’s relentless positivity and emotional intelligence helped him go far beyond his job title in terms of the respect and affection he inspired and the impact he had on those he encountered.

Fankaty Dabo, who spent 13 years at Chelsea before leaving for Coventry City in 2019, forged a closer connection to him than most. “Uncle Eric meant so much to me personally,” the defender tells The Athletic. “He’s someone who took me on as a son without needing to and despite having my actual father present. He would call me ‘Alhaji’, which is crazy as that was my grandfather’s name. He didn’t know that.”

Well said Reece. Eric was a man’s man: caring, competent and and self-assured. His smile elevated your mood positively, and his laughter exploded your heart with joy! You’ll be sorely missed my brother, but loved forever. RIP

“I could find myself in the kit room talking to him for ages, just about life in general,” says Chelsea academy graduate Charlie Wakefield, who also left Chelsea in 2019 and is now at National League club Yeovil Town. “That was the great thing about him: you didn’t really talk to him about football. When you’re in the football environment all day every day, you don’t really want to talk about it all the time. You could talk to him about anything, and his people skills were very good.

“He was one of a kind. There was always a smile on his face, he was never down. He was always laughing, always smiling, cracking jokes. It was great to be in his company. His job was stressful and he had a big responsibility, but he never showed it. He was just a clean-hearted person, one of the good guys in football.”

Asiedu took his job seriously; academy staff grew accustomed to hearing the rattle of his kit skip early every morning before they actually saw the big man with the bigger smile. From his arrival at Chelsea in April 2013, he worked across all of the age groups but spent most of his time with the Under-18s, often travelling with them to tournaments. At times, he was a source of sound advice or good humour, at others, he simply provided a friendly ear.

He was well-liked by Chelsea’s aspiring young footballers — there are even clips of him being mobbed by the Under-18s during on-pitch celebrations — but also respected. “He was a genuine, good person, but people also knew not to cross him,” Wakefield adds. “He was firm at the same time, so he had respect from all the boys. He would always go out of his way to do things for you, but at the same time you knew not to take advantage.”

At the end of a season, it was common for many of the Under-18s to give Asiedu their boots to pass on to boys in Ghana. Before long, they would get messages of thanks from the grateful recipients. His enduring connections to his homeland also helped him relate to the many young footballers of Ghanaian heritage — Hudson-Odoi and Tariq Lamptey chief among them — and their parents who made their way through Cobham during his time.

This really hurts! RIP ERIC 💔😢 You really helped me through a lot growing up in the academy and you was more than a Kit man, you was a Good hearted man who wanted nothing but the best for Everyone!! Thank you for everything and May your soul Rest in perfect peace❤️ pic.twitter.com/DtD328uUuO

But his biggest gift was to make everyone he met feel special. “Eric was one of the kindest people I’ve come across in football,” says Ruben Sammut, who joined Chelsea’s academy as a seven-year-old in 2004 and left in 2019. “He always had a smile on his face and just loved being at the club. He was someone you could go to for advice and he always asked about things off the pitch and seemed interested in actually getting to know you as a person.”

Asiedu’s remarkable ability to connect with people yielded relationships that lasted long after their time at Cobham came to an end. “He meant everything to me,” Dabo says. “We stayed in contact beyond my contract (at Chelsea). He was a loving person who needed absolutely nothing, just your happiness and success. His passing honestly breaks me. What a man he was and, God willing, his legacy and offspring will continue to be. Rest in peace, uncle Eazi.”

“I went back to the academy about a month ago,” Wakefield adds. “I hadn’t been there for a few years, but I had a day off and was in the area, so I popped in to see everyone. Eric was one of the first people I saw. I hadn’t seen him in a few years but he gave me the biggest cuddle. It was like I’d only seen him yesterday. We had a real good chat and he said, ‘Make sure you say hello to your dad for me’.

“I was shocked to see the news and messaged my dad straight away to tell him Eric had passed away. He was just as gutted as me.”

RIP ERIC 💙💔💔💔 Heartbreaking news today. BOSS you will be deeply missed 💔😢 pic.twitter.com/lZSttjXuGf

Asiedu is a classic example of the type of low-key, unheralded figure that any successful club academy needs — a point that academy director Neil Bath was keen to stress in an eloquent tribute to Asiedu posted on Chelsea’s official website on Wednesday.

“When you get the good fortune to lead an organisation like an academy, you quickly realise that while players, coaches and staff get the public praise, there are key individuals behind the scenes who truly are the absolute key to developing and maintaining a successful culture,” he said.

“Eric the bossman was a real example of the values we want to promote, a caring and supportive individual who created the sort of unity and family spirit that so many leaders struggle to find.”

Referencing a picture in the article showing the Chelsea Under-18s celebrating with Asiedu after a big win, he added: “The picture above, and what it represents, gives me as much pride as any trophy we’ve ever won or any senior minutes we’ve achieved. Eric really was one of a kind — a special, smiling superstar.”