On the 28th October 1998, a young fresh-faced Englishman, all sweet and innocent, stepped up to the touchline at Stamford Bridge to make his senior debut for the club. Anxious to do well and with a few words from manager Gianluca Vialli, on he went to partner Marcel Desailly in the back four against Aston Villa, the rest is history.
Quite literally, history indeed. John Terry has collected four Premier League titles, five FA cup trophies, a Champions League, a Europa League and three League Cups during his time at the club, acting as captain for the majority of that time.
So, why are Chelsea not seeing ‘the next Terry’ come through the youth system at a club that boasts a fantastic youth set up and state of the art Cobham training ground, plus a new youth stadium recently purchased at Kingsmeadow from AFC Wimbledon?
The FA Youth Cup has had a familiar name on the trophy since 2011 as Chelsea have won the award four times out of the last five years, winning three consecutively, with the latest coming after a 3-1 victory against Manchester City.
Add to this, the UEFA Youth League trophies the team have won two years on the bounce since 2015 show Chelsea are a dominant force in the youth department.
So the question on everyone’s lips is: Why are we not seeing these youth products break into the first team squad and staying there?
Ruben Loftus-Cheek has been the most recent to progress to the senior side, developing his game over the past two seasons, but he is yet to have a consistent run of games in the league. The likes of Josh McEachran have left the club without ever truly making an impact.
So who should be pushing through to add depth to the senior side and force their way into the starting XI? Any player who falls under the age of 21 does not have to be registered, they’re registered as a youth player and the numbers you can deploy in your squad are not limited.
Nathaniel Chalobah has struggled with consistency in recent years, going on loan to various locations in England such as Watford, Reading, Burnley and Nottingham Forest before last season making the move to Napoli which was a surprising one, as his performances from his spells on loan didn’t warrant a top four Italian team requiring his services.
Chalobah has since returned to join up with Antonio Conte’s squad for pre-season, gaining minutes coming on as a sub and hoping to be a squad player for the new season.
Ola Aina has broken through at right-back suddenly in Conte’s first month in charge at Chelsea, playing in every one of the club’s four pre-season friendlies.
Chelsea are yet to sign a replacement, with Branislav Ivanovic returning to full fitness, which could mean Conte has the confidence to start the young man in the first game of the season against West Ham.
Aina was a regular in the youth set up, bombing down the wing to launch attacks like a young Cafu for Brazil and has carried that confidence and fearless attitude into the first team. However, he is still a raw talent when it comes to the defensive side of things but a coach like Conte can improve that.
Tammy Abraham is a striker in the mould of Nwankwo Kanu and Peter Crouch, a tall forward with the frame of a basketball player, who surprisingly has a decent first touch and technique in and around the box.
While not lacking in confidence he is yet to get serious game time for the senior squad as quite simply, the club have always had strikers either bought for enormous fees or extortionate loan fees in front of him.
Abraham was influential in a number of big games for the youth team in recent years. Featuring in a wide-right position, floating inside to become a second striker whilst also flourishing in a central role. He linked up well with Isaiah Brown and Dominic Solanke, yet the demand for his services have never been there for the first team.
Jamal Blackman has been floating around the first-team squad for what seems like an eternity playing the role of the third-string keeper since the days of Petr Cech and Hilario.
Goalkeepers have come and gone and Blackman is still yet to progress to a second in line ‘keeper or even push for any game time what so ever, and this doesn’t look like changing anytime soon. Possibly a loan move would help as it has with the likes of Jack Butland and Tom Heaton at other clubs.
Chelsea have the youth structure in place and the finances from Roman Abramovich pouring into the development areas of the club to give these potential wonderkids the very best conditions and facilities to see them progress to the first team, yet we still haven’t seen any make an impact the way Terry did.
This could possibly be down to the ever-changing managerial roundabout at the club and the lack of consistent ideas from a head coach that has been at the helm for a long period of time.
I hope Chelsea can build for the future from their own backyard instead of having to buy 19-year-old Brazilians for big transfer fees.
Barcelona have managed to produce quality players from their youth system to slot right into the first-team squad and make an impact for the last 10 years, so here is to hoping that Chelsea can follow suit.
