Youth Prospects

[TheFunkeyGibbon]

With Mason Mount going on loan to Derby and Jeremie Boga off to Sassuolo for £3.5m, what are people's thoughts on our youth prospects?

Zouma was bought for a pretty penny and nobody talks of him anymore. RLC was the most likely to make it but will almost certainly be sold. We spend years and years watching the boys win cups and we even aggravated other clubs and the authorities to get them (Gael Kakuta, Tom Taiwo, Michael Woods, Ampadu). But what do we do? Just keep farming them out and watching them drift away. Yes, some won't make the grade, others will have injuries but in the last

Bertrand was sold for Luis to come in for a year, Chalobah was the next big thing but had to leave to get games, Panzo is off now as was Solanke last year.

Are we just flipping youth players for megre amounts of cash for fun or is the club just not interested in developing talent? We spend £55m+ on Jorghino but he had to come from somewhere, somebody had to take a chance on him. How comes we as a club seem to be incapable of this?

Do anybody know?

 

[Barry Bridges]

I think if the intent is to actually develop talent whilst on loan with a view of making players first-team with CFC ready, and not just testing to see if they are, then the approach needs to change to how the loans are structured.  They need to have multi year loans at one club that's suited to them (style and opportunities) or just sell them with a  buy back clause for a period of years.  You need to give the club loaning the player a reason to help develop the player.   The lack of consistency and opportunities for players loaned here and there nilly willy is not good for developing  players.    I believe this is what Tibault and DeBruyne had and seems to have been good for their development or atleast not stifled it. 

Ps. I like Zouma and would have him in the squad at the expense of Cahill.  I believe he was highly regarded at Stoke, and seen by many as being the best CB whilst there. I don't recall him getting much of a chance after returning from injury.

 

[TheChelseaBlues]

Most of our high potential prospects are at training with Sarri right now. Given his views on spending I'd hope more than a few stick and we have that promise start to materialize. Hopefully Sarri is looking around at all the talented and successful young players and thinking 'my god, I've hit the jackpot'. 

He turned Koulibaly into a beast and maybe that's Zouma. Tammy could benefit from him the same way Higuain did. Ditto for Musonda/CHO with how he improved Mertens and Insigne. Maybe Ampadu is on track to being develop into Jorginho. This is all best case stuff. Worst case is more of the same pre-Conte. I'll give credit to Conte as before him we were horrible with young players. Antonio was at least willing to give them a chance if it was needed. 

I said this with Conte too, surely Sarri knows what he's working with in terms of transfers and the squad and if the club want more young players to stick he should be on board. Given his aversion to spending his way out of problems I'm optimistic. Of course this is Chelsea so there's no reason to expect that when we fire managers so often and there was a clear lack of communication on this idea with Conte. 

 

[Giordano_Bruno]

People must stop feeling regret for youths when someone better shows up. Rudiger is 25, already played for one of the best national teams and for an actual Italian top team. Only 2 years older than Zouma. Rugani is at the same age as he is. Christensen is younger.

We all talk about how great our academy is and that's true. But look now at the Barcelona's youth formations. they seem to be great too but how many of them exactly make it through the last couple of years? I can't think of any.

Just think of this possibility - maybe these prospects are not as good and perspective as they seem to be in these formations and matches. How about that? Of course, if you've got the chance to steal Mbappe, Hazard or Dybala while they are on their early 20s and are still cheap, you will go for it and sacrifice someone like Josh Mceachran or Gael Kakuta. they are just not that good enough. No need to dramatize.

 

[Ilya]

Is it really so bad to develop a bunch of kids and when you see that they won't actually be good enough for a team that is meant to challenge for the title and occasionally, god forbid, for the Champions League - to sell them on for a few million, making a pretty decent profit? We are so used to silly transfer prices that 3.5M seams like we are giving them away. But it actually represents a solid profit on investment. And 10 of those buys you a player that is actually good.

If you do this at scale - even a relatively small profit per player can add up.

It's not like Boga or Kakuta are in danger of one day becoming the next De Bruyne...

Obviously there have been some notable cock-ups with players that could be considered "young prospects we never gave a chance to and sold on"...  

But last couple of years it looks like we only sell the ones that are definitely not gonna make it big.

 

[bisright1]

I am quite happy with our academy at the moment,

10 years ago our academy was awful. We were bringing 15 and 16 year olds over fron Europe and not developing anyone.

Since then though we've stopped doing that, our team is primarily English talent who have been here for 10 years and we are producing some great professional footballers. Maybe they don't make it at the top level, but they are still making it.

Are any of them good enough for our first team? Not yet. But it's easily the best youth programme in the country for turning out professionals and in time we will see one or two enter our first team.

We've started to think very carefully about how to get them to the level required but it isn't easy. 

RLC is the closest we've had, Mount needs one good season at Derby and could be the sensation there that Sessegnon has been. 

One way of thinking about it, our first proper good youth team from the academy was 2014 (former teams were a mash of talent from the continent and we were still learning how to develop). Christensen, RLC, Solanke and Dasilva all featured in that team. 3 of those at least now look likely to be at least top 6 level (I think Dasilva can make it as well, but still open for debate) - that's a ridiculous return in comparison to former youth cup teams at this high level.

The last top youth system to win the youth cup was united in 2011, that produced Pogba and Lingard and no one else of note. 

We are still getting there, we made mistakes with RLC by not having him feature for a club like Palace earlier. We didn't give Chalobah the right experience on loan as well. That is changing as we see more and more success with our players on loan - we are clearly now more careful.

If in 5 years we have 3 academy players in the first team it will be a complete success. But I also care about how many premiership players we have developed even if they don't play for us. 

 

[Munkunku]

I believe Neil Bath’s comments on the academy was something along the lines of ‘we developed the players so they can have a career as a professional footballer whether it be at Chelsea or somewhere else’. 

If they make the first team great, if they get sold for a pretty penny great. If they leave for nothing but continue on to have decent career elsewhere then so be it, the academy did it’s job. 

Personally I think it’s pretty obvious the culture of instant success for the first team no matter the cost has stopped are promising players from getting a fair chance. Hopefully now that’s going to change.  

 

[bisright1]

I believe Neil Bath’s comments on the academy was something along the lines of ‘we developed the players so they can have a career as a professional footballer whether it be at Chelsea or somewhere else’. 

If they make the first team great, if they get sold for a pretty penny great. If they leave for nothing but continue on to have decent career elsewhere then so be it, the academy did it’s job. 

Personally I think it’s pretty obvious the culture of instant success for the first team no matter the cost has stopped are promising players from getting a fair chance. Hopefully now that’s going to change.  

Yup, we are doing a good job with that now...recent example is chalobah. When he asked to leave, he went. Players really aren't forced to stay by any means. Most choose to stay as they believe it's best for their development 

 

[Argo]

I believe Neil Bath’s comments on the academy was something along the lines of ‘we developed the players so they can have a career as a professional footballer whether it be at Chelsea or somewhere else’. 

If they make the first team great, if they get sold for a pretty penny great. If they leave for nothing but continue on to have decent career elsewhere then so be it, the academy did it’s job. 

Personally I think it’s pretty obvious the culture of instant success for the first team no matter the cost has stopped are promising players from getting a fair chance. Hopefully now that’s going to change.  

Im not sure, for all our youth cup success early in the decade not many really stood out as potential quality for Chelsea, only two did and one made it in our squad, the other had a squad role but choose first team footy aswell. Last few years the quality of our young players have gone up two notches, CHO, Mount, Tammy, Amps, James do laps over the likes of Solanke, Boga, Musonda, Ince etc.

Im convinced we will play the ones who turn out to be good enough, for all this talk that we deny them chances, not one academy boy has come back to haunt us yet.

 

[Munkunku]

Im convinced we will play the ones who turn out to be good enough, for all this talk that we deny them chances, not one academy boy has come back to haunt us yet.

Didn’t Ake score the winner in that Bournemouth loss and Van Aanholt do the same for Palace?

I know you mean more along the lines of none have gone on to be world class but still...

 

[Argo]

Didn’t Ake score the winner in that Bournemouth loss and Van Aanholt do the same for Palace?

I know you mean more along the lines of none have gone on to be world class but still...

We can't brand selling them a mistake just because they score against us in one off games, law of averages it's always going to happen at some point.

 

[Amber SUFC]

Maybe you will see the next star at Sutton United.Here is a preview of the game.

After an eventful friendly at Dorking on Tuesday, Sutton return to the Knights Community Stadium tomorrow, and the novelty of a 3pm kick off, to face some of the country’s top young players as Chelsea’s Under 23 side provide the opposition. Among the Development Squad at Stamford Bridge from which tomorrow’s side is likely to be chosen are Issy Brown, who played a number of Premier League games for Brighton on loan last season, Kylian Hazard, brother of Eden Hazard, along with George McEachran and Marc Guehi, who featured in England’s World Cup winning side at Under 17 level last season. Another member of that team, Callum Hudson-Odoi, younger brother of former Sutton winger Bradley Hudson-Odoi, is away with the senior Chelsea squad in Western Australia.

Sutton will be without Tom Bolarinwa,who is suspended for one game after his red card at Dorking, while Jonah Ayunga and Josh Taylor may still be sidelined with knee and ankle injuries respectively.

Admission tomorrow is £12 for adults. £6 for concessions and £2 for juniors.