Despite having one of the most celebrated and talked about youth set-ups in world football Chelsea FC have also famously had a hard time getting those players on the pitch with the first team.
That said with the arrival of Andreas Christensen that does appear to be changing and Chelsea FC could finally, after years of failure with the youth, be moving in the right direction. Strong clubs that have a long time at the top tend to have at least a few homegrown talents in their teams. The two most recent examples of this are the Manchester United of Sir Alex Ferguson and the great Lionel Messi and Peg Guardiola led Barcelona side.
The reason for this is rather simple. Players who are homegrown tend to view the club as more than that. It’s their home, it’s part of who they are and a part of their childhood memories in many ways. The success of the club means something to them as people. Often their family and friends are supporters of the club and so it isn’t something they can leave when they go home. It is too important. It is for that reason that clubs at the highest level have such an important regard for homegrown talent.
Chelsea are finally moving in that direction with Andreas Christensen. Here are five more talents that could make the break through in the next couple of seasons for the Blues: