- 7 hours ago
Chelsea's academy remains UNDEFEATED
Chelsea’s academy has been widely hailed as one of the best in Europe for over a decade, with the Blues constantly producing top-class players at their Cobham facility.
However, the Stamford Bridge outfit have been criticised for their lack of youth integration since the 2000s, with a brief spell of success under Frank Lampard now well and truly in the past.
Reece James and Levi Colwill are both key members of Enzo Maresca’s current first-team squad, but the likes of Mason Mount, Conor Gallagher, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Ian Maatsen have all been sold over the past three transfer windows.
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While Chelsea may not have fully benefited from the impressive work of the now-departed Neil Bath and Jim Fraser, no club in England produces as many Premier League-ready players as the Blues.
Furthermore, the likes of Fikayo Tomori, Tammy Abraham, Andreas Christensen and Michael Olise are all at some of the biggest clubs in Europe.
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Chelsea’s sublime academy
The success of Chelsea’s academy can be shown by the fact that 25% of all goals in the Premier League this weekend were scored by players who came through the Blues’ Cobham set-up.
A total of 24 goals were netted across nine Premier League matches over the weekend, with six of those bagged by former Chelsea academy stars.
Ladies and gentlemen, Ola Aina. 🚀 pic.twitter.com/fRSmUlPYxk
— Nottingham Forest (@NFFC) November 2, 2024
Callum Hudson-Odoi and Ola Aina both found the back of the net during Nottingham Forest’s 3-0 victory over West Ham United, while Trevoh Chalobah and Marc Guehi scored as Crystal Palace drew 2-2 against Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Meanwhile, Dominic Solanke netted a quick-fire brace for Tottenham Hotspur as Ange Postecoglou’s side ran out 4-1 winners over Aston Villa.
In addition, Lewis Hall delivered a Man of the Match performance for Newcastle United against Arsenal, while fellow ex-Cobham stars James, Colwill, Tino Livramento, Nathan Ake, Omari Hutchinson, Tyler Dibling, Eddie Nketiah and Declan Rice also featured in the English top flight this weekend.