In the last quarter of a century, Chelsea have become a powerhouse of English football. The arrival of Roman Abramovich in 2003 as owner took the Blues to the next level.
The Russian oligarch then invested vast sums of money to take his new team to glory. That spending carried on for close to two decades.
2000 goals under Roman Abramovich’s ownership! 💪Now we want you to choose your favourite! ⤵️— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) November 17, 2021
2000 goals under Roman Abramovich’s ownership! 💪Now we want you to choose your favourite! ⤵️
However, in recent years Chelsea have tried to also create their own talent through their academy based at Cobham.
This method could save and earn the south west London club huge sums of money. In the last few seasons, the results have been immense, with several of the Chelsea academy products making it not only with the Blues but also shining at other clubs.
The likes of academy graduates Reece James and Mason Mount are now key players in Thomas Tuchel’s first-team. The pair are also now regulars in Gareth Southgate’s England squad.
While the pair have thrived at Chelsea, other Blues academy products are thriving elsewhere. One such example is young midfielder Conor Gallagher, who is currently starring on-loan at Crystal Palace.
His performances in the centre of the park may lead to the youngster returning to his parent club’s first-team squad next season.
Gallagher is the teammate of another former Chelsea player in highly-rated defender Marc Guehi, who joined the Eagles in the summer for a fee of around £18m. The 21-year-old England international has already impressed for Patrick Vieira’s team this season.
Elsewhere, another centre-back Fikayo Tomori is maturing into a fine centre-back with Italian giants AC Milan. His friend and former Chelsea teammate Tammy Abraham is also plying his trade in Serie A with Roma, where he has made a promising start to life in the capital.
After leaving Chelsea for Southampton in the summer, right-back Tino Livramento has been one of the Saints players of the season. That is just a small sample of the Chelsea academy graduates thriving at the top level of the game.
Whether the Chelsea academy is producing players for the first-team or to be sold, the Blues academy production line continues to produce top-quality players and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future.