Youth & Reserves

Injuries are part and parcel of the game. They happen, although the causes and reasons for them are heavily debated. However, what is undeniable is that when a budding young footballer is sidelined for a considerable period of time during his development, his career prospects take a big hit. The medical staff at the Cobham academy have been kept busy in recent years with an unfortunately high number of players…

The 2012-13 season at youth and reserve level will be considerably different for Chelsea on a number of levels. As part of the EPPP reforms, playing formats across both teams are set to change whilst the club are also set to take part in the expanded NextGen Series competition, pitting them against many of Europe’s finest. Dermot Drummy’s reserve team is to be rebranded as the ‘Under-21 squad’ and they…

It’s only mid-June and players are still away on holiday, but it’s not too early to look forward to July and the return of domestic football in the form of pre-season friendlies. Whilst the Chelsea first team will embark upon another tour of the United States, fans back in the UK looking for their fix of live action can take in one of a number of fixtures lined up for…

It’s not a senior player this time but nonetheless, the Belgian contingent at Chelsea is set to increase by one this week with the reported arrival of Anderlecht’s Charly Musonda. The 15 year-old son of a former Zambian international father also named Charly has attracted attention from all of England’s biggest clubs but is apparently close to a move to West London. Belgian junior international team-mate Mathias Bossaerts, a recent…

Gael Kakuta sat down this week with Thomas Siniecki of Sports.fr – read the original interview at this link to discuss the end of the 2011-12 season at Dijon, where he spent four months on loan, and also his future as a Chelsea player. The interview has been translated into English below. Apologies for any minor inaccuracies, the content is generally as published in French. Gael, is it not annoying…

In many ways, it’s not a question you can answer with particular ease or brevity. After all, what is ‘ready’? We often see players head out on loan moves to help them refine their game and develop in order to be ‘ready’ to compete for a first team spot upon their return. It usually entails some combination of developing physically against older players, progressing mentally with points and league positions…

Just shy of a week ago, Chelsea youngsters Nathaniel Chalobah and Todd Kane were enjoying celebrations in Munich with the first team squad as Champions of Europe. Preston’s Deepdale Stadium may be a less glamorous place to spend their Friday evening, but both players found the back of the net for Noel Blake’s England Under-19 team as the Three Lions got their European Championship Elite Qualifying Round campaign underway. Slovenia…

To conclude our week-long review of the reserve and youth seasons, let’s take a look at some of the very best of the campaign, a celebration of all things young and blue, if you will. Youth Team: A second FA Youth Cup crown in three years leads the way, a magnificent achievement for everyone involved…Nathan Aké was named the academy’s Scholar of the Year after a superb debut campaign in…