Youth & Reserves

Reports in the Netherlands this morning state that Mexican Under-20 World Cup star Ulises Dávila has agreed a deal with Chelsea and will spend the 2011-12 season on loan at their affiliate club Vitesse Arnhem. De Telegraaf led the way in reporting that the Blues have agreed a €2m deal with Guadalajara for the services of the exciting forward, and that the deal should be concluded this week. Dávila would…

Chelsea’s Reserve team striker Adam Phillip is unfortunately set for another lengthy spell on the sidelines after suffering a serious knee injury during training on Monday morning. The 20 year-old revealed on his personal Twitter account that he has damaged his cruciate and medial knee ligaments and faces between six and nine months out of action. It’s the third time since 2008 that the forward has suffered a serious knee…

Chelsea’s teenage central defender Tomas Kalas has this afternoon joined Eredivisie outfit Vitesse Arnhem on a season-long loan. The Dutch club have confirmed the move on their official website and will officially present the player later on Monday. Kalas, 18, signed for the Blues last summer but only arrived in England in January of 2011 after spending the first half of the campaign with his former club Sigma Olomouc, for…

Respected Dutch football source Voetbal International are this evening reporting that Slobodan Rajkovic has signed for Hamburger SV. The 22 year-old Serbian international is believed to have agreed terms on a four-year deal with the Bundesliga side having failed to secure a work permit to continue his career with Chelsea. Loan spells at PSV Eindhoven, FC Twente (twice) and Vitesse Arnhem were not enough for Rajkovic to convince the Home…

To complete our preview of the forthcoming Premier Academy League, we take a look at Chelsea themselves. The Under-18s have a new manager and eleven new first year scholars, but very little will actually change. Adrian Viveash steps up from the Under-16 ranks to fill Dermot Drummy’s post, with the ex-Arsenal man taking over at Reserve level. That in turn means he will once again be working with a group…

Chelsea’s young Slovakian forward Milan Lalkovic is reportedly close to joining Championship side Doncaster Rovers on an initial month’s loan, a move which would mark his first foray into professional football. Lalkovic, 18, is set to go straight into Rovers’ squad for their weekend trip to table-topping Derby County and will be expected to feature at least as a substitute. The Under-21 winger has been drafted in with something of…

In today’s second part of our academy season preview, we take a look at the ten other teams Chelsea will face in 2011-12. The 28-game fixture list comprises 18 matches against the nine other teams in Group A, and ten fixtures against other academies in what are termed as ‘long-distance’ fixtures. Five of these are played at Cobham, and five of them will be played away from home. They tend…

It’s baaaack. Okay, it might ‘only’ be academy football, but for some (read: yours truly), the start of the FA Premier Academy Season is as exciting as the big kickoff at the top levels. Another eight months of action is ready and waiting to unfold on Saturday mornings as the stars of tomorrow take the next steps in their fledgling careers. Chelsea’s Under-18 team has a new manager in Adrian…

In the past week or two, there has been plenty of action in the lower ranks at Chelsea, but little of it has been ‘big’ enough to constitute a full-blown report. Thankfully this is where a round-up comes into its own, so let’s take a look back at all the bits and bobs that have taken place of late. As you’ll already be aware, the Reserve team kicked off their…