Youth & Reserves

Chelsea this evening announced the terrible news that talented young defender Sam Hutchinson has been forced into retirement aged just 21 due to chronic long-term knee problems. Whilst the news isn’t a total shock to those who were aware of Sam’s troubles, it nonetheless comes as a huge blow to every Chelsea fan, and we can only imagine how devastated Sam himself must be. To summarise the situation, the young…

In Part Two of our Season Preview, we take a look at the other ten teams Chelsea will face in 2010/11, five home and five away, to complete their 28-game schedule. Aston Villa Last Season: 3rd in Group B Last Meeting: 2-1 (2009-10 Youth Cup) Last season’s beaten FA Youth Cup finalists will return with eyes on going one step further in pursuit of silverware. The club continues to impress…

So here we are again. Saturday morning will see Chelsea embark on another academy campaign; nine months of ups and downs, rumour, false hope and new dawns. Fresh off the back of their most successful season ever, the defending FA Youth Cup winners will undoubtedly be keen to defend their silverware, but the league brings its own charms and attractions. Whilst results come second to player development at this level,…

If pre-season is anything to go by, it’s going to be an entertaining and frustrating academy season. Dermot Drummy’s boys finished their summer schedule with a second defeat in three as an Andre Landell double sandwiching one from Jake Kempton saw Wolves come away from Cobham with a 3-2 victory. Chelsea had their chances and found the back of the net through Philipp Prosenik and George Saville but ultimately fell…

It’s been a busy week for Chelsea’s young internationals, with no shortage of news to report upon. There’s been full debuts, junior outings, and call-ups to new age levels, and a largely positive week of action. It’s only right to start at the top, and with Jeffrey Bruma, who made his full international debut for Holland away to the Ukraine on Wednesday night. Dutch coach Bert van Marwijk selected what…

He was once regarded as one of the brightest prospects at Stamford Bridge, but Scott Sinclair’s Chelsea career ended Monday when he joined Swansea City on a three-year deal. The Blues will receive £500,000 immediately (although 15% of that will go to Bristol Rovers), with performance-related bonuses potentially taking the deal up to £1m. The money arriving up front probably represents the amount paid out for Scott in transfer fees…

Reports this weekend suggest that Frank Arnesen has once again been busy in the youth transfer market, with his attentions turned to Barcelona. Chelsea are believed to have secured the services of Georgian forward Giorgi Chanturia, who spent last season on loan at the Catalan club from Vake Tblisi. He was well considered at La Masia but, according to AirFutbol, he will move to London, having been unable to agree…

So this is what a win feels like. It hasn’t been the best pre-season to date, at least from a results point of view. The first team have lost their last three, the reserves have lost all three, and before this morning, the Under-18 team had lost their only fixture. They put that right, however, in the form of an entertaining 3-2 victory over Wycombe Wanderers in a match where…

Hot on the trail of Daniel Philliskirk earlier this week, two more Chelsea youngsters secured loan deals on Thursday. Neither are new to heading off to temporary homes, although their experiences do differ vastly. Ben Gordon’s second career loan spell will take in a season at Kilmarnock, whilst Ryan Bertrand’s seventh will take him to Nottingham Forest. Indeed, Bertrand’s arrived on his 21st birthday – quite a feat for one…