Youth & Reserves

The latest arrangement in the affiliation between Chelsea and Vitesse Arnhem has this afternoon taken Bertrand Traore to the Gelderlanders on loan until the end of the season, with Gael Kakuta and Sam Hutchinson returning from their stays overseas. We know pretty much what this means for the trio as far as Chelsea are concerned – Traore gains experience and exposure for potential future first team involvement, Hutchinson will likely…

With January approaching, Chelsea’s relentless pursuit of flooding the football world with their own talent on loan is bound to pick up again. With over 20 players already out and about, it’s not easy to come up with a shortlist of those who may join them, but here’s five to keep an eye on as we get stuck into the transfer market once more. Nathan Aké After something of a…

At what is generally accepted to be the mid-point of the 2013-14 season – especially considering many European leagues take in a winter break – Chelsea’s assortment of loanees have combined for 74 goals so far. Sixteen individual players have found the back of the net at least once, with just five – Sam Hutchinson, Cristian Cuevas, Josh McEachran, Oriol Romeu and Wallace – having failed to put their name…

Chelsea’s Under-18s capped what has been a terrific 2013 calendar year with a 6-0 win over Reading at Cobham on Saturday morning. A hat-trick from leading goalscorer Dominic Solanke stole the headlines, whilst there was also a brace for Ambrose Gnahore and one from Charly Musonda on a day where the Blues might even have had double figures, such was their dominance. Adi Viveash’s selection was a neat collection of…

Chelsea got their FA Youth Cup campaign underway with a 4-0 win over Dartford at Aldershot’s Electrical Services Stadium on Thursday night. A tie pitting a team which has made the last two finals of the competition against the lowest ranked club remaining was always likely to prove a one-sided affair and so it proved, as Dominic Solanke grabbed a hat-trick and Fankaty Dabo scored another as the Blues strolled…

No other club can claim to have an FA Youth Cup record even approaching that of Chelsea’s in recent years. The Blues have twice won the prestigious junior age group tournament in the last six years, whilst they have also lost a final and made the last four in the 2010-11 season. It stands to reason that we can expect an assault on what would be a third consecutive appearance…