Scott Sinclair, Miroslav Stoch, Franco Di Santo. Headline names amongst a group of young players who have permanently departed Chelsea this summer, and in doing so, have helped reveal something Chelsea are potentially working towards. It’s no secret that the club regards its 1991-93 generation as one of the finest to ever come through the youth academy. They made good on their promise last season in winning a first FA…
With the loan contingent reaching double figures this week, the loan report will suddenly become a lot longer. With that in mind, let’s dive straight in. The story of the week was undoubtedly a trio of Blues youngsters joining Vitesse Arnhem in Holland under a relationship forged between the two clubs as a result of friendly relations between Roman Abramovich and new Vitesse owner Merab Jordania. Nemanja Matic, Slobodan Rajkovic…
Reports emerging from the Netherlands this lunchtime have three of Chelsea’s young players heading to Vitesse Arnhem for season-long loan spells. Nemanja Matic, Slobodan Rajkovic and Matej Delač are all in Arnhem ahead of confirming the deals, potentially as early as this afternoon. The Serbian duo have been in training with the rest of the squad this morning whilst the young Croatian goalkeeper Delač has been undergoing a series of…
Chelsea’s Reserves learned an important lesson on Monday evening at Stamford Bridge. A lesson, in fact, they could do well to take from the first team they’re aspiring to join: when you’re on top, be ruthless. One of the finest 45-minute performances you’re likely to see anywhere opened the campaign in front of a lively crowd but the young Blues went into the break with just a Fabio Borini goal…
With the season still only three weeks old, the loan report remains in its infancy, both in terms of the season overall, and the number of players being reported on. As you will read below, however, that is very much subject to change. Before discussing potential moves though, let’s focus on those who have played. With no midweek action to speak of, we dive straight into this weekend’s action, which…
One never knows quite what to expect from a reserve campaign, but typically it’s not a great deal. 2010-11 will see a new structure in place, but even before things get underway, you get the impression it’s a bit like the emperor’s new clothes. Promises have been made, but in all probability, nothing will have changed and frustrations will grow at a system which is not conducive to developing young…
The new academy season started in heartbreaking fashion for Chelsea’s academy side as they went down to a last minute goal against Manchester United. Having led 2-0 in the first half, Dermot Drummy’s boys were pegged back and John Cofie won the points for the visitors deep into stoppage time. A healthy attendance was present at a grey Cobham for the first league meeting between the two sides since a…
After taking a look at Chelsea’s opposition in the past couple of days, we take a look at the Blues themselves on the eve of the academy campaign’s big kick-off. What are we expecting of the defending FA Youth Cup winners over the next ten months? It probably won’t include a retention of the trophy won back in April, for Sam Walker, Jeffrey Bruma, Conor Clifford, Kaby, Jacopo Sala, and…
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…