Chelsea's incredible XI of players who featured in their youth ranks
Chelsea have top-class youngsters here, there and everywhere in English football and beyond.
While the likes of Reece James and Mason Mount are doing the business in the famous blue jersey right now, the club’s famous loan system is ensuring that other young stars are getting game time elsewhere.
It’s honestly scary to think that the Blues can casually just recall Conor Gallagher and Armando Broja from what have been truly eye-catching seasons out on loan with Crystal Palace and Southampton.
So much quality from Chelsea’s academy
Marry that to Fikayo Tomori and Tammy Abraham both flying high in Serie A having come through the Chelsea academy and you’d be forgiven for getting the feeling that all roads lead back to Stamford Bridge.
In fact, there are so many links to the all-conquering Chelsea academy that we’ve decided to pause for a second and wonder just how many fingerprints their youth system has left all over the modern game.
The answer, in case you’re wondering, is absolutely tonnes with Transfermarkt’s database on the most valuable players to have come through the Chelsea academy making for an incredible list of success stories.
Best XI of players who featured in Chelsea’s youth ranks
Such was the level of star quality that our imagination got the better of us and we decided to draw up what we consider to be the best XI of current players who have come through Chelsea’s youth system.
It’s impossible to keep track of every single footballer’s youth career, so we’re leaning into Transfermarkt’s records here with any player who came through the system – as opposed to needing to have graduated or made a first-appearance for Chelsea – qualifying for selection.
Got it? Right then, well, prepare to be taken aback by just how much the Chelsea academy has left an impact on English football and beyond by checking out their best XI of youth products below:
GK: Neil Etheridge
Ok, don’t judge the XI by the goalkeeper because this is admittedly the weakest position in the team, but Etheridge – who has been capped 65 times for the Philippines – still performed soundly in the Premier League with Cardiff City.
RB: Reece James
It’s crazy to think that James has propelled himself from Championship football to one of the world’s best right-backs in barely two and a half seasons. However, simply put, it’s just a measure of his top-class ability.
CB: Fikayo Tomori
Tomori’s Chelsea career might have ended on a whimper, but he’s the one laughing now as he sits atop the Serie A table with over 50 AC Milan appearances to his name, attracting praise from Franco Baresi along the way.
CB: Andreas Christensen
Christensen might only have played in Chelsea’s youth ranks at the back end of his development, but he nevertheless fought through the club’s loan system to become the sturdy pair of hands with over 150 appearances that we know today.
LB: Nathan Ake
A Premier League winner with both Chelsea and Manchester City, Ake might not have become the elite defender that Pep Guardiola must have imagined he was, but he’s still thrived off his education at the Bridge.
CM: Declan Rice
There must be a few members of Chelsea’s youth staff kicking themselves for letting Rice go because he’s gone onto become one of the first names on England’s team-sheet and a truly top-class holding midfielder.
CM: Conor Gallagher
Brace yourselves, ladies and gentlemen, because 2021/22 is the year that Gallagher announced himself to the world, competing for ‘signing of the season’ status such has been his impact at Crystal Palace.
CM: Mason Mount
Much like James, Mount’s step up from Championship footballer to Premier League baller just served to underline his electric skills and ability. There’s now good reason to think he’s one of the club’s most consistent players.
RW: Callum Hudson-Odoi
It’s easy to forget that ‘CHO’ is still only 21 years old because making over 120 appearances for Chelsea without any loan spells, and across several playing positions to boot, by that age is a status reserved for truly talented individuals.
ST: Tammy Abraham
Should Chelsea have held onto Abraham as opposed to signing Romelu Lukaku? When Blues fans see him smashing home 23 goals in 40 outings for Jose Mourinho’s AS Roma, it’s hard not to ponder the thought.
LW: Jamal Musiala
One of the world’s most exciting young players with a transfer value knocking on the door of £50 million, the 19-year-old already boasts nine caps for Germany and 13 goals for Bayern Munich. The one that got away…
Bench: Jamal Blackman, Tariq Lamptey, Trevoh Chalobah, Marc Guehi, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Jérémie Boga and Armando Broja
An incredible batch of talent
Ok, so, give or take the goalkeeping options, it’s fair to say that Chelsea have put on a conveyor belt of youth talent that either themselves or clubs around the world have been able to make the most of.
Besides, it’s a mind-boggling testament to all the incredible options that we had on our plate that there wasn’t even room for the likes of Tino Livramento, Bertrand Traore and Billy Gilmour on the bench.
So, no matter where the uncertain future of Chelsea Football Club takes them in the coming months and years, they can at least rest easy knowing that they’ve clearly done something right with their academy system.