Academy Pair To Make First Team, Says Chelsea FC Boss
Jose Mourinho has announced which of the youth-team players that have featured in Chelsea’s preseason campaign will join the first team during the regular season. Nathan Ake and Andreas Christensen (who are 19 and 18 years old, respectively) are both defenders and will add some depth to the Chelsea bench as the Blues look to pursue all possible trophies next season.
Mourinho also weighed in on the fate of some of the other youth that have been on display for the past few weeks.
More from Chelsea FC News
- Bournemouth vs Chelsea: 1 Blue Mauricio Pochettino should drop
- Bournemouth vs Chelsea: 3 Blues who must start
- Predicted Chelsea lineup vs Bournemouth: Palmer starts in 4-2-3-1
- Chelsea sporting directors finally reveal why they sign so many young players
- These 3 new signings may never get a game at Chelsea
“We are going to have training with us, but also playing for the Under-21 team, (Dominic) Solanke, (Jeremie) Boga and (Izzy) Brown. The other ones who are a bit older, 20 or 21, we feel they need to compete against men in a different league, people like Bamford, Swift, Chalobah. They are ready to go to other clubs and have a good loan”.
Boga and Brown in particular have impressed many during Chelsea’s Preseason tour, with both already having contributed a number of goals and assists. It has been easy to forget that the pair are both still under 18, with (potentially) a great deal of development yet to come, and the prospect of them continuing to improve by training with the first team is an exciting one.
One player that Chelsea fans have been following with great interest is 19-year old Lewis Baker, an attacking midfielder who is good with both feet and scored nearly 20 goals for the U-21 side last season. Baker has featured in Chelsea’s preseason, and showed his ample talent with three assists as the West London side beat AFC Wimbledon 3-2 earlier on the tour, but Jose Mourinho did not include him in his statement yesterday. Hopefully he will feature in the Netherlands on Wednesday, as the Blues take on Vitesse Arnhem in yet another preseason friendly.
No matter what happens to Baker, Swift, Chalobah, or any of the others this season, Chelsea fans will undoubtedly wait patiently and with great excitement for the day when they start for the first team at Stamford Bridge.
For Nathan Ake and Andreas Christensen, however, this upcoming season cannot come soon enough. Congratulations to them both.