With Chelsea in such a tough spot, Mourinho has little to lose in chancing his youngsters.
Coming into the 2015-16 season, Chelsea FC were once again among the top contenders for the title. Although many were claiming that it might finally be Arsenal’s year, or even Manchester United’s, Chelsea had a good shot at defending the Premier League successfully.
Throughout the transfer window all the other contenders were making their squads stronger. Chelsea, however, decided it would be best to sign a misfiring striker to a lucrative loan deal.
Finally the season started and the Blues drew at home to Swansea before going on to lose handily at The Etihad. At this point, Pedro was brought in to try to save the squad, and he had a stellar debut in the victory over West Brom. Since that match, he has gone a bit quiet but, to be fair to him, almost every Chelsea player has.
This season has seen Branislav Ivanovic decline at an alarming pace, John Terry finally slow down, Nemanja Matic and Cesc Fabregas be outclassed repeatedly, and, of course, player of the year Eden Hazard make zero impact whatsoever. In my eyes, the desire of the squad is the problem. No-one seems eager to show any passion or will to win throughout a contest. The closest we have seen to a passionate display has come from the man himself, Diego Costa, although all his antics have merely resulted in a goal and a three match ban.
Jose Mourinho has previously stated that if his team loses out in all competitions he will only play the youth. However, in order to save the season, he needs to get the youth on the pitch as soon as possible.
In the opportunities that they have received this season, both Kenedy and Ruben Loftus-Cheek have shown that they possess the quality to feature for the Blues. While he was on trial with Chelsea during the preseason, Kenedy proved that he was worth the transfer with a strong performance against Barcelona.
He put in a good shift when chasing the match against Crystal Palace and has already scored this season. While his goal came against Walsall in the League Cup, it should not be disregarded. The Brazilian is an extremely promising youngster who will only get better if he continues to get more minutes. This is easily his best opportunity to break into Mourinho’s starting eleven and with his quality, he has a great chance to make it stick.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek, meanwhile, has been the face of the Chelsea academy for quite a while now. He made his Chelsea first team debut in the Champions League group stage last season and went on to play a few matches in the Premier League once the title had been wrapped up. It’s clear that Mourinho wants to see him succeed.
After a post-season tour friendly in Australia, Mourinho spoke harshly of the 19 year old, saying that he needed to understand what it took to play for the Blues and that he cannot waste the talent that he has. There’s no doubt that the English youngster took this to heart because he has looked every bit the part of a Chelsea player so far this season, even in his limited minutes.
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The fact of the matter is that the current first team squad is not getting the job done. Instead of waiting for the incumbent players to find form, it is time for Mourinho to give two of the most promising players in the squad a chance to prove themselves at a level higher than the League Cup.
The next two league matches are at home to Southampton and Aston Villa. This is the perfect time for Kenedy and Ruben Loftus-Cheek to be given real chances to play. Hopefully, Mourinho agrees.
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