Chelsea turns the corner on promoting Academy players
By George Perry
Chelsea ended the match against Leicester with three Academy graduates on the pitch, and John Terry was not among them.
Antonio Conte arrived at Chelsea with the mandate to make the Academy a feeder program for the first team. Chelsea’s first team, that is, not Vitesse’s. Much like the transition to a three-man back-line, Conte seemed similarly reluctant to involve youth prospects in Premier League matches.
And then all hell broke loose at the Emirates.
After the loss to Arsenal, Conte either no longer cared about sensitivities around Stamford Bridge or went into full-fledged survival mode. He knew what he wanted his club to become. He also knew fall out from the defeat may be his first best chance or one of his last remaining chances to be the bold Il Sarto Chelsea had hired.
Aside from the tactical changes, Conte struck his own path on incorporating Academy graduates into the first team. In one game, he gave more Premier League debuts and playing time to Academy graduates not named John Terry than any of his predecessors have in recent memory.
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Nathaniel Chalobah best exemplifies the youth policy in transition. Antonio Conte gave Chalobah his first-team debut in the EFL Cup against Leicester City. Chalobah took the pitch two days shy of the six-year anniversary of his first time on Chelsea’s team sheet. In the intervening years Chalobah went on six loans and made nearly 90 appearances for England’s youth teams.
After all that time, Chalobah’s progression followed in rapid-fire style. He made his Premier League debut against Hull City at the end of September, followed by his first home appearance against Leicester City last weekend.
"I think the manager is trying to give all the young players and Academy graduates an opportunity. At the minute everybody at the club is working together and doing the best we can. – Nathaniel Chalobah, Chelsea FC"
Minutes after coming on, Chalobah showed the world what Chelsea had been missing. His back-heel flick on a one-two with Victor Moses led to Chelsea’s third goal, and completed the Blues’ highlight reel for the day.
With Chelsea safely up 3-0 with 10 minutes remaining, Conte gave Ola Aina his Premier League debut. Aina has been with Chelsea since the U11 level. He is in the rare group of young Blues who has never gone on loan.
Joining Aina as a double substitute was Ruben Loftus-Cheek for his first Premier League action of the season. For years, Chelsea youth players received little more than nominal run-outs at the end of domestic cup ties. On Saturday, the Blues had three Academy graduates on the pitch in the Premier League for a combined 40 minutes. And John Terry was not one of them.
Several loanees and a former coach publicly criticized Chelsea’s loan policy this season, and the club needed to take action. Seeing Chalobah, Loftus-Cheek and Aina is encouraging for the fans. For current Academy players and members of the loan army, it is an infusion of hope and validation of their young careers.
"If you’re a youngster at Chelsea you always have to believe you are good enough, however many loans you have, because you never know what might happen. If you work hard, keep believing and at the right time you’re in the right place, you get your chance."
Losing faith with your loanees is bad enough, particularly if they request transfers to their foster clubs. The more damaging prospect is if this criticism hampers recruiting future school boys and their families. That would impact Chelsea financially and on the pitch well into the next decade.
A loanee should want nothing more than to return to their parent club to fight for their place in the first team. Anything less is either a failure by the club or a sign that the player does not deserve the chance.
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Antonio Conte is creating a pipeline for Charlie Colkett, Mason Mount and others to ascend to Chelsea’s first team. With this in place, the Academy will finally reach its potential as an institution worthy of the Chelsea name.