State of the Chelsea youth revolution: Supplements from the outside

Chelsea’s youth revolution is primarily in house, but it would be wrong to dismiss the additions of young players from outside

Revolutions rarely happen entirely in house. Indeed, often times there is help from the outside that comes in an supplements what is already present. Chelsea is following suit with their own youth revolution.

Most of the time, the youth revolution is associated with the players made in house or bought extremely young. It shouldn’t exclude young, already ready made players coming in though. Leicester City is often described as a young and exciting team, but few of their young and exciting players came from within. They did as Chelsea did and looked outside for players to supplement what was already happening.

Chelsea has that in Ben Chilwell, Christian Pulisic, and Kai Havertz. The 23, 22, and 21 year old respectively made a name for themselves in the Premier League and Bundesliga before heading to London. While they seem ready to go, it is important to note that they play beyond their age. They still have a lot to learn and they are still prone to the mistakes of youth. But most importantly, they have plenty of time on their side to build on what is already present.

Chilwell was arguably Lampard’s number one target all summer. He wanted a left back and he had several options to pick from, but only the young Englishman would do. Not only was Chilwell the youngest option touted, but he was arguably the best fit tactically. That combination has shown that he can slide right into the Chelsea XI and he’ll be there for much longer than the alternatives.

Pulisic technically predates the revolution. When he signed in January of 2019, the notion of sacking Maurizio Sarri was still pretty exclusive to the fans that had reservations to begin with. Pulisic arrived when Frank Lampard did, plus or minus a Gold Cup. Lampard was initially slow to integrate the American, in part because he had been playing nonstop for nearly eight months after a long injury lay off, in part because he felt like he had to ease him into a new league.

Whatever the reason, it worked wonders. Pulisic has developed more under Lampard than he has under any other manager. He went from exciting prospect who many thought wouldn’t even start over Callum Hudson-Odoi to potentially a world class winger for the future. Unfortunately, injury has plauged much of his Chelsea career but if he can move past that, he has the potential to be one of the Blues’ key figures for the next five, 10, or (hopefully) 15 years.

Kai Havertz, meanwhile, was a deal too good to pass up. In a summer when no one else could spend like Chelsea (thank you transfer ban!), the Blues pounced on deal after deal not because the player was necessarily a need, but because they could. That brings Havertz, one of if not the best German talents, to Stamford Bridge.

Unlike Pulisic, Havertz was thrown in right away. In fairness, he did not come with the injury issues or fatigue that the American did. Given how Havertz has yet to truly take off at Chelsea, in hindsight maybe Lampard should have followed his own practice.

But when Havertz gets going in Blue, he is going to be one of the Premier League’s best players. That could happen as early as this season. At 21, he has the world at his feet in a way that a select few others would understand. Like Pulisic, in Havertz Chelsea has a player who could be the core of their team for years to come.

The main concern with these young players from abroad is that they block the path for young players from within. It is a fair argument, but that would be the case for these young players regardless. The youth revolution can only continue if the next generation is better than the previous. Chilwell, Havertz, and Pulisic will make that very difficult, but so would Mason Mount, Tammy Abraham, and Reece James.

At this point, it is clear that Chelsea’s future is coming together on the backs of the youth. These three supplement a roster already full of young talents with a few more on the way. Chelsea isn’t building for this season or next, but the next five years and more. The revolution will be televised.