State of the Chelsea youth revolution: The next generation on deck

Chelsea’s youth revolution has primarily focused on the players that have already come through. What of the next generation though?

Andreas Christensen and Ruben Loftus-Cheek led the charge. Mason Mount, Tammy Abraham, and Reece James have all broken the barriers down. Some are still hoping they can make it, such as Fikayo Tomori and Callum Hudson-Odoi, while others are out on loan to make their name. But one final, important piece of any revolution is what comes next.

A player like Billy Gilmour sits on the cusp. He has both made it through the barrier to join Mount, Abraham, and James and he has also yet to fully proven he can add his name to that list. He is a bridge between the first team and the academy, but who from his former academy teams might be set to join him next?

Simply starting with the players who have either made a Chelsea debut or have been in a match day squad is a good place to start. Excluding goalkeepers (because they have such an uphill battle to get a debut at Chelsea), Henry Lawrence, Dynel Simeu, Lewis Bate, and Faustino Anjorin are seemingly the next on deck. Realistically though, what are their chances?

This actually is a fairly common issue for teams that focus heavily on bringing through young players. To start, the likes of James, Abraham, and Mount all had to prove they were equal to or better than the players they were starting over. At the very least, they had to prove able deputies. But now the next generation has to do the same, but with the likes of James, Abraham, and Mount. Why did Barcelona’s academy dry up? Because it was nearly impossible for any young player to get into a team that just brought in Lionel Messi and company. Chelsea is and will face a similar problem.

That is what the loan army is for, after all. It is giving players like Ethan Ampadu and Conor Gallagher opportunities to prove themselves. Not every player is going to need that to break through at Chelsea, as Gilmour has showcased. So what are the odds for these four?

In a normal year (i.e., early last season) they would have had a decent shot. It is, obviously, not a normal year. Covid has made it difficult to easily swap youth players back and forth from the first team like Gilmour was able to do before fully making the jump. Furthermore, Chelsea’s early exit from the League Cup has hindered opportunities that might have otherwise presented themselves. The FA Cup is arguably the next opportunity for these young players, bar perhaps a Champions League dead rubber Frank Lampard is willing to play around with.

Of these four, Faustino Anjorin seems to be the most likely to break through. He has had injury issues in the past year, but he is a fantastic player that already made debuts last year in the EFL Cup and the Premier League. Given Lampard’s recent turn towards dual eights, Anjorin could fill in as depth behind Kai Havertz or Mount. He could also play on the “wing” like Mount has early in the season. Regardless, he very much looks like a man playing with boys at academy level even after his injury.

Lewis Bate is the next most likely. He has not made a debut but he did appear on the bench twice for Chelsea last season. Stylistically, he is similar to Gilmour though he tends to prefer to operate somewhat deeper than his former youth teammate. He has been the captain often at youth level as well which is sure to catch Lampard’s attention. If Lampard decides to use Gilmour higher in midfield, Bate could prove to be an option for the deepest position.

Lawrence and Simeu are a little harder to place. The former usually plays wide as a winger or a fullback while the latter has settled more into a centerback role over time. Both, like most Chelsea academy players, have plenty of experience in multiple positions so it would be wrong to say for sure they are one thing or another yet. They both might need another year in the academy before they are in conversation for first team chances again.

Regardless of where these four are in the hierarchy, they will still need to prove themselves against youth that have already proven themselves. That is phase two of the youth revolution. It is a bit on hold now, but do not count any of these players out for finding their way into solid loans or Lampard’s depth chart this season.