Chelsea’s youth brilliance makes fans forget the past against Norwich

Chelsea’s identity for the last few seasons has revolved around a squad with a healthy mix of world class players and young academy graduates. While the Blues have spent a lot of money on stars like Kai Havertz, Edouard Mendy, Romelu Lukaku and Timo Werner, the academy has largely taken center stage. Andreas Christensen, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Mason Mount and Reece James are just a few of the names that have made the jump and gone on to become successful at Stamford Bridge.

These Cobham products are undoubtedly the future of Chelsea Football Club, but what a lot of people fail to realize is that they are also the present. The latter three of the aforementioned academy graduates were named to Thomas Tuchel’s starting XI against Norwich, and to say they stole the show would be an understatement. The Blues went on to demolish the Canaries, 7-0, behind a hat-trick from Mount, a goal each from Hudson-Odoi and James (assisted by Mount) and a Hudson-Odoi strike that resulted in an own goal. The stars on display made a lot of supporters forget about the issues they had with the club’s management of youth just a few months ago.

The success of Chelsea’s youth against Norwich has made fans forget all about the departures over the last few months

The story of Chelsea’s 2021 summer transfer window was sales. Marina Granovskaia and Co. utilized the market to raise funds for the Blues’ club record purchase, Lukaku. Chelsea’s recent transfers can be categorized into three groups: deadwood (ex: Davide Zappacosta), fringe (ex: Tammy Abraham) and youth (ex: Valentino Livramento). It’s the sales of the latter group that had Blues supporters acting as if the sky was falling this summer.

There is no denying a ton of excellent, young players moved to what they believe are greener pastures. The frustration began when AC Milan exercised its option to buy on centerback Fikayo Tomori. The Blues would go on to sell numerous other academy players (Lewis Bate, Myles Peart-Harris, Dynel Simeu and Ike Ugbo) but the straws that broke the camels’ backs were the permanent sales of Marc Guehi and Livramento. The club was ‘finished’ according to some, despite coming off its second Champions League triumph.

All of the previous outrage has now been forgotten though. The success of the Chelsea youngsters against Norwich had everybody praising Cobham and the club’s overall plan once again. There is no shame in admitting the club messed up in letting fantastic young talents like Livramento go, but to discredit all the other talent within the Blues’ academy ranks over a few sales is ludicrous. Look no further than Trevoh Chalobah to see another current success story. He’s not elevated himself to the heights of the Mount and James’ of the world—at least not yet. Chalobah is the perfect example of an under-the-radar academy graduate capable of succeeding in the first team.

Chalobah isn’t alone either. There are plenty of young Blues who are on the brink of breaking through. Billy Gilmour has already displayed his talent in the first team. Conor Gallagher is running the show at Crystal Palace. Armando Broja is finding his groove at Southampton. Levi Colwill has turned into one of the Championship’s best centerbacks at just 18. That’s just to name a few. Cobham existed well before the group that departed this summer and it will continue to exist for a long time following their playing careers. The drubbing of the Canaries just serves as a reminder of the plethora of talent coming out of the Blues’ youth ranks.

What did you make of the youngsters’ performances against Norwich? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter!