Chelsea’s Temporary Chilwell: Here comes 18-year-old Lewis Hall

In the FA Cup against Chesterfield last season, Hall collected an assist finished off by Romelu Lukaku, staying with the play, and swinging in a cross in the perfect position for the Belgian to place it under the goalkeeper’s arms. The Slough native is smooth on the ball and has the persistence to never give up on a play even if possession may seem lost. If there is a seam in the defense, Hall is going to be the first one to spot it and take advantage of it immediately. Chilwell could be out for months, and as Reece James continues to make his recovery from his own injury, the depth on the wings is something the Blues could need.

Signing players in the January window is something Potter and Todd Boehly will be focusing on when the time comes, but for now, the elimination in the EFL Cup was a perfect opportunity to realize that Cobham continues to produce some of the most promising young players in the game today.

As the world watches the World Cup squads roll out, it is difficult not to look at how many graduates of the Chelsea academy made the rosters or were on the fringe of representing their country in Qatar. Hall has plenty of room to grow physically in the senior game, and with Marc Cucurella putting together back-to-back solid outings on the left side, Potter should look at adding Hall in the mix more consistently ahead of the Spaniard in the formation to add even more dynamism.