Chelsea have one of the most successful youth academies in world football but plenty of their graduates have flourished away from Stamford Bridge – as this amazing XI demonstrates.
The Blues invested heavily in their youth system under Roman Abramovich and, while it took some time to pay dividends, a flood of exciting young talent has emerged from Cobham over recent seasons.
But, despite the success of Mason Mount and Reece James, plenty more have been squeezed out of the club and forced to find success elsewhere.
We’ve compiled an XI of Chelsea youth products that flourished after leaving Stamford Bridge, lining up in the kind of 5-2-3 formation that would have given Jose Mourinho nightmares…
GK: Neil Etheridge
Chelsea haven’t produced many great goalkeepers themselves, although that hardly matters when you sign players like Petr Cech, Thibaut Courtois and Edouard Mendy.
The best option is Etheridge, who left Chelsea’s academy at the age of 16 and has forged an impressive career in England’s lower leagues
He is currently playing for Birmingham City and has won 70 caps for the Phillippines.
RWB: Tariq Lamptey
Lamptey is regarded as one of the best young players in the Premer League but, with Reece James ahead of him in the pecking order, first-team chances were scarce at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea sold the defender to Brighton in 2020 where Lamptey has continued his progression into a fine Premier League player and always seems to have a smile on his face.
Both Tottenham and Manchester United were linked with big-money moves for the Ghana international in January and don’t bet against the 22-year-old playing Champions League football one day.
CB: Andreas Christensen
Christensen joined Chelsea from Brondby at the age of 15 and made 161 club appearances under five different managers.
The Denmark international struggled under Maurizio Sarri and Frank Lampard but rediscovered his best form under Thomas Tuchel and played a key role in their Champions League success in 2021
Despite becoming a mainstay of the Chelsea defence, Christensen decided to leave the club at the end of the 2021-22 season and joined Barcelona on a free transfer.
CB: Fikayo Tomori
Chelsea have been scrambling around for centre-backs all summer when they could have just kept Tomori…
READ: All hail Fikayo Tomori, Milan’s Serie A campione and England’s best CB
CB: Marc Guehi
Guehi joined Chelsea’s academy from Cray Wanderers back in 2007 and emerged as one of the…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Football365…