The Blues are hugely ambitious at academy level and will be in contention for all the major honours once again to build on last season’s successes
Chelsea have been dominant at youth level for a number of seasons and plenty of impressive youngsters have come through the club’s academy in recent years.
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Andreas Christensen, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Tammy Abraham are just some of the names to have made the step up to the first team, with the next generation of Callum Hudson-Odoi and Ethan Ampadu already waiting in the wings.
While the aforementioned academy graduates are trying to win over Maurizio Sarri, hot prospects such as Mason Mount, Fikayo Tomori and Jake Clark-Salter are currently gaining valuable first-team experience elsewhere, after making their way through the Chelsea youth ranks.
There are plenty of other exciting talents on the Blues’ books, though, and here we take a look at the standout performers at Under-23 and U-18 level, as well as those who are currently out on loan.
Chelsea have one of the youngest teams in the league, having sent a number of regulars from last season such as Ruben Sammut (Falkirk), Reece James (Wigan), Trevoh Chalobah (Ipswich), Jacob Maddox (Cheltenham) and Dujon Sterling (Coventry) out on loan.
One of those young players Chelsea have high hopes for is Scottish midfielder Billy Gilmour, who joined the club from Rangers after turning 16 in June 2017.
The gifted midfielder has played a part in every U-23s game so far this campaign and shown exciting potential.
Gilmour came off the bench after just seven minutes in the EFL Trophy win over Swindon and the 17-year-old did not disappoint in the convincing 4-0 victory.
He again started from the bench in the Premier League 2 opener against Everton, this time coming on at half-time, before earning himself a starting berth in the 3-0 win over Blackburn.
Not only did he score the opener after just two minutes, he also provided the assist for Daishawn Redan’s strike after the break.
Gilmour completed the full 90 minutes against Derby and he seems destined to become an integral member of manager Joe Edwards’ team this season.
He was involved again in the match against Swansea City at the weekend, where a depleted Chelsea side scraped through thanks to a Joseph Colley goal, running out 1-0 winners in south Wales.
Chelsea’s Under-18s have been dominant for a number of seasons, but last season they won the quadruple to set the bar even higher for the incoming generation.
The quadruple win included a record-matching fifth successive FA Youth Cup win. However, they have lost their manager as Jody Morris left to join Frank Lampard’s backroom staff at Derby.
Andy Myers was appointed as the club’s new U18s manager and there will be a host of new players coming in, with many no longer eligible.
Despite their first-team experience, Hudson-Odoi and Ampadu are still available to play at this level but people will be looking to Billy Gilmour, Thierno Ballo and Faustino Anjorin as the stars of the next generation. Ola Aina’s brother Jordan is also among the group.
Chelsea have had two wins, a loss and a draw at this level to kick off their season. They beat Southampton away 3-1, then drew 1-1 against Leicester City at Cobham, before losing 2-0 away to Tottenham.
They finally got back to winning ways with a 3-1 win over Arsenal but goalkeeper Karlo Ziger was needed to put in a big performance against the strong local rivals.
Mount is one of the more highly-rated members of Chelsea’s loan army after impressing at Vitesse in 2017-18 and was sent out on loan to Derby County ahead of this season to continue his development under club legend Lampard.
The attacking midfielder has not wasted much time to make an impact at Derby and has quickly become a key figure at the Championship side.
Mount scored on his official debut as Derby saw off Reading 2-1 and has started in every game so far this term. He was unable to prevent losses against Leeds and Millwall, but helped his team return to winning ways against Ipswich, before putting in a man of the match performance versus Preston North End, scoring once and setting up another.
Additionally, the 19-year-old also found the net in the EFL Cup victories over Oldham Athletic and Hull City to cap an impressive start to life at Derby.