Chelsea have one of the best youth systems in world football, with several academy graduates going on to have successful careers.
The likes of Reece James, Trevoh Chalobah, Levi Colwill and Conor Gallagher all progressed from the club’s academy to the first team.
Meanwhile, Nathan Ake, Fikayo Tomori and Marc Guehi are among the many former Chelsea youth players who are now excelling at other clubs.
Cobham’s main objective is always to develop players for the senior squad, though, and there are a number of youngsters looking to make that leap in the near future.
The Chelsea Chronicle takes a look at five academy players who could feature in new manager Enzo Maresca’s first pre-season with the Blues.
Bashir Humphreys (Defender)
Bashir Humphreys played 12 league games for SC Paderborn in the German second tier towards the end of the 2022/23 campaign. He then spent last season with Swansea City in the Championship, making 26 appearances in all competitions. At 21 years of age and with two loan moves under his belt, he deserves to chance to impress Maresca in pre-season. The key issue that Humphreys could face, however, is the plethora of central defenders already at the club.
Ishe Samuels-Smith (Defender)
Ishe Samuels-Smith has only just turned 18 and is probably in need of a lower-league loan spell. That being said, his profile is not only one that Maresca loves but one that Chelsea are lacking. He is a centre-back/left-back who would perfectly suit Maresca’s inverted left-back position which the likes of Wout Faes and James Justin played to good effect in the Italian’s Leicester City side.
Alex Matos (Midfielder)
Alex Matos has a genuine chance of being part of Chelsea’s squad for the 2024/25 campaign. He joined Championship side Huddersfield Town in January and, even though he could not save them from relegation, was superb as a box-to-box midfielder. At 19 years of age, Matos’ physicality is already immense and he could certainly have a role as a second-half substitute under Maresca.
Leo Casteldine (Midfielder)
The Blues are not short of attack-minded midfielders, especially after the signing of Omari Kellyman, but Leo Castledine is worthy of an opportunity to impress on the club’s pre-season tour of the US. Casteldine provided 10 goals and eight assists in 18 Premier League 2 games for Chelsea’s under-21 team last season. He made his first-team debut for the West London club in their 6-1 EFL Cup semi-final win over Middlesbrough in January and could receive plenty more minutes in the 2024/25 campaign.
Tyrique George (Forward)
Tyrique George is a talented left-winger who spectators of Chelsea’s youth teams are particularly excited by. He is, perhaps, not as developed as the other names on this list but he possesses the ability to change the game in a split second. George has made a habit of scoring long-range efforts as his ball-striking is as pure as anyone’s at the club. The Blues are not blessed with quality players in his position, with Mykhailo Mudryk and Raheem Sterling proving to be inconsistent at Stamford Bridge.
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