Since the takeover of Chelsea from Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich in 2003, Stamford Bridge has been flooded with superstars, but it might be time to change that.
When Abramovich took over, the Russian owner injected monumental amounts of cash to transform Chelsea into European giants, and there’s no doubt the supporters have enjoyed success over recent years.
With vast amounts of cash and pressure to succeed, academy products are often overlooked, and the superstars of European football are trusted with helping the team. This strategy has been pivotal to Chelsea’s success since 2003, but with the famous Cobham Academy producing exceptional talent year on year, it’s time for the London club to assess their recruitment policy.
Chelsea re-signed Romelu Lukaku last summer, breaking their club-record transfer fee, according to Sky Sports. Academy products Tammy Abraham and Armando Broja were brushed aside to make way for the Belgian, who has struggled since returning to England.
Abraham scored 27 goals in his first season at Roma, and Broja has enjoyed a successful breakthrough season in the Premier League. Had Chelsea shown faith in the young duo, rather than splashing the cash on the romantic return of Lukaku, they could have saved themselves a lot of money.
Tino Livramento is another case of an academy player being sent packing, and the England youth international has become one of the best young players in the league. Livramento won the Southampton’s President Choice Award after making an incredible impact, making his debut on the first day of the season at 18-years-old.
Chelsea are set to lose multiple defenders this upcoming window, due to their contracts expiring, and they may have to spend big to reinforce their defence, and a player they let go a couple of years ago could have been an ideal candidate to improve Thomas Tuchel’s side.
Fikayo Tomori was recently named in the Football Italia Serie A Team of the Season after he won the league in his second season in Italy. The young defender has shown his class and maturity despite his young age, and once again, Chelsea might be regretting letting the English defender leave the club.
Chelsea may have to spend hundreds of millions in the summer to replace their pending outgoings when they could be utilising the talents being produced by one of the best academies in the country.
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