Time to Play Ryan Bertrand
Ashley Cole is a fantastic player and rightly our first choice left back, however I think the pressure of playing every single game and the rigours that involves have finally started to affect his consistency.
Therefore I think it is time for academy player Ryan Bertrand a few Premier League starts in his place to rest Cole and develop his long term replacement.
With Ashley Cole injured I really hope that he will start against Birmingham in the FA Cup despite the pressure on AVB.
Bertrand may not have made many appearances in the Chelsea first team, however he is not inexperienced having made nearly 146 appearances in the English League system particularly at the Championship level.
He was particularly popular at Norwich where he quickly won over the fans, with some solid performance.
He has made a few appearances for our first team and always looked impressive and with the departure of Yuri Zhirkov and loan of Patrick Van Aanholt he is the established understudy for Ashley Cole.
Therefore it is time to give him a few real opportunities to prove himself against team that lack much of an attacking threat.
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Categories: Youth Team Tags: Chelsea youth, Ryan Bertrand
Three Chelsea Youth Players That May Leave This Summer
Every year fans get excited as they try to figure out if any of the latest crop of academy players will graduate to the first team.
In recent years there have been a few false dawns but no breakthrough players to establish themselves as first team regulars.
Unfortunately it is now the time of year where those who have not quite made the great move onto pastures new either by choice or through the expiration of their contract.
Here are some of the youth players that have left or may be about to leave.
Fabio Borini
Borini’s stock is high at the moment having scored 6 times in 12 games since signing for Swansea on loan in January.
At Chelsea Borini has flirted with the first team but never in my opinion shown any likelihood to break through at Chelsea lacking in the strength to break through into the first team a more talented Franco Di Santo.
After four years at the club there has been some confusion as to whether the Italian has refused to sign a new contract or if one has not been offered.
Either way it appears that the striker will be leaving the club in the next couple of weeks.
Likelihood to Leave: 10/10
Michael Mancienne
At one point the defender/defensive midfielder was tipped to be the replacement for John Terry with a cultured defensive air.
With just five first team appearances in six years successive Chelsea managers felt that t hey could not put their faith in Mancienne as a backup.
This lead to five successive loan spells at QPR and Wolves but Mancienne was still unable to become first choice at Wolves sealing the fate of a player unlikely to survive the summer as he seeks first team football.
Michael Woods
It has been announced that the ginger haired midfielder signed from Leeds for a king’s ransom along with Tom Taiwo will be leaving the club.
The midfielder has had a frustrating youth career with injury preventing him from gaining any headway in pursuit of a first team place.
Undoubtably talented we may say Michael Woods in the Premier League in the future and all at eChelseaFC wish him luck.
Players already released
Bobby Devine
Anton Rodgers
Ben Sampayo
Categories: Transfer Talk, Youth Team Tags: Chelsea youth
Chelsea Youth 2011 – Josh McEachran & Jeffrey Bruma
The last twelve months has finally seen the emergence of two young players that for the first time in a generation that seem to have a real shot at claiming and holding down a regular spot in the Chelsea first team.
2010 was a breakout year for Jeffrey Bruma and Josh McEachran gaining international recognition, McEachran featuring for the England under 21 side whilst Bruma made his full international debut for Holland.
The pair also played in the side that won the FA Youth Cup with Jeffrey Bruma scoring a free kick in the first leg of the final with a composed free kick.
Both players are now featuring regularly within the first team squad with both having started in cup games but the Dutchman having made a league start as well.
Jeffrey Bruma Starts In The Premier League
The last few months have seen Bruma rise up the defensive pecking order due to the injuries/suspensions of key players, however he did have the indignity of being behind Paulo Ferreria in the queue to play at centre back although Ferreria put paid to this with a terrible display against Sunderland.
Bruma made his landmark first Premier League start against Aston Villa and the eighteen year old had a generally composed performance despite being at fault for allowing Emile Heskey to score Villa’s second goal.
Josh McEachran England International In The Making
Despite the inclusion of Bruma in a Premier League starting XI it has been McEachran who has really excited the fans I have spoken to with his talent.
The midfielder has had two performances that highlight his talent, the first been as a substitute against Newcastle where he was the driving force behind a comeback from two goals down, even if the Blues ended up losing the match his performance was the highlight.
The second was last week against Ipswich where he started and showed his true skill set, the youngster keeps it simple but he gets it right, win the ball, give the ball to someone else in Blue and move to look to receive the ball again.
It may be a bit early to make such brash statement but his composure on the ball and skills mean that he looks like a future England international to me.
What will the future hold?
I think both of Chelsea’s teenage players will be looking to develop on an amazing 2010, by making continuing to make strides in the first team squad and providing back up to the first team and learning there trade.
Ideally neither should be required to start at this stage of there careers but the FA Cup and next season the Carling Cup should be automatic starts for both players mixed in with a smattering of first team performances dependant on the situation.
The future is bright, the future is McEachran!
Categories: Youth Team Tags: Chelsea youth, Jeffrey Bruma, Josh McEachran
Chelsea FC face fight for talents like Romelu Lukaku
by Richard French
follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/rfrench1988
With all the talk of Carlo Ancelotti fielding a young side to face Newcastle in the Carling Cup tonight, it is impossible not to speculate on the future of Chelsea Football Club and which of these promising talents will or will not make the grade.
The future isn’t just on show at Stamford Bridge tonight, he will be lining up for Anderlecht in Lierse come kick off time. Romelu Lukaku. Remember the name.
At 17 he has scored 24 times in 53 games for his club, has four caps for Belgium and is 6 foot 3 inches tall. All of these surely signs that he could be the long term replacement for Didier Drogba.
Scoring goals is something of a habit and it seems that this boy is as habitual as it gets, with 68 goals in 68 youth games for FC Brussels and a staggering 121 goals in 88 youth matches for his current employers. This kid is something else.
The Belgian domestic league may not be the strongest in Europe but his goals to games ratio is remarkable no matter what level of the game, even Sunday League down the park.
Perhaps sensing that his days in western Brussels were numbered, Anderlecht got the wonderkid to sign a new five year contract in May this year, theoretically ‘keeping him’ at the club until 2015. This is nothing more than Lukaku ensuring that his club get a fair transfer fee for his services, as for him to leave on a free at the end of his contract would be a disaster for the Belgian champions who can feel a big pay day round the corner.
Hence it is likely that a bid somewhere in the region of €18 million would be needed to get him across the channel and signed up ready to learn from the experienced strikers already at the club.
Traditionally, however, Belgian players have moved to France or Germany initially, only then to head to Italy to ply their trade. This could be the path for Lukaku, with clubs like big spending Marseille and Schalke keeping tabs on his movements.
Valencia and Real Madrid have also reportedly had scouts watch this young goal machine, so Chelsea must act quickly if they are to land the most promising young player in Europe at the moment.
With money thrown away on transfers such as Mateja Kezman and the injury ravaged Juan Sebastian Veron in recent years, this fee is a risk worth taking as Ancelotti looks to build for the future at the club.
With promising young starlets like Gael Kakuta, Jeffrey Bruma and Daniel Sturridge coming through, adding Lukaku to the list can only be healthy as Chelsea aim for long term, sustained global domination.
Categories: Transfer Talk, Youth Team Tags: Carling Cup, Carlo Ancelotti, Chelsea, Chelsea youth, Newcastle, Richard French, Romelu Lukaku, Youth Football
Focus on Chelsea FC Youth – #3 Jeffrey Bruma
One of the highlights of last season was the emergence of Jeffery Bruma as a star in the making. The 18 year old defender has had an amazing 12 months which has included his first team and international debuts as well as an FA Youth Cup winners medal. It was during the FA Youth Cup run that Chelsea fan
