Chelsea’s academy has churned out dozens of players down the years, with many going on to make the grade at other Premier League clubs… so how many of the Blues’ youth prospects can you spot from old photos?

• Chelsea’s academy has regularly produced Premier League quality players
• Several players failed to make their mark at the club but have elsewhere
• Sportsmail has complied a list ex-Chelsea prospects to feature in the top flight 

Despite Chelsea having forked out £566m on new players since Todd Boehly became the club’s owner, the Blues have regularly produced talented players from their academy.

Some stars have slipped through the net, with the club surely regretting their decision to release Declan Rice, who has since gone on to become West Ham captain and a key figure in the England side.

Several other players began their careers at Chelsea before going on to make appearances for different Premier League clubs.

Sportsmail has complied pictures of some former prospects to have been part of the Chelsea academy, before making their names elsewhere. Can you guess who they are?

Declan Rice is one of the most famous examples of a player rebounding impressively from being released from Chelsea’s academy, with the midfielder bouncing back at West Ham to become a £100 million plus rated star.

Another member of the same Chelsea youth team has also gone through a similar journey and could become a Premier League title winner at the end of this season.

This forward played alongside Rice and current Chelsea regulars Mason Mount and Treveor Chalobah. He can be seen second from the left in the bottom row of this old youth team photo, alongside Mount.

He spent seven years in the academy from 2008 until 2015, before being released by the club when in the under-14s.

Shortly after his exit, he was quickly snapped up by Arsenal and the rest is history, having initially made his Gunners debut in 2017 before scoring twice a month later in the EFL Cup against Norwich.

A spell away from the Gunners followed with a loan move to Leeds, but has since become a first team regular after biding his time at the Emirates. He admitted to having been inspired by his rejection from Chelsea when he scored twice for Arsenal in a 4-2 win over the Blues last year.

The England under-21s all-time top scorer currently leads the Arsenal goalscoring charts this season with nine, as the club seeks to win the title for the first time since 2004.

Answer – Eddie Nketiah. 

Eddie Nketiah has led the line for Arsenal as they bid for the Premier League glory this season

This forward, bottom left, spent seven years at Chelsea before moving to Liverpool 

This forward was another youngster to have spent seven years at Chelsea, before leaving the club as a 14-year-old to join Liverpool.

Having featured in the same Chelsea youth team as Reece James, the striker claimed his decision to move was due to feeling there was a lack of a pathway into the Blues first team at the time.

He joined Liverpool following the recommendation of the current Rangers manager Michael Beale, who had himself made the same switch.

The striker’s reputation soared after he top scored with eight goals as England won the Under-17 World Cup, including consecutive hat-tricks in the quarter and semi-final.

He could celebrate being part of Liverpool’s 2018-19 Champions League and 2019 UEFA Super Cup winning squad, before scoring 11 goals in 22 games on loan at Swansea in the Championship.

A £23.5million move to Sheffield United followed in 2020, but he was unable to prevent the Blades from being relegated from the Premier League. A return to the top flight looks possible with Sheffield United currently in the automatic promotion places.

Answer – Rhian Brewster. 

Brewster left the Chelsea academy because he believed the pathway was blocked at the club

Former Blues striker Rhian Brewster joined Sheffield United from Liverpool back in 2020

This winger made one Premier League appearence for Chelsea during his time at the club

This winger spent nearly a decade on Chelsea’s books and is an Ivory Coast international. He joined the club as a youngster in 2009, before progressing through the youth ranks.

His one first team appearance for Chelsea was fleeting, with Antonio Conte handing him a start for the opening match of the 2017-18 season. He played just 18 minutes of the 3-2 home defeat to Burnley after Gary Cahill was shown a straight red card.

The winger was part of Chelsea’s loan army during his time at the club, with spells at Rennes, Granada and Birmingham. He eventually left the Blues permanently in 2018 when he made a £3.5million move to Sassuolo.

His performances led to a move to an exciting Atlanta side last season, with the winger having previously had links with a return to Stamford Bridge.

Answer – Jeremie Boga.

This forward played for Liverpool and Sunderland in the Premier League after leaving Chelsea

This Italian striker only made four appearances for club and had a loan spell with Swansea before leaving permanently to Parma.

An impressive loan spell with Roma, which led to him being part of Italy squad which finished as runners-up at Euro 2012. His form also encouraged Liverpool to make him Brendan Rodgers first signing at Anfield.

He played for three seasons at Liverpool as a bit part player, before spending five years playing for Sunderland.

The forward later returned to Italy with AC Milan and later joined Hellas Verona. He currently plays for Fatih Karagumruk in Turkey. 

Answer – Fabio Borini. 

Fabio Borini has had a varied career since leaving Chelsea back in 2011 

This winger joined the Chelsea academy in 2013 and went on to play 16 times for the club

This former Chelsea prospect is currently in the Premier League with Aston Villa, having been recalled from a loan spell with Istanbul Basaksehir FK in the January transfer window.

The winger joined the Chelsea academy from Auxerre in 2013, although he had been expected to join three years prior when he had a trial for the club.

The Burkina Faso international made 16 appearances for Chelsea in all competitions, while he also had loan spells with Vitesse and Ajax. Traore played the full 90 minutes of Ajax’s Europa League final loss to Manchester United in 2017.

He departed for Lyon for a fee of around £9million in 2017. His 33 goals in 126 matches convinced Aston Villa to bring him back to the Premier League for around £17million in 2020.

Answer – Bertrand Traore.

Bertrand Traore joined Aston Villa in 2020 after a successful spell with Lyon in France

 This defender came through Chelsea’s youth system but struggled for first-team football

This defender was called up to the England squad before he had made his Chelsea debut, with Fabio Capello bringing him into the Three Lions set-up for a friendly against Germany in 2008. The full back ultimately did not make an appearance.

He had been called up after enjoying a successful loan spell at Wolves, while he had also been a regular in the England under-21s set-up. 

The defender made four appearances including two starts for Chelsea in the 2008-09 season and lifted the FA Cup, while he was named as the club’s Young Player of the Year.

He left Chelsea for Hamburg in search of first team football, before returning to England with Nottingham Forest and then spent two years in the MLS with New England Revolution.

The veteran is now playing with Burton Albion in League One and last year made his international debut for the Seychelles.

Answer – Michael Mancienne. 

Michael Mancienne had a spell in Major League Soccer before joining Burton Albion

This Dutch international full back played twice for Chelsea in the Premier League

This defender has forged an impressive Premier League career since leaving Chelsea, having played 213 matches in the competition.

Just two of those appearances came for Chelsea, with the Dutchman having just 33 minutes of first team action in the top flight for the Blues.

He had five loan spells away from the club between joining the academy in 2007 and his eventual permanent exit in 2014.

The full back was a regular in three years at Sunderland before moving to Crystal Palace for a reported £14million. Van Aanholt made 126 appearances in his five seasons at Selhurst Park, scoring 13 goals.

Capped 19 times for Holland, has since had spells at Galatasaray and PSV.

Answer – Patrick van Aanholt.

Patrick van Aanholt forged a successful Premier League career at Crystal Palace

Source: Read Full Article