Chelsea youngsters proving the doubters wrong
There’s an old Irish proverb that says, ‘praise the young and they will flourish’, and Chelsea’s young players certainly deserve some acclaim for their performances in the opening weeks of this Premier League season. Tammy Abraham, Mason Mount and Fikayo Tomori have all made their mark in some way so far this campaign, and their achievements in breaking into the first team at one of the league’s biggest clubs speaks volumes of the determination, and quality, of each.
Abraham has enjoyed a veritable goal-rush in the first few weeks of the campaign, and his recent hat-trick away at Wolverhampton Wanderers felt like a Premier League coming-of-age for the young striker, who has performed admirably in the Championship in the last couple of seasons.
Mount, who excelled at Derby County last season, has brought a youthful flair to Frank Lampard’s attack – his direct and purposeful style causing countless problems for Premier League defences. Tomori, who also spent last season on loan at Pride Park, has begun to find his feet at the highest level, and scored a screamer at Molineux to ensure that his name will be on the lips of Chelsea’s fans in games to come.
After that 5-2 victory over Wolves, there was a beautiful shot of the three men walking off the pitch together, arm in arm. Afterwards, Abraham gave an insight into their conversation after the game: “We were discussing how we’ve all scored in the same game for Chelsea. We’ve dreamt of that since we were little boys, and we made it happen today.”
The success of the Blues’ youth academy products has been heart-warming, and an antidote to the big-money, big-expectation nature of some of the Premier League’s top six clubs’ recruitment policies. The progression of Abraham, Mount and Tomori so far has seemed to teach a valuable lesson that promoting young talent can still yield results at big clubs. While there is a long way to go for those three to fully prove that assertion, the early signs are extremely encouraging.
Of course, to view the opportunities afforded to Chelsea’s young players as solely a matter of choice or philosophy would be to ignore other significant factors. The transfer ban currently imposed on the club for breaching FIFA rules over the signing of foreign under-18 players has played a part in presenting first team chances to the likes of Abraham, Mount and Tomori. After losing Eden Hazard to Real Madrid in the summer, Chelsea were unable to reinvest that cash in the transfer market, and have had to depend on their returning loanees to bolster the squad.
Injuries, too, have played a part. With club stalwart Willian remaining side-lined, that has given Mount the chance to claim a spot in Chelsea’s attacking areas. An injury to Antonio Rudiger has also allowed Tomori the chance to fill in at centre-half.
However, the opportunity to play first-team football for Chelsea is only that – an opportunity. Abraham, Mount and Tomori have grabbed their chances with both hands and performed at, and beyond, the level required of top level Premier League footballers. They have not shied away from the spotlight, rather they have flourished beneath it, and put to shame other players in the league who have been brought in for millions.
Caution must be taken in describing any of those three young players as the finished article. That is far from true, and there will undoubtedly be mistakes and disappointing performances as they develop. What’s important is that Chelsea keep faith in their youth, and although Premier League title odds will cast them as outsiders, it is vital to back their youngsters through thick and thin. As in all aspects of life, we learn through our mistakes, and Chelsea’s young talent must be allowed to learn from theirs.
Lampard seems the right man to help them along. Whatever he lacks in managerial experience, he perhaps makes up for with his knowledge of the club, and his knowledge of what it takes to perform at a consistently high level for Chelsea. He is said to be an excellent man-manager, and this aspect will be key in aiding the development of Abraham, Mount and Tomori.
While there has been a certain haphazard quality to Chelsea’s performances in the opening weeks of the Premier League season, there are definitely signs that Lampard is sowing seeds of progress at the west London club. Chelsea must afford him time to learn and develop, just as he must afford Abraham and Mount the same.
At a club where change has been the only constant over the last ten years, perhaps the time has come to fully embrace youth and lay the foundations for a period of stability. Abraham, Mount and Tomori have proved so far this season that there is value in trusting youth, whether it’s a young player or a young manager. They have shown that trust and faith bear fruit on the pitch, and that future club legends perhaps need not cost millions of pounds.
