Chelsea have set Jose Mourinho and his coaching staff the challenge of developing world-class players from the club’s academy as they enter their second decade under the ownership of Roman Abramovich.
On Monday it will be 10 years to the day since Abramovich sealed a £140 million deal to take ownership of Chelsea and, although chief executive Ron Gourlay has hailed “a hugely successful decade”, new targets are also being set.
One criticism of the Abramovich years is that so few academy players have become established in the first team and, with Uefa and the Premier League introducing new rules that will limit spending, Gourlay has stressed the importance of home-grown talent.
Abramovich has always invested heavily in the academy but the pressure for immediate success has arguably also discouraged managers from persisting with young players.
Ryan Bertrand, Josh McEachran and Sam Hutchinson are among the academy graduates who will be hoping to challenge for first-team football this season.
“It has been a hugely successful decade for Chelsea Football Club since Roman Abramovich took control, with an unprecedented number of trophies in the last 10 years,” said Gourlay.
“Mr Abramovich’s early investment in playing staff paid dividends in creating a team admired around the world, but to keep Chelsea among the elite we have always known we must produce our own world-class talent and we are beginning to see the benefits of our academy, which will help us meet our long-term objectives for Financial Fair Play.”
Chelsea and Manchester United have dominated English football during this past decade, winning 11 major trophies each.
“At the start people said that he would spend two or three years at Chelsea then would leave,” said goalkeeper Petr Cech.
“However his passion now is the same as when I saw him for the first time and I think that’s something which is precious because you know the club is in good hands.”
Culled from The Telegraph.
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