Rio Ferdinand praises Chelsea for working ‘their youth system out’
According to the Daily Mail, Manchester United legend, Rio Ferdinand has honoured the Chelsea hierarchy along with Frank Lampard and Thomas Tuchel for procuring a winning formula by getting the best out of their academy graduates.
Chelsea have been on red hot form this season and look nigh on impossible to score against. They are top of the table in the Premier League and the Champions League, with only one loss in each tournament.
The Blues have the second-highest goalscoring record and conceded the lowest number of goals in the Premier League. But, along with their big-money stars, academy graduates have also played a dominant role in recent times.
Last night Chelsea earned an emphatic 4-0 victory over Juventus in the Champions League. Astonishingly, three academy graduates from Cobham – Trevoh Chalobah, Reece James and Callum Hudson-Odoi scored one goal each.
Furthermore, Ruben Loftus-Cheek also made a substantial impact after coming on for injured N’Golo Kanté. The 25-year-old player showed impeccable quality and footwork in the penalty area before assisting Hudson-Odoi for Chelsea’s third goal.
The culture started under club legend Frank Lampard who allowed a lot of academy players to feature for the senior team. Thomas Tuchel has continued the fashion by putting faith in club graduates. Overall, the tactics have proved fruitful for the West Londoners as the young players flourished on their tasks.
Rio Ferdinand pointed out such success has been possible because of the courageous management decisions made by Tuchel and his predecessor Lampard. Both technicians have been open to giving youth a chance and it has paid off handsomely.
‘For years, Chelsea have invested in youth but didn’t have the managers who are as confident as Frank and Thomas now,’ Ferdinand said.
The Manchester United legend reflected how the success of academy graduates at the senior level could profoundly impact the mentality of youth players. If anything more talents could be drawn to the Blues academy. given the route available to them to the senior side.
‘Reece James has been phenomenal. What this does for Cobham is the Under 8s, Under 9s, and later academy kids are seeing a pathway.
The Red Devils hailed the Blues’ hierarchy to lay the perfect foundation for youth players to make it big on grand stages eventually.
‘They’ve persevered, and they have worked it out. They are in a positive mindset with it; their youth system looks so clear for them. They can see a pathway to the first team.
More Chelsea News
- Player News: Mason Mount ready to sign new Chelsea contract
- Trevoh Chalobah opens up on the miserly Chelsea defence and the influential persons in his life
- FC Barcelona target Hakim Ziyech and Timo Werner of Chelsea as alternatives to Manchester City ace Raheem Sterling
Chelsea have the best out of both worlds as their big-money superstars have been putting mouth-watering performances. However, the youth players have proved that a competitive team is possible with excellent infrastructure without always splashing big money on transfer moves.
