Thomas Tuchel watches a game from the stands. JBAutissier/Panoramic
According to The Metro, Thomas Tuchel included ‘at least eight’ Chelsea academy players in the first-team training on Monday ahead of the game against Brentford.
The Blues are set to travel to the Brentford Community Stadium for their Carabao Cup tie on Wednesday night. A victory would help us seal a place in the semi-final of the competition for the first time since 2019.
However, Tuchel has several concerns going into the game. The German revealed that seven players tested positive for Covid-19 going into the match against Wolves on Sunday. Thus, the squad depth is a little thin at the moment, courtesy of which the gaffer invited eight academy players into first-team training on Monday.
Harvey Vale, Josh Brooking, Alfie Gilchrist, Dion Rankine, Xavier Simons, Joe Haigh, Jay Wareham and Lewis Hall all trained with the senior setup ahead of the Brentford game. Jorginho also returned to training following his absence against Wolves. Kepa Arrizabalaga, Ross Barkley, and Malang Sarr were also present in the training session.
The number of players that are currently fit at Chelsea could be counted on one hand. Mateo Kovacic and N’Golo Kante may have played the weekend fixture but did not look at their 100%, nor did Trevoh Chalobah, who came off at half-time. Hakim Ziyech, too, looked in distress while coming off after 70 minutes.
Reece James and Mason Mount are running on fumes after being used extensively by the former PSG manager, while Christian Pulisic looks tired too. Thus, it is not the worst idea to give the youth a chance to showcase their talent. Moreover, this academy has always produced the best of the best and there might not be as big a drop in quality as one might expect by playing the youngsters.
Moreover, this will give a chance to the first-team stars to recuperate and get some much-needed rest. It would also not be a surprise if some players that tested positive for Covid-19 could be back for the weekend trip to Villa Park.
Regardless, this is a chance for the youth to impress and push for a place in the senior squad. Chalobah did so at the start of the season, and eight other trainees might now have the opportunity to do the same as the Blues look to play their first of four games in the next 10 days.
We named just 6 substitutes on our bench for the game against Bruno Lage’s men but now, it wouldn’t be surprising to see that number increase or fill up to maximum capacity.
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