Credit: Imago

Harri Burton

Thu 27 March 2025 17:13, UK

Chelsea’s blueprint has been given huge stamps of approval by parents and agents at Cobham despite faltering results for the first team.

The Blues’ senior side has experienced a rollercoaster of a season under Enzo Maresca, with the possibility of qualifying for the Champions League on the cards, but so too missing out completely.

While there is still a lot to play for this season, the club have already made movements for the upcoming transfer market, with exciting gems Geovany Quenda, Estevao Willian and Kendry Paez joining on multi-million pound deals.

All just 17 years of age, some have questioned the club’s own academy products and why they should continue at the Cobham Training Centre when the world’s hottest prospects keep being poured into the equation, and yet Blues sensations’ parents and agents have seemingly squashed those concerns.

Enzo Maresca has wealth of talent available at Cobham Training Centre

Speaking to the Daily Mail [26 March], one anonymous agent said of further competition arriving for his client: “They are showing their long-term project. It’s the best in the world.

“When you currently have the best young players, and you are signing the best of the best in promising players, you just can succeed.”

And rather than be worried about the potential for their child to be overlooked by Maresca due to price tags for incoming gems, the reaction has been incredibly positive from at least one youngster’s parent, and maybe somewhat surprising.

They said: “From a parent’s point of view, the signing of youngsters from all over the world is the best thing that could ever happen to (name redacted), in my own opinion.”

“The reason I say this is because of the quality and benchmark that he has to reach in order to be considered the best of the best. It will also help his game and push him to be a world-class player without any bias.”

Maresca has handed debuts to seven academy products during his tenure at Stamford Bridge, so there is clearly a pathway for the up-and-coming talents, although concerns over the increasingly crowded youth sides have reportedly been voiced by some others’ families.

Chelsea in no rush for summer transfer window as youngsters continue to impress

Football Insider verdict

Fans will always be desperate for their club to make big-money signings during the transfer window, but with several youngsters leaving and doing incredibly well, it might be sensible to bring through some more.

Cole Palmer, who has become the heartbeat of Chelsea’s team, is integral to Maresca’s ideas, and while he did not come through the academy, he has taken the weight of the world on his shoulders at just 22 years of age.

Lewis Hall, Declan Rice, Nathan Ake, Dominic Solanke and Callum Hudson-Odoi are all examples of players who could have shone given the chance after graduating from the academy.

Sadly, these players were overlooked, underestimated, or ignored for a bigger price tag, but Maresca, who is under pressure to deliver at Chelsea, is happier to give big opportunities to those who deserve them.

Proven by the above, the grass can definitely be greener on the other side if a player is not given the chances to prove themselves in the first team, which will only backfire on the Blues eventually.

The list of former academy graduates thriving elsewhere while millions are pumped into restocking at Cobham arguably suggests it is time rather than more and more money that is needed for Chelsea to reap the rewards.