Chelsea's academy programme is already aimed at 2030, with the Blues dominating Europe with talent, not money

When Chelsea's players returned to the Porto Hotel after lifting the European Champions Cup last season, some of the club's homegrown talents were particularly eager to celebrate with several coaches. The club's academy managers Neil Bass and Jim Fraser both played a major role for the Blues in Portugal as James and Mason Mount won the Champions League for the second time in their history. It was the pinnacle of Chelsea's youth: it was a sign that continued success in youth training could translate into a first-team trophy. In addition to James and Mount, players such as Tammy Tammy Tammy, Hudson Hudson, Tomori and Billy Gilmore have all shown their talents over the past two seasons, winning opportunities under Frank Lampard before Tuchel took charge of the dressing room.

The sheer number of Academy graduates in Chelsea's squad in recent seasons has led to an increasing connection between the team and club fans. But the Blues won't rest on their laurels when it comes to youth development, especially given the current uncertainty at Stamford Bridge. The ongoing parting between Chelsea and boss Abramovich has left all areas of the club in a state of uncertainty, with the academy's success largely attributable to the Russian oligarch who has injected billions of pounds into West London's side over the past 19 years. Still, no matter who the club will buy in the future, Chelsea have always been eager to keep fresh blood and vigour, rather than being content to stop there after their recent successes.

Manchester City and Liverpool have begun to suppress Chelsea in their youth squads, while United have been busy adjusting their squad over the past few years. For Chelsea, this is where Vision 2030 comes in. "It involves our board of directors and our owners, who are eager to hear about our innovations and ideas that will see us grow over the next five to ten years," Bass explained in June last year, "and I can assure people that we are not complacent about the success of having youth graduates in the Champions League." It's important to identify what we're doing in the short term, but also to have a long-term vision and direction for what we want the College to do in the future. This has always been our main focus. ”

Although the boss is changing, the club's college policy has not changed. Vision 2030 is a comprehensive dissection and branch review of ongoing work at the Cobham College building involving junior teams, nutritionists, analysts and technical departments. Their aim is to cope with the changing situation in English football, with improved quality of football in the lower leagues and non-leagues, while Brexit has prevented Premier League teams from looking for young players overseas. Chelsea have been actively treasure hunting from the amateur or lower leagues, and in January they signed striker Mason Bosso, who auditioned at Cobham during his time at Maidstone and made a deep impression at Athletic Charlton. They also continue to look for potential young players at other England clubs, with West Brom duo Leo Cardoso and Chiano Dyer joining the West London club over the past year. Both are England youth internationals – although Cardoso also represented Portugal when he was 15 – and their age allows their future to still be shaped by the Chelsea coach.

Perhaps the main challenge For Chelsea now is to prove that the road to the first team still exists, with only Trevor Chaloba in the first team since Tuchel took over. While Tammy Tammy and Tomori were considered redundant before completing their transfer to Serie A, other youth products that left in the summer of 2021, such as Guy, Liverlamento and Lewis-Bette, did so even before they were given the opportunity to impress at Stamford Bridge. Guy and Levlamento have made their breakthrough in the Premier League this season, with the former having also been selected for the England national team for the first time. Others, such as Tariq Lampte and Musharra, have also left the team in recent years without making their debut, and After his rise in Bayern Munich, Henri has now become a hot rising star in Europe.

The Blues now face a struggle to ensure that players like Broya, Gallagher and Levi Colwell do not leave the club along the same route after an impressive loan period of 2021-2022. England international Gallagher is expected to return and fight for a first-team spot after a brilliant performance at Crystal Palace, but Broyard will cause a fierce battle, with his loan club Southampton, as well as West Ham, both eager to sign the striker. Meanwhile, Colwell was locked in by Leicester City in January as they intended to loan him halfway through his game for Huddersfield City, but the Foxes' offer was rejected by Chelsea.

These players, as well as those who still dominate youth team football, know their value in a shrinking market after Brexit and are willing to shorten the three-year professional contract they received at the age of 17 to facilitate their entry into the first team. Xavier Simmons, who made his first appearance in the first team earlier this season, is the latest player to be likely to leave, and as he enters the final months of his contract, many Premier League clubs are watching his situation while the club is struggling to ensure that club U23 star Harvey Weir does not repeat the same mistake in a year.

For his part, Tuchel has been active in maintaining relationships with the academy and regularly seeks advice from coaches such as Bath to understand that the latest group of youngsters may soon be taken advantage of by him. The former Paris Saint-Germain coach is also trying to play as many academy games as possible to get a hands-on experience of what he may need to do in the coming years. "The doors are always open," Tuchel said of his relationship with the Academy, "I love it, and I really believe that supporters love it." The combination of big-name stars, local stars, famous players and academy players from abroad is what makes this club different. When you see the picture of us lifting the Champions League trophy, there are so many boys from the Academy in this picture. That makes it special, and that's what it has to look like. ”

Vision 2030's mission, therefore, is to ensure that talent belts continue to provide the first team with what it needs. Now, perhaps more than ever, Chelsea need its academy to continue to prosper.