In the early hours of April 24, Chelsea lost 0-5 to Arsenal, and some Chelsea fans pointed out that the most lost thing was not the score fiasco, but the mentality of the players in the team.
Chelsea's Academy is one of the best, producing some quality footballers and more at the youth level, winning the UEFA Youth League in 2015 and 2016 respectively League), the only team to have won the tournament two times in a row, with a number of players playing in both finals in a row, and Chelsea reaching the final four times, so if England has never reached a final other than Chelsea, why not take a look at where these players are now, and if they were still in the squad, would the team be different?
1. Bradley Collins
Present: Coventry
If you've watched the FA Cup, you've heard of him, and he was the starting goalkeeper for the Wembley game against Manchester United on Sunday.
The Southampton-born goalkeeper made his debut with Thibaut Courtois in the hands of Thibaut Courtois, who after two loan spells to League One Barnsley on a free transfer in 2019, before moving to Championship promoted Coventry City for €600,000 the year before becoming the team's starting goalkeeper.
2. Ola Eina
In: Nottingham Forest
Ola Eina is one of the few players in the squad to have played for the Chelsea first team, having played six games for the Blues in the 16/17 season, when Chelsea were still in the top of the pack and manager Antonio Conte was given the opportunity to play in the league and FA Cup, as well as winning the league title together.
After handing over his performance on loan to Torino, he officially transferred for 10 million euros in 2019. The year before, he moved to Nottingham Forest in the Premier League and started the trip to Chelsea at the start of the season, taking three points away from his parent club 1-0.
Having represented England at all levels, he chose to represent Nigeria and has played 40 times before losing to Ivory Coast at the Africa Cup of Nations this year, missing out on an international title.
3. Andreas Christensen
Present in: Barcelona
The Danish centre-back was arguably the most successful of his class, and after his success in the European Youth League, Andreas Christensen was loaned to Borussia Mönchengladbach to gain experience, and after two years in the Bundesliga, he became a member of the first team and won the adult version of the Champions League and the Club World Cup.
When his contract expired in 2022, he moved to Barcelona on a free transfer as the team's starting centre-back, and this season he has been pushed into a central midfielder from time to time, a position he has tried in the national team, so he has quickly adapted to it.
4. Clark Salter
Present in: Queens Park Rover
The centre-back, who also represented Chelsea in the first team, came on as a substitute in a 4-0 win in the 15/16 season, but has since been a typical loanee career.
After six loan trips, he moved to Queens Park Rangers in the Championship on a free transfer in 2022 and is now the team's starting centre-back.
5. Jay da Silva
Present: Coventry
Another Coventry player, who moved to Bristol City for €2.4 million in 2019, played four seasons before reuniting with Bradley Collins in Coventry last year and playing in both FA Cup semi-finals against Manchester United.
6. Charlie Colcht
In: Crewe/Notts Shire
Winning the UEFA Youth League title as a starting midfielder for two consecutive seasons, although he was not captain in the first year, he led the team to captain the team in the next edition, becoming the only team to win the tournament two times in a row.
However, the captain's career has not gone as smoothly as expected, and after four loan and three transfers, he arrived in Crewe in League One, but he still did not have many opportunities to play, and then was loaned to Notts County in January this year, and the opportunities to play are still very few.
7. Eseyah Brown
Present in: Retired
Eseyah Brown is probably one of the most talented players in this age group. He was called up to the first team the night before and captained the side to the final the following day, travelling between Switzerland and England without disappointing his performances, scoring two goals in the final before being rewarded at the end of the season with the only chance to play for his parent club under Jose Mourinho.
After seven loan trips, he finally moved to Preston for free, but unfortunately, he was reimbursed for a torn cruciate ligament for the whole year, but in the end he was unable to beat the injury, and he retired at the age of 26 without representing Preston.
8. Ruben Loftus-Cheek
In: AC Milan
Ruben Loftus-Cheek is the only player in the squad who can be promoted directly to the first team the following season, playing more than 400 minutes in 13 league games under Jose Mourinho and Guus Hiddink, and has a number of starts.
However, next season Chelsea brought in Italian manager Antonio Conte, the team did not play in Europe, and the midfield was already occupied by the likes of N'Golo Kante, Nemanja Matic and Cesc Fabregas, with the undefined Ruben Loftus-Cheek having little place in Conte's back three.
On loan to Crystal Palace the following season, he returned to Chelsea in the 18/19 season where he met Bole Sarri, who had a prominent place in Maurizio Sarri's 4-3-3 formation and played vigorously, scoring a new 10 goals in 40 games in all competitions throughout the season.
His performances were slowed down by intermittent injuries and he was eventually sold to Serie A AC Milan for €18.5 million last year, becoming a regular starter for the team, and can also play in European competitions with the team, and his performances have a chance to be selected for England again for the upcoming European Championships.
9. Dominic Solanke
Present: Bournemouth
Dominic Solanke was fortunate enough to make his Champions League debut under Jose Mourinho this season, and was loaned to then "satellite" Vitesse the following season, scoring seven goals in 27 appearances.
Not playing at Chelsea, he moved to Liverpool on a free transfer in 2017 and made his Premier League debut with Jurgen Klopp, but unfortunately he was unable to perform at Liverpool.
Two seasons later, he moved past Bournemouth for €21 million and made a big splash in the 21/22 season, scoring 29 goals in 46 league games, ranking second in the scorers' charts, behind Alexander Mitrovic, who scored 43 goals, and led Bournemouth back to the Premier League. He has been in fine form again this season, scoring 18 goals in 33 games and is currently fourth in the scorer list, and he has once again been linked with the likes of Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur, and even his former club Chelsea has been rumored to be interested in him.
10. Charlie Musonda Jr
In: Anossos Famagusta
The Belgian winger has been hailed as one of Chelsea's most promising talents, but his loan spells at Betis, Celtic and Vitesse have been less than ideal.
And in 2019, he suffered a cruciate ligament injury during his loan spell at Vitesse, which took a heavy blow to his career and was out for nearly two seasons. In 2022, he moved to Anososis Famagusta of the Cyprus First Division, where he is only 27 years old.
11. Jeremy Boga
Present in: Nice
After that season, he was loaned to Ligue 1 and La Liga to gain experience, and then won his first and last Premier League games under Antonio Conte, before joining Serie A side Sassuolo for 10 million in 2018.
He had his best season under Roberto De Zerbi in Serie A, scoring 11 goals and four assists in a single season, and after Roberto De Zerbi's departure, he moved to Atalanta and Nice, and although his form had dropped, he was called up to Ivory Coast for this year's Africa Cup of Nations, where he beat Ola Eina's Nigeria to win the title.