In the game before that it was Billy Gilmour, signed from Scottish heavyweights Rangers at 15, then sold at 21 a year ago and now finally beginning to win the trust of Roberto De Zerbi and earn real minutes in a spectacularly polished Brighton & Hove Albion side. The previous midweek against Brentford it was Matthew Cox, a now 20-year-old goalkeeper released by Chelsea at 14 who, last summer, signed a six-year contract with their west London neighbours. On Tuesday it was Eddie Nketiah, in the Cobham ranks between the ages of nine and 15 but now a valued backup striker in an Arsenal squad chasing the title. It only takes a cursory glance at the matchday squads of Chelsea’s recent opponents to realise that all the players listed above will, at a bare minimum, have alternative career opportunities in the Premier League. Lewis Hall, their big academy breakthrough story of 2022-23, enters the final two years of his contract this summer and is yet to commit to an extension, with Ben Chilwell and Marc Cucurella ahead of him in the left-back pecking order and many more names blocking the path to his favoured midfield role.
Of the seven Cobham products to have featured for Chelsea in the domestic top flight this season, the only two who appear truly secure at Stamford Bridge are James and Armando Broja, the 21-year-old striker currently working his way back from an ACL injury sustained in December. Liverpool, Bayern or Chelsea – what happens next with Mason Mount?
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