Chelsea have become known over the years for their Cobham Academy, which has produced a catalogue of elite-level talents who have either made a huge impact on the first team or made the club a huge profit.
Within Enzo Maresca’s current squad, their academy success can be seen in the form of defender Levi Colwill, who has enjoyed a huge rise in recent years.
The 21-year-old has spent various years out on loan, before becoming a crucial player under the Italian in 2024/25, missing just one minute of Premier League action so far this campaign.
As a result of his excellent progress, he’s become a regular in the England setup under Lee Carsley in recent months, being named in all three squads during the ongoing season.
There’s no denying that centre-back wouldn’t be at the current performance level if it wasn’t for his successful loan spells elsewhere, with his first leap in England’s top-flight coming in 2022/23.
Chelsea’s transfer window in the summer of 2022
Colwill left on a season-long loan to join Brighton and Hove Albion after his previous season on loan at Huddersfield Town the year prior, as they lost in the play-off final against Nottingham Forest.
Jake Clarke-Salter is another defender who had huge expectations on his shoulders after coming through the academy, but ultimately he never made the impact many expected him to as a youngster.
The now 27-year-old only featured twice for his boyhood club, before leaving on a free transfer in the summer of 2022, joining Championship outfit Queens Park Rangers at the end of his contract.
The aforementioned window allowed for the departures of two high-earning players who, unfortunately, were unable to match the expectations many placed on their shoulders upon their respective moves to Stamford Bridge.
Ross Barkley left after a three-and-a-half year stint in West London, with Danny Drinkwater spending five years at the Blues after joining in a £35m deal from Leicester City after their Premier League triumph back in 2015/16.
However, such a window also saw the departure of a talent who many expected to become a top-level star but was unable to make such an impact due to constant injury troubles.
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The former Chelsea star who’s now unemployed at 28
Belgian winger Charly Musonda joined Chelsea as a 15-year-old back in the summer of 2012, the same window as compatriot Eden Hazard, but the pair couldn’t have developed further apart after their respective spells at the Bridge.
The former Lille ace spent seven years in the capital, racking up over 350 appearances and scoring over 100 goals before leaving to join Real Madrid for £130m in the summer of 2019.
However, the same can’t be said for Musonda, who was once seen as a generational talent given his time in the academy but was unfortunately unable to replicate such a feat in the first team.
“The winger was hailed by the club’s academy coaches as a generational talent while technical directors across Europe jockeyed in a bid to poach him. By most measures, Musonda was supposed to be a superstar by now” – Journalist Tom Kershaw in 2019.
Sadly, the attacker would only feature seven times, scoring just a solitary goal against Nottingham Forest back in the Carabao Cup back in September 2017.
Injuries played a huge part in his lack of game time, being sent on various stints to Vitesse and Celtic before eventually being released by the Blues in the summer of 2022 as a 25-year-old.
|
Charly Musonda’s career stats with different clubs |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Club |
Games |
Goals |
Assists |
|
Chelsea U21 |
52 |
12 |
6 |
|
Real Betis |
24 |
1 |
3 |
|
Levante |
19 |
0 |
0 |
|
Anorthosis |
11 |
0 |
1 |
|
Chelsea U18 |
10 |
1 |
0 |
|
Celtic |
8 |
0 |
1 |
|
Chelsea |
7 |
1 |
2 |
|
Vitesse |
4 |
0 |
0 |
|
Stats via Transfermarkt |
|||
Musonda has since had short stints at Spanish side Levante, whilst also featuring for Cypriot outfit Anorthosis during the 2023/24 campaign, before subsequently being released back in September.
To this day, the now 28-year-old remains a free agent, with his career in Europe all but over given his decline over the past couple of years – such a sad sight to see given his promise as a youngster.
He’s just another case of a youngster who’s been unable to match his potential during his academy days, with the pressure placed on his shoulders as a teenager undoubtedly playing a huge part in his lack of development.
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