Chelsea: Meet Enzo Maresca’s ‘Chosen One’ Reggie Walsh

πŸ’₯ Read this must-read post from BBC Sport πŸ“–

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πŸ’‘ Main takeaway:

Walsh highlights Chelsea’s vision of the future but also the ghosts of the recent past.

Against Ajax, Chelsea gave minutes to ten players aged 21 or younger, as they had not played with a player over the age of 28 since the beginning of last season.

Chelsea broke several other records on Wednesday, including:

  • Marc Guyot, 19, became the youngest player to score a goal for Chelsea in the Champions League

  • This was broken 33 minutes later when Estevao Willian, 18, scored a penalty

  • Chelsea also became the first team in Champions League history to score a hat-trick of teenage goals when academy product Tyreek George scored just after half-time.

  • Jamie Gittins is the youngest Chelsea player on record (since 2003/04) to create five or more chances in a Champions League match (21 years and 75 days), a record previously held by Eden Hazard, having also provided an assist.

Brazilian international EstΓ©vao continues to impress after joining the Blues this summer.

The striker was last week one of three Chelsea players nominated for the Golden Boy award, which honors outstanding young players in the European game – alongside Gurel Hato and Mamadou Sarr.

After Hato described him as one of the best teenagers in football after Lamine Yamal, Maresca praised his performance.

“I feel very lucky to be his coach. Fans pay tickets to see players like Cole (Palmer) and Estevao,” he said.

β€œHe is very humble and polite, he wants to work hard. He has a wonderful family who are very close to him. He is a special player but there is no need to worry that he thinks he knows how good he is. He is a very simple man.

β€œIt is a special night for the club and its young players.”

The Blues are the youngest team in the Premier League and among the smallest teams in Europe’s top five leagues, coming in second behind sister club Strasbourg last season, which is under the same ownership as US company BlueCo.

Chelsea’s strategy, which has sometimes faced criticism, is one he believes will lead to greater success in the long term, having already won the Conference League and the Club World Cup last season.

However, signing so many young players could send the wrong message to the club’s famous academy and there is a delicate balance to strike.

Chelsea were horrified when they lost striker Rio Ngomoha to Liverpool in 2024 and vowed it would never happen again.

Maresca has since given a record eight academy players debuts last season, albeit against lesser Conference League competition.

In addition to Walsh, older academy graduates George and Josh Acheampong, both 19, have been given full-time first-team roles.

Meanwhile, 16-year-old Ryan Kavuma-McEwen made his debut against Ajax and is among the exciting future generation.

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