Chelsea beat Middlesbrough 6-1 (aggregate 6-2) in the EFL Cup semi-final to reach the final. It gave the club something to cheer about amid a testing season. They will face Liverpool in the final, with the Reds being slight favourites.
However, it was refreshing to see Chelsea’s young guns enjoying themselves at Stamford Bridge. Middlesbrough is not that formidable an opposition, but the plethora of goals will boost the Blues’ confidence.
Chelsea have enormous young talent at their disposal
Cole Palmer, who scored a brace against Middlesbrough, now has 11 goals in 23 matches for Chelsea this season. He is undoubtedly one of the brightest young prospects in England at the moment. Then there is the hugely talented Enzo Fernandez, who also scored that day.
Fernandez has not quite been able to do justice to the huge price tag associated with him, but there is enough time left for him to compensate. He looks quite comfortable as a No. 8 now and Mauricio Pochettino’s team will rely a lot on him shortly.
More young attacking players like Noni Madueke, Carney Chukwuemeka and Ian Maatsen are also there to help Chelsea attain their desired position inside the top four in the Premier League table in the coming years. They can still salvage the current season with a top-six finish, the possibilities of which cannot be ruled out altogether.
Chelsea youngsters are yet to make their mark
There are players like Mykhailo Mudryk and Nicolas Jackson, none of whom have quite been able to fulfil the expectations till now. Mudryk is yet to cement his place in the starting XI and Jackson has an underwhelming return of eight goals in 23 matches so far, of which three were scored against a nine-man Tottenham Hotspur.
One also has to mention Christopher Nkunku, who is undoubtedly talented, but has been plagued by injury this season and has appeared in only four matches for Chelsea so far.
However, as already mentioned, the club management will have to be patient with those players, as there is enormous potential in-store in them.
It has to be mentioned in this context that the likely decision to sell Conor Gallagher might turn out to be a bad one. Gallagher is a versatile defender, whose abilities could have come in handy for Chelsea in the coming years.
However, as they have already spent a lot in acquiring young players, they might have to make some harsh decisions to offload some of their players. Still, the Blues will continue to have enough talent at their disposal for the future.
Also Read: Jurgen Klopp: The Man Who Transformed Liverpool Football Club
With Victor Osimhen likely to join them next season, their team should be bolstered further. They are ninth in the Premier League table at the moment, but might well exhibit a different level of form next season
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