Chelsea fans could be forgiven for thinking this will be the season where there will be another regular academy star in the first team, possibly the first to break out straight from the academy since John Terry, after Maurizio Sarri decided to start Ethan Ampadu and Callum Hudson-Odoi in the two friendly games played so far.
Hudson-Odoi is one of the main reasons the Blues’ age limit teams won so many trophies last season and also featured sporadically in Antonio Conte’s squad last season, featuring twice in the Premier League. and two more in the FA Cup.
For Ampadu, this was to be his breakout year after making a good impression in his seven appearances under Conte, although only once did he play in the Premier League.
Starting the pre-season games against Perth Glory and Inter Milan alongside David Luiz gave away Sarri’s possible belief in the youth setup at the club, but the Italian manager may have burst their bubble with his words that he does not know ‘if they will play this season in the Premier League’.
“I don’t know if they will play this season in the Premier League. But I know that these names will be very famous in the next years.”
Maurizio Sarri, Metro
