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Football Manager 2018 has been out for early access customers for about a week now and people who are madly in love with series have probably gone neck-deep into their saves.
A new year and a new edition of FM 18 brings out a new set of wonder-kids and a new set of hidden gems to scout. For those that fancy themselves better than Jose Mourinho or Arsene Wenger, you could always take a crack at some of the top clubs directly.
If indeed you are and happen to be looking forward to checking out which youth prospects you should invest in the Premier League, you have arrived at the right place. In this list, we take a closer look at Chelsea Football Club and examine the youth at their disposal.
It must be noted that this list covers all players who are currently available to the squad and are not out on loan and unlikely to return for the rest of the first season at the club.
#5 Callum Hudson-Odoi
This one is clearly a long-term prospect. Hudson-Odoi is eligible for Ghana as well as England but as seen by his performances in the recently concluded FIFA U-17 World Cup, he has chosen to represent England, for the moment at least.
Odoi is rated very highly by Chelsea. They offered him a three-year pro-contract to ward off interest from clubs across Europe including Juventus and Benfica. Odoi starred for Chelsea-U-18 last season and managed to score in the Youth FA Cup final last season.
He is an extremely versatile player, who can play on either wing or in the center. Some have already begun comparing him to first team star Eden Hazard and Odoi looks set for a great future.
In terms of Football Manager 18, Odoi has bucket-loads of potential. He makes the cut on this list ahead of team-mates in the U-19s at the club and indeed those that were a part of the England U-17 side from Chelsea because he is all of 16 years of age.
Naturally very determined, Odoi does not impress much at first look on his profile.
But a deeper look reveals the number of positions he can play and his acceleration of 15 along with 14 pace. This essentially means that Odoi possesses enough speed to carry him to crucial positions on the pitch easily. With a good technique for a 16-year old with no senior experience and the ability to dribble means, he is a nuisance for defenders. Odoi will take more than a couple seasons to mature but the signs show that the flairy winger is well worth all the time in the world.
Kylian Hazard
#4 Kylian Hazard
An interesting inclusion in this list. Hazard turned 22 in August and is therefore unqualified as such to be an U-21 player. But Football Manager 2018 begins in July in most cases or at the beginning of August when the third Hazard still has a few games left become 22.
He beats out the closest competition Islam Feruz because of the great potential and the Hazard genes that he possesses. He has so far spent the beginning of his career in Belgium's Second Division before moving to Hungarian side Ujpest and has been scouted by Chelsea for a few years now.
At 5'7", Hazard is not one to win you physical battles but possesses a decent technique that given time could evolve into a very solid player.
Kylian doesn't look like a world-beater as his eldest brother Eden and at many points, his second brother Thorgan demonstrate. But it may be a case of a late-blossoming player. Either way Hazard makes the list because on paper at least he is among the best U-21 players available to Chelsea in the first season of the game.
Kylian has a decent technique and is quick on and off the ball. Unlike his elder brothers, he is more of a central player with the ability to play on the left wing. It would be very interesting to see how he develops with good tutoring and game time.
Kenedy
#3 Kenedy
Kenedy joined Chelsea a couple of seasons ago. He was signed for his long-term potential from Brazilian club Fluminense. He has played 15 times for Chelsea and had a disappointing loan spell at Watford.
He is around the first team squad and has played in cup competitions for the West London club. Kenedy had become a forgotten man last season when injuries plagued his progress at Chelsea. The Brazilian has the potential to become one of the best players in the Premier League over time. In the last edition of Football Manager, he had a random potential ability of -8, on the higher scale of potential abilities for a player.
He could be a useful rotation option for Eden Hazard and Pedro with the ability to play on both wings. He would be competing with fellow Brazilian Willian for game-time over the course of the season. The fact that he can be retrained on any wide position across the pitch apart from a central striker's role and as AM(C) Kenedy is one that can fit into a side in many roles.
The most impressive feature about Kenedy is how evenly his attributes are divided. The only ones that are not inspiring are his defensive attributes such as positioning and tackling both of which can improve dramatically given his age of just 20. Kenedy's physical attributes though can carry him to the next level as a player. He seems ripe to succeed in the future.
#2 Charly Musonda
Despite his recent Instagram rant and Conte's warning to him, Musonda is valued highly by the club. Brought in from Anderlecht's youth system in Belgium, the 20-year-old excelled on loan to Real Betis in Spain. The latest reports suggest that Arsenal could be in for Musonda in a shocking development. They wish to lure him to the club with the promise of first-team opportunities that has been hard to come by for him at Chelsea.
Primarily a central player, Musonda can also play on the wings and has enough flexibility to have him as an important player in the future. In terms of his attributes, Musonda is excellent on a technical front with 15 for technique and 15 on dribbling. He is very quick and agile and that can be a great asset in beating players.
Musonda is a here and now a player for Chelsea with a promise to improve much further in the future.He has played twice in the league for Chelsea so far and could move out on loan once more in January if he does not move to Arsenal and is quite a gem of a player in the Chelsea side already.
#1 Andreas Christensen
The Danish professional is only 21 years old. He spent the last two seasons at Borussia Monchengladbach in Germany where he was a key player for the side. Since his return to the Blues, he has featured more regularly starting as a part of Conte's back three.
Christensen played 65 times for Gladbach and was an ever-present for them over the last two seasons. It is incredible for a 19 year old to feature like he did in a side competing for a Top 3 slot in the Bundesliga. Monchengladbach were interested in doing a deal permanently for him but knew that they could never meet his valuation.
It is an incredible profile for any central defender. Perhaps a tad lacking in terms of strength, Christensen shows no indication that he is only 19. Good on the ball and great at anticipating danger, he can play both as an out and out Ball-Playing defender like John Stones or could play like a Ryan Shawcross as a Defensive Centre Back. His pace means that he is unlikely to be beaten by forward players easily and could make life very difficult for those that are facing him.
Christensen though is still one for the future and could go on to spend a large part of his career for Chelsea if all goes well. His experience in Germany means that he also has shown his capacity to handle pressure and is, therefore, a great young player to have in your squad.
