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Plenty of youngsters from the Chelsea academy have gone on to make a huge impact at the club in the last two years. The arrival of Frank Lampard in the summer of 2019 saw a plethora of academy graduates getting promoted to the first team; albeit a transfer ban for the Blues also helped in that regard.
Nevertheless, the likes of Mason Mount, Tammy Abraham, Reece James and Callum Hudson-Odoi have gone on to become a key part of the first team. They have continued to feature for the club even after Lampard's departure, winning the UEFA Champions League last season.
Not all Chelsea academy graduates have impressed
Lampard's faith in youth last season was a refreshing change for Chelsea. The Blues have failed to develop their academy prospects, despite having a formidable record at youth level that has seen the club's academy win seven FA Youth Cups since 2010 and five on the trot between 2014 and 2018.
But despite their success, very few players from the Chelsea academy who were destined for the top have gone on to make much of an impact away from Stamford Bridge.
On that note, here's a look at the five most disappointing Chelsea academy graduates of the 21st century:
#5 Charlie Colkett
Charlie Colkett was highly rated in the Chelsea academy and was the captain of the side that won successive FA Youth Cups and the UEFA Youth League between 2014 and 2016.
He starred for the club during their 2015 UEFA Youth League win, scoring five goals and providing three assists in ten games. Colkett also represented England from the under-16 to the under-20 levels.
But the Chelsea academy graduate failed to break through to the first team. He moved on to Ostersunds in Sweden in January 2019 after loan moves to the likes of Shrewsbury Town, Bristol Rovers, Swindon Town and Vitesse Arnhem.
Colkett has since gone on to make 55 appearances for the Swedish club before being released this summer. He is currently trialling at Doncaster Rovers.
#4 Josh McEachran
Josh McEachran was part of Chelsea academy's 2010 FA Youth Cup-winning team. The midfielder was touted as the first Chelsea academy graduate after John Terry to become a first-team regular at the club, but his bright start as a teenager was a false dawn.
McEachran was handed his debut in 2010 when he was just 17. He became the first player born after the tournament's inception to play in the Champions League when he featured in a group game against MSK Zilina.
The midfielder went on to make 17 first-team appearances under Carlo Ancelotti, with some reports even suggesting that Real Madrid were interested in the Chelsea academy graduate who was tipped to star for his club and country.
The midfielder signed a new long-term deal, but Ancelotti's successor Andre Villas-Boas, who joined in 2011, had other ideas for the Chelsea academy graduate. He froze the midfielder out, forcing him to leave on loan spells at Swansea, Middlesbrough, Watford, Wigan Athletic and Vitesse Arnhem.
Unable to force his way back into the first team at Stamford Bridge, the Chelsea academy graduate left the club when he was 22. He has since gone on to enjoy a decent career in the Championship for Brentford and Birmingham City before moving on to League 1 side Milton Keynes Dons recently.
#3 Lucas Piazon
Lucas Piazon is another player from the Chelsea academy who was tipped to become a star in the future but has failed to live up to expectations.
After Chelsea signed the Brazilian in 2011, plenty of fans were overjoyed to see what the future could hold for Piazon. He was compared to the likes of Ronaldinho, Kaka and Pele and was touted to become the next big star from Brazil.
The Chelsea academy graduate won the club's Young Player of the Year award in 2011-12 but was unable to break into the first team, playing in two League Cup ties and one Premier League match for the Blues.
He was subsequently sent on loan to seven different clubs in the last decade or so, including spells at Eintracht Frankfurt, Reading and Fulham.
The Chelsea academy graduate was finally sold to Braga at the start of 2021, where he signed a four-year contract.
#2 Gael Kakuta
Very few players were as talented as Gael Kakuta when Chelsea signed him back in 2007. The Frenchman was touted as a big prospect and a future Ballon d'Or winner. Such was the hype around the player that Chelsea even took a hefty fine and a transfer ban in their pursuit of Kakuta. But things did not work out as expected for the youngster.
Kakuta impressed the Chelsea academy coaches with his pace, enthusiasm and array of tricks. He started training with the first team in 2008-09. But in February 2009, he suffered a devastating double ankle fracture in a friendly game with the reserve team and was out for six months.
Since then, the Chelsea academy graduate has struggled to make a place for himself in the first team. Kakuta was loaned out to Fulham, Bolton Wanderers and Vitesse Arnhem in the Netherlands, but he failed to impress at any of them.
Chelsea released Kakuta in the summer of 2015. After spells in China and Spain, the former Chelsea academy graduate now plies his trade with Lens in Ligue 1.
#1 Islam Feruz
Islam Feruz was backed to have a huge future in the game from a relatively young age. He was an exciting prospect in Celtic's academy, deciding to leave Scottish football for the bright lights of the Premier League.
Feruz joined Chelsea's academy in 2011 when he was just 15. Things started well for him and his rapid rise showed no signs of slowing down at Stamford Bridge. Feruz helped the Blues to the 2012 FA Youth Cup by scoring a superb brace in the first leg of the final.
But it was as good as it got for the Chelsea academy graduate. Subsequently, he endured underwhelming loan spells at OFI Crete, Hibernian and Swindon Town before he was released by Chelsea at the start of 2019.
After his Chelsea release, Feruz retired from the game and has now reportedly turned his attention to selling hats branded with the logo 'Controversial One'. Quite an astonishing change of career for one of the brightest prospects to have been in the Chelsea academy.
