The days when John Terry was the only academy graduate in the
Chelsea team are starting to feel like ancient history
By Gavin Willacy for Playing in the Shadows
The 522 minutes that Danny Drinkwater played for Chelsea in the
Premier League cost the club more than £50m over three years. At least the club’s similarly lavish investment in their academy is paying out higher dividends. During the hectic festive season, Frank Lampard again dipped into the club’s Under-23s to give a debut to local 19-year-old right-back Tariq Lamptey.
After two decades with hardly a homegrown player to keep John Terry company, a dozen Chelsea academy products have made appearances in Lampard’s team this season. Fikayo Tomori (22), Reece James (20), Mason Mount (21) and Tammy Abraham (22) have all returned from excellent seasons on loan in the Championship to play in the Premier League, reuniting with their former Under-23 teammate Callum Hudson-Odoi, still only 19 himself.