When it comes to Premier League academies, it’s hard to think of many as successful as Chelsea’s Cobham.
The sheer number of top-flight quality prospects that come out of the Blues’ youth set-up is frankly extraordinary, and while they wouldn’t admit it, likely the envy of many of their rivals.
For example, in Enzo Maresca’s current squad, you have the likes of Reece James, Trevoh Chalobah and even Jamie Gittens, who spent some time in West London as a youngster before moving back to Reading.
Another international-level star who cut their teeth in Chelsea’s youth ranks is Marc Guehi, and while some fans would surely love to have him back, the club’s already got an academy gem who’ll be an even bigger star.
Marc Guehi's failure to make it at Chelsea
Guehi joined Chelsea’s youth ranks at the age of eight and, after 11 years of hard work, was rewarded with his first professional contract in September 2017.
Chalkboard
Football FanCast’s Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.
However, first-team football was still a distant prospect, and even though he was named in a Premier League squad for the first time in May 2019, he wouldn’t make his competitive debut for the Blues until September, two years after signing his first contract.
He started against Grimsby Town in the Third Round of the League Cup and then in a defeat against Manchester United in the Fourth Round, which would be his final appearances for the club.
That January would see him make the first of two loan moves to Swansea City, where, over the following season and a half, the youngster would make 59 appearances before securing a £18m move to Crystal Palace in July 2021.
It might seem like Chelsea made a terrible mistake in selling the Englishman, but it made sense at the time, as he had no Premier League experience and the West Londoners had the likes of Thiago Silva, Antonio Rüdiger, Cesar Azpilicueta and more already in the squad.
Since moving to Selhurst Park, the Abidjan-born titan has made 161 appearances for the Eagles, in which he has scored nine goals, provided four assists, won the FA Cup and forced his way into the England set-up.
In all, leaving Chelsea has worked out for Guehi, and while some fans would understandably want him to return to Stamford Bridge, Maresca already has a player in his squad who could have an even brighter future.
The Chelsea ace who'll be a bigger star than Guehi
One of the significant advantages of Chelsea’s transfer policy in recent years is the number of incredibly talented youngsters they now have on their books.
However, in this instance, we’re talking about a Cobham graduate, someone who would’ve surely had a brilliant season if he hadn’t suffered an unfortunate injury last month: Levi Colwill.
There are a few reasons why we think the Blues gem will eventually surpass the Palace star, and one of them comes down to how they are viewed by the team and those in the know.
For example, while Guehi impressed with Swansea and was looked at as a talented defender, the West Londoners made it abundantly clear that they did not view him as a future superstar when they sold him to the Eagles.
In stark contrast, they made a concrete effort to keep the Southampton-born gem on the books, opting to loan him to Brighton & Hove Albion for the 22/23 season.
Moreover, they even rejected a £30m offer for the “world-class talent,” as described by scout Jacek Kulig, at the end of that campaign, which would’ve been £12m more than they got for Guehi.
The second reason the 22-year-old could end up being an even bigger star than the Liverpool target is that he already measures up to him very well when we have a look at their underlying numbers.
For example, the “elite” defender, as dubbed by analyst Ben Mattinson, comes out on top in certain important metrics such as passing accuracy, interceptions, carries, aerial duels won, shots blocked and more, all per 90.
Passing Accuracy
89.3%
83.5%
Passes into the Final Third
4.23
3.91
Live Passes
69.1
48.9
Tackles
1.34
1.79
Tackles Won
0.97
1.00
Shots Blocked
0.71
0.68
Interceptions
0.94
0.82
Carries
46.3
33.6
Miscontrols
0.40
0.47
Dispossessed
0.23
0.53
Aerial Duels Won
2.34
2.00
Moreover, while he does win fewer tackles per 90 than the Palace star, he attempts significantly fewer, meaning he actually has a higher success rate.
Finally, while Guehi is an exceptional centre-back, that is the only position we’ve seen him play, whereas the Cobham star has proven to be more than qualified to fill in at left-back when required.
Ultimately, while the former Blues star has excelled since his move south of the river, Colwill looks like he will be the bigger star in years to come.