Dominic Solanke knew a different Chelsea to Armando Broja. When Solanke made his solitary appearance for the club as a late substitute in a routine win over Maribor in the Champions League in 2014, it was not seen as the start of a youth revolution. José Mourinho was the manager, Diego Costa led the attack and a team that would go on to win the Premier League title was full of hardened, experienced players.
It made breaking through difficult. Roman Abramovich was building one of the finest academies in the world but Solanke did not stay. Frustrated by a lack of opportunities, the striker turned down the offer of a new deal and was 19 when he left for Liverpool in 2017, 18 months before Chelsea were hit with a transfer ban that would make it much easier for Frank Lampard to lean on the Cobham production line and bring Mason Mount, Tammy Abraham, Fikayo Tomori and Reece James into the first team.
