As Chelsea’s ownership contenders continue to jostle for position, a flat Wembley friendly against Switzerland offered all England fans at least one reason to want the club to end up in safe hands.
Gareth Southgate gave debuts to Kyle Walker-Peters and Marc Guehi, and a first start to Conor Gallagher, as England came from behind to win 2-1 in their first fixture of a World Cup year.
Walker-Peters and Guehi took the number of England debuts under Southgate to 53 and, of those, 12 – or more than 22 per cent – have either come through Chelsea’s academy, or spent a significant part of their development at Cobham.
No other academy can claim to have trained more than five of Southgate's debutants, making Chelsea the most influential club to England’s evolution, and chances of winning in Qatar next winter.
Roman Abramovich has poured funding into the club's talent factory, with the outgoing owner said to have been committed to the idea of winning with homegrown players.
Spending on academies has not traditionally counted towards Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations, which has made it an easy way for oligarchs and states to funnel money into clubs while circumventing restrictions. That said, the club has also done remarkable work, and many of their graduates joined the academy at the youngest age groups.
Eye-catching showings from Gallagher and Guehi on Saturday have increased the chances of a core of Chelsea-trained players making the England squad for Qatar.
Mason Mount and Reece James are certain picks, along with Declan Rice, while Tammy Abraham, who withdrew from this squad through injury, and Fikayo Tomori are impressing in Italy and on Southgate's radar. Leeds’ Patrick Bamford, who never made the grade at Chelsea, is also in contention, though could miss the rest of this season with a foot injury.
Gallagher, who is on loan at Crystal Palace, was England’s standout player against the Swiss, offering energy and guile from midfield. He also set up Luke Shaw’s crisp equaliser in first-half stoppage time after Walker-Peters had done well to win back possession.
A big question is whether the 22-year-old can establish himself as a regular at Stamford Bridge in the first half of next season, assuming he returns to his parent club in the summer.
The fates of Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Callum Hudson-Odoi, also among Southgate’s debutants, are warnings that the standard at Chelsea can harm as well as enhance international prospects.
The other issue is Gallagher's position in Southgate's XI and, for all his quality, he may not be disciplined enough to work in a midfield two under such a pragmatic coach.
Perhaps England would have begun with control if Southgate had swapped Gallagher and Phil Foden against the Swiss, who were the better side in the first half and led through Breel Embolo's header.
Guehi, meanwhile, grew into his debut and won the second-half penalty which was converted by Harry Kane, who moved level with Sir Bobby Charlton on 49 England goals – now just four shy of Wayne Rooney's all-time record.
Like Abraham, Tomori and Southampton's Tino Livramento, who is in the Under-21s, the defender is an example of how Chelsea have used their academy to fund their spending, as well as improve the first team, but he may prove to be a player sold too soon.
Guehi should sense an opening at centre-half but so too will the next potential England contender off the Cobham production line, Trevoh Chalobah, who has impressed in Thomas Tuchel’s defence this season.
Other Chelsea prospects include England youth internationals Levi Colwill, on loan at Huddersfield, and Harvey Vale, Lewis Hall, Jude Soonsup-Bell and Xavier Simons, who have all been given debuts by Tuchel this season, suggesting the Blues' position as England's primary producer of talent is unlikely to slow soon.
Whoever they are, Chelsea's new owners will not, however, be able to write off £1.5billion in debt like Abramovich and should be more focussed on turning a profit than the outgoing oligarch.
That leaves the long-term status of Chelsea's academy somewhat uncertain, which may be cause for concern for both club and country.
