Chelsea have promoted three academy players to their squad ahead of Wednesday’s Carabao Cup tie away at Manchester City.
Winger Omari Hutchinson, midfielder Lewis Hall and defender Bashir Humphreys have all trained with Graham Potter’s squad this week and are in contention to feature at the Etihad Stadium.
The trio were absent for Chelsea’s Under-21s in their 3-0 win over Tottenham on Tuesday and are waiting discover if they will be part of the travelling squad to Manchester.
Hall, 18, is the only one of the trio to have made a senior appearance so far for Chelsea after he was handed his debut against Chesterfield in the FA Cup last season.
Hutchinson signed from rivals Arsenal over the summer despite desperate attempts from Mikel Arteta to stop him from leaving. The 18-year-old has been in sensational form since joining Chelsea, getting six goals and six assists in 14 matches for their U21s, and was on the bench for the 4-1 Premier League defeat at Brighton last month.
Humphreys, 19, has just signed a new contract and is Chelsea’s U21s captain. His addition to the first-team squad could help plug gaps in defence, with Chelsea stretched after injuries to Reece James, Ben Chilwell and Wesley Fofana.
Striker Mason Burstow was also absent for the U21s against Spurs on Tuesday but he is suffering from a minor hamstring injury. If selected, the trio of teenagers are likely to be on the bench rather than start against City.
Academy goalkeeper Eddie Beach is also likely to travel as a third-choice option with Kepa Arrizabalaga out injured, but he might not make the matchday squad. Potter has said he will make changes to his starting XI after back-to-back defeats against Arsenal and Brighton. Kalidou Koulibaly, Christian Pulisic, Mateo Kovacic, Conor Gallagher and Armando Broja are all pushing for starts.
