They were the FA Youth Cup winners with more stardust than the Strip in Las Vegas.
Arguably, only Manchester United's fabled Class of '92 – featuring David Beckham, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Gary Neville, Nicky Butt, Keith Gillespie and substitute Robbie Savage – has boasted more firepower of the future in a single crop of under-18 players.
But five years ago, Chelsea's class of 2017 was a cut above: Mason Mount, Reece James, Trevoh Chalobah, Marc Guehi and Callum Hudson-Odoi helped the Blues to beat Manchester City 6-2 on aggregate in the FA Youth Cup Final. Conor Gallagher, widely regarded as one of the Premier League's brightest young talents, was only on the bench. They have already collected 44 England caps between them – with dozens more guaranteed to follow.
It is why current Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel has pleaded with the club's prospective new owners to divert “special” attention and resources to the club's academy. It is remarkable, for a club of Chelsea's prestige, that for almost two decades John Terry - in attendance at the final in 2017 - remained the only graduate who completed the pathway from youth team to a regular place in the senior first XI. But Tuchel has recognised the value of providing home-grown talent in the academy with a clear route to the first team, a process accelerated by the club's transfer embargo during predecessor Frank Lampard's full season as manager.
Speaking earlier this month, Tuchel said: “Chelsea’s academy is a big part of this club and the huge investment of Roman Abramovich, and the women are as well. Chelsea is much more than only the first team, so I can only think that everybody sees that and takes care about it in hopefully the same way. There is a lot of other investment needed and it is worth it.
"I think the board will tell anybody who buys this club the same thing. I hope for the new buyer it is as important as it is for us and the supporters. It’s what makes any team special if you have the mix between players from abroad and players from the academy. I didn’t know Neil [Bath], who runs the academy, until I came here.
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"But once you know him and once you feel the passion, he talks about what he is doing, the future, you need five minutes to understand there is something special going on. He has been doing a fantastic job over decades and he is already thinking about the next 10 years, not only about the guys who are here.”
Chelsea's accent on youth development is underlined by the legions of young players they now send out on loan every season. The morality of big clubs hoovering up all the best young talent and then farming them out on loan at home and abroad, using other clubs as finishing schools, is a separate argument for another day.
This term, Chelsea have sent 26 players to 29 different clubs on loan – nine of them full internationals. But it shows the pool of Chelsea's talent is not just in its youth – it also runs deep. Back in 2017, the Blues were on a roll and their FA Youth Cup success was their fourth triumph in a row – or their sixth in eight seasons. City's kids, then managed by current England Under-21 coach Lee Carsley, had held Chelsea to a 1-1 draw in the first leg, but goals from Chalobah and Ike Ugbo inside the first 25 minutes put the Blues in control of the return at Stamford Bridge.
Lukas Nmecha's reply shortly after the break gave City hope, but they were blown away by Hudson-Odoi, Dujon Sterling and sub Cole Dasilva. And City weren't bad, you know; their line-up included Phil Foden and Jadon Sancho.
Chelsea XI: Jamie Cumming, Reece James, Trevoh Chalobah, Marc Guehi; Juan Castillo, Tariq Uwakwe, Dujon Sterling, Jacob Maddox, Ike Ugbo, Mason Mount, Callum Hudson Odoi
