Chelsea's current defence might be struggling, with three of the four players in Thomas Tuchel's backline against Southampton being 31 years old or more, but the longevity in place to counter that is growing. Not only has 21-year-old Wesley Fofana joined the club this summer, but he has also come in alongside many other talented youngsters.
It has been led mainly by Head of Youth Development Neil Bath, who is recruiting not only for the continued short-term success of the academy at Cobham. Todd Boehly will hope they can build a more consistent pathway for promising young players.
Already in the first team set-up this season has been Armando Broja, Harvey Vale, Carney Chukwuemeka and Billy Gilmour, though the use of those players by Tuchel has only demonstrated the great gap that still has to be overcome for the players to have a future in Chelsea blue.
