As Lewis Hall turned Manchester City inside and out at the Etihad Stadium, Omari Hutchinson had to watch an in awe from the bench. As Hutchinson sat in the plush substitute seats at the Etihad Stadium, Bashir Humphreys could only watch from back in London - or the surrounding area. Several strains of Chelsea youngster later, Jude Soonsup-Bell might be wondering where it went wrong.
The 18-year-old made his first team debut in December last year but can hardly have been considered close to playing again since. In contrast, Hall has now played twice, including on Wednesday night at the Etihad Stadium, Hutchinson has joined the club and had accelerated progress through the ranks and Humphreys and Dion Rankine may well be the next cabs off the rank too.
As for Soonsup-Bell, he really hasn't kicked on since scoring 14 times in 16 games for the Under-18s in 2020/21. It leaves him now in a position whereby his contract is up at the end of the season and there is a very real prospect that it is not renewed or extended.
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The Athletic are reporting that Tottenham, West Ham, Southampton, Crystal Palace and Aston Villa are all in the mix whilst there is also belief that Manchester City are trying to sign the forward. Though Chelsea would get some money for him despite his contract being up due to offering him a deal, it wouldn't be as much as they'd like, especially not considering his promise.
It's almost ironic then that Hall is in contention to start at St. James' Park whilst Hutchinson lies in wait for a first start after making the bench twice under Graham Potter already. Josh Brooking and Humphreys all trained with the first team and will have a chance to impress the new boss during the World Cup break as well.
Soonsup-Bell can't even get a game currently and impressive youngster Leo Castldine and Malik Mothersille are stealing the current headlines at Cobham.
It is good for there to be such an array of choices, but as Harvey Vale and Charlie Webster looked to be leaving over the summer before a deal was sorted for the former, Chelsea don't want to lose their most talented youngsters. It has already come back to bite them with Tariq Lamptey and Tino Livramento, who were never afforded a chance, whereas Billy Gilmour - who was purchased for £500,000 aged 15 - also moved on due to game-time reservations.
Chelsea can't bring through everyone, but there will be questions from Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital considering their dedication to improving the youth set-up facilities already in place, and that's no mean feat. We're talking about trying to get better than producing first team stars like Mason Mount and Reece James here.
The business inefficiency that comes about with allowing talented players to leave and not develop won't be lost on the American owners though, and it's a question that Potter may also have to work out an answer to if Chelsea don't want a repeat of previous dealings.
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