Thomas Tuchel’s demand to Chelsea’s potential new owners over academy has been proven right almost immediately with the Blues having booked their place in the FA Cup final at Wembley Stadium. Taking on Crystal Palace, the Blues were frustrated in their efforts to open the scoring in the first-half, the Eagles remaining stubborn.
Chelsea did eventually find a way through though with Ruben Loftus-Cheek blasting them ahead with his first goal for the west London club for three years, whilst Mason Mount followed that up with a cool finish of his own. Tuchel and supporters alike will no doubt be delighted to see both academy prospects on the scoresheet - something that has almost instantly proven the German right on the need for the club’s new owners to invest in Cobham.
Speaking ahead of the FA Cup showdown at Wembley, the German 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.
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"There is a lot of other investment needed and it is worth it, and 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."
Whilst Loftus-Cheek and Mount both found themselves on the scoresheet at Wembley, there were other academy stars who caught the eye. Deployed in a slightly different centre-back role, Reece James certainly impressed in his outing, whilst Andreas Christensen was also selected to start by Tuchel.
It remains to be seen whether the new Chelsea owners will invest in the academy - and indeed who will succeed Roman Abramovich at the helm. Stephen Pagliuca remains in the race and is joined by Todd Boehly and Sir Martin Broughton’s consortiums. However, the Ricketts family have made the decision to not make a final bid.
In the meantime, Chelsea will look forward to renewing their rivalries with Liverpool in the FA Cup final next month.
