No matter what Andreas Christensen achieves at Chelsea this season, he has already provided the club’s youngsters with some much-needed hope.
The lack of players to progress from Chelsea’s Academy into the first-team squad has been the subject of annual debate. Many have been tipped for great things over the past decade, only to be loaned out and eventually sold.
Nathaniel Chalobah and Nathan Ake — two of their best prospects — were transferred this summer to Watford and Bournemouth respectively.
Chelsea will rightly argue that the duo asked to leave. However, both felt they had to move to get regular football. It sent out another negative message to those coming through the ranks.
Christensen’s consistent involvement under coach Antonio Conte is just the kind of signal of intent everyone at the club needs.
The 21-year-old, who joined in 2012, is set to make his third start of the campaign, and sixth in total, against Nottingham Forest in the Carabao Cup this evening.
Conte has already insisted how much he "trusts" the centre-half and he is considering selecting him for the next two Premier League games, too, while David Luiz is suspended.
Like many of Chelsea’s junior players, Christensen was sent out on loan and he spent the past two years at Borussia Monchengladbach, where he played 80 times in the Bundesliga and Champions League.
Chelsea always made it clear the player was part of their plans but their pursuit of established centre-halves, such as Virgil van Dijk in the summer, suggested they were still looking for the finished article elsewhere.
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Given Christensen’s assured displays in blue, Southampton’s refusal to sell Van Dijk could be a blessing in disguise for Chelsea and save them a lot of money.
Christensen’s development has come as no surprise to Chelsea’s greatest Academy graduate, John Terry, who left Stamford Bridge in the summer — 19 years after his debut.
Before he left, Terry spoke in glowing terms to Standard Sport about the Denmark international whom he was convinced would make the grade at Stamford Bridge. He said: “Andreas is a very good player. He has backed himself to go out on loan at Borussia Monchengladbach and has played a lot of games for the past two years. He has also played Champions League football and that can serve him well.
“As young players there are always questions against you. Can you do it in the Premier League? Can you do it in the Champions League? But he’s gone out and done it in Germany.
“He has a lot of experience when you compare him to another centre-half at his age. The loan has worked out very well and I encourage a lot more players to go out and do that.”
Chelsea fans can expect to see more junior players in the matchday squad for the third-round tie this evening.
Charly Musonda, 20, is set to make his first start for the club in an attack that includes fellow Belgians Eden Hazard and Michy Batshuayi.
England Under-20 World Cup winner Jake Clarke-Salter could be on the bench along with FA Youth Cup winner Dujon Sterling. Notably, 17-year-old Ethan Ampadu, who joined from Exeter City in July, is also going to be involved.
Ampadu made his professional debut at 15 for Exeter and was included in Wales’ squad for last month’s World Cup qualifiers against Austria and Moldova.