tammy-abraham-header

The last Chelsea player to graduate from their academy and become a first team regular was John Terry. Terry made his debut on 28 October 1998 as a substitute against Aston Villa in the League Cup. However, it wasn’t until the 2000/01 season that he began to establish himself in the Chelsea first team.

Chelsea have invested tens of millions into their academy since then and it is startling to see that not one graduate has become a first team regular since Terry in 2000/01. Players such as Gaël Kakuta, Josh McEachran, Nathaniel Chalobah and Michael Mancienne have graduated since then with high expectations but have failed to break into the first team.

It is now 15 seasons since a Chelsea graduate became a first team regular. So the question is, can any of the current graduates make the grade? Tammy Abraham could be the long-awaited beacon of light in Chelsea’s wasteland of youth development.

The 19-year-old striker has had an electric first two months of the season on loan at Championship side Bristol City. The teenager has scored a remarkable 13 goals in 15 games for club and country so far this season after his brace for England Under-21s against Bosnia & Herzegovina earlier in the week.

Not since Romelu Lukaku‘s loan spells at West Bromwich Albion and Everton have Chelsea had a striker who has managed to raise his profile as dramatically as Abraham has over the space of a few months.

What we all have to remember is that this is the 19-year-olds first full season as a professional having only just graduated from Chelsea’s academy this year. Those that have been following Abraham’s progress won’t be surprised though as he scored 72 goals in 101 appearances for the Chelsea academy and he is held in high regard at Stamford Bridge.

Abraham’s thrilling start to this season suggests he will return to Stamford Bridge with an enhanced reputation next summer. Can he be the one to buck the trend and become the first Chelsea graduate since John Terry to become a first team regular? That is something that only time will tell.

However, the club’s approach in the transfer market of buying ready made names (due to the pressure for instant success) could prove to be main obstacle irrespective of his talent. If that is the case there will be plenty of suitors ready to take him on loan or prise him away from Stamford Bridge permanently.

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The-Transfer-Plans-For-Last-Seasons-Top-Four

To varying degrees, each of the clubs from last season’s Premier League top four have experienced a disappointing 2015-16 campaign. Champions Chelsea, Manchester City, Arsenal and Manchester United have all fallen short of pre-season expectations, which means we can expect change this summer. Managerial changes have already been confirmed for Chelsea and City, with the appointments of Antonio Conte and Pep Guardiola respectively. And many fans of Arsenal and United are hoping for a similar overhaul at their own clubs.

With the influx of cash generated by the new Premier League TV deal, coupled with the scorn of this season’s underachievement, we can also expect major surgery to each club’s playing staff, with no expense spared.

Champions Chelsea have fallen furthest, recovering from early season relegation form – which saw José Mourinho given his walking papers in December – just enough to clamber up to mid-table under veteran Dutch coach Guus Hiddink. Billionaire owner Roman Abramovic will not be taking his club’s failure to qualify for European competition lightly, and will likely arm his incoming Italian coach with a hefty budget to overhaul the squad.

Despite the change of manager, the Blues are being linked with a pair of familiar faces in Everton duo John Stones and Romelu Lukaku. England defender Stones was subject of Chelsea’s affection last summer under Mourinho, with Everton rejecting their £40m bid. It now seems that, despite the absence of Mourinho, Stones is still very much a wanted man at Stamford Bridge. And Lukaku, of course, will be no stranger to Chelsea fans as he previously played for the club following a £16.5m move from Anderlecht as a teenager in 2011. The big Belgian never got a fair chance in the Chelsea first-team and was shipped out on loan before being sold to Everton for £28m two seasons ago. If widespread reports are to be believed, the hard-nosed Conte wants to give Lukaku another shot, and is willing to pay £60m to do so.

With a striker and a centre-back identified as targets, that would give the impression that Diego Costa and out-of-contract captain John Terry may be surplus to requirements. Both players have plenty still to offer but with Costa’s ability to attract controversy and Terry’s advancing years, Conte may feel that the time is right to refresh things.

It is also thought that Conte will want midfield re-enforcements, and that he’ll look to the familiar surroundings of Serie A for answers. Roma pair Radja Nainggolan and Miralem Pjanic are believed to be high on his wish list.

Manchester City were runners-up, and many people’s tip to regain the Premier League trophy following a £130m investment in squad improvements. But, despite a one-year contract extension for manager Manuel Pellegrini, the former Malaga boss appeared a lame duck amid speculation that Pep Guardiola was to usurp his position next season — speculation that has since been confirmed.

City’s squad is not in an obvious state of disrepair. And aside from central defence, where almost £70m has been spent on Eliaquim Mangala and Nicolas Otamendi in the last two seasons, with little return – City’s is a squad that would require only a minor tweaking to get them firing again.

But Guardiola will want to shape City in his image. Despite an abundance of athletic, technically proficient midfielders, Guardiola will want to fill the centre of the park with master-passers, capable of executing his brand of attacking artistry.

For that, it seems he has earmarked Borussia Dortmund’s Ilkay Gündogan. The 25-year-old German playmaker possesses the requisite skill on the ball and passing acumen to bring Guardiola’s City vision to life.

In addition to Gündogan, Guardiola is also likely to want a ball-playing centre-back, and a midfield pivot in the mould of his former Barcelona charge Sergio Busquets. It is believed that a tug-of-war for John Stones may ensue between City and Chelsea, although City are also known admirers of Athletic Bilbao’s Aymeric Laporte, and retain their interest despite the young Frenchman breaking his ankle on international duty recently.

With Busquets not for sale, and Guardiola claiming he will not raid the Bayern team he is leaving behind, the search for an ideal pivot may prove tricky. Another Dortmund player, 20-year-old Julian Weigl, would be an ideal fit with the way he has conducted the BVB orchestra from deep this season. But Weigl is relatively inexperienced, this being his first season of top-flight football, and Dortmund will be reticent to sanction the sale of a second key midfielder in one summer.

In terms of league position, it looks like Arsenal will finish exactly where they were least season: fourth. But this season will be remembered as a huge opportunity missed for the Gunners. With the rest of the top four tripping over their shoelaces for most of the campaign, this was Arsenal’s big chance to step up and claim their first title in 12 years. But alas, despite sitting top in January, the Premier League trophy seems beyond their grasp as we approach the final stages of the season.

Planning ahead in the transfer market is key to success on Soccer Manager.

So where can Arsenal improve in order to make a real challenge next season? They finally sorted the goalkeeper position last summer by recruiting Petr Cech from Chelsea, but Wenger’s failure to sign a single outfield player until Mohamed Elneny came in in January, has cost Arsenal dearly.

They need a striker capable of 30 goals. Olivier Giroud is a solid centre-forward, and will always score his fair share, but his is not the sort of world-class option Arsenal can pin their hopes on. They were strongly linked with moves for Karim Benzema and Gonzalo Higuaín last summer, both of which, at the time, seemed fanciful. But following a season of off-field controversy, maybe Real Madrid would be more willing to listen to offers for their French striker this time around. And Higuaín has had a phenomenal season with Napoli, netting 30 Serie A goals, but after three seasons in Naples, maybe the Argentinian would be open to change this summer.

Arsenal also need a reliable centre-back to partner Laurent Koscielny. Per Mertesacker, though vastly experienced, can be exposed by strikers with pace, and Gabriel Paulista is a decent back-up option. Perhaps someone along the lines of Southampton’s Virgil Van Dijk would represent a good option. Having had a year to acclimatise to the Premier League, the former Celtic player could add an assuredness to the Arsenal backline.

Manchester United currently sit fifth in the table, having finished fourth last season. The top four is not beyond their reach, but those already occupying the Champions League-qualifying spaces look reluctant to budge.

Whether Dutch manager Louis van Gaal is allowed to see out the final year of his contract, or whether the myriad rumours are to be believed and José Mourinho will be in charge next season, remains to be seen. But either way, United could use some squad improvements.

Despite spending £250m on incomings over the past two years, United’s squad still has holes. Daley Blind has coped admirably as a make-shift centre-back, but the former Ajax player is much better suited to a left-back or midfield role. Like Chelsea and City, United are thought to be weighing up an offer for John Stones, with the idea being that he could form a lasting partnership for club and country with Chris Smalling.

One of United’s foremost priorities this summer will be to hold on to David de Gea. The Spanish goalkeeper has developed into arguably the world’s best in his position over the last three years, and the Red Devils will have to fend off interest from Real Madrid.

A player strongly linked with a move to Old Trafford, with many European press outlets claiming a deal is already in place, is Benfica’s Renato Sanches. The 18-year-old box-to-box midfielder broke into the first-team at the Estádio da Luz earlier this season and has been a fixture ever since. Though still very raw – his short passing game needs refinement – the young Portuguese possesses the kind of energy and drive that has been lacking from United’s midfield for several years.

Whether or not United feel the need to sign a striker this summer depends how much they are willing to rely on 18-year-old Marcus Rashford next season. Rashford has been outstanding since bursting onto the scene in United’s Europa League triumph over Midtjylland in February, but it may be wise to bring in an experienced head to take some of the pressure off the still-developing Englishman. Zlatan Ibrahimovic may be the perfect solution. The 34-year-old Swede is out of contract at the end of the season and has already hinted that his future may lie in the Premier League. The main caveat being that the PSG striker does not see eye-to-eye with van Gaal, so a switch to Old Trafford would likely have to be preceded by Mourinho being appointed manager.

About the author – Ryan Baldi

Ryan is a Midlands based freelance sports writer specialising in European football. He has been fascinated with the continental game ever since he was presented with his first football kit at the age of 7 years old whilst on holiday in Spain – a Barcelona strip with ‘Romario 10’ printed in the back. A contributor to numerous footballing websites, Ryan has also covered martial arts for local and national print publications.  Ryan’s musing on European football can be found here  www.theeurofootballblog.wordpress.com and you can find him on twitter: @RyanBaldiEFB.

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Romelu-Lukaku

It is easy to forget that Romelu Lukaku is just 22 years of age.

The current campaign is the centre-forward’s fifth in English football, and before that he also spent two full seasons playing for Anderlecht in the Belgian Pro League. The striker has already made 197 league appearances in his career and a further 50 in domestic and continental cup competitions, scoring a total of 103 goals for first club Anderlecht, Chelsea, West Bromwich Albion and current side Everton. He is also in possession of 41 international caps, with 11 strikes to his name for Belgium.

It is a remarkable level of experience for someone so young, particularly as all but one of Lukaku’s career league outings have come in the top division. It could also be argued that, because many assume Lukaku is older than he is, they judge him by higher standards than would ordinarily be applied to youngsters in their early 20s.

There is no doubting, though, that the Belgian is a player of exceptional potential. Lukaku has already become one of the Premier League’s top strikers, with seven goals in 12 appearances this season evidence of his goalscoring potential.

His all-round game has come on leaps and bounds, too. In previous years, Lukaku was widely criticised for his poor first touch and underdeveloped back-to-goal play, with his inability to hold the ball up and bring others into the game often leading to his team’s attacks breaking down.

It is an element of his skill set that the 22-year-old has clearly been working on, however; Lukaku loses the ball a lot less easily these days, with his assist count (four already this term compared to five in the whole of 2014/15, six in 2013/14 and four in 2012/13) evidence of the improvements he has made when it comes to combining with team-mates.

It is often said that even the most talented young players need to spend time in the gym to bulk up and avoid being knocked off the ball too easily. With Lukaku, the opposite has been the case: even as a teenager, the physical side of his game was already well-developed, with the technical part the one that needed working on. Pleasingly, the striker’s showings for Everton this term suggest that the latter area of his game is quickly catching up with the former.

“He was raw [when Everton signed him] but you look at potential and we invested heavily,” Toffees manager Roberto Martinez said of the £28 million man after Saturday’s 1-1 draw at West Ham United, in which Lukaku found the back of the net after rounding goalkeeper Adrian and slotting the ball home.

“We could see the type of player he could be and his mentality. He is driven by landmarks and those [goal] statistics are very important. There are no complications and he is getting better. He is very receptive and for me he is a dream.”

Martinez also joked that the burly Belgian was actually worth £55 million after reports emerged earlier that day that the Merseysiders had slapped a £45 million price tag on his head. It remains to be seen whether another club will ever deem the striker worth that amount, but his recent performances have certainly increased his value and, at 22, Lukaku has enough time on his side to get even better.

About the Author – Greg Lea

Freelance football writer. Work published by FourFourTwo, The Guardian, World Soccer, Goal, The National, Squawka, Eurosport, The Blizzard + others.

Twitter @GregLeaFootball

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Rise-of-Belgium

It wasn’t that long ago when the only Belgian name mentioned in relation to a transfer deal in the Premier League was Bosman. It’s easy to forget that prior to the Belgian revolution in English, and wider European, football, the only noticeable names to play for Premier League sides were Jonathan Blondel, Luc Nilis and Branko Strupar. Throw in Philippe Albert, perhaps the best of the early Belgian imports, and the contrast between the 90s and noughties in Belgian football is stark.

By noughties, we of course mean recent history, perhaps 2008 onwards. Much has been made of the abundance of talent emerging from the Low Country as they finally secured qualification for a major tournament finals for the first time in over a decade last year.

Many will ponder how this sudden success has come about? Success is, however, a gradual process. Belgian football didn’t wake up one morning and realise it had serious talent coming through the ranks. There was a clear emphasis placed on the innovation and development of coaching techniques across the national game, particularly at academies that had the resources to invest in youth.

After the golden generation – not a term I personally enjoy using, but best sums up the feeling in Belgium for this particular generation of players – of the 1980s and early-90s, Paul van Himst and latterly Georges Leekens set about devising a training programme that would be widely available to clubs across the Kingdom. Van Himst, a playing icon in his day, was manager during the twilight and post-period of the Pfaff-Gerets-Scifo era, thus inheriting a football power on the way out.

His philosophy was simple, and it mirrored his education of the game during 16 fruitful years at Anderlecht. His tally of 233 goals in 457 games tells only half the story; van Himst was a pioneer, encouraging the development of technical football, incisive passing and countering at pace during his career. He played ahead of his time. Former manager Pierre Sinibaldi famously said:

“Paul is as quick as Pele. He thinks as fast too. His only weakness? He’s Belgian.”

Van Himst adopted this forward thinking and creative philosophy during his managerial career. He spoke of quicker transitions during his early years as national team manager and predicted a future game based on the speed of countering. Furthermore, he urged Belgian academies to coach these principles. Gone were the days, for van Himst at least, of controlled built-up attacks. He wanted to see a greater emphasis on speed of play and technical efficiency.

Perhaps the latter of the two points was a natural progression. Belgian football has always been synonymous with technical players. A reversion back to the aforementioned Belgian players brings together one telling attribute; technique. Even Albert, a predominantly defensive player, was astute in either central defence or midfield.

Leekens matured the early van Himst philosophy. Another legend in his playing days, Leekens was a highly regarded coach within national circles having lived a nomadic existence since retiring from playing in 1984. The reality of his first appointment to the national team role can be summed up in one word: underachievement. While Belgium qualified for World Cup 98, they finished a disappointing third in the group stage. However, his work beyond the national team ensured the legacy of his early appointment remains as worthwhile as qualifying for the finals in France.

Leekens placed a great emphasis on coaching the foremost young trainers at home. He would organise seminars and coaching sessions that focused on technical development and increasing the speed of play. How quickly could a team counter? At what pace? These were the questions he asked himself and those who were tasked with coaching the next generation of Belgium’s footballers. He noted that a successful counter should be played at six metres per second.

It was one of his most enduring legacies that’s evident across world football today. Real Madrid and Manchester City are as adept at countering as anyone. Frequently they travel at seven or eight metres per second. It harks back to the coaching methods that Leekens demanded from academy coaches across the nation. This, of course, isn’t to say Leekens pioneered counter attacking football, it had been around for generations, but he brought it to the forefront of Belgian coaching.

A look across the national team today and the evidence of speed of play coaching is clear. Hazard’s prominent strength is travelling with the ball at speed. Benteke enjoys turning and shooting early. Mertens, De Bruyne, Mirallas are much the same. Witsel plays early; he’s no ball dweller. You can continue, Chadli keeps it moving as does Fellaini. Dembele travels at speed.

Although not all the players received their education in Belgium, the rate of their development while playing for schoolboy national teams did much to innovative their style of play. Even the defenders are adept at travelling at speed. Vertonghen and Alderweireld enjoy attacking open spaces – they want to instigate quick attacks.

Aside from the coaching philosophies implemented at youth level, there has also been a conscious effort to invest in facilities. Standard Liege spent €18 million on their academy, more than many of Europe’s elite sides. But this outlay was recovered on just one graduate of the production line – Fellaini – when Everton paid a Belgian record €20 mllion in 2008.

And the new coaching infrastructure was well and truly in the black when talented midfielder Axel Witsel was snapped up by Benfica for almost €9 million. Witsel has since moved to Zenit Saint Petersburg for €38 million – testament to the quality of player coming through the ranks since the investment.

Genk also invested heavily in their academy, spending close to €3 million on improving pitches, indoor training facilities and the scouting network. It may seem a petty figure but it represents a huge outlay for a club of Genk’s size. This figure was recouped almost instantly following the sale of Thibaut Courtois to Chelsea. Since that investment, the club has also signed a development agreement with Liverpool.

Their coach exchange shares ideas and philosophies while players from both clubs are given the chance to train alongside their foreign counterparts. Long term, Genk will develop players for their own benefit as well as the national team. Courtois is now firmly the number one keeper for the national team; no mean feat considering Simon Mignolet’s talent.

Anderlecht and Club Brugge have also invested heavily and are reaping the rewards of a modern coaching philosophy at youth level with the emergence of Dennis Praet, Youri Tielemans and formerly Romelu Lukaku. His €15 million move to Chelsea represented the first major sale of the new academy era at the Constant Vanden Stock Stadium. Tielemans, perhaps the nation’s finest talent from the ’97 age group, is destined for a big-money move elsewhere over the next couple of years.

Many will argue that the sale of the country’s best young players hinders the growth of the national game. While in some regards this is true, reality will always outgun potential. The footballing and financial lure of the Premier League, Bundesliga and La Liga will attract players from most nations.

Belgium is still not at the stage where they can produce players for their own league. Not even Brazil is there yet. The emphasis should be placed on players being developed effectively for the national team then sold for a large profit.

Consequently clubs can invest in youth facilities and more expensive imports for the first team. It’s a gradual process but if five or six clubs in Belgium can produce a consistent batch of talented youngsters, not only will the national team benefit from a greater talent pool, they will recoup any investment they make in the academy. Only then can a league grow and attract top players as monetary power is prevalent.

Longer term the league can grow and retain its best youngsters, but only after a sustained period of selling and generating funds that help attract players from abroad. Brazil, alongside its national economic growth, is beginning to experience this today. The league is able to retain some of its better players. The lure of moving abroad, once facilitated by the desire to earn more, is now as much about experiencing a different lifestyle as earning the big bucks.

Major League Soccer would do well to follow the Belgian model. Produce players for the national team, sell, reinvest and recoup once again.

The potential for growth and continued evolution across the Belgian game is colossal. Academies that followed the early van Himst and Leekens model and invested in youth development are now reaping the rewards with the graduation of numerous players to the first team.

The next stage of development will require further investment as Belgian academies begin looking to attract youngsters from abroad early in their career. Scouting and bases in lands outside the Kingdom will come at some cost, but much like the infrastructure outlay, the potential to regenerate and recover this cost is evident.

The national team is blessed with an abundance talent. The way things are going, perhaps the Jupiler Pro League will be next.

About the author – Omar Saleen

Based in London, Omar is the editor-in-chief at These Football Times. A professional coach by day having worked at clubs including Fulham, QPR and Red Bull New York, he also writes freelance for a number of outlets.

twitter: @omar_saleem

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