Michael Emenalo Defends Chelsea Youth Academy, Plays Down Tottenham Production

Chelsea technical director Michael Emenalo insists there is “great talent” in the Chelsea youth setup and slammed Tottenham Hotspur’s much-vaunted academy for producing only one top-class player in Harry Kane.

The Blues academy has often been criticised, as so few of their young stars have graduated to become first-team regulars in recent years, per ESPN FC’s Liam Twomey.

However, Emenalo is adamant that such a problem is not unique to Chelsea, and he pointed out the deficiencies in Spurs’ system, per the Daily Mail’s Matt Barlow:

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In reality it is just the one key player, Harry Kane. Dele Alli they bought, Eric Dier they bought; Tom Carroll is a fringe player.

So with all the hoopla about Tottenham, it's just the one player. So we try to remind them it's not just a Chelsea problem. We want them to be patient because they (the parents) want it quicker than the boys want it or the boys are ready to take it.

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Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino has been highly praised this season for turning the north London side into title contenders, using a squad that includes numerous young English players.

Kane and Dier, both 22, and Alli, 20, have been first-team stalwarts, but Emenalo is correct in saying that the latter two were brought in from different clubs—Sporting Lisbon and MK Dons, respectively.

Bryn Lennon/Getty Images

Spurs youth graduate Carroll, 23, has been used sporadically during the current campaign, but his 18 Premier League appearances are significantly more than those made by young Chelsea duo Ruben Loftus-Cheek (10 appearances) and Bertrand Traore (seven appearances).

Emenalo has high hopes, though, for a trio of the current youth crop at Stamford Bridge, naming Andreas Christensen, Jake Clarke-Salter and Fikayo Tomori as ones to watch, while insisting there is a keen movement at Chelsea towards seeing the youth players advance, per Barlow:

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There is a co-ordinated effort from everybody to want to make this happen. Not just because it feels good, and it is nice to have a backbone the fans can relate to and support.

But with the investment we are making and where we think the game is going and the competition that we have, you can't just buy your way out of trouble all the time.

We have a philosophy in the academy to teach them to play the right way, the way we think a big team should play. And ultimately the only way they can play that gives them a chance to play for our first-team.

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Chelsea have plenty of reason to be proud of their youth squad.

They recently retained the UEFA Youth League, beating Paris Saint-Germain 2-1 in Monday’s final—see highlights below:

They have also won the FA Youth Cup in four of the last six seasons and are in the final again this year, with the first leg against Manchester City taking place on Friday.

However, scepticism remains as to whether any of the players who have enjoyed those successes will ever advance to the first team, per the Times’ Oliver Kay:

Emenalo’s claims of academy success at Chelsea are well-founded considering the triumphs of the youth sides over the past few years.

But until a star or two can emerge as regular senior players, the claim that Chelsea are bad at giving opportunities to homegrown youngsters will remain hard to refute.