Where are they now? Chelsea’s 8 wonderkids from FIFA 16 a decade later
Chelsea have one of the best academies in the world, constantly pumping out talented players, a lot of whom in recent years have been sold for pure profit.
But with FIFA 16 having been released a decade ago, we’re interested in looking at young up-and-coming stars from then, rather than now.
Using SoFIFA, we have found Chelsea’s eight wonderkids from FIFA 16 and looked into where they are currently.
Kurt Zouma
In 2015-16, central defender Zouma was in his second Blues season after signing from Saint-Etienne. Zouma won Premier League titles in 2015 and 2017 with Chelsea, before loans to Everton and Stoke.
He returned to Stamford Bridge for another couple of seasons thereafter, before moving to West Ham, then Al-Orobah in the Saudi Pro League, and he is now at Romanian side Cluj.
Abdul Rahman Baba
To say Baba never fulfilled the potential he was viewed to have on FIFA 16 would be an understatement.
The 2015016 season was the only one he ever featured in for Chelsea’s senior side, before a string of loans to Schalke, Stade Reims, Mallorca and then Reading, before he landed permanently at PAOK Salonika.
Baba has played more games for the Greek side – who he joined in 2023 – than he has any other club, and has become quite the threat on the front foot, with 15 goals and eight assists in 111 games, largely from left-back.
Bertrand Traore
Should we have known Traore was at Sunderland? Probably. Did we? Nope.
It’s the second English side the winger has represented since Chelsea, after a spell at Aston Villa in which he scored 10 goals and assisted seven more.
The winger had success in a couple of spells at Ajax, either side of his time at Villa Park, while he also had a decent time at Lyon, and spent short periods with Istanbul Basaksehir and Villarreal.
Lucas Piazon
One of the longest-serving players in Chelsea’s recent history, Piazon played a grand total of three games for the Blues in nine years.
He only left permanently in 2021, when he headed to Braga, then Botafogo on loan, Avs in Portugal and now Polish side Wieczysta, both permanently.
During his nine-year spell as a Chelsea player, Piazon went on loans to Malaga, Vitesse, Eintracht Frankfurt, Reading, Fulham, Chievo Verona and Rio Ave.
His two-year spell at Fulham showed potential, with two goals per season and four assists in each to go alongside them.
Matt Miazga
A towering centre-back, 6ft 3in American Miazga looked to have broken away from his home country for good when Chelsea signed him, but that he only played twice in 2015-16 and then never again shows how short-lived that dream was.
Like Piazon, Miazga spent a lot of time on the Blues’ books without playing, as he went on loans to five different sides in six years: Vitesse, Nantes, Reading, Anderlecht and Alaves.
As the American dream in Europe did not work out for him, Miazga moved back to the States in 2022, racking up 90 appearances for Cincinnati – his most for any club in his career – where he is now captain.
Kenedy
Chelsea showed faith in Kenedy on a few different occasions. After he debuted in 2015-16, when he played 14 Premier League games, he went on loan to Watford the next season, but played for the Blues on a few occasions in 2017-18.
He then played 38 Premier League games on loan for Newcastle over the next couple of campaigns, before impressing with Getafe, Granada and heading back to Brazil with Flamengo.
After multiple loans, Kenedy played one more league game for Chelsea, in 2021-22, where he assisted his final goal for the club.
That was before a permanent move to Real Valladolid, and the 29-year-old’s current loan to Mexican side Pachuca.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek
Loftus-Cheek has had perhaps the best career of any player on this list. He won two Premier League trophies and a Europa League with Chelsea as he racked up 155 games for his boyhood club, including 31 direct goal contributions.
In 2023, he was allowed to leave for AC Milan.
Loftus-Cheek’s best season with Milan saw him score 10 goals and provide two assists across all competitions.
Tammy Abraham
Like Loftus-Cheek, Abraham had an actual role at Chelsea for a good time. He bagged 15 goals and four assists in his best Premier League campaign, in 2019-10.
A couple of years later, he left for Roma, where he bagged 27 goals in his first season.
Abraham since moved to Milan on loan from their Italian rivals, and he’s with Besiktas on loan currently.
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