How Chelsea’s 14 FM2020 wonderkids have developed in real life this season
Chelsea have never been short of young talent – and they are starting to make the most of it since the appointment of Frank Lampard as manager.
The likes of Mason Mount, Tammy Abraham and Fikayo Tomori have all become key figures under Lampard in 2019-20, while there are plenty more highly-rated starlets yet to break through.
We’ve taken a look at the 14 players considered a wonderkid on Football Manager 2020, according to FMScout, to see how they’ve developed in real life this season.
Ethan Ampadu
Ampadu is one of the rising stars to come through the Chelsea academy but was sent out on loan for 2019-20 due to the competition he faced for a place in their starting XI.
But the 19-year-old has found life at RB Leipzig equally frustrating, playing just 277 minutes of first-team football in all competitions, albeit he did start in the club’s first-leg victory at Tottenham in the Champions League.
The biggest development for the Wales international has probably been cutting his hair.
Marc Guehi
Another player currently on loan away from Chelsea, Guehi is an Ivorian-born England youth international and was handed his senior Chelsea debut by Lampard in a League Cup tie with Grimsby at the start of 2019-20.
He also played the full 90 minutes in Chelsea’s defeat to Manchester United in the same competition before moving to Swansea City on loan in January.
The 20-year-old made 12 appearances as Swansea gatecrashed the play-offs and subsequently started both legs of their semi-final defeat to Brentford.
Ian Maatsen
Like Guehi, Maatsen also made his senior Chelsea debut in the win over Grimsby, but that remains his only appearance for the Blues as he has instead featured regularly in Premier League 2, which the Blues’ Under-23 side topped before it was cancelled.
The defender was signed from PSV in 2018 and penned a new Chelsea deal running until 2024 on his 18th birthday in February.
Apr 2019: 'When I’m 17, I hope to make my debut for Chelsea in the first team. I realise you need to be realistic, but if the chance is there I hope to make my debut soon. I pray every day for it and believe in myself.' – Ian Maatsen
Sept 2019: 👏 pic.twitter.com/ZYFnDEkNPE
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) September 26, 2019
Reece James
One of the biggest winners since Lampard replaced Maurizio Sarri, James has proven himself to be Chelsea’s future at right-back – or quite possibly midfield.
The 20-year-old had been tipped for big things after shining on loan at Wigan and has lived up to the billing since working his way into Chelsea’s first team, although questions remain about some of his defensive awareness.
Valentino Livramento
Still just 17, Livramento has played for both Chelsea Under-18s and Under-23s this season, featuring at both right-back and right wing.
In November, he signed his first professional contract with the club.
Dujon Sterling
Having spent last season on loan in League One with Coventry City, Sterling made the step up to the Championship this season by joining Wigan Athletic.
The 20-year-old has struggled for minutes with the Latics, starting just seven league fixtures – none of which he tasted victory in – and often finding himself not even on the bench for the crisis club.
Trevoh Chalobah
Chalobah was one of the few bright sparks in Ipswich’s relegation from the Championship in 2019 and earned himself another second-tier switch with Huddersfield.
Despite manager Jan Siewert’s mid-season dismissal, the England Under-21 man has featured regularly for the Terriers, scoring once in 38 appearances in all competitions.
His 59 interceptions are the most of any player aged 21 or under in the Championship this season.
Conor Gallagher
Chelsea’s Academy Player of the Year last season, Gallagher is yet to make his senior Blues debut but made a big impression on loan at Charlton in the first half of the season, scoring six times from midfield.
He was recalled in January only to return on loan to the Championship with Swansea City and continue his good form, providing six assists in 21 games.
“He’s been a massive loss, probably impossible to replace,” lamented Charlton boss Lee Bowyer in March. “If you think what he brought us in that first half of the season. He brought us energy, fight, determination and goals.”
Billy Gilmour
After impressing in pre-season, Gilmour made a handful of appearances over the first half of the season before leaving Chelsea fans drooling with consecutive man of the match performances against Liverpool and Everton in the west Londoners’ last two outings prior to football’s postponement.
Sadly, his progress after the restart was curtailed by a knee injury.
Callum Hudson-Odoi
Securing Hudson-Odoi on a long-term deal after so much transfer speculation was an early coup for Lampard, who made clear that the winger was a big part of his plans at Stamford Bridge.
The 19-year-old entered the season still recovering from the serious Achilles injury he suffered towards the end of 2018-29 but marked his return with a bang, scoring on his comeback against Grimsby before registering an assist in each of his next four appearances.
He subsequently lost some rhythm in his displays and recently told ESPN: “For me personally, I think it is not the season that I would have liked to have.
“I could have worked on so many aspects of my game to become a better player. I’m working hard every day and training hard every day but sometimes in a game, you want to score goals, assist goals, help the team as much possible, and I feel like this year I wasn’t doing enough of that.”
Christian Pulisic
Having been a regular at Borussia Dortmund for a number of season, it seems strange to think that Pulisic is still just 21 years old.
After a slow start and some problems with injuries, Pulisic was arguably Chelsea’s form player over the second half of the season, with his opener in the FA Cup final his 11th goal of the season.
Unfortunately for Chelsea and Pulisic, an injury suffered shortly after scoring saw momentum swing Arsenal’s way at Wembley.
READ: Christian Pulisic is so good he made three Liverpool men lose their faculties
Mason Mount
After a season learning his trade under Lampard at Derby County, Mount has made a seamless transition into his first campaign as a Premier League regular.
Eight goals, five assists, his first caps and goal for England’s senior side and a huge performance on the final day of the season to help Chelsea secure Champions League football. Easy.
Faustino Anjorin
Named after the great man Faustino Asprilla, Anjorin has been at Chelsea since Under-7 level, growing up idolising Frank Lampard.
The midfielder was handed his Chelsea debut against Grimsby and made his Premier League bow as a substitute against Everton.
In June, the 18-year-old signed a new five-year deal at Chelsea, reportedly turning down interest from Manchester City, Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal and Borussia Dortmund.
Myles Peart-Harris
While he awaits his first-team debut, Peart-Harris signed his first professional contract at Chelsea in September.
The 18-year-old started 2019-20 still recovering from injury but scored seven goals in 14 appearances from central midfield at youth level upon his return.
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