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Cole Palmer decision as Enzo Maresca dropped four big Chelsea team news hints

Chelsea Under-21s were electric on Tuesday night as they cruised to a 4-0 win over Anderlecht U21s at a wet and windy Kingsmeadow.

The conditions were either perfect or horrendous to play in at Kingston upon Thames. That very much depends who you are or who you ask. Either way, the young Blues had no problem against the Belgians.

Anderlecht, a club with rich history, have produced some outstanding footballing talent over the years. The likes of Vincent Kompany have broken through the academy at the Belgian club. Also, there are some out there still playing at the highest level, including Romelu Lukaku, Jeremy Doku and Youri Tielemans.

With that in mind, going into Tuesday night’s Premier League International Cup match at Kingsmeadow, the expectancy it would be a tightly contested game. However, it was about one-sided as it gets – and that is credit to Chelsea, now managed by Filipe Coelho.

When the team sheets were made public, a few things stood out. There was no Josh Acheampong. The 18-year-old defender is one of the brightest talents in the famous Chelsea academy at the moment and is very highly rated by first-team head coach Enzo Maresca.

The Italian rates him so highly in fact that Acheampong has been included in the ‘B list’ of the club’s UEFA Conference League squad – with the newly-named and formatted league phase kicking off on Thursday evening against Gent. Also on the B list are Kiano Dyer, Tyrique George, Harrison McMahon and Max Merrick.

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Another talking point from the line-up was the inclusion of Harvey Vale and Alex Matos. Both Chelsea talents were close to completing moves away from the club in the summer but the transfers collapsed at the final hurdles, leaving the duo having to play their football with the academy, unless they were to be promoted to the first-team, until the January transfer window at the very least.

Both Vale and Matos stood out at Kingsmeadow – making it very unsurprising that the duo are wanted elsewhere. Captaining the team, Vale should have had a goal in the second-half after being laid off by Jimmy-Jay Morgan but Anderlecht goalkeeper Michiel Haentjens saved well from the Blues’ No.11.

Matos, meanwhile, was a joy to watch from a football purist’s point of view. The way he handles himself on the pitch when his side are out of possession is very old fashioned but refreshing to see. He is very aggressive trying to win the ball back and more often than not, he does just that.

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The 19-year-old was playing in the No.6 role for Chelsea, with the back of his shirt replicating that, and he provided a stubborn shield for the Blues’ back four. Despite giving away three fouls over the 90 minutes, Matos was outstanding for the hosts. Always available when his side have the ball and he rarely gives it away while not always taking the easy option.

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His midfield partner, Dyer, stood out even more on the night, however. The 17-year-old looks to be a ridiculously talented young footballer. Technically brilliant, with a low centre of gravity; something that allows him to dribble through midfield areas with ease sometimes.

Dyer is yet to make his debut for the first-team, despite being named on the bench for four straight Premier League games under Mauricio Pochettino last season, but with talent like that, it will not be long until we see him at that level. The teenage midfielder, signed from West Bromwich Albion’s academy back in 2021, put in a delightful cross to Morgan, who headed into the back of the net to get the night started for Chelsea.

Morgan got his goal – and should have had a couple more by the time he was brought off in the second-half. The 18-year-old striker was a constant threat for the Anderlecht back-line. His movement off the ball is so sharp when his side have possession and his ability to press defenders and rush them into hasty decisions is something else that has developed well during his time with the Blues.

It is great to see Morgan progressing so well. Signed in January 2023 for £6million from Southampton, the young striker suffered a nightmare scenario a couple of months later after sustaining a serious knee injury that required surgery out in the United States.

However, over a year and a half after surgery, Morgan is shining for the Under-21s. He played a huge role in Chelsea’s second goal of the night, too, with his press seeing him win possession back from the visitors in a dangerous position. Morgan then laid it off to George, who made no mistake.

George, who will be hoping to take some part in the first-team’s match on Thursday evening, took on his man before smashing the ball into the bottom of the net from a tight angle. A reminder, if at all needed, of George’s talent.

The 18-year-old winger only played 45 minutes on the evening, with he and Dyer both being taken off at half-time. Such a change would suggest perhaps Maresca has plans to use them on Thursday. Whether they get off the bench or not is another question but George will be hoping to make his third outing for the first-team after cameo appearances against Servette and Barrow in recent weeks.

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Shim Mheuka and Sam Rak-Sakyi were the duo that replaced George and Dyer at the break. And what an impact they made. Mheuka, just 16-years-old, was signed in 2022 from Brighton – who else? – and looks to be a real footballer.

At one point in the second-half, Mheuka picks up the ball on the left-hand side, completely turns the defender before playing a give-and-go with Rak-Sakyi, and then powers towards goal with no-one getting anywhere nearing him. His shot is well hit but too close to the goalkeeper from the edge of the box, but it was a moment where you sat back and appreciated the teenager’s talent.

Chelsea made it 3-0 in the second-half when another substitute Zain Silcott-Duberry found the back of the net. It may well have been his first touch when Devid Washington laid the ball off to his teammate, who finished emphatically to end any reasonable doubt that Chelsea would get the win.

It was four in stoppage time when Rak-Sakyi wrapped up an impressive 45-minute performance with a powerful finish into the roof of the net. At that point, though, Anderlecht had all but given up as they were put to the sword by a vastly superior Chelsea team, who didn’t even need to get out of second gear at Kingsmeadow.

Merrick, the Chelsea goalkeeper, was called into action a couple of times on the night and dealt with the efforts very well considering he was not involved in the game for much of the evening. Very vocal at the back, his teammates must have a headache by the end of the 90 minutes.

 

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