Why Chelsea's squad filled with former Manchester City academy graduates
Table of Contents
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KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Chelsea have spent almost £300m on six former City academy players since 2023.
- Cole Palmer’s rise has reinforced Chelsea’s belief in City’s academy model.
- Cobham remains strong, but Chelsea’s senior squad is increasingly shaped by City graduates.
Six years later, several of the players who helped City lift that trophy are now wearing Chelsea blue. In fact, Xabi Alonso could begin the new season with more first-team players developed in City's academy than graduates from Chelsea's own famous Cobham system.
The latest arrival is Morgan Rogers, whose club-record £117 million move continues a recruitment trend that has reshaped Chelsea's squad under the club's new ownership.
Rogers joins a growing list of former City graduates
Rogers scored during City's 3-2 victory over Chelsea in the 2020 FA Youth Cup final at St George's Park.He was joined on the scoresheet by Cole Palmer, whilst Liam Delap led City's attack. All three have since completed moves to Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea's first-team squad also includes former City academy graduates Romeo Lavia, Jamie Gittens and Tosin Adarabioyo.
Collectively, those six players have cost Chelsea almost £300 million in transfer fees since 2023.
By comparison, only three permanent senior players have progressed through Chelsea's own Cobham academy and remain regular members of Alonso's squad: Levi Colwill, captain Reece James and defender Josh Acheampong.
Trevoh Chalobah is still contracted to Chelsea but is in advanced talks over a move to Como.
Cole Palmer changed Chelsea's thinking
Palmer's £40 million move from City in 2023, with a further £2.5 million in potential add-ons, has become one of the Premier League's standout transfer successes.His rapid development into one of England's elite attacking players has strengthened Chelsea's belief that City's academy consistently produces footballers capable of thriving at the highest level.
As one former club insider explained, players emerging from City's system already understand "what good looks like" after years within an elite development environment.
Familiar faces behind Chelsea's recruitment
Chelsea's growing interest in City-developed talent is not accidental.Joe Shields, formerly part of City's academy recruitment department, now plays a significant role in Chelsea's youth and senior recruitment.
Several other former City staff members have also joined Chelsea, including first-team coach Calum McFarlane and academy director Glenn van der Kraan.
The connection extends beyond Stamford Bridge. Manchester United's senior leadership also includes former City executives Omar Berrada and Jason Wilcox, illustrating how highly regarded City's development structure has become across English football.
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Financial rules also encourage academy sales
Modern financial regulations have also made academy players increasingly valuable assets.Under Premier League and UEFA accounting rules, transfer fees received for academy-developed players count as pure profit on a club's balance sheet.
That accounting advantage makes it easier for clubs such as City to sell graduates whilst remaining compliant with spending regulations.
Chelsea have benefited from this market, whilst also using the same approach themselves, as shown by Tyrique George's sale to Everton this summer.
Guardiola's academy challenge
Former City manager Pep Guardiola has long acknowledged the difficulty of integrating academy graduates into a squad competing for every major trophy.Some youngsters, including Rogers, were considered not yet ready for regular first-team football.
Others, such as Palmer and Jadon Sancho, were offered opportunities but ultimately chose to continue their development elsewhere in search of more consistent playing time.
Chelsea have provided that pathway.
Cobham's proud history remains
Despite the growing influence of City's academy, Chelsea's Cobham remains one of Europe's most successful youth systems.Under former academy leaders Neil Bath and Jim Fraser, Chelsea won five consecutive FA Youth Cups, including three straight victories over the Citizens.
Chelsea also lifted the UEFA Youth League trophy in both 2015 and 2016 and remain the only English club to have won the competition.
The academy continued to impress last season, with Chelsea's youth teams winning league and cup honours despite the senior side finishing 10th in the Premier League without silverware.
Ownership changes reshaped Chelsea's academy
Chelsea's academy has undergone major changes since the arrival of Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital in 2022.Bath and Fraser both departed, whilst numerous former City staff members took on influential academy roles.
The shift marked a significant change in philosophy after years of intense rivalry between the country's two dominant youth systems.
For much of the previous decade, Chelsea and City even operated an informal agreement not to recruit academy players from each other in order to avoid escalating wages and transfer fees at youth level.
That understanding has since disappeared.
From fierce rivals to team-mates
The rivalry between Chelsea and City's academy teams was once among the fiercest in English football.Delap admitted in 2025 that the players "hated each other" during youth matches, although those battles have now given way to friendships at senior level.
He frequently faced Levi Colwill throughout their academy years, including City's victory in the 2020 FA Youth Cup final.
Those former rivals now share the same dressing room.
A City-inspired blueprint
Liverpool Women's manager Gareth Taylor, who spent nine years coaching within City's academy, believes the club's success stemmed from a clearly defined football philosophy inspired by Johan Cruyff and Guardiola.From the youngest age groups through to the under-23s, every team followed the same tactical identity and developmental principles.
Chelsea have increasingly adopted similar ideas, both through recruitment and coaching appointments.
With Alonso now leading the first team, the club hopes that borrowing from one of English football's most admired academy systems will finally translate into sustained success at senior level.
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