The FA Youth Cup is one of the most prestigious accolades in British football and, with Cobham’s unwavering ability to produce talent, it’s unsurprising that Chelsea’s U18s have won the competition in 7 of the last 14 years. This included a streak of 5 wins in succession between 2013 and 2018 under the supervision of coaches such as Joe Edwards and Jody Morris. Those history-making teams included current Chelsea stars such as Connor Gallagher and Trevor Chalobah, as well as many talents which have since moved on from the club.
What made the 14/15 FA Youth Cup victory different from the rest is that 8 of the starting players in that final went on to play for the Chelsea first team; more than any other year that we won. Let us look back and see where each of the starting players across the two-leg final that season are playing now, if at all.
Brad Collins
Brad spent his final two years with Chelsea on loans at Forest Green and Burton, before he signed for Barnsley permanently in 2019. This summer, after making 117 appearances with the Tykes, he signed for championship side Coventry where he is yet to make an appearance.
Jay Dasilva
The left-back played every minute of the 14/15 FA Youth Cup tournament, and a loan at Bristol City clearly impressed as he signed for them straight after in the summer of 2019 for £2m. Four years at the Robins followed, before he was released and picked up by Coventry where he has now settled into a wing-back role getting substantial game time.
Jake Clarke-Salter
Jake is the first on this list that can say he made a senior appearance for Chelsea. The centre-back made two in fact, one as a substitute in the Premier League in 2016, the other a year later in the EFL Cup. This didn’t stop him being sent on multiple loans to teams such as Coventry and Vitesse, before he finally left the club for QPR in 2022. He has a total of 21 appearances for the Hoops.
Fikayo Tomori
No introductions needed for Fikayo who made 27 appearances for us before his 2021 departure. What may be surprising however, is that Tomori actually made his senior debut in 2016 on the last day of the season as a 60th minute substitute. His near £30m transfer to AC Milan saddened many fans, but it hasn’t halted his abilities on the pitch as he continues to perform to an elite level, as well as playing for the England national team.
Ola Aina
The Nigerian international played 6 times for the Blues during our title-winning 16/17 season, but following two loans away, joined Torino for a sizable £8m fee. He had a highly-praised four year stint in Italy, including a loan to Fulham for a year, before he joined Nottingham Forest this summer on a free transfer.
Ruben Sammut
Sammut started the first leg of the FA Youth Cup final in 2015 but has now been retired since 2020. He left Chelsea for Sunderland in 2019 but moved onto Dulwich Hamlet a year later before he had made a senior appearance. He retired during the pandemic to become a recruitment coordinator for Charlton Athletic and is now a senior scout back at Chelsea Football Club. Nice to see him back at the club in some form, even if it’s not on the pitch.
Charlie Colkett
Charlie went on loans to teams such as Bristol Rovers and Swindon, but eventually sign permanently for, at the time, Swedish first-tier team Östersunds for just over £200,000. A 3 year spell at the club followed, but the midfielder now is back in England where he is currently struggling for minutes at Crewe Alexandra in League 2.
Charly Musonda Jr.
A man who’s story is sadly well known around the club, Musonda is a human example of the ‘never give up’ mantra. After shining at a developmental level and making 7 appearances for the first team (including his first Chelsea goal), Charly suffered a PCL injury which would almost end his career. He was told his chances of playing again were just 20%, but over 3 and a half years later he returned to the Chelsea U23s team for the first time since the injury. He was released in the summer of 2022, but moved to Levante and made his first professional start in 5 years. After an unsuccessful season, he terminated his contract and now plays in Cyprus for Anorthosis. Yet, it’s a testament to his resilience that he still plays at all.
Izzy Brown
Izzy Brown also knows the hardship of injury. He made his singular Chelsea appearance in 2015 but would stay at the club until 2021. He went on 7 different loans where he consistently struggled with injuries including an ACL tear. When he eventually left he went to Preston only to rupture his Achilles in pre-season training. After another year on the side-lines, Izzy retired from Football due to his recurrent problems and now focuses on his role as a father.
Jérémie Boga
Another player who you may not recall playing a game for the Blues, Boga made a sole appearance in the Premier League when he started the opening game of the 17/18 season, only to be substituted after 18 minutes due to Cahill’s red card. A reported £8m move in 2018 to Italian team Sassuolo was extremely fruitful, garnering Jérémie a near £20m move to Atalanta. This summer he joined Nice for a fee of £15m.
Dominic Solanke
A man who started against us just a matter of weeks ago, Dominic made a sole appearance for Chelsea before his divisive free transfer to Liverpool in 2017. Many were unhappy with the decision to let a home-grown star join an arch-rival, but Solanke only played on Merseyside 27 times before joining his current club Bournemouth. There he has really flourished, scoring 61 times in 182 games. He has also played once for England internationally.
Tammy Abraham
Close to many Blues fans’ hearts, Tammy actually made his debut as far back as 2016 under Gus Hiddink. Yet he is most known for leading the line under Frank Lampard, scoring 30 goals. His exclusion and departure to Roma under Tuchel left a sour taste in many mouths, but it has been great to see him impressing in the Serie A. Sadly, this summer Abraham tore his ACL which has put him on the side-line currently. Chelsea is still believed to hold a buy-back clause of £70m.
It’s strange how a team of players can take such different career paths, from retiring to playing for AC Milan. We wish them all the best and thank them for the memories they provided, like their FA Youth Cup victory, and hope that in the future a team can win the FA Youth Cup with even more future Chelsea players in it.
The Chelsea Spot 
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