Door is always open for academy players to break into first-team, proclaims Thomas Tuchel

Following Trevoh Chalobah’s huge first impression this season in defence with him scoring in Chelsea's 3-0 Premier League win on the opening day of the season, it has many fans hopeful for the future. The Blues have had a successful run of youth players joining up and thriving with the first team with the likes of Reece James, Mason Mount, Callum Hudson-Odoi and co all paving the way. However, with the addition of the club’s heavy spending over the last few transfer windows, things have become tougher.

But that hasn’t stopped Thomas Tuchel telling other academy players to make their case for contention over the course of the season. Tuchel hopes they can take matters into their own hands and make their case for selection as he gradually gives them a chance to shine. The Chelsea boss did warn that pushing into the Blues’ star-studded squad would not be easy for any player and cited Chalobah as the example to follow.

"Always. Always, always, always and the door is always open. Actually, I love it and I truly believe that the supporters love it. The mix between big name players from abroad, big personalities, and famous players can mix with academy guys,” Tuchel said, reported Goal.

“This is what makes the club special. And when you look in the photo when we raise the trophy in Champions League there are so many boys from the academy in this photo. You have to fight hard for it. If you want to make it at Chelsea, it’s so much harder than most of the clubs in Europe.

“It’s simply like this, it’s a reality and we cannot start to be political and prefer somebody from the academy over another player if he does not provide the same level because in the end, we are here to win football games and to play and to push the group to the highest level”.

"This is what Trevoh did and I’m more than happy to have him in the squad and happy about how he managed to make his way through to first-team football on this level. He joined the academy at eight years old, and this is simply fantastic”, he added.