Chelsea midfielder Nathaniel Chalobah has revealed his belief that coach Antonio Conte will give opportunities to younger players at Stamford Bridge.
The club has been heavily criticised in recent years for not giving young stars chances in the first-team, with a whole host of promising individuals being sent out on loan instead.
Chalobah made his first start for the club in the EFL Cup game against West Ham United this week, and is confident that Conte will change that trend with the Blues and give him and other younger teammates chances to impress over the course of the campaign.
“It shows I will get my chance,” he said, as reported by The Sun. “I think people sometimes forget that Chelsea is a very big club and they have got world-class players at the club.
“For young players coming through, it is always going to be difficult, it is never going to be easy. But it is down to the coaching staff to see how well we do in training and down to the player, how much belief they have in themselves to keep pushing every day.”
The 21-year-old has made five appearances in all competitions so far this season, with Ola Aina, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Dominic Solanke and Michy Batshuayi to name but a few all considered a part of the first team too and all still at a young age.
Admittedly Conte still has a long way to go to bring down the average age of his starting line-up, but perhaps he’s setting the trend for things to come and will try to integrate his younger players more in the months ahead.
With the likes of John Terry and Branislav Ivanovic not getting any younger, Chelsea need to plan for the long-term, and Chalobah seems confident Conte will do so.