The Chelsea-Man City link
- Published
Chelsea not only lost to Manchester City in the 2020 FA Youth Cup final, they also had a glimpse of their own future within the opposition ranks.
So much so that Chelsea's first-team squad in the 2026-27 season could contain twice as many players who have graduated from City's academy as have come through their own system.
The latest addition is club-record £117m signing Morgan Rogers, who scored against the Blues' under-18s that night six years ago.
Fellow City academy graduate Cole Palmer was also on target in City's 3-2 victory at St George's Park, while Liam Delap led the line.
In addition, Xabi Alonso's squad features Romeo Lavia, Jamie Gittens and Tosin Adarabioyo - all of whom also came through City's youth system.
Together with Rogers, Palmer and Delap, the six players account for almost £300m in transfer fees paid by Chelsea since 2023.
By contrast, Alonso is likely to only have three permanent senior squad players that came through Chelsea's Cobham academy: Levi Colwill, Reece James and Josh Acheampong.
Trevoh Chalobah also remains a Chelsea player, but he is in advanced talks over a move to Serie A side Como.
There are several reasons for Chelsea's interest in players developed from Manchester City, but one is the success of Palmer. Having moved between the clubs in 2023 for £40m plus £2.5m in add-ons, he has become one of the Premier League's standout performers.
One former insider told BBC Sport that anyone who comes from City "knows what good looks like".
Another factor is Joe Shields, who worked in City's academy recruitment department and is now involved in both youth and senior recruitment at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea also employ a number of former City staff members, including first-team coach Calum McFarlane and recently promoted academy director Glenn van der Kraan.
There was also a brief spell for former City executive Tom Glick as Chelsea's president of business, while former Blues head coach Enzo Maresca and several members of his coaching staff previously worked at the Etihad.
Chelsea also held an interest in former City academy player Michael Olise before his move to Bayern Munich and previously explored a deal for defender Nico O'Reilly.
