Chelsea will have regrets over not signing one player when he was younger.
Their academy has produced a lot of talented footballers, especially over the last few years.
The likes of captain Reece James, Levi Colwill and Mason Mount, now at Manchester United, all progressed through the ranks at Cobham, for example.
However, it looks like Chelsea could have had another exceptional talent on their books.
The one that got away for Chelsea
Right now Jude Bellingham, Vinicius Junior and Erling Haaland are probably the three best young players in the world.
Each would cost a fortune today and that is if Real Madrid and Manchester City were actually willing to sell their assets, but Chelsea could have picked up one of the trio for possibly nothing in the past.
According to The Telegraph, former Chelsea scout Yousuf Sajjad has claimed that the Blues compiled 62 reports on Bellingham from 25 different scouts from the age of 12 to 16.
Since then, Bellingham has obviously gone on to develop into an incredible footballer.
He was hailed as a “world-class” player by former Manchester United and Bayern Munich midfielder Owen Hargreaves earlier this year.
Jude Bellingham shows Chelsea what they could have had
It has not taken Bellingham long to make an impact at Euro 2024.
The Real Madrid star scored England’s only goal in their 1-0 win against Serbia on Sunday.
Watching that and his performances last season, Chelsea will be ruing not signing him when he was younger.
That being said, not many, if anyone at all, would have predicted the 20-year-old midfielder developing into this devastating forward, especially at the time Chelsea scouted him.
Whatever the case, the ship has sailed now and the Blues will be hoping that perhaps the likes of Kendry Paez and Estevao Willian, both 17, can go on to become world-class like Bellingham.
The latter recently completed his medical ahead of signing for Chelsea, according to the reliable Fabrizio Romano.
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