John Terry believes there are ‘three or four’ special talents at Chelsea who can become first-team stars – also naming Arsenal’s Max Dowman as one of the brightest young players in the game.
Chelsea have invested heavily in the best young talent across the globe, striking a deal to sign Geovany Quenda from Sporting Lisbon last week with Estevao Willian and Kendry Paez set to arrive this summer.
But homegrown talent has also been getting its chance to shine. The Blues have handed senior debuts to Tyrique George, Harrison Murray-Campbell, Genesis Antwi and Shumaira Mheuka this season with 16-year-old Reggie Walsh also named among the subs against Copenhagen last week.
Further down the age bracket there is another crop of youngsters catching the eye.
Chelsea legend Terry returned to the club to work with the academy in 2023 with some of the stars of the Under-15 group ‘showing signs’ they can make the jump to senior football.
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Across the capital, 15-year-old Dowman has established a reputation as being one of the best young talents in his age group with hype around the youngster growing again following another exciting performance against Manchester United in the FA Youth Cup.
Hailed as an ‘unbelievable’ talent by Mikel Arteta, there are already calls for the teenager to be handed his first-team debut.
In an interview with talkSPORT, Terry recalled the recent meeting between Chelsea and Arsenal’s youth sides, tipping Dowman to reach the very top.
But the former captain also highlighted the efforts of Chelsea’s brightest talents who kept the Arsenal prodigy in check.
‘There are these three or four [Chelsea] boys playing up at the 18s already, playing there at the age of 14 and 15,’ Terry said.
‘That is a different level and they are standing out at that level.
‘What I love about a couple of them, they have got a little bit of personality.
‘We were playing against Arsenal recently and Max Dowman was playing. Have you seen him play? He is a top, top player.
‘He was taking the ball on the half turn, drifting away from players, looking back and a couple of our boys went and put it on him a little bit. It was good to see. But Dowman is a very, very good player.’
Terry would not name the Chelsea youngsters who have impressed him most but did reveal head coach Enzo Maresca is already taking a very close look at them.
‘We have got a really good academy,’ Terry said. ‘At 15s, we have got three or four really good boys who are already showing good signs already.
‘They are training with the first team more than ever, Maresca has them over getting involved which is great for the boys to see what it is like over there.
‘We have already seen some boys come in and make their debut this year, so it’s great in terms of where we are at as an academy.’
John Terry was speaking on Chelsea and the upcoming FIFA Club World Cup. Watch every game from the FIFA Club World Cup on DAZN for free. Sign up today