Former Everton and Manchester United defender Phil Neville has torn into Antonio Conte for his handling of the club’s youth players amid Chelsea’s injury crisis.
The Blues have three senior players currently out injured with N’Golo Kante out with a hamstring injury, along with Victor Moses who pulled out of the Crystal Palace clash last weekend and Danny Drinkwater also out with a calf injury.
Conte decided to deploy David Luiz, who is a center back, in the defensive midfield role, to partner Tiemoue Bakayoko, while there were other natural midfield options in Chelsea’s youth teams.
Phil Neville thinks this is the reason a number of young players keep pushing for loan moves as Conte is not giving them sufficient playing time, even when the situation calls for it.
They [Chelsea youngsters] have to go out on loan because Conte’s coming out and saying they’ve only got 11 players. If you were the Under-23s manager or you were part of the squad that played in the Champions League, Youth League today, you’d be thinking: ‘I’ve got no future at this football club. If he’s saying they’ve only got 11 players, give me a chance!’
That’s what [Ruben] Loftus-Cheek, [Nathaniel] Chalobah and Lewis Baker and all these players that are playing for England youth teams and winning tournaments for Chelsea – FA Youth Cups. They’re saying: ‘Give us a chance’.
They won’t. And, to be a fair, it’s a disgrace. They should close their academy, Chelsea.
Phil Neville, Daily Star
With both Luiz and Bakayoko picking calf and groin injuries respectively in the Champions League game last night, Conte may finally give a starting berth to our youth prospects, who seem to be waiting in the wings to take their chances, as and when they arrive.
Chelsea play Watford next in the Premier League.
