The Blues could blood some of their top academy talents in the final week of the season as they bid to avoid losing more homegrown youngsters
Despite their late-season struggles, Chelsea's place in the Champions League for next season is now secure.
Arsenal's defeat at Newcastle on Monday assured Thomas Tuchel's side of a place among Europe's elite for 2022-23, and with new ownership on the horizon, summer plans can finally be firmed up.
There are still two Premier League games to go, however, with Leicester City and Watford visiting Stamford Bridge on Thursday and Sunday, respectively.
Tuchel will be keen to ensure his side finish third rather than fourth, but with the pressure mostly off, the German coach has now been given a chance to get a full look at his squad options in the final matches of the campaign.
With a host of players set to leave Stamford Bridge at the end of the season, this feels like the ideal opportunity to blood some youngsters, allowing Tuchel to get a taste of what they could offer him next term.
There have been growing concerns among the Chelsea fanbase over the pathway from the club's famed academy to the first team, with a host of academy stars having left the club in the past couple of years.
The success of Marc Guehi and Tino Livramento after departing the Blues in the summer of 2021 has brought this into sharper focus, and so playing some teenage talents now could work both ways for Chelsea going forward.
It would allow Tuchel to get a proper look at what the academy has to offer, while showing those talents that the road to the Chelsea first team still exists.
But who are the candidates to potentially play over the next four days and into pre-season? GOAL has the answer…
Getty ImagesHarvey Vale
Vale is currently the frontrunner to win Chelsea's Academy Player of the Year award, following in the footsteps of the likes of Mason Mount, Reece James, Conor Gallagher and Callum Hudson-Odoi.
The versatile forward, who can also play at wing-back or in midfield, has been given more first-team opportunities by Tuchel than any other academy player this season, appearing for a total of 131 minutes in domestic cup competitions.
With nine goals and five assists at age-group level this season, the 18-year-old has been a leader for both the Under-23s and U18s.
There is also an extra incentive for Tuchel to use Vale, with the England youth international having just one year left on his current contract, and first-team opportunities likely to be a sticking point when negotiations over a fresh deal begin.
AdvertisementGetty ImagesLewis Hall
At just 17, Hall rose to prominence after starring in Chelsea's 5-1 FA Cup third-round win over National League side Chesterfield in January.
A natural midfielder, the teenager actually played at centre back, but still ended the match with an assist after playing 90 full minutes.
Since then, Hall has dropped back down to youth level, racking up close to 40 appearances in all competitions in a season that has seen him play all the way down with the U16s as well as with the senior side.
Another appearance at that level in a more favourable position could, then, be a just reward for a player who those at Cobham say has developed far more quickly than they could have imagined.
Getty ImagesCharlie Webster
Webster is regarded as being the great entertainer of the Chelsea academy, combining his agility and balance with wonderful ball-striking technique that has led to him producing stunning passes and a series of long-range goals.
One of the highest earners in the Blues' youth system, much was expected of the 18-year-old this season, but like many, he began the year without the required level of consistency.
In the past few months, however, he has rediscovered his form, and played a key role in the clubs U23s avoiding relegation from Division One of Premier League 2.
Tuchel was in attendance to see Webster shine in the Blues' final-day win over Tottenham that secured their survival and could look to reward Webster for realising his potential, having not yet given him a senior debut.
Getty ImagesXavier Simons
Xavier Simons already has one senior appearance to his name, after he started December's Carabao Cup win over Brentford amid a Covid-19 outbreak at Chelsea.
Playing slightly out of position at right wing-back, the Cobham starlet did well when facing the club he was originally signed from in 2016.
Another appearance may be on the cards in the coming days, though the 19-year-old's contract situation is likely to work against him.
Simons is now expected to leave Chelsea this summer with his current deal into its final weeks, with Southampton, Brighton, Norwich City and Watford all in the running to sign him on a free transfer.