Lucas Piazon

Brazilian teenager Lucas Piazon heads Chelsea’s next generation

Andre Villas-Boas said on Thursday that there was a “generation” of talented young players finally set to emerge from Chelsea’s much-vaunted youth academy into the first team.

While reiterating his belief that English youth football needs to be revolutionised — and again flagging up the idea of clubs such as Chelsea having B teams in the Championship — the manager insisted there were players who could make it.

Piazon was signed by Chelsea recently having agreed a deal to leave his Brazilian club Sao Paulo last March. The attacking midfielder — 18 on Friday — is one of the hottest young talents in South American football.

“We have a good youth team coming through from the under-18s,” Villas-Boas said. “Good, good talent. It’s still a massive jump, again [to come]. Will it be too big a gap to come straight into the first team? Maybe yes.”

By the Telegraph