Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has expressed discontent over the way Chelsea are managing their youth system as he became the latest to slam their youth policy.
Chelsea have sent as many as 38 players on loan by the end of summer transfer window and have hardly given any youth prodigies chances to develop in the senior team this season.
Arsene Wenger has hit out at his city rivals saying that they “stockpile” young players to make more money in the transfer market as other clubs need to sign young players for more money than to develop them in their own academies.
‘You’ve invested a lot of money into players because we’re paying more and more money, and then at the age of 20, you don’t usually get much money for any of the players, so the reflex is to stockpile the players. That’s not right,’ said Wenger.
‘When you look at the number of loans that happen here and there, the whole system has to be thought about again because we have two kinds of solution in there.
‘The first is to continue developing players, the second step is just to make sure your investment is safe – that’s not the right way to think about it but it’s the natural reflex for the clubs.’
The likes of Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool have always given utmost priority to their youth system as they have got some of their best players develop in their own setup. Chelsea, however, has adopted a different strategy as they sign the best talent across Europe and send them on loan to various countries as part of their development plan.
Chelsea’s policy has seen big stars like Kevin de Bruyne, Thorgan Hazard and few youth players leave the club after not getting many chances while the likes of Andreas Christensen, Tommy Abraham who are showing good signs and are also looking to extend their stays at their loan clubs to make a permanent move in the future.