9 seasons in the past, then-Chelsea supervisor Jose Mourinho tipped three of his gamers to go onto to stardom. Right here’s what occurred to them.
Throughout his second spell at Chelsea, within the pre-season of what was to be a Premier League-winning 2014/14 marketing campaign, Mourinho made a moderately huge prediction about three Chelsea gamers.
The self-proclaimed ‘Particular One’ stated: “My conscience tells me that if, for instance, [Lewis] Baker, [Izzy] Brown and [Dominic] Solanke are usually not nationwide staff gamers in a couple of years, I ought to blame myself.
“They’re a part of a course of the membership began with out me. At this second, we’ve got gamers who might be Chelsea gamers. And once they change into Chelsea gamers, they are going to change into England gamers, nearly for positive.”
So right here’s what occurred to the trio.
Lewis Baker has spent nearly his whole profession out on mortgage, having featured for Sheffield Wednesday, MK Dons, Vitesse, Middlesbrough, Leeds, Studying, Fortuna Düsseldorf and Trabzonspor.
The previous England U21 worldwide would go on to play simply twice for Chelsea, with each appearances coming eight years aside within the FA Cup, earlier than signing for Stoke Metropolis on a everlasting deal in 2022.
To this point, Baker has performed 71 instances for Stoke, having scored 17 objectives and claimed seven assists.
In the meantime, Izzy Brown additionally spent a lot of his Chelsea profession out on mortgage, with spells at Vitesse, Rotherham, Huddersfield, Brighton, Leeds, Luton and Sheffield Wednesday.
The ahead didn’t make the grade at Stamford Bridge and signed for Preston on a free switch in the summertime of 2021.
Nonetheless, accidents meant he was launched a 12 months later with out making a single look for the membership.
Brown in the end introduced his retirement from skilled soccer in April 2023 after enduring two Achilles accidents and an issue together with his nervous system.
Talking upon saying his retirement, Brown advised the Athletic: “All the things is new to me now. The world is new now I’m not seeing it from a soccer perspective.
“I can go and luxuriate in issues I’ve by no means been in a position to get pleasure from earlier than and go to locations I by no means obtained an opportunity to go to. I’m going to take a while for myself and have a suppose if I need to be concerned in soccer once more. Soccer was my dream. It nonetheless is my dream. However desires have to finish at some point.”
Lastly, Dominic Solanke left Chelsea in 2017 with one 17-minute Champions League cameo to his title towards Maribor.
After a mortgage at Vitesse, he left the Blues for Liverpool in 2017, solely to go on an notorious aim drought of 26 matches.
Solanke then moved to Bournemouth for round £19million in January 2019, together with his 29 league objectives firing the Cherries again to the Premier League within the 2021/22 season.
Solanke has been instrumental to Bournemouth since their promotion.
Furthermore, Mourinho did get it proper when he stated the Studying-born striker would play for England.
Solanke made his Three Lions debut again in 2017 when he performed quarter-hour in a pleasant towards Brazil at Wembley.
Whereas he’s nonetheless ready for his second cap his present kind may see him power his manner into Gareth Southgate’s plans.
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