With Terry leaving, this man can be Chelsea’s next homegrown hero

With Terry leaving, this man can be Chelsea’s next homegrown hero

Chelsea are set for the end of an era this summer when long-serving captain John Terry brings a close to his playing days with the Blues, after a career where the skipper has won everything he can possibly get his hands on.

Terry’s career with Chelsea has come hand-in-hand with the Blues’ most successful period in their history, with the West London side bankrolled by Roman Abramovich and becoming a powerhouse in European football.

Since Terry’s emergence though, Chelsea have struggled to utilise their youth ranks efficiently and it’s been a long time since a player emerged from the Blues’ set-up and became a first-team star, which can create certain issues.

Fans love to have a player at the club who can be seen as ‘one of their own’ and the loss of Terry this summr will leave a big hole in that aspect, so Antonio Conte has a challenge to establish a new homegrown hero at Stamford Bridge.

Fortunately, he has a stellar option in the form of 19-year-old striker Tammy Abraham, who has excelled on-loan with Bristol City this season by scoring 23 goals in 39 Championship appearances- helping the club fend off the threat of relegation.

Only Leeds United’s Chris Wood has scored more goals in English football’s second tier this season and Abraham could now have the opportunity to impress at Stamford Bridge, especially ahead of a summer when the forward lines are likely to be reshuffled.

Diego Costa is likely to leave, and be replaced by a top-class signing, but Chelsea need depth within their squad to compete on all fronts next term and the poor performances of Michy Batshuayi this season suggest the Belgian would benefit from additional competition.

Having excelled on-loan, Abraham could compete with Batshuayi for first-team offerings and the teenager would benefit vastly from exposure in Antonio Conte’s side, even if those opportunities were to only come in competitions like the League Cup.

The other alternative for Chelsea is to send Abraham on-loan to a Premier League side next season, which is certainly an option, but he has plenty of time to experience that sort of opportunity and being developed by Conte this season could certainly help his development.

Moreover, Chelsea fans would have a homegrown hero to sing about and that sort of player is a great asset for supporters, especially if they possess as much exciting talent as Abraham- as he could genuinely be the next big thing at Stamford Bridge.

Whilst he shouldn’t be expected to set the first-team alight next season, Abraham’s performances with Bristol City suggest he’s ready to make an impression at a higher level and it’s about time Chelsea looked to utilise their abundance of talented youngsters.