Chelsea announce major academy rebrand which makes fans worry about senior team’s future

Chelsea have just rebranded their two top youth teams to “Cobham Next Gen”, an interesting move on the eve of a new season.

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Chelsea have just announced that their Under-21s and Under-19s squads (which are comprised of players from the same group but compete in different competitions) will now be universally referred to as Cobham Next Gen (CNG).

A statement on the club website pointed out that “while the squad competed in Premier League 2 as an Under-21s side, its average age last season was closer to that of an Under-18s group, with several players as young as 16 years old featuring regularly.”

There’s plenty of other PR waffle put up on the website to accompany it:

“The introduction of Cobham Next Gen also strengthens the Academy’s identity. More than an age-group name, it represents the players progressing through Cobham and the opportunities available to them as they continue their development towards the men’s game.”

At best it’s a little cringey. At worst, this is the start of the long rumoured transition of the team away from “Chelsea FC” to “CFCLDN”, under the new ownership which we’ve warned about so many times before.

Two players the Blues would love to shift are Liam Delap and Marc Guiu – but they’ve put pretty punchy asking prices on them.

The deadline for Man City’s bid for Enzo Fernandez has long passed – and Chelsea could even increase his asking price.

One player who will be sticking around is Emmanuel Emegha – the decision has been made that he will be part of the first team squad this season.