After a weekend where the club once again came within touching distance of a trophy, Chelsea need to try and find a way to end their unwanted run of cup final defeats in recent seasons.
The club have lost six consecutive cup finals since 2019, with the Blues losing their last three in a row to Jürgen Klopp's Liverpool, with the latest arguably the poorest defeat.
The Reds used seven academy products during the Carabao Cup final, with the players having an average age of just 20 years and two months – with Jayden Danns, son of former professional footballer Neil Danns, the youngster at just 18.
Klopp's side managed to find a way to win with his crop of promising youngsters, with Chelsea needing to adopt a similar approach and steer away from big-money signings in the transfer window.
In recent seasons, Chelsea have developed some brilliant talents, with Conor Gallagher and Levi Colwill just two examples within Mauricio Pochettino's side.
Joe Gomez
26
Bobby Clark
19
Kostas Tsimikas
27
James McConnell
19
Jayden Danns
18
Jarell Quansah
21
Adrian
37
Trey Nyoni
16
Lewis Koumas
18
However, there's one player within the club's academy who has impressed and should be fast-tracked into the Blues' current first-team setup.
Chelsea's next great academy talent
Despite his tender age of just 18, Leo Castledine is a player with a huge future at Stamford Bridge, with the attacking midfielder capable of making the step into Pochettino's plans.
The midfielder was part of the Cobham Academy as a youngster, before leaving the club to join lower league side AFC Wimbledon in 2013, before rejoining his boyhood club back in March 2020.
Castledine signed his Chelsea professional contract on his 17th birthday back in August 2022, with the youngster impressing for the club's academy in recent seasons.
He had featured on the bench multiple times for the Blues this season, before making his senior debut as a substitute against Middlesbrough during the Carabao Cup semi-final second leg.
The 18-year-old came on with just five minutes to go. However, he failed to make a real impact, with Chelsea already securing the victory before his introduction.
In The Pipeline
Football FanCast's In the Pipeline series aims to uncover the very best youth players in world football.
Chelsea's next Mason Mount inbound
Mason Mount was one of the last attacking players to come through Chelsea's academy, starring in loan moves to sides such as Vitesse and Derby County before making an impact on the Blues' first team.
Castledine, "who's similar to Mount" in the eyes of Chelsea’s U21s coach Mark Robinson, could benefit from a loan move to a League One or League Two side, giving him vital experience in men's football before making an impact under Pochettino.
The youngster has excelled for the Blues' U21s in Premier League 2, scoring seven times with eight assists in 14 games – with Castledine contributing to 44% of the side's goals so far this campaign.
Castledine has a huge future ahead of him, with Chelsea conducting brilliant business in bringing him back to the club in 2020.
Whilst he's still very young with a long way to go until he features within the Blues first-team, it's great to see a promising youngster coming through the ranks – with one eye ahead on the future.