Chelsea: Fans have been praising Michael Emenalo for his past work at the club

Chelsea fans have taken to Twitter to thank and praise Michael Emenalo for the work he did in regards to the academy during his tenure at the club.

“I defended the [Chelsea] academy when there was pressure and doubt and pessimism. There was a time when there was a clamour to do more and a manager came in to make a presentation to say the academy was not necessary. The argument was it takes too long, we don’t have time.” pic.twitter.com/oekgpW9Z8N

— Simon Phillips (@siphillipssport) October 8, 2019

Speaking in a recent interview with The Telegraph, the former technical director revealed that he had to fight hard to keep the academy going, as he revealed one unnamed manager had wanted to close it down and scrap the whole idea, although it appears he did have some help from Roman Abramovich in keeping it running.

“I defended the academy when there was pressure and doubt and pessimism,” he said.

“There was a time when there was a clamour to do more and a manager came in to make a presentation to say the academy was not necessary. The argument was it takes too long, we don’t have time, we should use it to make some money here and there, and that the owner should stop pumping money into it because it seemed like a waste.

“But that wasn’t my idea and I had to fight against it. This is where I am very, very proud of the owner Roman Abramovich because of the trust he had in me and the willingness to listen to me and give the academy time. He would not abandon it. He believed in it and in me, and I can’t thank him enough for that.”

Emenalo may have left Chelsea in 2017, however his determination to keep the academy open has clearly been vindicated as the likes of Tammy Abraham, Mason Mount and Fikayo Tomori have all stepped up and taken extremely well to the spotlight under Frank Lampard this season.

Following his exclusive interview, fans have taken to Twitter to share their praise and thanks to Emenalo for fighting so hard and, in effect, helping put the Blues in the position they currently find themselves in regards to the young talent coming through.

Here are just some of their reactions…