Our Chelsea fans here inside the Transfer Tavern will be hoping Antonio Conte can blood some talented youngsters in the final stages of the season, now the Champions League seems out of reach after their crushing defeat to rivals Spurs. 

We’ve seen Chelsea have a wobble for the majority of 2018, but in recent months they look like a team that cannot simply pull it together for themselves or the manager. Indeed, it hasn’t looked likely there will be a strong title defence for some time.

While things haven’t been going well of late, the punters propping up our bar will be hoping that the injection of new and fresh faces to the team may start to build something special to challenge Manchester City in the title race next season. What Chelsea have that most teams don’t though is a plethora of talent just waiting in the youth academy.

Much has been made of the loan system Chelsea use but on the odd occasion, it seems to work for them. What Conte could do with opting to do in these tough times ahead is leaning on his youngsters a little more, especially now they virtually have nothing to play for in the closing months of the Premier League season. With that in mind, our landlord takes a look at TWO players that could make the step up and build a case for first-team minutes next season…

Ruben Summut

The Scottish born centre-back will be looking at making the step up to the first team as he is currently is a staple of the u23s team. With doubt over David Luiz’s future, Sammut will want to impress Chelsea enough to stop him dipping their hand unnecessarily into the transfer market come the summer.

After seeing the rise of Andreas Christensen this season, this will surely spur him on and, with his ability to grab a goal to, the defender could be the next big thing to come.

Martell Taylor-Crossdale

The 18-year-old is flying in the Premier League 2 this season, among other competitions. His goal to game ratio is brilliant and if Conte needs an alternative to Alvaro Morata and Olivier Giroud, this youngster could be the one.

With Chelsea’s attacking options limited, as they have been for much of the season, a player with this eye for goal should surely be given the chance to shine by the Italian. Along with age on his side, by throwing him into the pressure pot of the Premier League so early could reap major benefits down the line for the Blues.