Colwill, Gusto, Maatsen: Ranking Chelsea’s 10 BIGGEST prospects
Robin Bairner
- 6 Nov 2023 09:54 GMT
- 4 min read
Chelsea have made waves in the transfer market in recent windows with their big-money spending on young prospects – but who are the best players currently on the books of the Stamford Bridge side?
The Blues have splurged more than €1 billion on players since the summer of 2022, and while they have yet to reap the rewards of such investment, the plan of Todd Boehly and his Clearlake Capital partners is that many of the youngsters they have bought will develop into world-leading players.
Enzo Fernandez is the most expensive player in Chelsea history, having arrived from Benfica for €121 million in January, while in the summer Moises Caicedo was acquired from Brighton for €116m and Romeo Lavia was recruited from Southampton for €62m.
But who is the biggest prospect on Chelsea’s books?
Chelsea's most promising wonderkids
In partnership with data analytics firm SciSports, FootballTransfers has studied every player on Chelsea’s books down to U18 level to come up with the definitive 10 players who hold the most potential on their books.
Looking at players aged 21 or under, here is the ranking of 10 players who are destined for the biggest future. This is based from SciSports’ Potential score, which is calculated using hundreds of in-game data points.
| Name | Position | Age | Potential |
| Levi Colwill | CB | 20 | 132.9 |
| Romeo Lavia | DM | 19 | 114.7 |
| Malo Gusto | RB | 20 | 112.4 |
| Ian Maatsen | LB | 21 | 112.3 |
| Lesley Ugochukwu | DM | 19 | 103.4 |
| Ishe Samuels-Smith | LB | 17 | 101.3 |
| Dylan Williams | LB | 20 | 100.4 |
| Alfie Gilchrist | CB | 19 | 98.8 |
| Noni Madueke | RW | 21 | 96.9 |
| Bashir Humphreys | CB | 20 | 95.0 |
Coming out comfortably on top is central defender Levi Colwill, who Chelsea had to fight to retain amid interest from the likes of Liverpool during the summer. An excellent second half to the 2022/23 season on loan with Brighton thrust the 20-year-old into the limelight and he has gone from strength to strength since.
Lavia comes in second place, with the 19-year-old central midfield the Blues’ highest-ranking teenager.
Another January arrival in the form of Malo Gusto is third, with the former Lyon man having settled with promise after joining up with the club on a full-time basis in the summer after initially being loaned back to the Ligue 1 side.
Ian Maatsen and summer arrival Lesley Ugochukwu complete the top five.
Beyond these players are a group of academy players who are with the U21 squad. Left-back Ishe Samuels-Smith tops this list followed by another full-back in Dylan Williams and a central defender in the form of Alfie Gilchrist.
Noni Madueke ranks ninth, with Bashir Humphreys, who is on loan at Swansea City, coming in 10th.
