Chelsea are aiming to reach a second consecutive Carabao Cup final this season, with Enzo Maresca targeting his first piece of silverware with the Blues.
A 5-0 demolition of League Two’s Barrow secured Chelsea’s spot in the fourth round, where they now face Newcastle United for a place in last eight on Wednesday evening. The Blues beat the Magpies in the Premier League last weekend and will be confident of securing back-to-back victories.
Chelsea are blessed with an injury-free and ludicrously deep squad but Maresca may still find room for some of Cobham’s most promising young talents.
Even with the talented Josh Acheampong currently frozen out over a contract standoff, here are three others who could feature in some capacity at St James’ Park.
Marc Guiu already boasts far more experience than most 18-year-olds. The Spaniard made seven appearances for Barcelona after graduating from La Masia, scoring twice to swiftly catch the eye of La Blaugrana supporters worldwide.
However, Chelsea secured the teenager’s signature over the summer for a cut-price fee of approximately £5m and he has already donned a blue jersey on six occasions. Having impressed in the pre-season tour of the United States, the striker started both of Chelsea’s Europa Conference League qualifiers with Servette and has been a regular substitute in recent weeks.
Guiu is unlikely to start ahead of the in-form Christopher Nkunku on Wednesday – the Frenchman scored a hat-trick in the previous round – but he could be offered some minutes in the late stages.
Tyrqiue George has long been admired by Chelsea fans for his swift rise through the ranks and impressive performances at youth level. The 18-year-old left winger has made four appearances for the Blues this term already, all cameos from the bench in Europe and the Carabao Cup.
Also capable of playing as an attacking midfielder, the England Under-19 international is another youngster capable of earning some invaluable game time against Newcastle. He’s evidently impressed Maresca already.
Maresca has already spoken glowingly about 19-year-old midfielder Sam Rak-Sakyi, who has been invited to join in with first-team training on various occasions this season.
“Sam is a good profile, a midfielder, he can play all the midfield [roles], in between the lines,” the Blues boss enthused earlier this month.
Londoner Rak-Sakyi, whose older brother, Jesurun, plays for Sheffield United, is yet to make his first-team debut but is Chelsea through and through after joining the academy aged eight. His first senior experience was an unused substitute against Panathinaikos just last week.
