What happened to the three Chelsea youngsters Jose Mourinho tipped for stardom back in 2014
Jose Mourinho managed Chelsea on two separate occasions
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Topics: Chelsea, Football, Jose Mourinho
Marcus Chan
Topics: Chelsea, Football, Jose Mourinho
Back in 2014, then-Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho tipped three youngsters to be regular England stars.
Mourinho is often regarded as one of the finest managers to ever be involved in the sport of football.
After winning the Champions League with Porto, Mourinho was lured to England by Chelsea.
The self-proclaimed ‘Special One’ went on to be successful at every club he has managed, apart from Tottenham Hotspur.
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Back in 2014, during his second spell at Stamford Bridge, Mourinho tipped three Chelsea youngsters to be England internationals in the future.
Whilst on a pre-season tour, he said: “My conscience tells me that if, for example, Baker, Brown, and Solanke are not national team players in a few years, I should blame myself.
“They are part of a process the club started without me. At this moment, we have players who will be Chelsea players. And when they become Chelsea players, they will become England players, almost for sure.”
In truth, Mourinho’s predictions have not gone to plan.
Lewis Baker
During his time with the Blues, Baker was loaned to the likes of Sheffield Wednesday, Milton Keynes Dons, Vitesse, Middlesbrough, Leeds United, Reading, Fortuna Düsseldorf and Trabzonspor.
After leaving Chelsea on a permanent deal in 2022, Baker is now playing for Championship side Stoke City and has so far made 69 appearances, scoring 16 and assisting seven.
On the international stage, he has represented England U21s on 17 occasions.
Izzy Brown
As with a lot of Chelsea’s youngsters, Brown was also loaned to many clubs including Vitesse, Rotherham, Huddersfield, Brighton, Leeds, Luton and Sheffield Wednesday.
With just 11 minutes of Premier League football for Chelsea under his belt, he signed for Preston in the summer of 2021.
However, Brown sadly announced his retirement in April due to injury.
He told The Athletic: “So I had two Achilles surgeries in the space of three and a half months. To come back from one is hard. To come back from two is basically impossible.”
Dominic Solanke
Solanke was one of the highest-rated strikers in England when he was coming through the ranks at Chelsea.
However, he only managed to make one appearance for the Blues during a Champions League tie against Maribor in 2014.
After Chelsea, Solanke went to Liverpool to work under Jurgen Klopp but failed to impress.
A £19 million transfer to Bournemouth came after his time at Anfield and Solanke went on to become a key figure in the Cherries squad.
In the 22/23 season, he scored six goals in 33 matches as Bournemouth maintained their Premier League status.
Solanke did manage one England senior cap as he played 15 minutes against Brazil back in 2017.