Plenty of Chelsea stars are featuring for their countries during the international break, with Pedro Neto and Marc Cucurella both playing in the Nations League on Thursday night and the likes of Reece James and Levi Colwill are involved in Thomas Tuchel’s first squad for England.
Cole Palmer has pulled out of the Three Lions squad, meanwhile, staying back at Cobham to recover from his injury setback, with the hope of being available for Chelsea’s first game back against Tottenham on April 3rd.
But it isn’t just the senior stars who are featuring for their countries on international duty this week, as four academy graduates all featured for England U19 this week in their 2-0 win over Wales.
Chelsea's U19 England stars
Three of Chelsea’s academy stars started in the game against Wales, with Josh Acheampong captaining the side, playing as a left-sided centre-back, which isn’t his natural position.
Kiano Dyer started in midfield alongside Newcastle star, Lewis Miley and Tyrique George started on the left.
George and Acheampong have both played multiple times for the first team this season, with the 19-year-old winger making 17 appearances this season, providing four assists and totalling 713 minutes played.
Meanwhile, Acheampong has made eight appearances, totalling 421 minutes played.
But there was a fourth Cobham star who featured against Wales in England’s U19 European Championship Qualifiers, who many fans are already very excited about, due to the high praise the youngster is already earning at such a young age.
Chelsea's own Osimhen & Aguero hybrid
Chelsea’s Shumaira Mheuka came from the bench against Wales for England U19 on Wednesday night, coming on for Manchester United’s Ethan Wheatley – who scored the other goal in England’s 2-0 victory – and netting in the 84th minute.
Mheuka has been labelled “Cobham’s Finest” by talent scout Jacek Kulig, stating the 17-year-old forward is a “jewel”.
The young striker has brilliant strength to initiate contact, often being able to ride challenges and bully defenders, even if they are slightly bigger than him. But he also has deceptive agility, especially inside the box, often crafting himself an extra half-yard of space to get shots off, much like Sergio Agüero.
This unique ability to shift the ball in tight spaces is extremely valuable for strikers in the Premier League, as they are able to create their own shooting opportunities, rather than relying on others to create chances for them, again reminiscent of Aguero, who was the master of creating his own shooting angles.
Whilst Mheuka has the ball-manipulation quality of an Aguero-type striker inside the box, he also possesses those physical traits of a Victor Osimhen, using his body to shield the ball and bully defenders inside the box. Chelsea has been linked with a move for Osimhen in recent windows, but Mheuka’s development could well save them a big chunk of change.
The 17-year-old is still developing physically, as well as technically, and if he continues to grow, adding some extra height to his advantage, his already strong base layer of physicality could become even more useful, making Mheuka a huge box presence in the Premier League.
Stat
Mheuka
Minutes
45
Touches
9
Accurate Passes
4/5
Ground Duels Won
0/1
Aerial Duels Won
0/2
The 17-year-old striker made his first full debut, starting against Copenhagen in the UEFA Conference League, before being subbed off at halftime for Christopher Nkunku. Mheuka was unable to get himself involved, barely getting any service, leading to his three lost duels and just nine touches in 45 minutes.
Mheuka has made 42 appearances for Chelsea’s academy across the U18 and U21 sides, scoring 19 goals, providing five assists and totalling 2,593 minutes played. He has also netted ten times for various England age groups, making 20 appearances from U15-U19.
Whilst he is still young and developing, many have the right to be excited about Mheuka, who has all the attributes of an excellent forward, with the physical levels required to play in the Premier League already developing nicely.
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