Farewell, Conference League group phase. You have been good fun. Chelsea don't ever want to see you again.
There is more than just a sense of summer fling to it all. Six games, trips to Kazakhstan, Greece, and a part of Germany never seen before for many, 26 goals, five conceded. There have been debuts for five Cobham graduates and first starts for two more. All of this without even the smallest ounce of jeopardy.
Chelsea have cruised through the group. They have done it by scoring more in a group stage than any other team in the competition's brief three-year history - even accounting for a different format, they have played the same number of games. In Christopher Nkunku, they have let a player grace the field who can seriously be considered the best in its history.
After two seasons of hatred, toxicity, disappointment, and frustration at Stamford Bridge, the Conference League has been an enjoyable experience. Within it, Chelsea might reasonably have done a little more to offer even greater minutes to academy prospects - especially in the last game against Shamrock Rovers which was effectively a dead rubber - but that is perhaps harsh.
After all, SW6 has taken to these nights well. It helps that Premier League form has been strong at the same time - nobody is being fooled into thinking that it is a great achievement to qualify, even in this manner and even with a second-string team - but given nobody asked to be in the Conference League, it has certainly served its purpose.
Chelsea cannot argue with being in Europe's third tier. They spent the first six months of last season bedding in a group of young players and felt the consequences. Had they been more clinical under Mauricio Pochettino after the turn of the year then they wouldn't have had to rely on Manchester United losing the FA Cup final to qualify for the Europa League.
As it happens, the Conference League has allowed Enzo Maresca to totally rotate in a way that adventurous Football Manager enthusiasts might not have for midweek games. Key players have been spared the additional minutes in games which would genuinely have been less taxing than the most low-key training session, and the wider squad - which is still a little bit too big - have been kept happy.
The benefits have been born out already. Cole Palmer is fresh, so is Nicolas Jackson. Levi Colwill, Moises Caicedo, and a host of others haven't even been asked to travel to away games in Europe, let alone train at full pace or play. It is a factor that is now being considered as a reason as to why Chelsea could feasibly act on the promise of their title challenge.
Maresca, though, knows that these minutes - which might fairly be described as being out of pity at times - are not sustainable. Chelsea have a squad of players who want more than to be battering opponents of this level.
Whilst the Conference League has so far offered a way in for those who are largely out of the picture come Premier League action, the January window is around the corner and nobody is being fooled. Maresca has said as much, accepting that there are players here not only good enough to be involved more, but who will simply not be happy with the situation.
Kiernan Dewsbury Hall is one of them. He has featured in just five of the 16 league games so far, starting none. Outside of stoppage time, he has less than an hour to his name on the field.
In the Conference League he hasn't stood out like a £30million player would be expected to. Not when Sam Rak-Sakyi has excelled so much in his brief introduction over the past week.
Whereas Jadon Sancho, Pedro Neto, and Noni Madueke all showed that performances in the Conference League can act as a way into the so-called 'A-team', it has not worked like that for Dewsbury-Hall. Enzo Fernandez found form on Thursdays before taking that into the Premier League as well.
These are not players who the club would entertain moving on for any reason in January, though. Dewsbury-Hall, always an outsider as a Championship recruit and known to Maresca, is not in the same camp.
He has struggled and, at 26, is someone who needs to try and get things back on track quickly. His stock has fallen rapidly and suggestions of a mid-season loan, maybe back to Leicester City as they look to add quality to Ruud van Nistelrooy's squad, have been mooted.
Maresca wouldn't go as far as ruling it out on Thursday. "Unfortunately, I cannot say that [he is definitely going to stay], not about Kiernan, about all the squad, because when the transfer window is open, unfortunately, anything can happen," he said. "So I'm not focused on January, the only thing I can say about Kiernan is that we are very happy in the way he's working, we are very happy about his performance, and this is my thought about Kiernan."
He added, referring to a loan specifically, that, "We don't want one of our players to leave, the problem is that sometimes the question is more for them, that if they say, okay, you don't want me to leave, but I'm not happy, I want to play more. So in that case, we are not going to say, 'no, you have to stay,' yes or yes. It's a matter of agreement between the club and the player, the only thing I can say is that we are happy with Kiernan, then we'll see."
In that sense, even with three Premier League games left before January, and Maresca demanding that his players are ready for a call to action, Dewsbury-Hall might have played his last minutes of the season for Chelsea. It would be a surprise, certainly, if he starts a game over the next two weeks.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall acknowledges the fans after the Premier League match between Leicester City and Chelsea at King Power Stadium.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall returned to boyhood club Leicester City for the first time since moving to Chelsea. (Image: Plumb Images/Leicester City FC via Getty Images)
The same is true of Cesare Casadei. Chelsea would have let him go in the summer if a deal was possible. He has stalled again having come back to the club in January earlier this year from Leicester as midfield cover for the injured Romeo Lavia.
Casadei and Dewsbury-Hall may well have been in the shop window here and throughout much of the last few weeks. Depending on how much teams across the continent read into matches with less competitive energy than a pre-season game might determine what interest is to come.
Carney Chukwuemeka has more hope of securing an exit. He did not play against Shamrock Rovers despite being one of the few senior (ish) heads involved away to Astana seven days ago. He came back with an illness (not confirmed to be in part down to the minus 11-degree playing conditions in Almaty), and will be seeking a new club either temporarily or on a permanent move.
Chelsea, again, were not standing in his way over the summer. Maresca went as far as publicly saying that he wanted Chukwuemeka to get a loan and to play 30 games this season so his potential could be unleashed. Instead, he has been an outsider and not even a substitute more often than not when Chelsea play domestically.
These three - and Ben Chilwell, who is not in the Conference League squad - all appear to have played their last minutes if not ever for the club, then surely for the season. Beyond that, who knows?
Andrey Santos is putting up a good showing and has as good of a case as any to be included in 2025 under Maresca either in January or next season. He will be fighting directly with Casadei, Dewsbury-Hall, and Chukwuemeka. Right now there is only one winner, although their profiles do differ.
Chelsea midfielder Andrey Santos celebrates scoring for Strasbourg on loan
Andrey Santos is having a great season on loan at Strasbourg (Image: FREDERICK FLORIN/AFP via Getty Images)
For Harvey Vale, the last week has been a well-earned goodbye. He was another who could easily have gone before now after a bid from Saudi Arabia was accepted. In an attempt to maintain some credibility to his career, Vale turned down the offer.
Since then he has been exceptional for the Development Squad and Under-21 side under Felipe Coelho. Vale graduated from youth football more than two years ago and spent last season on loan in League One, where he impressed despite being out of position under Joey Barton. He is overqualified to be playing senior football.
It has been a nice moment for his Chelsea journey - which includes being one of the brightest jewels in the academy - to get another two matches as a first-team player. It is unlikely to be enough to extend his stay beyond the winter market. Playing in Europe is not going to do him any harm in finding a new team to represent. In another world, Chelsea could easily find a way for him to remain.
So for these four players it will probably be adios and au revoir to Chelsea as well as the Conference League. It hasn't been exactly normal or perfect, definitely not planned, but there has been an upside to it. For now, much like the group phase, their chapter has closed.
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Chelsea flag prior the UEFA Champions League Quarter Final Leg One match between Chelsea FC and Real Madrid at Stamford Bridge. (Photo by Jose Breton/Pics Action/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
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