Chelsea broke a Premier League record for this season with Enzo Maresca’s starting side to take on Nottingham Forest being the youngest of the campaign.
As Maresca watched on from the stands, his Chelsea XI, which averaged at less than 24 years of age, struggled at first before eventually running away 3-0 winners.
The figure won’t have got much higher with the introductions of Estevao Willian and Marc Guiu, however the Blues did have some more experienced heads to turn to help them secure the three points.
Moises Caicedo came off the bench to bring security to the midfield, while Tosin Adarabioyo helped them secure the clean sheet that was under pressure late on.
Tosin Adarabioyo applauds the fans after Nottingham Forest v Chelsea - Premier League
Photo by James Holyoak/MB Media/Getty Images
Tosin Adarabioyo becomes first 28-year-old to play for Enzo Maresca at Chelsea
The centre-back turned 28 at the end of September, and hadn’t featured for the Blues in that time due to an injury concern.
However, his appearance off the bench made him, as per Kieran Gill, the first 28-year-old to feature for the club since Maresca took over as manager.
The Blues parted ways with Thiago Silva before the Italian took over, while Raheem Sterling has been very much out of favour since Maresca started his job at Stamford Bridge.
Whoever is in charge of the club since Todd Boehly has taken over the reins has been pointed towards using younger players and helping develop them, with the majority of their signings fitting into this bracket.
Robert Sanchez celebrates after Nottingham Forest v Chelsea - Premier League
Photo by Chris Lee – Chelsea FC/Chelsea FC via Getty Images
Chelsea’s transfer plan could be set to change
Supporters and pundits have called for Chelsea to strengthen their first team squad with more experienced players, in order to help their promising players meet their potential.
The Blues have been linked with Mike Maignan, whose contract with AC Milan is set to expire this summer.
Transfer insider Graeme Bailey expects Chelsea to make a change to their transfer policy in 2026, with the potential being there to add a number of experienced faces to their squad.
With talented youngsters such as Josh Acheampong and Estevao starting to prove their worth amongst the first team, having players who have been there and done it would certainly be beneficial to Maresca, who is inexperienced at this level himself.