When it comes to academies, few teams in the Premier League can match Chelsea.
While they do not always make it into the Blues' first team, the number of top-flight footballers that come out of Cobham is staggering.
However, while the club have made an enormous amount of money from selling their academy stars, they have occasionally seen future superstars slip through their fingers, with Jamal Musiala being an example of this.
jamal-musiala-bayern-munich
Fortunately, while Enzo Maresca is unlikely to ever get his hands on the German superstar, the club are closing in on a player who has won comparisons to him.
Chelsea target their new Musiala
As well as blowing teams away on the pitch, Chelsea have enjoyed a brilliant summer off of it, in the transfer market.
The board have backed Maresca in a big way by signing the likes of Joao Pedro, Jorrel Hato, Liam Delap and Jamie Gittens.
Moreover, with just over two weeks remaining of the window, it looks like the Blues are planning to make at least one more addition to the team in the shape of a player previously compared to Musiala.
Germany star Jamal Musiala
At least that's according to a recent report from TEAMtalk, which has reaffirmed Chelsea's intense interest in Alejandro Garnacho.
More than that, the report has revealed that the Blues are approaching a 'breakthrough' in negotiations for the Argentine and believe Manchester United will agree to a fee of around £35m before the window closes.
If this really is the case, then the West Londoners would have done incredibly well to sign a player as talented as Garnacho for such a low fee, especially as he's been compared to Musiala.
How Garnacho compares to Musiala
So, before we get into some of the other positives to signing Garnacho, we should look at where this comparison to Musiala has come from, as some might describe it as a bold shout.
man-utd-alejandro-garnacho-friendly
Well, in this instance, it stems from FBref, which looked at players in similar positions in the 23/24 edition of the Champions League and came to the conclusion that the German star was the eighth most similar attacking midfielder or winger to the United ace in the competition.
While that might not seem right to some, we can gain a better understanding of how this conclusion was reached by taking a look at some of the underlying numbers in which the pair ranked closely.
Garnacho & Musiala
Statistics per 90
Non-Penalty Expected G+As
Shots
Goal-Creating Actions
Tackles
Carries into the Final Third
All Stats via FBref for the 23/24 UCL Campaign
In this case, those metrics included things like non-penalty expected goals plus assists, shots, goal-creating actions, tackles and more, all per 90.
These numbers point to a player who, when he's at his best, is capable of being just as much a creator as a scorer of goals, and that is very much how people would describe Musiala today.
However, while comparison to someone as incredibly talented as the German is arguably reason enough to sign the 21-year-old, another reason the West Londoners should go out and get him is his output from last season.
For example, despite playing for a historically poor United side, the future "superstar", as journalist Liam Canning once dubbed him, was still able to score 11 goals and provide ten assists in 58 appearances.
Alejandro-Garnacho
Ultimately, while Garancho is not on the level of Musiala at the moment, the fact that he's capable of putting up numbers so similar to his is hugely encouraging, and if Chelsea can get the best out of him, they may just have a world-beater on their hands.