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Today’s TFA Posts ⚽
There have been a plethora of talents to have come through Chelsea’s academy over the years.
However, because of the amount of transfer activity conducted by the Blues, many slip through their fingers or are shipped out for profit.
It is fascinating to look up the names of some of the talents who started at Cobham, as they now play for established Premier League clubs: Dominic Solanke, Marc Guehi, Ola Aina, Ian Maatsen, and Nathan Ake.
All players who had talent and emerged at other clubs.
These talents were right under Chelsea’s nose, but they never found the time to let players emerge into the first team.
This isn’t to say Chelsea completely ignore their academy.
There has been room for players like Mason Mount and Reece James to have successful spells in the first team.
However, it’s clear that Chelsea produces a lot of talent, so focusing more on Cobham would save them time and money.
to the point where, in some cases, they re-sign players who began their journey at Chelsea (Conor Gallagher and Levi Colwill).
One talent Chelsea need to keep tabs on and ensure he gets first team minutes before another team may snap him up is Tyrique George.
After making his senior debut in the 2024/2025 season, George has made four more appearances this season and scored against Ajax.
The UEFA Conference League was a tournament where Enzo Maresca could give emerging talents like George crucial minutes.
A move to Fulham collapsed on September 1st, and Maresca has used George sparingly this season as the winger has shown off his talents.
With talks set to take place in January, Chelsea must be careful not to see George’s talents at another club.
This Tyrique George scout report will break down the Englishman’s game and why he may prove an invaluable option for Enzo Maresca.
The DFB-Pokal has its own set of rules, which is a very popular saying in Germany.
While in the Bundesliga, only one or two teams compete for the championship most of the time, the silverware has been open to everybody in the German Cup over the last couple of years, with four different teams winning the final in Berlin over the last five years.
In the second round, we rarely get an absolute top game simply because many teams from the 2. Bundesliga and even 3. Liga are still in the competition, but the draw spat out some very interesting games this season.
The most interesting game in the second round this year was Eintracht Frankfurt against Borussia Dortmund.
Two top teams in the Bundesliga, Frankfurt won the DFB-Pokal in 2018, Borussia Dortmund in 2021, so we were able to witness the matchup of two of the better teams in the competition over the last couple of years.
With both teams playing in the UEFA Champions League, the load on the players is getting rather high at this time of the year.
Therefore, the game was more of a tough-fought battle than a display of incredible football, but it still was the most interesting game this round.
In the end, Niko Kovač and Borussia Dortmund beat Dino Topmöller’s Eintracht Frankfurt team in a penalty shootout, reaching the Round of 16 in the competition and keeping their title hopes for the season alive.
In this tactical analysis, we will examine the tactics used by Kovač and Toppmöller, how the game unfolded, why it was hard for either team to play liquid football, and how Borussia Dortmund managed to move past Frankfurt.
TFA Archives 📆
Read about Diego Simeone tactics as Atlético Madrid take on Sevilla today, aiming to push for a possible La Liga title!
Bayern Munich take on Bayer Leverkusen, aiming to extend their hold on the top of the table.
Take a look back at our Der Klassiker tactical preview and learn more about Vincent Kompany’s tactics this season.
PSG take on OGC Nice with AS Monaco trailing behind them by a point!
Take a look back at our Le Classique tactical analysis, will PSG retain the French title this season?






