Jake Clarke-Salter Shows His Leadership Qualities in Chelsea’s FA Youth Cup Win

STAMFORD BRIDGE, LONDON — Chelsea continue to breed winners in their academy, and Jake Clarke-Salter seems to be the biggest of them all.

The 18-year-old captained the Blues to their third successive FA Youth Cup on Wednesday with a 3-1 (4-2 on aggregate) victory over Manchester City. Not only did he help the club make history in front of over 10,000 fans at Stamford Bridge, but he made a little himself in the process.

Along with team-mate Jay Dasilva, Clarke-Salter has been a part of those three Chelsea teams that have gone on to emulate Manchester United’s Busby Babes  with their success in the competition.

The hope is Clarke-Salter and others will become established Chelsea players. For the young centre-back, the target is to emulate John Terry.

It wouldn’t be fair to judge him on the same sort of level yet. The difference between dominating under-18s football and the senior game is significant, yet it’s clear Clarke-Salter has enough about him to make the step up.

We saw it on Wednesday night, when Chelsea dominated a talented Manchester City side. Players such as City’s diminutive No. 10, Brahim Diaz, were largely ineffective at Stamford Bridge because of the performances of Clarke-Salter and his defensive partner, Fikayo Tomori.

Ruben Sammut, playing in front of them in midfield, wasn’t half bad, either. He was closing space, pressing opponents in key areas to screen his back four.

Whenever Sammut was leading that press, it was interesting to hear the voice of Clarke-Salter behind him. He was instructing, giving encouragement and letting his team-mate know where he needed to be.

It can be one of the beauties of watching …

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