Chelsea’s youngster has now returned to the training pitches after missing a significant length of time through injury.
The Blues prospect is nearly at the end of a long-term absence, and he’s got ambitions of returning to the first-team picture.
The Chelsea academy has been a constant production line for super young talents over the years. In fairness, that’s continued with the promotion of Josh Acheampong and Tyrique George from the Under-21s side to the senior group this season.
During the recent March international break, Chelsea’s U21s beat some of the club’s first teamers in a stop-start training match at Cobham.
Jimi Tauriainen returns to training on the grass
Chelsea youngster Jimi Tauriainen, 21, hasn’t played football since suffering an ACL injury in July 2024 during a friendly match against Mansfield Town. Thankfully, there’s now some good news about his imminent comeback.
According to The Daily Mail, Tauriainen is back on the grass and training alongside his Chelsea teammates.
Apparently, the young midfielder is looking to return to action with the U21s in the coming weeks. He’s got a desire to get back into the first-team picture further down the line, too.
Back in the 2023/24 season, Tauriainen made his first-team debut for Chelsea when Mauricio Pochettino was in the manager’s dugout.
The Finish talent made his senior debut in an FA Cup tie against Leeds United on 28 February 2024. Afterwards, he received another late cameo on 5 May 2024 with a Premier League debut versus Tottenham.
Back in 2020, Chelsea agreed to sign Tauriainen for their academy when he was only aged 16. The central midfielder has come through the youth ranks in recent years, eventually reaching the first team.
We hope it’s not too long before he’s back there. In fairness, Blues head coach Enzo Maresca hasn’t been shy in promoting youngsters this season, even though there’s been so much investment into the main squad.
Who Chelsea beat to sign Jimi Tauriainen
Chelsea beat some high-profile clubs to Tauriainen’s signature a few years ago, so it would be great to see him carve out a career in West London.
The Sun reported back in 2020 that Juventus and Inter Milan both had Tauriainen on trial as a teenager. However, Chelsea fended off interest from them and German clubs to get him.
Blues co-owner Todd Boehly is huge advocate of Chelsea’s academy because he realises how important it is.
If the club wants to keep producing youngsters for the future, they need to ensure the academy remains central to their plans and vision.
