Chelsea can add two more new faces to Enzo Maresca's squad for 2025/26 season

It was an incredible 2024/25 campaign for Josh Acheampong and Tyrique George. After being included in 's first squad as Chelsea head coach, for the club's pre-season tour of the United States last summer, the two could not have imagined their respective rises for the 2024/25 campaign.

George, in particular, was used heavily by Maresca throughout the course of the season. The 19-year-old winger accumulated more than 1,000 minutes across 24 matches in all competitions, where he scored twice and assisted five times in the process. Meanwhile, his close friend Acheampong recorded around 780 minutes across 12 matches in all competitions for the first team.

Back in December, the two teenage stars, who both joined at Under-8 level, their transition from the academy to senior level became official. To mark the promotion, Maresca did a little speech in the changing room and handed George and Acheampong personalised signs for their lockers, and then received a round of applause from the rest of the senior squad.

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Most of the duo's minutes came in Chelsea's Conference League campaign - that concluded on Wednesday evening with the Blues lifting the trophy in Wroclaw. Neither of the youngsters got onto the pitch in Poland but it was a fantastic platform for them both to develop in the first team picture.

Who will be next from Chelsea's famous academy? Well, Acheampong, when asked in a recent interview, listed two specific players: "I'd say the ones you've seen already, so I'll try and name some people maybe you haven't seen. Ishe Samuels-Smith and Kiano Dyer.

"Ishe, he's actually quite similar to me, playing style, quite versatile, good on the ball, defensively good. And Kiano's quite unique, midfielder, on the ball he's really good, small, can turn, so yeah, good players."

Samuels-Smith, who , is yet to feature for the senior side. He may well have been one of those to be used in the Conference League, however because he has not been with the club for two years yet, he does not qualify as a homegrown player for the squad regulations.

Dyer made his senior debut for Chelsea when he came on in the second-half of the victory against Astana in Kazakhstan back in December. A tidy player with the ball at his feet, the 18-year-old looks to have all of the ingredients to become a central midfield mainstay under Maresca in the future.

As we have seen with George and Acheampong, two of the bright sparks for Chelsea over the course of the 2024/25 season, there is room for academy players at Stamford Bridge despite the mass amount of money that has been invested inside the club.