6 forgotten Chelsea players who are still turning out for sides in the EFL

Chelsea, perhaps more than most Premier League clubs, have made a habit of stockpiling players over the years.

The Blues once sent out a whopping 41 players on loan recently.

Whilst the chances afforded to academy stars has significantly increased in the last few years, plenty have come and gone from Stamford Bridge.

But that doesn't necessarily mean they end up on the football scrapheap.

In fact, plenty go on to make a successful career lower down the pyramid.

Here, Mirror Sport takes a look at six former Blues players who are still turning out for teams in the EFL.

Should any of these have been kept by the Blues? Let us know in the comments section

Izzy Brown

Brown was signed by Chelsea from West Brom when he was just a teenager.

He would spend eight years at Stamford Bridge but made a grand total of just one senior appearance in that time - ironically against the Baggies.

He was loaned out seven times by the Blues, with varying degrees of success. He helped Huddersfield win promotion to the Premier League but flopped at Leeds and Sheffield Wednesday.

He finally left Chelsea last summer, joining Championship side Preston. But before the season began Brown suffered a ruptured Achilles and is laid low until 2022.

Sam Hutchinson

Hutchinson joined Chelsea at the age of nine and at the age of 18 he made his senior debut against Everton in a Premier League game.

But Hutchinson was then struck down by a persistent knee injury and he made the shock call to retire - aged just 21.

Thankfully he reversed that decision after plenty of rehab and a loan to Nottingham Forest followed before a similar spell at Dutch club Vitesse Arnhem and then Sheffield Wednesday.

Hutchinson was released by Chelsea in 2014 but the Owls moved quickly to snap him up.

He has since become a firm fans' favourite at Hillsborough for his no-nonsense approach, penchant for yellow cards and bubbly personality.

Hutchinson also had a brief spell in Cyprus in 2020 before returning to Wednesday earlier this year.

Michael Mancienne

Mancienne joined Chelsea aged nine and went on to make four appearances in the Premier League in 2008-09, under Guus Hiddink.

Most of his time at Stamford Bridge however was spent on loan elsewhere. Remarkably he had three separate loan spells at Wolves and another two at QPR.

Mancienne then spent three years in Germany after joining Hamburg before returning to England with Nottingham Forest in 2014.

He was a regular in the Championship for four years before jet-setting again, this time joining New England Revolution.

After three years in the States he headed back home and signed for Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink's Burton last February, before extending his contract to cover the current season.

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Josh McEachran

The 2010-11 season saw the diminutive midfielder make 17 appearances as Carlo Ancelotti gave the youngster a chance to shine.

There wouldn't be much chance to do that over the next couple of years however as McEachran was loaned out five times before being sold to Brentford in 2015.

He spent four years as a regular with Brentford in the Championship before an injury-ravaged spell at Birmingham.

He left City in January this year before signing a short-term deal with MK Dons. That was extended in the summer and he's now a regular in an easy-on-the-eye Dons side that are targeting promotion this term.

His younger brother George is still on Chelsea's books, playing for the under-23s.

Scott Sinclair

Sinclair signed for Chelsea aged 16, recruited from Bristol Rovers, and was labelled as a star of the future.

The winger would make just five Premier League appearances in his time in London though, and was sent out on loan six times before Swansea signed him in 2010.

He would help them win promotion to the Premier League before a big-money move to Man City in 2012.

But he never set the Etihad alight and further moves occurred, to Aston Villa and then Celtic, where he was part of a treble-treble winning Bhoys' side.

In January 2020 he left for Championship side Preston - and is now a teammate of Brown's.

Dominic Solanke

Solanke came through the Blues academy and made his senior debut in a Champions League game in 2014, where he played up top alongside his idol Didier Drogba.

But that would prove to be his only appearance for Chelsea.

He would go on to leave the club and join Liverpool, in 2017, for a nominal fee.

Speaking about the decision he recently said: "My contract at Chelsea finished and I was just looking at my options. Liverpool came in.

"They're such a big club and I knew they wanted to give young players opportunities. I think that's what drove me to go there."

Solanke lasted 18 months at Anfield before a big-money move to Bournemouth.

This season he's scored 13 goals as they target promotion to the Premier League.