Forgotten Chelsea man inspiring unlikely Ligue 1 title charge to keep Kylian Mbappe at bay

Instead, a Nice side inspired by a forgotten Chelsea academy star are keeping the French giants at bay.

Jeremie Boga has been involved in three of Nice's last five goals as their unbeaten start to the season continued on Sunday.

The 26-year-old opened the scoring at Rennes to bag his second goal of the 2023/24 campaign.

It is something of a renaissance for the Ivory Coast international, who had been tipped for superstardom at Stamford Bridge.

Boga was part of a golden Chelsea generation which dominated the youth football scene during the 2010s.

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The forward was arguably the most highly-rated player in a team which included Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Fikayo Tomori, Andreas Christensen and Tammy Abraham.

His teammates eventually broke into the Blues' senior team before moving to some of the biggest clubs in Europe - but Boga's career never took off.

His one Premier League appearance came on the opening day of the 2017/18 season against Burnley, but it lasted just 18 minutes as Gary Cahill's early red card meant Boga was substituted.

After a number of loan spells, he was eventually sold to Serie A club Sassuolo for £3.5million in 2018.

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Boga scored 18 league goals across a four-year spell at Sassuolo before joining fellow Italian side Atalanta.

The winger registered four goals and six assists in one-and-a-half seasons at the club before Nice signed him for around £15.6m last summer.

It has been a long time coming - but the Chelsea academy star is finally fulfilling his potential at the elite level as Nice's unlikely title charge continues.