The 2020/21 football season has been unusual, disjointed and unique in so many ways.

The Premier League has played out in front of empty stadiums, leading to a real shift in dynamic across matches. Liverpool, so often buoyed by their great home support, have not been able to repeat their heroics of last season, and at Stamford Bridge, Frank Lampard could not blend those exciting young players with his expensive new signings.

There are signs Thomas Tuchel is working towards that goal, which is not just good news for Blues fans. With Euro 2020 coming up in summer 2021, a host of the top international sides will be keenly eyeing Chelsea’s form, hoping their key players manage to hit a purple patch heading into the competition.

Which countries are most likely to benefit from a strong Chelsea run-in though, and which players might just set the tournament alight? These are our picks.

Germany

Runners up in 2008, and semi-finalists in both 2012 and 2016, Germany will be hoping to finally go one better this year. They last won the tournament on English soil, back in 1996, and with this year’s final scheduled to be played at Wembley, they might fancy a repeat performance.

There are three Chelsea players they might be taking to the finals, with Timo Werner the one they will be hoping to see improve. Goals have been hard to come by this season for the former Leipzig man, but Joachim Low is bereft of top-quality forwards at present.

At the back, Antonio Rudiger is likely to be part of the squad too and he is playing a pivotal role in Chelsea’s future also. Football London reveals he is trying to tempt Austrian defender David Alaba to England, having played a key role in the capture of both Werner and another German, Kai Havertz.

Havertz has not hit form in England yet and needs a strong second half of the season if he is going to force his way into the German squad.

England

For 25 years now, football has been rumoured to be ‘coming home’, and maybe this is the year it finally does. After the World Cup semi-final appearance in 2018, hopes are high that Southgate’s young guns can finally bring home their first major trophy since 1966, with the final scheduled to be played at the home of English football.

Chelsea’s own young guns will play a key role, with Tammy Abraham in fine form domestically. Abraham has formed a strong partnership with Christian Pulisic at Stamford Bridge, one of the best in the Premier League, according to Bwin’s ‘Goalscoring Partnerships’ infographic, and he’ll hope he can do the same with Mason Mount as we head into the Euros.

Mount has been ever-improving at Stamford Bridge and looks to have a long future with both Chelsea and England, and he is sure to add to his 13 caps, and three goals in an England shirt. Ben Chilwell and Reece James are both possibilities for the provisional squad, too.

France

Even with their rich array of attacking talent, France still rely heavily on veteran striker Olivier Giroud, who has 105 caps and 44 international goals. He might not be a starter for Les Bleus but he could be important as a weapon from the bench. Defender Kurt Zouma has seven caps and one goal, he is likely to feature, whilst N’Golo Kante is an almost certain inclusion in their squad. The 29-year-old has 44 caps to his name and was a runner up in 2016, as well as a World Cup winner in 2018.

Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel praises the club’s youth academy

Speaking after the FA Cup win against Barnsley (h/t Football.london), Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel called the youth academy the ‘backbone’ of the club and promised to ‘push’ Chelsea youngsters to first-team success.

Chelsea put out a completely changed side against Barnsley in the FA Cup on Thursday. It took a goal created by the club’s academy players to undo the Championship side.

Scottish midfielder Billy Gilmour and English full-back Reece James created the chance for Tammy Abraham to score the game’s only goal in the 64th minute.

And the German boss believes that the academy is the backbone of Chelsea. He mentions that more academy products in the first-team are always better for the club as supporters love that kind of thing.

My belief is it is always the backbone of any club. The more guys that can arrive in the first team the better it is for the club because it is something the supporters love.”

Youth is the way to go

The newly-appointed manager realises that making the grade at a club like Chelsea is always a challenge for the youngsters. Loan spells and competition for starting spots at the club tend to make it tougher.

However, he says that the current crop of academy players in the senior side ‘absolutely want to make it as Chelsea players’. This would include players like Abraham, James, Gilmour and Callum Hudson-Odoi.

Adding to that, he vows to ‘push’ youngsters who seem to be making the effort and showcasing the quality.

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“When we feel the spirit, combined with that talent, we will push them.”

This will be certainly good news for the fans who might have been sceptical of Tuchel’s use of youth since his appointment. He has sided with experience over youth in his first few games in charge. (h/t Daily Mail)

Sheffield United aware of Ethan Ampadu situation vs Chelsea in the FA Cup

A report by Yorkshire Live outlines the fact that Sheffield United would be without on-loan defender Ethan Ampadu for their quarter-final FA Cup clash against Chelsea.

The Blades laboured to a 1-0 victory against Bristol City to book their quarterfinal berth. Chelsea also had to struggle in a closely-fought 1-0 win over Barnsley in their 5th-round encounter.

The two teams were pitted against each other in the FA Cup quarter-final draw on Thursday. And the Blades will be without their influential Welsh defender for this important cup encounter.

Ampadu joined Sheffield United on loan from Chelsea at the start of the season. His loan expires this summer. Until then, he is not allowed to feature against the Blues.

No Ampadu against Chelsea

That is also the reason why he sat out of both the league matches between the two sides this season. The FA Cup regulations forbid a loanee to play against his parent club in the competition.

“The Association will not give permission for players on loan or work experience to play against the lending club.”

And just to leave no loose ends, the 20-year-old’s loan contract also contained a clause that prohibits him from lining up against the Blues. He has had a bright season for the Blades so far. (h/t Yorkshire Live)

Sheffield United are rooted to the bottom of the league but Ampadu has had no shortage of starts this season. He started as a defensive midfielder, but is now a regular starter at centre-back.

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In fact, he has amassed 20 appearances for the Blades far this season. This is already 8 games more than the number of appearances he has made for Chelsea overall.

Thomas Tuchel has his say on first leg of Chelsea vs Atletico Madrid being shifted to neutral venue

Speaking to the Chelsea website, Thomas Tuchel stated that Atletico Madrid are still dangerous opponents despite the first leg of their last-16 tie being shifted to a neutral venue.

UEFA announced on Wednesday that the first leg of Chelsea against Atletico will be shifted to a neutral venue. This is majorly due to the Covid-19 restrictions in Spain.

Originally scheduled for 23rd February, the game will now be played in Bucharest, Romania, instead of Wanda Metropolitano Stadium in Madrid. The return leg remains at Stamford Bridge and will be played three weeks later.

Losing home advantage is, of course, not preferable for any team. However, Tuchel believes that the La Liga leaders are still formidable opponents.

“We don’t doubt that they will be ready 100 per cent in Bucharest to fight against us and it’s our duty to be ready to play them in 12 days.”

Atletico are still dangerous

The former PSG boss thinks that Chelsea are inconvenienced by the rescheduling as well. However, he says that the Blues will re-adjust and be ready for the task at hand.

“We have to play there so now it’s the moment to adapt our travel routine and our schedule, the day before and the day after, and to look for solutions.”

Chelsea reached the last-16 of the competition by finishing top of their Champions League group in 2020. The Blues came away undefeated from Group E under former manager Frank Lampard.

Newly-appointed boss Thomas Tuchel will be hoping he can replicate the European success he had with PSG last season. The German guided the Ligue 1 champions to the UCL final last season.

More Chelsea News:

• Chelsea keen on Jerome Boateng but yet to strike an agreement
• Newcastle set to miss Callum Wilson for PL clash against Chelsea
• Glen Johnson tips David Alaba to be a perfect signing for Chelsea

The Blues exited the Champions League at the same stage last season, losing 7-1 on aggregate to eventual winners Bayern Munich.