What's life at Cobham like for Chelsea's stars of the future?

Nathaniel Chalobah Age 15 Born Sierra Leone Position Defender/midfielder Nathaniel Chalobah is a player in a hurry. He made his England Under-17 debut at the age of 14 and played for Chelsea's first team in a pre-season friendly this summer, alongside Michael Essien and Petr Cech, during his school holidays. Comfortable in defence or midfield, Chalobah was picked up by Chelsea at Under-10 level and will join the club full-time next year. One of the stars of the England Under-17 side that won the European Championship in Liechtenstein in July – he was the youngest player in the tournament – Chalobah, who lives in south London, is destined to reach the top. Jamal Blackman Age 17 Born England Position Goalkeeper Jamal Blackman, a tall and agile goalkeeper, is one of those players who manage to slip under the radar for a while. Chelsea recruit youngsters from Under-nine level but Blackman was 13 before he joined the club's academy. A talented all-round sportsman – he was a promising cricketer, rugby player and basketball player – Blackman has impressed in his first year as a scholar at Chelsea and is expected to make his debut for the England Under-18s next week. He recently played for Chelsea's reserve side and, at 6ft 5in, he already has many of the physical attributes to be a success. Milan Lalkovic Age 17 Born Slovakia Position Striker/winger Now in his fourth season with the club, Milan Lalkovic is one of several talented overseas players in Chelsea's academy. He arrived at the club at the age of 14, when he moved to England with his father, and had only one season as a scholar before he signed a three-year professional contract. Lalkovic, who can play on the wing or as a striker, is a quick and hard-working player, and he likes to model himself on the Manchester City and Argentina forward Carlos Tevez. The Slovakia Under-19 international made two appearances for the Chelsea first team in pre-season and is a regular in the reserves. Typical week for an Under-18 player Monday 09.00 Breakfast 09.30-11.30 Screening (20 minutes analysing edited footage of Saturday's youth-team performance on computer); match review (one-to-one with the youth-team coach to discuss performance); gym 11.00-12.30 Training 12.15 Lunch 15.00-16.00 Training 16.30 Reflection (input information relating to training, diet etc on computer) Tuesday 09.00 Breakfast 10.00 Team meeting 10.10-10.30 Activation and individual programmes (personal warm-up drills on exercise bikes etc) 11.00-12.30 Training (example theme: strength) 13.00 Lunch 13.30 Case studies (staff from each department discuss three different academy players each week – every player is discussed over a six-week period) 14.30-15.30 Technical session 16.00 Reflection Wednesday 08.00-10.00 College first and second-year scholars 10.10 Team meeting 10.30 Individual programmes 11.00-12.30 Training (resistance) 13.00 Lunch 14.00 Gym or technical session 16.00 Reflection Thursday 08.00-10.00 College first and second-year scholars 10.40 Activation and individual programmes 11.00-12.30 Training (speed) 13.00 Lunch 13.45-14.45 Life skills workshop or elite library (performance analysis) 15.30 Reflection Friday 09.00 Breakfast 10.00 Team meeting 10.10-10.30 Activation and individual programmes 11.00-12.15 Training (reactive) 12.30 Lunch 14.00 Team meeting and reflection Saturday 09.00 Report 09.30 Team meeting or reserve-team session 11.00 Youth-team fixture Sunday Day off or reserve session