Chelsea’s youth setup may not be too successful at developing players for the Chelsea first team, at least not yet, but over the years, the Academy has churned out more than its fair share of excellent players and, perhaps even more impressively, excellent coaches and managers. Paul Clement is one of the better examples, having served as Carlo Ancelotti’s right-hand man since 2009 and as coach of the Reserves and the younger age groups before then.
Paul got his start in coaching at an early age (unlike his younger brother, Neil, who was a Chelsea prospect for a while), working his way up through the ranks all the way to the first-team, and then traveling around Europe with Uncle Carlo, working at some of the biggest teams in the world like Real Madrid and Bayern Munich.
While Ancelotti took a sabbatical from football in 2015, Clement tried his hand at management with Derby County. Mixed results saw him (a bit harshly) sacked by February, with the team in fifth position. Clement took up Ancelotti’s offer to join Bayern in the summer, but he’s now been allowed to strike out on his own once again, this time with struggling Premier League side Swansea City.
#WelcomePaul pic.twitter.com/wc97v0ZDo4
— Swansea City AFC (@SwansOfficial) January 3, 2017
The Swans confirmed Clem’s appointment this morning. He’s going to need all the luck we can wish him (and maybe a loanee?) to be able to keep the Welsh side in the Premier League.