Harvey St Clair: Another Chelsea prospect who slipped through the net at Stamford Bridge

Exclusive interview: The 19-year-old turned down a contract at Chelsea this summer to join Venezia in Serie B

Harvey St Clair rejected a contract offer from Chelsea to join Italian Serie B side Venezia (Getty )

Harvey St Clair wasn’t the first young player to slip through Chelsea’s fingers and it’s unlikely he will be the last.

Youth development has long been a major talking point among the Stamford Bridge faithful, who can be forgiven for expecting to see more homegrown stars in their team given the eye-watering amount of cash that has been poured into the club’s academy under Roman Abramovich’s watch.

Millions of pounds have been spent on the club’s impressive 140-acre Cobham training ground, which includes an academy base that accommodates 150 players, since the Russian billionaire’s arrival in English football 15 years ago.

While the trophy cabinet has duly bulged, with 15 major honours being secured by the senior team in the Abramovich era, the wait for the next John Terry goes on.

St Clair played a key part in Chelsea’s run to the UEFA Youth League final last season, scoring three goals and earning a Scotland Under-21 call-up over the summer as a reward.

The 19-year-old’s progress was encouraging yet, with the offer of a senior deal at Stamford Bridge on the table, he chose to reject the club he joined as an eight-year-old in favour of a move to Venezia in the second tier of Italian football.

It was a surprising decision to many, but the logic behind it couldn’t be clearer in the mind of the young forward.

“Chelsea have the ability to go and buy the finished product instead of risking a young player and throwing him in the mixer,” he said.

Harvey St Clair has represented the Scottish U21s three times (Getty)

“But I think everyone’s pathway is different. There’s no specific route to get to where you want to get to, which is the top of the game.

“It’s very hard for a young player to break into the first team but it’s not impossible. There will be players who will break through, but I’m not sure when that will be.”

You don’t need to look far to find examples that back up St Clair’s doubts.

Ruben Loftus-Cheek has waited patiently for his chance, spending last season on loan at Crystal Palace, where he impressed enough to earn a place in England’s World Cup squad. He started three games in Russia to help the Three Lions to their best finish in 28 years.

This summer the midfielder returned to the club that, like St Clair, he joined aged eight, but his recent form has yielded barely more than half an hour of Premier League game time so far under Maurizio Sarri.

Teenage talent Mason Mount earned rave reviews while on loan at Dutch Eredivisie side Vitesse last season but was shipped out on loan to Derby County in the Championship on his return to England.

Ruben Loftus-Cheek has only played 30 Premier League minutes this season (Getty)

Mount has subsequently scored five goals in his first three months with Rams and earned his first senior England call-up for this week’s UEFA Nations League double-header against Croatia and Spain.

The squad decisions made by the Chelsea hierarchy have admittedly been vindicated by their strong start to the season, but the reluctance to hand chances to academy players is striking. The four youth team products currently in the first team squad – Loftus-Cheek, Andreas Christensen, Tammy Abraham and Callum Hudson-Odoi – have made eight appearances between them so far this season.

St Clair holds no grudge against his boyhood team. On the contrary, he is very complimentary of his time in London and the people he worked with.

However, he possesses a mature head on young shoulders and came to the logical conclusion that if he was to achieve his goal of getting regular first-team football as soon as possible, he would have to leave Chelsea.

When Venezia came knocking with a four-year contract, a long-term project and a new cultural experience on offer, the youngster’s decision was made.

Mason Mount has received his first call-up to the England squad (Getty)

“I think it’s very hard to get into the Premier League nowadays because the players are at a top, top level,” he explained.

“I think also as a young player it’s good to go outside your comfort zone and head for a new challenge. I think coming abroad is a positive thing - it’s a good thing for young players to do.

“I felt I was ready for men’s football and that was the main reason why I came here, for a new challenge.“

St Clair’s Italian adventure got off to an unfortunate start as injury ruled him out of the opening stages of the season, but he recently returned to fight for a place in the team and a chance to make his league debut.

His story is not as unusual as it once was, with a string of young British players now plying their trade on foreign shores, and for Chelsea fans it has become an all-too familiar tale.

The West London club have enjoyed great success at youth level in recent years, winning two UEFA Youth League titles, four FA Youth Cups and two Under-18 Premier League titles in the last four years.

But the stars of those conquests face a logjam before reaching the first team and, as time passes, cases like that of St Clair risk becoming the norm rather than the exception as ambitious youngsters seek game time away from the lush, expensive fields of Cobham.