Who'd have imagined a transfer ban could have come with such a silver lining. Chelsea's inability to sign anyone last summer turned the spotlight's glare on their academy more intensely than ever before.
Frank Lampard had little alternative than to flood his first-team squad with emerging talent and they certainly haven't let him down.
Eight homegrown players have now made their Chelsea debuts this season - Mason Mount, Billy Gilmour, Ian Maatsen, Tino Anjorin, Reece James, Marc Guehi, Tariq Lamptey and Armado Broja.
That's the highest number in one season ever seen at Stamford Bridge since their junior teams launched in the 1940s and goes without mentioning the likes of Tammy Abraham, Fikayo Tomori and Callum Hudson-Odoi, who have also flourished.