Nathaniel Chalobah backs Chelsea to repeat Manchester United 'Class of 92' success

Nathaniel Chalobah believes Chelsea are capable of replicating Manchester United's famous 'Class of 92', but claims he is unsure what will transpire with regards to his own future at Stamford Bridge.

The 20 year old forms part of a talented young crop currently available to Jose Mourinho, yet like many of his contemporaries he has struggled to prove himself worthy of a first-team berth, with competition for places particularly fierce at present.

Indeed, Chalobah himself has yet to register a single senior appearance for Chelsea despite having been dispatched for five separate loan spells during his career to date.

Regardless of those struggles, however, the versatile midfielder believes it is within his parent club's remit to produce a batch of homegrown youngsters worthy of comparison to Manchester United's famous 1992 FA Youth Cup-winning side that contained the likes of Ryan Giggs, David Beckham, Gary Neville and Nicky Butt.

"Yes, definitely," he was quoted as saying by The Telegraph prior to England's final European Under-21 Championship Group B fixture against Italy. "It's a big club and United are a big club as well and if they were able to do that I don't see why Chelsea couldn't. It's about the right timing, being in the right place and getting the opportunity."

Chalobah, who operates primarily as a central midfielder but can also be deployed in the heart of defence or even at full-back, has gained plenty of experience in the second tier of English football with Watford, Nottingham Forest, Middlesbrough and Reading but failed to impress during a disappointing stint in the top-flight with Burnley at the start of last season.

In May, Mourinho displayed a willingness to offer more regular opportunities to the likes of Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Nathan Ake and Isaiah Brown with the title race already appearing a foregone conclusion, but it remains difficult to see Chalobah featuring for Chelsea in 2015/16 with Cesc Fabregas and Nemanja Matic well-established as the first-choice midfield pairing and Ramires and Kurt Zouma also vying for regular starts.

The likely departure of John Obi Mikel to Abu Dhabi-based Al Ain could feasibly enhance his prospects, although The Sun on Sunday recently reported that Tottenham's Moussa Dembele and fellow Belgian Axel Witsel had both emerged as targets for Mourinho ahead of the upcoming transfer window.

With specific regards to his future, Chalobah says he has spoken to people at Chelsea but remains unsure over what next season holds.

"I've spoken to my people and Chelsea. I am not too sure what is happening yet. I'm trying to focus on this tournament, do my level best to get this out of the way and then obviously focus on that. I have told people not to tell me about rumours."

Asked if he wanted to stay at Chelsea, he added: "Definitely. I've been there for 10 years now. I'd love to say I came through and played however-many games as a Chelsea player. It is still important to be learning, still important to be playing games. I have been doing that the last few years so I can't really complain too much."

Following a tense 1-0 win over Sweden last time out, England's U21s know that another victory against the Italians in Olomouc would safely secure their passage through to the semi-finals.

Defeat for Gareth Southgate's side, who were largely outclassed by Portugal on 18 June, would result in elimination at the group stage for the third time in succession, while a draw leaves them requiring Sweden to lose.

Everton's John Stones is expected to feature at Andruv Stadion after recovering from a concussion, but Alex Pritchard will play no part having been forced to withdraw from the squad with an ankle injury.