Jose Mourinho: A History Of Youth Development?

Jose Mourinho's commitment to youth development has been questioned after he sent out experienced and expensively-assembled Chelsea teams time and again in the Premier League.

But what is his history with young players?

A look at his career since his success with Porto reveals a more complex picture...

Porto (2002 - 2004)

Mourinho's time at Porto made stars of players such as Ricardo Carvalho, Deco and Maniche as they all became Portugal internationals during his reign, winning what is now the Europa League in 2003 and the Champions League in the following year.

None were at the very start of their careers, but the same cannot be said of Carlos Alberto, the teenager who scored the opening goal of the 2004 Champions League final triumph. The 19-year-old Brazilian became the third youngest scorer in a European Cup final in the process.

Chelsea (2004 - 2007)

Mourinho took Chelsea to their first league title in 50 years in his first campaign at the club, and repeated the feat in his second season. As a result, promoting youth was not the main priority, but this was far from the oldest of Chelsea sides with only Claude Makelele over 30.

Indeed, big names such as Petr Cech (22), John Terry (23) and Arjen Robben (20) were in the early phase of their careers and the likes of Glen Johnson and Robert Huth also played enough games to pick up winners' medals before turning 21.

Inter (2008 - 2010)

Inter's team famously oozed experience as they claimed back-to-back titles under Mourinho, culminating in their 2010 Champions League triumph. But there were opportunities for youngsters, too.

A teenage Mario Balotelli made more than 70 appearances under Mourinho and Davide Santon lined up in the Inter defence in a Champions League tie against Manchester United at Old Trafford aged just 18 years old.

Real Madrid (2010 - 2013)

Blooding youth isn't particularly associated with Florentino Perez's Real Madrid and is particularly problematic when battling Barcelona, but Mourinho did give debuts to 20 different academy prospects during his three-year spell in the Spanish capital.

They included the likes of Alvaro Morata and Jese Rodriguez, while Raphael Varane was an arrival from Lens who was given regular game time by Mourinho at centre-back while still a teenager.

Chelsea (2013 - 2015)

A settled side helped Chelsea to win the Premier League in 2014/15 but there was room for some young talent to emerge on the fringes of the title-winning group - something that's been an issue at Stamford Bridge, regardless of the reputation of the manager in charge.

The highly-rated Dominic Solanke made his professional debut in a Champions League match against Maribor just a month after turning 17, while Ruben Loftus-Cheek featured three times in Chelsea's Premier League winning campaign and three others were given their professional debuts.

Credit: Skysports.com