Jose Mourinho has said that he is keen to develop players "made in Chelsea" to replace long-term servants Frank Lampard and John Terry when they retire.
The Portuguese coach said that he is working to bring through the next group of players to form the core of the Blues' squad in the future.
"Ideally it's not just about having British players either, but having players who are made in Chelsea," he told The Guardian.
"In three or four years' time, if we don't have other Englishmen to replace this nucleus of players - when Lamps is 39, John is 36 - I will be very sad.
"Every club needs that. So we are working on that."
Chelsea play host to Cardiff City on Saturday afternoon.