Chelsea scout Piet de Visser has highlighted the impact of current Anderlecht sporting director Frank Arnesen in developing the modern academy for the Blues.
The Stamford Bridge outfit have one of the best academies in world football at the moment and their youth sides have been the most successful teams in age-group football in the current decade.
Roman Abramovich invested big money on the academy following taking charge of the club in the early 2000s and the club are now reaping the benefits of having one of the best youth systems in football.
De Visser claimed that Chelsea owner wanted him to take charge of the academy, but he recommended Arnesen to the Russian oligarch.
He highlighted the role the Dane played in developing the Chelsea academy and attracting talents from across the world who went on to join the club under his watch.
De Visser also revealed that the current Chelsea academy director was also trained by Arnesen.
The Dutch top scout told Dutch daily De Telegraaf when asked how he reacted when Abramovich wanted him to look after the Chelsea academy: “Then I said, Roman, you are crazy. I am a scout.
“But I do know the perfect man who can manage the entire youth academy. That is Frank Arnesen.
“Maybe not all of them got a chance but the academy was completely designed by Frank and he provided it with a lot of talent.
“We were looking for them in all parts of the world and it helped that he himself has a huge network internationally.
“At Chelsea, Jim Fraser is the technical director in the academy, but he was trained a scout by Frank.”
Arnesen left Chelsea in 2010 and has now been linked with the technical director’s job at Feyenoord.
