Charly Musonda in League Cup action for Chelsea earlier this season (Getty)

Chelsea youngster Charly Musonda launched an astonishing rant on social media last night, apparently in frustration at his lack of chances under Antonio Conte.

[metro-zone-post-thumbnail-link]The 20-year-old forward said all his hard work and sacrifice had been repaid with ‘literally nothing’.

It must be said Musonda’s comments don’t implicitly refer to Chelsea, although a comment from his brother on the Instagram post make it highly likely he was.

His Instagram rant

‘You sacrifice, you work hard, harder, you give more than what’s expected, and often more than you can, because you love what you do and clearly more than you should.

‘And what do you get back? Literally nothing… done.

‘However, with this being said I will continue with same dedication and commitment to this great game.’

His brother Lamisha’s comment: ‘It’s starting to look like they wouldn’t know what they have if Ronaldo or Messi coming out of the academy (sic).’

Who is Charly Musonda?

Musonda in training (Getty)

Musonda joined from Anderlecht in the summer of 2012 after Chelsea beat off competition from a host of interested clubs. The promise he showed in the academy saw him handed a contract in 2015 that ties him to the club until the summer of 2019.

He went on loan to Real Betis for the second half of the 2015/16 season which is where he made his professional debut. 16 appearances for the La Liga side further enhanced his reputation.

The young forward, who is comfortable anywhere in a front three, remained at Betis for the following season but a managerial change began to limit his chances and he was recalled by the Blues.

Musonda during his time at Real Betis (Getty)

While currently known as a forward player, Conte believes he’s capable of playing in a variety of positions.

‘In my mind he could play like No.10 or like a winger and in the future he could play also as a wing-back,’ said the Chelsea manager.

Is he the next big thing?

Upon his return to Chelsea he was assessed by Conte with the Italian deeming him worthy of inclusion in his squad for the second half of last season. He was clearly impressed by the young Belgian, declaring he ‘has the quality to become a great player.’

Conte would seem to rate the youngster (Getty)

However, the Italian failed to hand Musonda a single minute of playing time as the Blues clinched the Premier League title.

This season looked like it might be different with Conte making something of a statement by involving Musonda in the Community Shield defeat to Arsenal. The youngster came on in the 82nd minute of the Wembley curtain raiser.

But since then he’s made just one incredibly short substitute appearance in the Premier League against Burnley and played in Chelsea’s 5-1 League Cup win over Nottingham Forest. That match was his first start for the club and he managed to get on the scoresheet.

Musonda celebrates with Eden Hazard after his first goal for Chelsea (Getty)

His reaction to that performance just last month suggested Musonda was very happy at Chelsea.

‘It was an emotional moment to score my first goal at the Bridge,’ he said after the game. ‘I can’t even remember it now! I was very happy and you could see that. I was in tears to be honest.

‘If the lads didn’t come and get me I don’t know what would have happened! It was a great moment.’

Is he right to be annoyed?

Musonda has hardly been given a chance to impress by Conte but when he was he managed to score (albeit against a Championship side). With no appearance since, that will surely have frustrated him.

In addition, Musonda will have noticed with concern the lack of progress of his fellow Chelsea academy graduates.

Nathaniel Chalobah has been impressing at Watford since quitting Chelsea (Getty)

Conte was accused of failing to give youngsters a chance at the club amid an exodus of players over the summer. Nathanial Chalobah, frustrated with him limited opportunities, pushed for a move before eventually joining Watford in a £5million deal. Promising defender Nathan Ake was sold to Bournemouth. Dominic Solanke chose not to sign a new contract at Chelsea and instead left to join Liverpool. Promising players Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Tammy Abraham and Kurt Zouma have all gone out on loan this season.

It seems however that Musonda accepts he might not be physically ready for the English football.

‘I know I definitely have to put more muscle on [like Hazard did]. It is a very physical league,’ he said recently.

‘English football is very tough. You can have the skill but you need to add the physical part to it. I am still young and will have to continue developing. I’m patient and I have time.’

How will Conte react?

Despite an apparent unwillingness to give youth a chance, it’s an allegation Conte totally refutes.

Asked about it earlier this year, Conte pointed to his track record. However it came with the caveat that they must be ready.

Conte on youth

‘I put Paul Pogba at 18 into the Juventus team, for Claudio Marchisio. But you must have players who are ready to play regularly with Chelsea, a great team. Otherwise, it’s very difficult to make this decision. You must decide if you want to fight for the title or develop your young players. Two different ways.

‘Show me young players who deserve to play regularly for Chelsea and I’m ready to pick them. Don’t forget my first game in Serie A, I was only 16. I’m the first person open to do this because another coach did this with me. But, I repeat, you must have the possibilities to do this. Not to invent them.’

How Conte will react to Musonda’s outburst remains to be seen. As the episode with Diego Costa demonstrated, he will not stand for his authority being questioned. This is a man who hasn’t been afraid to call out greats such as Alessandro Del Piero and Gianluigi Buffon during his managerial career.

Conte does not like to be challenged (Getty)

Over the summer Conte told his young players to demonstrate patience as they wait for their chance and Musonda has defied him.

‘Sometimes I think the young players lose their patience very quickly,’ said Conte. ‘A lot of the time because of parents or the people around them. I think the advisers aren’t right.

‘The first thing they should have is good patience. Trust the club. Then work very hard to know that to play at this level you must be stronger – and very good.

‘Sometimes, young players think they can play easily in the first team, but that’s not true.’

Musonda’s best hope is that Conte puts his outburst down to youthful indiscretion. If he doesn’t, Musonda’s progress at Chelsea could be over before it’s really started. That would be a terrible scenario for Musonda, and if he goes on to fulfil his promise, a major blow to Chelsea as well.

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