text: If they didn't know it already, Jose Mourinho has issued a gentle warning to Chelsea's next generation of exciting starlets that he cannot absorb them all into his first-team squad. 'I cannot have a squad of 10 men and 10 kids,' said Mourinho, as his club prepare for their fourth successive FA Youth Cup final, at Manchester City. Ask around about youth development and most experts feel Chelsea are getting it right at Academy level. Jose Mourinho has issued a gentle warning to Chelsea's next generation that he cannot use them all at once . Chelsea captain isiah Brown celebrates with the trophy after victory in the UEFA Youth League final . Ruben Loftus-Cheek has been part of the the first-team at Chelsea and is set to get his chance next season . The Under 19s won the UEFA Youth League last week and the Under 18s will attempt to defend the Youth Cup against Manchester City, another club working hard with some signs of success in this area. Neither of them, however, has quite solved the problem of bridging the final void, converting this prized talent into first-team footballers. John Terry was the last at Chelsea, but one or two of this crop are considered to have a genuine chance and Mourinho has promised 19-year-old Ruben Loftus-Cheek his opportunity next season. 'Next season, Ruben will not be a kid in the development process,' said Mourinho. 'He will be a first-team player, absolutely ready to play and compete. And we will do the same with two or three or four players. 'Some of the older ones will go on loan to play every game in the Championship or the Premier League, even abroad. And we will bring some of the younger ones into the process. But to have them all at the same time in the first-team squad is hard. 'I cannot have a squad of 10 men and 10 kids. I must have a squad like we have now of 16 or 17 seniors and three or four kids.' John Terry was the last truly successful youth product at Chelsea and he has gone on to become captain . Terry celebrates after Chelsea beat Manchester United on Saturday to tighten their grip on the title . Strikers Isiah Brown, 18, and Dominic Solanke, 17, are earmarked for big things, but Loftus-Cheek, at Chelsea since the age of eight, has precisely what Mourinho wants in his midfield. He is tall, strong, athletic, and has poise on the ball. He is not dissimilar to Nemanja Matic in style and might just save the club £70million they might otherwise be tempted to spend on someone like Paul Pogba from Juventus. This would be an enormous boost for Chelsea as they wriggle within the confines of UEFA's Financial Fair Play. Strikers Isiah Brown, 18, and Dominic Solanke, 17, are earmarked for big things after the European success . Loftus-Cheek, at Chelsea since the age of eight, has precisely what Mourinho wants in his first-team midfield . Mourinho would like extra muscle in central midfield for the big games. His experiments with Kurt Zouma alongside Matic have gone quite well, but ideally, he would prefer someone who can perform the same defensive duties and still flex into attack with pace and vision. Also, he will need Zouma at centre half. Pogba would strengthen Mourinho's team but what signal would that send to Loftus-Cheek, and the rest of those striving to graduate at Cobham and the give the club something it craves? The Chelsea manager said: 'From that team that won the UEFA Youth League, four belong to my squad. Four are my players, first-team players who train with the first-team every day and develop with the first-team. When they're not selected with the first-team - and normally they're not selected - they go back and play there. 'Their development is easier when they're training every day with the first-team, doing pre-season, playing some matches, playing 20 minutes or half an hour in an FA Cup match, Capital One Cup match, even a Champions League match or in the league now and again. The tall, powerful midfielder got his chance to play at Stamford Bridge against Sporting Lisbon in December . Paul Pogba is a player Chelsea are looking at but would cost £70million, a cost they could do with avoiding . 'They belong to a process. I can't have 10 of these young players in my squad but I can have three or four and we did that with Loftus-Cheek, Brown, (Andreas) Christensen and (Nathan) Ake - and Solanke a few times.' In tandem with this quest to nurture their own, Chelsea still cast around the globe and are scrambling to sign 19-year-old Brazilian striker Nathan from Atletico Paranaense and 22-year-old Yoshinori Muto from Tokyo. When these names were thrown his way, Mourinho shrugged and replied: 'I'm not working on that, not at all. I don't make offers, I coach players.' On Nathan, he added: 'He's a player that our structure followed, and our structure thinks it's a player with potential for the future. Chelsea are set to announce the £4.5million signing of Brazilian wonderkid Nathan as part of their recruitment . Tokyo forward Yoshinori Muto is another player Chelsea are interested in but Mourinho is not involved . 'If the deal is close, I will try to help him, as I try to help everyone, to become a Chelsea player. But he's not a player in my squad now, or a player I'm waiting for. I'm focused just on my job and my team. My team I love. My squad I love. The objective we are fighting for, I love it too.' His words reinforced the impression that one branch of Chelsea's development arm is busily signing, loaning and selling footballers with a view to economic gain; making money while hedging its bets in case one of these players turn out to be extra special. While another branch is focused more closely on producing players who might one day represent the club. Patrick Bamford is enjoying a very successful loan spells this season could force Mourinho into playing him . There is cross-over in the middle, of course, with those like Patrick Bamford and Bertrand Traore enjoying very successful loan spells this season and perhaps forcing Mourinho one day soon to consider if they are worth a chance in his squad. But as the manager has made clear, all these players are fighting for a maximum of 'three or four' places in the squad. It is a daunting task.
target: Chelsea have a successful academy playing in the FA Youth Cup final .
  But as yet there have been few graduates into the Blues first-team side .
  Jose Mourinho has pledged to bring players through but issued a warning .
  Portuguese coach says he cannot absorb all young players into his squad .
  Ruben Loftus-Cheek has been promised a chance, plus two to four more .
  Chelsea recruit youth from around the world for profit and their squad .