Jose Mourinho's view of the Chelsea academy's success this season is an interesting one.
Chelsea's under-18 and under-19 teams have won the FA Youth Cup and UEFA Youth League to cement the club's dominance at youth level, but this season has seen something far more significant according to the manager: it's seen Ruben Loftus-Cheek emerge as a first-team player.
"This year, the most important title for the academy was Ruben, not the UEFA Youth League or the FA Youth Cup," Mourinho explained to journalists last week.
"It was Ruben: the best trophy. I’m excited but I keep emotional control. If I don’t I’d lose the players or help them go the wrong way but, yes, I am excited—but with stability. At this minute, that’s what they need."
Mourinho will be wise to repeat that message after watching his team of champions humbled 3-0 by West Bromwich Albion on Monday night.
It was a strange game, with Tony Pulis' side fighting harder than Chelsea, outmuscling them and showing the sort of desire synonymous with how the Blues sealed their first title in five seasons.
Chelsea were flat; West Brom not so.
In the aftermath of the game, it's not about getting emotional in the way Mourinho describes about his youngsters; it's not about counting the cost of only Chelsea's second Premier League defeat of 2015.
As the traveling Chelsea fans reminded us with their nonstop signing after the interval, the Blues are champions. Now it's about the future, and that time is now.
Loftus-Cheek started his second game in succession on Monday night and come the final whistle, Nathan Ake and Izzy Brown had appeared from the bench.
Ake is no stranger to the Chelsea spotlight. The Dutch midfielder has been known in these parts for some time and has impressed in a number of first-team appearances.
But Brown was another Chelsea debutant in a season that has seen Dominic Solanke also appear.
They're stacking up.
There's still some way to go, but Mourinho's already got the engine started for the journey Chelsea's bright young things are going to be making.
How far they will go remains to be seen, yet they can't go ignored given everything they have achieved in the junior ranks these past few years.
The manager recognises that, hence why experiments are being made now when he can afford to. The season isn't over for most teams, but Chelsea are already in pre-season.
The time ahead of the new campaign is a traditional period for managers to get a feel for their squad, to see where the players are at.
Mourinho's knows that about Eden Hazard, John Terry and the rest. It's his emerging talent he is feeling out, and regardless of whether or not Chelsea lose to Sunderland on Sunday on the back of this result, playing some of them now will be worth it.
As against West Brom, Chelsea have nothing to lose, but everything to gain.
Mourinho quipped on Sky Sports that anyone upset with his team's performance at the Hawthorns should blame Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool for allowing Chelsea to win the league so early.
Indeed, those clubs should be kicking themselves even more for allowing Mourinho to accelerate the development of his squad.
Loftus-Cheek looked a player beyond his 19 years on Monday. With Cesc Fabregas sent off in bizarre circumstances in the first half, it left the Chelsea midfield a man short, although that bothered Loftus-Cheek none.
If anything, it improved his performance, as he took on more responsibility to get Chelsea back into the game.
Of course, the game slipped further from Chelsea's grasp, yet Loftus-Cheek came out with plenty of credit. He rose to the occasion in the way Mourinho hoped he would and took the next step from his full debut against Liverpool a week earlier.
We also saw hints of what Brown is capable of, with the 18-year-old providing some neat touches that suggest he is going to be comfortable with the attention that will follow him as a Chelsea player.
In hostile surroundings—he was booed by some West Brom fans after he left the club for Chelsea two years ago—he demonstrated a cool head, a player with the right sort of temperament to progress through the ranks.
It's all encouraging stuff, and when Mourinho analyzes the video tape, it'll be how those players handled themselves that will get the attention, not the events that led up to Saido Berahino's brace or Chris Brunt's pile driver.
Make no doubt, defeating the champions the way they did was a significant win for the Baggies and one they deserved. In years to come, we might just return to this game and surmise it was Chelsea who won in the long term, however.
Garry Hayes is Bleacher Report's lead Chelsea correspondent. All quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Follow him on Twitter @garryhayes
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