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Chelsea have removed the club’s name from their age-group teams before the start of the new season, with the under-21 and under-19 sides now rebranded as Cobham Next Gen.

The teams will play as CNG in Premier League 2, with Chelsea believing the new identity more accurately reflects the age profile of their academy after the under-21 squad was made up largely of players under 19 last season.

The name is derived from the club’s training base in Cobham, Surrey, where youth teams sometimes stage matches, although the majority of home fixtures are played at Kingsmeadow, the former home ground of Chelsea’s women’s team.

A club statement said: "The new name more accurately reflects the age profile of our leading Academy side and Chelsea’s long-standing heritage of developing the next generation of players for the senior game.

"While the squad competed in Premier League 2 as an Under-21s side, its average age last season was closer to that of an Under-18s group, with several players as young as 16 years old featuring regularly.

Jesse Derry broke into the Chelsea first team last season.

"Cobham Next Gen also better fits the role of the squad within the Academy.

"It recognises a group of young players with momentum, taking the next step in their development – the final one in the pathway to senior football – competing at a higher level as they continue their journey through Cobham towards the men’s team."

Last season, the under-21 side finished top of the regular Premier League 2 table before being beaten by Tottenham in the play-off quarter-finals.

Regular winger Jesse Derry made his senior league debut in May during the Premier League defeat to Nottingham Forest, before he had to be taken off in the first half with a serious head injury.

Two academy graduates are currently part of manager Xabi Alonso’s first-team squad – club captain Reece James and Levi Colwill.

Several notable former youth players have come through the system, including Arsenal and England midfielder Declan Rice and Manchester United’s Mason Mount.

The Blues’ most successful captain of all time, John Terry, who led Chelsea to all five of their Premier League titles, also came through Cobham.

The new season is now only days away, with Chelsea due to take on Fulham at Craven Cottage in a London derby next Monday.