FEW dreams start bigger than three brothers joining Chelsea.
And few stories, in the dozen years since then, show better the highs, lows and fine margins of high-level sport.
Jay Dasilva is a top Championship star with Coventry City[/caption] Cole Dasilva was a bright light at Chelsea but now plays part-time[/caption] Cole’s twin, Rio DaSilva, had a spell with Hitchin Town[/caption]Twins Rio and Cole Dasilva, then 12, plus 13-year-old Jay, left then-National League side Luton Town for Stamford Bridge amid a £1milion triple deal in 2012.
The Hatters have now got all the way back to the top flight, while the three siblings have gone in all sorts of directions.
Twelve years ago, Jay was compared to Manchester City legend David Silva – wild praise for someone so young.
So how have they fared after departing Kenilworth Road in what Luton called a “unique” treble transfer?
Unfortunately, all three failed to break through into Chelsea‘s first-team squad.
That’s despite Jay helping the Blues win the FA Youth Cup three times and the UEFA Youth League twice.
In the year below, Rio and Cole played alongside current England stars Declan Rice and Mason Mount.
But of the brothers three, it’s Jay who has remained on top of the tree
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He joined Bristol City in 2017 via loan spells with the Robins and Charlton.
And to many eyes he’s become one of the finest left-backs in the Championship.
That’s remained the case even after he opted to join Coventry on a four-year contract last summer.
Meanwhile, Rio told football.london that joining Chelsea was a “huge leap” where it took ages to “feel comfortable” in such an “incredible” set-up.
Being released hit him “mentally” – but he returned to play part-time football, switching from being a striker to a right-sided midfielder.
And after spells with Dunstable, Hitchin and Bedford, he signed for struggling eighth-tier Kempston Rovers this season.
Rovers sit bottom of of the Southern League Division One Central.
As for Cole, his prospects looked promising as he earned silverware at Chelsea in the shape of the Under 18 Premier League, FA Youth Cup and UEFA Youth League.
But he too was released – moving to Brentford and then Croatians HNK Sibenik in 2021.
But like Rio, he’s mainly been with non-League clubs in the South Midlands area, most notably Oxford City and Hemel Hempstead in the sixth tier.
The defender played for Royston Town and Biggleswade Town before arriving this week at Bedford Town – who are second in his brother’s division.
In fact, Rio and Cole have already met on the field twice this season – a twin-twin situation with a twist aft an eventful decade for all three brothers.