Chelsea are notorious for their use of the loan system.
The Blues’ squad is colossal, far bigger than the average Premier League club. Part of this seems to be an Udinese-esque strategy of player developing, scouting and signing any half-decent prospect before loaning them out to get experience.
Part of it is also a reaction to Chelsea’s phenomenal youth academy producing great prospects faster than the club can find managers willing to play them. The result? Lots of players sent out on loan to get minutes they would be unable to at Stamford Bridge, and so Chelsea have a true loan regiment.
The question is, could they form a team? Could the loanees band together and play in a functional side? We had a look and came up with a combined XI of the best Chelsea loanees around right now.
Goalkeeper: Jamal Blackman
On loan at Leeds
Signed for Chelsea: from the youth team
Games for Chelsea: 0
The giant of a goalkeeper has been around the Chelsea first-team picture since 2012 when he emerged as a third-choice. Since then he’s been out on a variety of loans he has failed to develop enough to earn a chance at Stamford Bridge. Currently on the bench at Leeds, although he must be picking up so much from coach Marcelo Bielsa.
Centre-back: Kurt Zouma
On loan at Everton
Signed for Chelsea: 2014
Games for Chelsea: 71
Zouma broke into the Chelsea side as a teenager and, alongside John Terry, was part of the defence that saw the Blues win the 2015 Premier League. Injury struck in 2016, and he never truly recovered his form to impress Antonio Conte. A loan to Stoke last season has been followed up by one to Everton this campaign. He will hope to impress enough to at least earn a move away from the Bridge.
Centre-back: Jake Clarke-Salter
On loan at Vitesse
Signed for Chelsea: from the youth team
Games for Chelsea: 2
John Terry once said Clarke-Salter had the ability to replace him in the Chelsea side. He has only featured a couple of times for the first-team and is currently on his third loan, this time in the Netherlands with Chelsea’s regular loan-destination Vitesse. He will hope that a season of top division football will keep his career developing.
Centre-back: Trevoh Chalobah
On loan at Ipswich
Signed for Chelsea: from the youth team
Games for Chelsea: 0
Trevoh Chalobah watched his brother Nathaniel get loaned all around Europe by Chelsea, and as he enters his first loan period he will hope to avoid the fate that plagued his brother. Chalobah is a left-sided centre-back of colossal quality, and was on the bench as Chelsea claimed the 2018 FA Cup, so the club clearly understands he is a special talent to be nurtured.
Right wing-back: Ola Aina
On loan at Torino
Signed for Chelsea: from the youth team
Games for Chelsea: 6
Ola Aina emerged from Chelsea’s youth team a few years ago, hoping to sneak into the first-team as a right-back. However, he found Branislav Ivanovic and then Cesar Azpilicueta to be immovable objects. After a loan to Hull last season he has now moved to Italy, where he will be hoping that the change of scenery will help kickstart his career.
Centre-midfield: Lewis Baker
On loan at Leeds
Signed for Chelsea: from the youth team
Games for Chelsea: 1
Lewis Baker is 23 years old, and as such has become something of a loan warrior for the Blues. Proof that the loan system doesn’t develop players good enough for the first-team, but it does still develop them. Leeds is Baker’s fifth loan club, and he will be hoping to pick up as much as he can from Marcelo Bielsa. He scored 15 goals two seasons ago for Vitesse, so the potential to be useful is there.
Centre-midfield: Tiemoue Bakayoko
On loan at Milan
Signed for Chelsea: 2017
Games for Chelsea: 43
What happened here? Bakayoko was magnificent for Monaco as the French side won Ligue 1. Then he joined Chelsea and failed to get going. No matter how hard he tried, Bakayoko just couldn’t find the rhythm he had in France. He is a player of enormous quality, so will hope that this loan to Milan will allow him to earn a transfer away from Stamford Bridge and England, so he can prosper again.
Left wing-back: Baba Rahman
On loan at Schalke
Signed for Chelsea: 2015
Games for Chelsea: 23
Originally signed to provide attacking depth at left-back, unsurprisingly he didn’t play all that much under José Mourinho. Since that disappointing debut season, he’s been out on loan at Schalke, where he will stay until his Chelsea contract expires next summer.
Attacking midfield: Mason Mount
On loan at Derby
Signed for Chelsea: from the youth team
Games for Chelsea: 0
The prodigious Mason Mount is very similar to Frank Lampard and won consecutive FA Youth Cups, the u18 Premier League and even the Uefa Youth League. So when they needed somewhere to loan him to in order to continue his development, where better to send him than Derby – whose assistant manager Jody Morris is the one who coached Mount to all his success at Chelsea and whose manager is none other than Frank Lampard. One expects greatness from Mount, and his time in the Chelsea loan army could be over after this season.
Striker: Kenedy
On loan at Newcastle
Signed for Chelsea: 2015
Games for Chelsea: 27
Chelsea signed Kenedy with an idea to develop the Brazilian into a great player. That development never came, however, with the Brazilian’s versatility ending up being used against him. He spent last season on loan at Newcastle and is back on Tyneside for 2018/19, although after his penalty miss in the last second against Cardiff, denying Newcastle a precious win, he may wish he was back at Stamford Bridge toiling in anonymity!
Striker: Michy Batshuayi
On loan at Valencia
Signed for Chelsea: 2016
Games for Chelsea: 53
When Chelsea signed Michy Batshuayi for £30m, many would have suspected the Blues had just signed a deadly strike partner for Diego Costa, perfect to fit into Antonio Conte’s preferred 3-5-2 system. Instead, Batshuayi barely ever played, although he did manage to score the goal that won Chelsea the league.
In January, he joined Dortmund on loan and had a successful spell there, and this season has been sent out to Valencia to be coached by the magnificent Marcelino. Expect some quality production from the brilliant Belgian as he proves why he deserves to be so much more than a back-up.
The post A combined XI of the best Chelsea loanees right now appeared first on Squawka News.
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