As footballers are loaned out at the beginning or during second half of the season, there is always an element of anxiety and fear that they may never return to their parent club, or at times it may prove to be a blessing in disguise. The aforementioned anxiety, fear is even more at a massive club like Chelsea where the club buys the services of players like Diego Costa, Fabregas and Felipe Luis to bring in more trophies and glory, and thus for current 26 players loaned out from Chelsea, their performances on loan is best time to stake their claim in the squad. Below is a brief snapshot on the six loaned players that we have heard about in the news and couple of others that are suppose to grab the headlines in the near future at Chelsea or some other club of repute.
Ryan Bertrand at Southampton
The most important element in the successful loan spell is the time spent on the pitch. With limited opportunities to his credit at Chelsea, Ryan Bertrand made the switch to St. Mary’s, where he has clocked maximum miles in comparison to other featured six in our article. He has played almost every minute of his 20 game-stint at Southampton that emphasizes his importance to the high flying Ronald Koeman’s side. In his 20 appearances, he has scored twice, made as many assists, had an 80% pass completion rate and also won 22 tackles. No wonder Southampton want to make his deal permanent and it will be interesting to watch Chelsea’s take on his future in the summer.
Victor Mosses at Stoke City
Victor Mosses joined Chelsea, while the London based club was investing in some attacking players that were effective in the Premier League, yet not in the world class category. Victor was with Liverpool in 2013-14 and had limited match time with Raheem Sterling’s brilliant string of performances. This season at Stoke he has played couple of Man of the match performances, yet has been out for the last couple of months due to injury. In his 10 games for Stoke, he has scored 1, made 3 assists and had an 82% pass completion rate. He is definitely an effective player but his style of play and quality will be more suited to a club outside the top 6 of the Premier League.
Thorgan Hazard at Borussia Monchengladbach
Yes you guessed it right; he is the younger and lesser heard sibling of Eden Hazard. He is built like Eden and can play in a similar role. After signing from Lens in 2012 he joined Zulte Waregem, now at Borussia Monchengladbach, Hazard has scored 4 times and made 7 assists. If the reports are to be believed he will definitely be in the Chelsea squad to linkup with his elder brother in 2015-16 campaign.
Marco Van Ginkel at AC Milan
One of the first signing Jose Mourinho made in his second stint at Chelsea, Ginkel is expected a lot of big things, but has been unfortunate with limited game time and injuries. Mourinho rates him highly and sent him to AC Milan to get some game time; even the management at AC Milan believes Ginkel is destined for bigger things. As it stands he has just played two games in Serie A and is injured, he should be back in Chelsea next season to fight for his place in the team.
Patrick Bamford at Middlesbrough
Even while Chelsea might be spoilt for choices in the attacking half of the pitch, Patrick Bamford is a name which many are hopeful, One will listen more about him in the next few years. Although it is difficult to breakthrough as a Striker in a massive club like Chelsea, as massive money is splashed on this position that could be an exception with Bamford. Currently playing out his loan spell at Middlesbrough, he has scored 7 goals in the 19 games played for the Championship side.
Lewis baker at Sheffield Wednesday
Voted as the Chelsea’s Young player of the year in 2013-14, his screamer against Arsenal U-21 was also voted Chelsea’s best goal of 2013-14 campaign. He is a skillful two footed player who can play in an explosive central midfielder role. His added skill in the dead ball situation also makes him an asset to any team which he plays in. He is an exception to our list as he has just been sent out on loan, but with his work rate, leadership abilities and Jose Mourinho being his huge fan, augurs well for Baker as he is certain to make the cut in the star studded lineup next season.
Although not covered in detail the below mentioned names are talent in abundance which are currently also loaned out by Chelsea. Whether it is Traore, Christian Atsu, Gael Kakuta or Romeu, we are sure all of them have a bright future ahead of them. Some will make it back to Stamford Bridge in the near future while the rest will look out for permanent deals elsewhere in Europe.
Image Courtesy: Chelsea FC Official Website
Data Courtesy: Squawka