Ghana winger Christian Atsu is among the luckliest of the huge number Chelsea players who won’t fit into Jose Mourinho squad and must look for playing opportunities elsewhere.
31 players mostly youngsters, including the Ghana star, had to be loaned out last season and all of them have returned to the English side with few opportunities of playing for the Blues.
Which means Chelsea must look for clubs looking to take these players on loan again and Atsu who was sent out to Everton on loan is lucky to have found another team in the Premier League in Bournemouth. Same cannot be said of his other Chelsea pack of loanees.
Chelsea will facilitate the needs of their huge army of returning loanees by placing them in a special ‘loan squad’ for pre-season, away from the main group as they look to find new clubs.
Eddie Newton, technical coach of Chelsea’s youth development programme, and assistant Paulo Ferreira, will lead a squad comprised of players not wanted by Jose Mourinho’s touring first-team selection.
The Blues sent 31 players out on loan last season and a similar number will train together at their Cobham base while they wait for offers to come in from other clubs.
Mourinho is back at work this week to begin preparations for Chelsea’s Barclays Premier League title defence and one of his first jobs before the first team depart for their pre-season tour next week is working out who to take to the United States.
The likes of Brazilian forward Lucas Piazon, right back Wallace, Chilean winger Cristian Cuevas and Croatian goalkeeper Matej Delac are set to stay in Surrey under Newton’s guidance and they could be joined by more senior figures like German winger Marko Marin.
Patrick Bamford, the undoubted star of Chelsea’s loan system at Middlesbrough last season, is likely to be among those who goes on tour but he could end up with the group depending on how long it takes for him to find a worthy move.
Chelsea’s list of retained players released last month revealed 72 contracted players at Stamford Bridge, the largest roster of any English club.
‘We like to invite all the players back because we like them to feel part of the club,’ Newton said about the pre-season group. ‘Sometimes it’s not possible because the deal’s been made with another club so therefore, best case scenario, they go to their new club.
‘Then Jose will take some on tour with him, it’s their chance to impress the manager and make sure that he understands that they’re there and they mean business.
‘Then the other scenario is that they come with me and Paulo and they come for pre-season as a group and we put them through their paces and slowly but surely they start dripping, falling out, because obviously the deal’s been made and therefore they go to their new club on loan.’
As the new season gets underway and the on-site loan group thins out, Chelsea will then monitor their players’ progress around the group with a team led by Newton.
‘A small package will train with the (Under) 21s for a little while until everyone’s out and then we get back to normal, then we’ll start visiting the clubs, visiting the players and going through the same routine,’ the 43-year-old told Chelsea TV.
English youngster Lewis Baker has already moved on loan to Chelsea-linked Vitesse Arnhem in Holland while Christian Atsu has joined Bournemouth and Mario Pasalic moved to Monaco as part of the Radamel Falcao deal. Izzy Brown has also been linked to Vitesse.
Josh McEachran, who was on loan at the Dutch club last season, is set to complete a permanent move to Brentford this week.
Chelsea’s policy of stockpiling young talent and loaning those players out across the world has frequently been criticised but the youth policy is set to continue again this coming season.
THE 31 PLAYERS CHELSEA HAD OUT ON LOAN LAST SEASON
1. Tomas Kalas – Koln (season-long)
2. Wallace – Vitesse (season-long)
3. Cristian Cuevas – CU de Chile (season-long with a view to a permanent)
4. Thorgan Hazard – Borussia Monchengladbach (season-long)
5. Bertrand Traore – Vitesse (season-long)
6. Mario Pasalic – Elche (season-long)
7. Lucas Piazon – Eintracht Frankfurt (season-long)
8. Ryan Bertrand – Southampton (season-long)
9. Gael Kakuta – Rayo Vallecano (season-long)
10. John Swift – Rotherham + Swindon (Robins season-long)
11. Oriol Romeu – Stuttgart (season-long)
12. Joao Rodriguez – Bastia (season-long)
13. Kenneth Omeruo – Middlesbrough (season-long)
14. Christian Atsu – Everton (season-long)
15. Stipe Perica – NAC Breda (season-long with a view to a permanent)
1. Tomas Kalas – Cologne
2. Wallace – Vitesse
3. Cristian Cuevas – CU de Chile
4. Thorgan Hazard – Borussia Monchengladbach
5. Bertrand Traore – Vitesse
6. Mario Pasalic – Elche
7. Lucas Piazon – Eintracht Frankfurt
8. Ryan Bertrand – Southampton
9. Gael Kakuta – Rayo Vallecano
10. John Swift – Rotherham + Swindon
11. Oriol Romeu – Stuttgart
12. Joao Rodriguez – Bastia
13. Kenneth Omeruo – Middlesbrough
14. Christian Atsu – Everton
15. Stipe Perica – NAC Breda
16. Victor Moses – Stoke
17. Josh McEachran – Vitesse
18. Marko Marin – Fiorentina
19. Patrick Bamford – Middlesbrough
20. Fernando Torres – AC Milan
21. Marco van Ginkel – AC Milan
22. Nathaniel Chalobah – Burnley + Reading
23. Islam Feruz – OFI Crete + Blackpool
24. Matej Delac – Arles Avignon
25. Ulises Davila – Tenerife
26. Jamal Blackman – Middlesbrough
27. Todd Kane – Bristol City + Nottingham Forest
28. Alex Davey – Scunthorpe
29. Alex Kiwomya – Barnsley
30. Lewis Baker – Sheffield Wednesday + MK Dons
31. Nathan Ake – Reading
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