Which Of Chelsea’s Loan Stars Can Impress Next Season?

The latest piece of Chelsea transfer news involves the Spanish midfielder Oriel Romeu who has been loaned out to Stuttgart for the whole of the 2014-15 campaign. The 22 year old spent last season at Valencia and in his three years at Stamford Bridge he has only made 22 league appearances.

Romeu is so far just one of ten players loaned out by Jose Mourinho and it would be no surprise if further squad members left on a similar arrangement before the start of the campaign. But why does the club buy and farm out on such an extensive scale and which of the current loanees can recover to make their mark at Chelsea football club?

An unhappy arrangement?

Chelsea are the favourites at 2.98 with Betfair to win the Premier League at the end of the 2014-15 campaign but manager Jose Mourinho has to get the balance of the squad right if they are to maintain an effective challenge. One of the questions supporters will ask is whether any of the loan players would be better placed in the Stamford Bridge squad.

Although Ashley Cole left West London for Roma during the summer, the arrival of Filipe Luis means that defender Ryan Bertrand’s opportunities at the club will continue to be limited. A number of clubs, including Spurs and Aston Villa, were linked with a permanent transfer but as the new season approached, the left back has signed a deal to become Luke Shaw’s temporary replacement at Southampton.

At 23, Gael Kakuta is another player who finds himself at the crossroads of a Chelsea career and after seven years at the club, the winger is about to embark on his seventh loan deal – this time to Rayo Vallecano.

Both men have a chance to impress but in the case of Bertrand, it seems highly unlikely that he will ever become a Stamford Bridge regular. Kakuta has a better chance of breaking through but after showing so much promise as a youth team player, why have a succession of Chelsea managers failed to give him a chance?

Time to shine

While the loan deals involving Kakuta and Bertrand might baffle some sections of the Chelsea support, others make perfect sense – for now at least. Thorgan Hazard, younger brother of Eden, is just 21 and will doubtless benefit from a temporary spell with Borussia Monchengladbach in the Bundesliga.

Burkina Faso international Betrand Traore is just 18 and on his way back to Vitesse while Croatian Mario Pasalic, who will spend the new season at Elche in Spain, is just a year older. Elsewhere, Lucas Piazon, Tomas Kalas, Wallace, Kenneth Omeruo, Cristian Cuevas and Oriel Romeu are all youngsters who could yet have a future at Stamford Bridge.

No way back?

Those loan players who want to force their way back into Mourinho’s plans may be concerned at the number of men who get sent out never to return. Kevin de Bruyne is a perfect example of that and after two temporary deals, the Belgian had clearly had enough as he signed for Wolfsburg on a permanent basis.

Perhaps Thibault Courtois will now prove that there is life after loans when it comes to carving out a career at Chelsea. The keeper impressed at Atletico Madrid and is now set to challenge Petr Cech as Jose’s first choice stopper.

Of the ten that have already been sent out, it will be interesting to see if Thorgan Hazard can impress in the Bundesliga while Gael Kakuta needs a strong campaign in La Liga to stand any chance of a slot in the Chelsea starting XI in 2015-16. As for the others, they are some distance away from competing for a place in Mourinho’s plans.