Chelsea are a team that have been often criticised for their loan system as they have been sending out a large number of players out on loan in the past years. Much has been talked about Chelsea's inability to nurture young talent and the last academy player to have been a regular starter for Chelsea is club captain, John Terry. This season, they had 38 players on loan at various clubs across Europe and even South America. Many of these players have lost count of their years spent out on loan.
This season has shown the reincarnation of Victor Moses, Nathaniel Chalaboah and Nathan Ake, who were among these loanees last year. Moses was sent out on loan 3 straight years under Mourinho but Antonio Conte saw potential in him and got him to play at right wing back for the first time in his career and he has since started every league game for a Chelsea side who are top of the league.
Also Read: 5 Chelsea youngsters waiting for the first team
Nathaniel Chalaboah has been sent on 6 loan spells during his career and he finally received his chance this season. Nathan Ake has been spent on 3 loan spells and he was recently recalled from his loan spell at Bournemouth after impressing there.
The form of these players will be an inspiration to all the loanees hopeful of returning and making an impact. This season has shown several loanees making an impact for their teams, this list is made up of 5 loanees who should be in the first team next season.
#1 Andreas Christensen
Andreas Christensen is a 20-year-old Danish defender who signed for Chelsea in 2014, the Blues managing to sign him from Brondby IF despite interest from Arsenal, Manchester City and Bayern Munich.
Christensen is a highly rated centre-back and he has already made 3 appearances for the senior team. He signed on a 2-year loan deal with Borussia Monchengladbach in 2015-2016 and has been impressive for them ever since. He has received plaudits from many experts and also won the Borussia Monchengladbach Player of the Year award last year, ahead of then club captain Granit Xhaka.
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He helped them to a respectable 4th place finish last year and he is the only Chelsea player playing in the Champions League this season. Conte is reportedly very pleased with his performances and has shown interest in bringing him back next year, but he is also looking to sign defenders this summer.
The Dane definitely deserves a chance next year after a fruitful spell at Monchengladbach, especially considering that “Mr. Chelsea” John Terry is probably leaving at the end of the season.
#2 Bertrand Traore
Bertrand Traore is a 21-year-old striker born in Burkina Faso and officially signed for Chelsea in 2013, but had played some friendlies for the academy way back in 2010. He was a young prodigy and he made his senior debut for his national team at the age of 15.
He got loaned out to Vitesse midway through the 2013-2014 season and returned to Chelsea at the start of 2015-2016 after a fruitful spell. Although last season was a disaster for Chelsea, it was personally a good season for Traore as he made his debut for Chelsea and went on to make 10 Premier League appearances scoring 2 goals in the process.
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He was just as surprised as everyone else when Chelsea announced his loan deal with Ajax and also publicly showed his anger about being loaned out in a press conference. Although this loan spell hasn’t been the greatest for him, he has shown glimpses of why he is so highly rated at Stamford Bridge when he scored a wonder goal for Ajax at the start of the season.
He recently guided Burkina Faso to a commendable run to the semi-finals of the African Cup of Nations, but was knocked out by Egypt on penalties. Traore is a player who can also be deployed on the wings and will be very useful for Chelsea next season because he can provide cover for Costa and also for the wingers.
#3 Lewis Baker
Lewis Baker is a 21-year-old English central midfielder who has been often compared to David Beckham. Baker is also an important member of the England Under-21 side and is currently on loan at Dutch side Vitesse Arnhem.
He has been setting the world alight in the Netherlands, and he has also been scoring some wonder goals for them this season. He scored a brilliant long ranger at the start of the season and he has since scored 12 goals in 23 appearances, which is a brilliant statistic for a central midfielder.
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He has also played very well for the England U21 side this season and has definitely done enough to make the Chelsea coaches take notice. Baker is very highly rated at Stamford Bridge and has played alongside Nathaniel Chalaboah and Nathan Ake in the academy and won several titles with them.
Baker can do a good job in Conte’s midfield and will be a great cover for Nemanja Matic and N’Golo Kante. Conte should definitely take a good look at him during pre-season next season and he should be able to find him a place in his team next year.
#4 Marco van Ginkel
Marco van Ginkel is a 24-year-old Dutch midfielder who can also play as a winger. He is the oldest player on this list and signed for Chelsea in 2013 after 3 seasons at Vitesse Arnhem. His Chelsea career has been full of injuries so far and he has not been able to bring out his best yet. He is currently on the 4th loan spell of his Chelsea career, at PSV Eindhoven, after signing a contract extension in December.
He was supposed to be a part of Conte’s plans this season but was sidelined with a knee injury for the majority of the first half of the season. He was also sent out to Eindhoven for the second half of last season and had a successful spell there, scoring 8 goals in 16 appearances and helping them to their second straight league title.
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This season, he has started right where he left off, scoring in his first two league games for PSV. He is a player with a strong foot who can play in central midfield and also play on the wing if needed. He can be used as a good squad player who can come in and play when needed.
#5 Tammy Abraham
Tammy Abraham is the latest young sensation in English Football. The 19-year-old striker has taken the EFL Championship by storm this year and he has already broken the record for the most goals scored by a teenager in Championship history with 16 goals.
Abraham is on his first loan spell of his senior career at Bristol City he is also the youngest player on this list. The striker is the 3rd highest goalscorer in the Championship right now and his tally seems to be increasing every week. He has received many plaudits from experts and Sky Sports have named him as one of the players to watch in 2017. Conte has also spoken about the English striker in interviews and has said that he is watching his development closely.
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He is a great poacher and scores most of his goals from inside the 18-yard box because he is always at the right place at the right time. He also holds up play very well and is also a good passer of the ball. He has loads of potential and could be the next Ruud van Nistelrooy in a few years time.
Nistelrooy was known as the ultimate poacher in the Premier League, scoring 150 goals in 219 appearances for Manchester United and most of those goals came from inside the box.
It is very unlikely that Abraham will be a part of the first team next year because of his age.
