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One of the biggest news pieces of 2018/19 broke on Friday when it was announced that Chelsea have been banned from signing players in the next two transfer windows due to breaching rules surrounding the transfer of foreign players under the age of 18.
The Blues have stated that they’ll be appealing the ban, but assuming it gets upheld by the power-brokers at FIFA, perhaps things won’t be so bad for Chelsea as their fans might fear. That’s because the club has an insane 41 players, largely young talent, out on loan – and a handful of outstanding youngsters still at the club who aren’t being given much of a chance either.
With the transfer ban though, some of these young stars could easily come to the forefront. Here are 7 players who could flourish at Chelsea because of the transfer ban.
#1 Tammy Abraham
Goalscoring was always going to be one of Chelsea’s weaker points going into 2018/19 – the Blues relied on Eden Hazard’s goals way too much in 2017/18 and didn’t recruit in the summer, leaving just the misfiring Alvaro Morata and Olivier Giroud – more often used as an impact substitute – as their only real options. Perhaps the most curious decision, though? England youngster Tammy Abraham was sent to Aston Villa on a year-long loan.
Most likely, the men in power at Chelsea weren’t impressed with Abraham’s loan at Swansea in 2017/18, as he only scored 5 goals in 31 appearances at the Liberty Stadium. However, it must be remembered that Swansea were in terrible form throughout the season, didn’t create many chance – and Abraham himself only started 15 games.
This season though, Abraham has reminded fans exactly why he was so highly rated after his 2016/17 season at Bristol City that saw him score 23 goals. Despite Villa’s somewhat middling form, the 21-year-old has plundered 20 goals in 28 appearances, averaging a goal every 121 minutes. That’s an impressive record whichever way you look at it.
Chelsea have since brought in Gonzalo Higuain on loan – but won’t be able to sign him on a permanent deal due to the transfer ban – and with Morata now on loan at Atletico Madrid and looking for a permanent exit from Stamford Bridge, next season could be the perfect opportunity for Abraham to thrive in the Blues’ first team – something he’s dreamt of for years. With buying a new striker no longer an option, surely Chelsea must consider using the prolific youngster as a first choice option.
#2 Mason Mount
Seen by many observers as one of the most talented youngsters to be produced by Chelsea’s academy in years – and that’s high praise considering the young talent they’ve developed – Mason Mount is currently on loan at Derby County, where he began the season in excellent form under Chelsea legend Frank Lampard. He played so well in the Championship in fact that he was rewarded with a call-up to the England senior squad in October, although he did not actually appear in the games against Spain and Croatia.
Mount has appeared in 26 of Derby’s 33 league games, with only a couple of injuries to his hamstring and foot keeping him out of the side – when he’s played, he’s always been in Lampard’s starting XI. Thus far he’s scored 4 goals and contributed 2 assists, and notably had an excellent game in the EFL Cup tie against Manchester United that ended 2-2 – the game went to penalties and Mount scored his kick as Derby won 10-9.
At times Mount hasn’t looked quite ready for Premier League action – at 20 years old he’s still physically growing and would need to be at the forefront of games more consistently to make an impact at the very top level – but it’s clear that the potential is there and he’s definitely ready for a spot in the Blues’ Premier League squad.
With Chelsea relatively short on central midfielders – particularly those as creative as Mount – now that Cesc Fabregas has left the club, there’s no reason why the youngster can’t thrive next season. Chelsea won’t be able to bring in any new talent meaning he’d be competing with the likes of Ross Barkley and Ruben Loftus-Cheek for his spot – and that sounds like a chance Mount could capitalise on.
#3 Ruben Loftus-Cheek
There probably aren’t many other players who are finding 2018/19 as frustrating as Ruben Loftus-Cheek. Despite his talents being talked about for years, the midfielder was never really given a chance at first team football at Chelsea, and so in 2017/18 he made a loan move to Crystal Palace, where he was a huge success – he appeared in 24 Premier League games, scored 2 goals and made 4 assists.
Loftus-Cheek’s form was so good that he made it into England’s 2018 World Cup squad and even appeared on a number of occasions in the tournament, but despite being promised more first-team football at Chelsea this season, he’s still struggled for minutes and has only started in 9 games across all competitions.
When he has appeared though, he’s looked excellent – he’s scored 3 Premier League goals despite only appearing for 374 minutes, and he notably scored a hat-trick in the Europa League against BATE Borisov in October. Quite why he hasn’t been given more playing time is anyone’s guess really, given his dribbling skills, power and passing range seem like attributes that would add a lot to the Blues’ game.
Next season though – with Mateo Kovacic’s loan ending and Chelsea being unable to bring in any new talent – Loftus-Cheek will surely be given more opportunities to play. And as we saw during his time at Crystal Palace last season, when he’s given an extended run of games, he thrives – surely this wouldn’t be any different at Stamford Bridge.
#4 Ethan Ampadu
Welsh teenager Ethan Ampadu – recruited from Exeter City during the summer of 2017 after making several starts at that club as a 15-year old – is one of the most highly rated youngsters currently at Chelsea and not away on loan. It’s been disappointing therefore that he’s been largely starved of minutes this season, appearing just 5 times – in 3 Europa League games and 2 FA Cup ties.
What makes this even more curious is Ampadu’s versatility – he’s able to play as both a central defender and as a holding midfielder, and has performed well in both roles for the Wales senior side, who he’s appeared for 4 times this season, most notably starring in their 4-1 win over the Republic of Ireland in September.
Given Chelsea defenders like David Luiz and Antonio Rudiger have hardly performed brilliantly this season – and with former captain Gary Cahill now largely frozen out of the squad and edging towards the end of his career – it’s baffling as to why Ampadu hasn’t been used more often, given his clear talent, particularly when it comes to passing accuracy – he’s got a success rate of 91.7% in his Europa League games.
But if Luiz and Rudiger continue to fail to impress, there’s no reason why the Welshman can’t break into the first team and thrive next season – after all, the Blues won’t be able to go out and simply buy a new central defender as they have done in the past. And realistically, they don’t need to – Ampadu is more than talented enough to replace either man in the starting XI.
#5 Reece James
Chelsea currently have 41 players out on loan, ranging from fully-fledged internationals like Kurt Zouma and Tiemoue Bakayoko to highly-rated youngsters like Lewis Baker, Trevoh Chalobah and Jake Clark-Salter. One player who seems to be flying under the radar, though – but could definitely make an impact in Chelsea’s first team next season – is Reece James.
The 18-year old right back is currently playing on loan at Championship side Wigan, and by anyone’s standards, he’s having a pretty great season. James has appeared in all 33 of Wigan’s league games, starting in 32 of them, scoring 1 goal and making 2 assists, and he was named Player of the Month in September. More impressively, he’s been named Man of the Match by WhoScored on 5 occasions and has a solid average rating of 7.06.
More to the point, right-back isn’t the strongest position for Chelsea right now; Cezar Azpilicueta has primarily been used in the position this season but is arguably better at centre-back, while Davide Zappacosta has yet to really impress. And with captain Azpilicueta getting no younger at 29, next season could be the perfect opportunity for James to return and break into the Blues’ side.
With the transfer ban about to kick in, it isn’t like Chelsea will have much choice if they were to look for a new first-choice right-back – or even a backup to Azpilicueta – and James is young enough to be able to learn his craft from the Spanish veteran and then take his place at some point down the line. Assuming he returns to Stamford Bridge in the summer, James could be one to watch next season.
