Chelsea FC loans Nathan Ake and Beeney, transfers Mitchell
By George Perry
A trio of Chelsea FC youngsters are on the move, as Nathan Ake and Mitchell Beeney are sent on loan while Reece Mitchell signs a transfer to Chesterfield FC.
Chelsea FC’s 2012 FA Youth Cup team is turning into one of the best sources of young talent for English football (not to mention Vitesse Arnhem). Three players from that Cup-winning squad learned today that they will not be spending the 2016/17 season in a Chelsea uniform, with one of them leaving on a permanent transfer and two going out on loan.
Nathan Ake will spend the upcoming season on loan to Premier League side Bournemouth. Ake made 12 first team appearances for Chelsea from 2012-2015 before going on loan to Reading at the end of the 2014/15 season.
He spent all of last season on loan at FA Cup semi-finalist Watford, where he made 28 appearances and scored one goal. Like fellow academy-alum loanee Andreas Christensen, Nathan Ake earned Young Player of the Season honors from his adopted club.
Reece Mitchell joins League One’s Chesterfield FC on a two-year contract with undisclosed terms. Mithcell won two FA Youth Cups and a Under-21 Premier League title with Chelsea. His career progression had a significant interruption when he broke his leg during an FA Youth Cup game against Derby County. He made 24 appearances and scored six goals for Chelsea’s U21 side last season, a career-best offensive output.
Goalkeeper Mitchell Beeney moves on loan to League Two side Crawley Town FC. The move carries a lot of emotional meaning for the young stopper. Beeney’s father, Mark, is the Head Goalkeeping Coach for Chelsea’ s youth and reserve teams. The senior Beeney briefly coached Petr Cech and Carlo Cudicini in 2007 after the first departure of Jose Mourinho and his staff.
With the move to Crawley Town, Mitchell Beeney reunites with his coach from his days with Chelsea’s U21 squad, Dermot Drummy. Drummy took over at Crawley Town in April after nine years with Chelsea’s youth programs.
Drummy had high praise for Beeney, comparing his potential to Manchester United great Edwin van der Saar.
"[T]he thing that we worked on at Chelsea was bringing the keepers into the sessions so they were good with their feet. [Edwin] van der Sar was, for me, one of the top keepers at that. We tried to progress all the keepers like that and I think Mitchell is one of the best I’ve seen at distributing the ball…He’s the type of goalkeeper we are looking for; he’s very good with his feet to start the attacks for us."
Nathan Ake has been overlooked in many of the discussions of who will form Chelsea’s backline under Antonio Conte. An extended loan period is Ake’s best chance to see regular playing time given Chelsea’s other options at full-back.
Of these three, only Nathan Ake had a realistic chance to become a first team regular for Chelsea FC. If Ake continues at Bournemouth the success he started at Watford, Chelsea will likely move to sell him at a heavy profit at the conclusion of the 2016/17 campaign.
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Chelsea’s outgoing transfers and loans announced today are in the best interest of the club and the players involved. While many of Chelsea’s youth moves call into question the club’s commitment to integrating youth into the first team, none of these players were likely to be Stamford Bridge regulars. Sending Ake and Beeney on loan and Mitchell to a new permanent club are moves that, while not high-profile, show that Chelsea can still do right by their young prospects.
All player data from thechels.info.