Kenneth Omeruo adds his voice to Chelsea loan army discontent

Chelsea’s team cohesion is at an all-time high around Stamford Bridge and Cobham. The loan army, though, is publicly fracturing from the club. Kenneth Omeruo is the latest player to say he wants out.

Antonio Conte said recently that his purpose it to instill a winning mentality at Chelsea, not keep his players happy. Someone should ask Eddie Newton’s take on the matter. Newton is Chelsea’s loan technical coach, and his loanees are increasingly disgruntled with their vanishing prospects as Blues.

Kenneth Omeruo has played 48 games in Turkey’s Super Lig, 33 games in the Championship and 38 games in the Eredivisie since joining Chelsea in 2012. He has also been capped seven times for Nigeria. Aside from a short rehab stint training with Chelsea before joining Middlesbrough on loan, he has barely touched a Chelsea kit.

Omeruo is under contract at Chelsea until 2019. However, he is actively seeking a permanent transfer to a club that will provide him a stable opportunity to play first-team football.

"You have no idea how frustrating it is to always go out on loan… Last season I had an opportunity to go to one of Turkey’s biggest clubs [Besiktas] but the deal collapsed two days to the end of the transfer window. This season I was lucky I could find a place where I could still play because they want me to come to Alanyaspor. My priority is to play at the top, to find a place where I get to play regularly. – BBC"

Like Tomas Kalas last week, Omeruo delivers a damning verdict of failure to Chelsea’s loan and development system. Not every player under contract can expect to play for Chelsea. But every player in the club should want to play for Chelsea. A young player’s public repudiation of his ambition to play for his nominal club means one of two things. Either the player is immature and has an exaggerated sense of his ability; or the system – the club – has failed that player.

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Kenneth Omeruo is solidly in the latter category. For years Omeruo was highly rated as a Premier League-calibre player. He has the physical abilities and tactical skills to at least warrant a trial with Chelsea. He succeeded in the Chelsea’s two main development leagues: the Eredivisie and the Championship. He is an experienced international and has now played in a third league.

Omeruo has done everything right and everything well. Even if he is not a Chelsea-calibre player, he is still a first-team regular in nearly any top-tier league. At 23 years old and after five loan clubs, Chelsea surely have enough data and observations to make a final decision on him.

Next: Loan army well-represented in promotion / relegation scraps

If he is not to be part of the squad next season – and it is hard to see that happening – Chelsea should sell him so he can get on with a promising career. They should do the same with many other loanees.