Pasalic, Remy and other players Chelsea should transfer instead of loan
By George Perry
Chelsea have culled their loan army a bit this off-season, moving some long-distant Blues to their first taste of a forever home. Rather than extend their purgatory in the loan system, here are a few more players Chelsea should transfer this summer.
Chelsea sold Alex Kiwomya to Doncaster Rovers last week, released Alex Davey after a loan to the National League and may be on the verge of selling Bertrand Traore. The first two moves were positive steps for the players and club. The Traore transfer leaves many open questions.
Chelsea would survive with fewer than 30 players on loan next season (out of the box thinking, I know). Rather than sell a top prospect or continue loaning players with little future at Chelsea or even in the Premier League, these are some players that Chelsea should sell this summer.
Mario Pasalic
Mario Pasalic has played top-tier football in three of Europe’s top five leagues – just not the Premier League. After arriving from Hajduk Split, Chelsea loaned him to Elche in La Liga. The next season, Chelsea sent him to AS Monaco. With the Ligue 1 side he made his Champions League and Europa League debuts, while scoring seven goals in all competitions.
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Pasalic punched his card in Serie A last season. He had a career-best seven league goals in 24 appearances (also a career high) at AC Milan.
Despite performing well in each of these continental leagues, he is but an afterthought among the loan army. His name never appears on the shortlist of contenders for a pre-season look-in, let alone a chance at making the first team. Galatasaray are rumoured to be interested in him to the tune of £2.2 million. Given what he has accomplished in La Liga, Ligue 1 and Serie A, Pasalic could run rampant in Turkey. The Blues have no reason to say no.
Loic Remy
At some point Chelsea will have to cut their losses on Loic Remy. Why not now? The Blues paid £10.5 million for one of football’s most injury-prone players. If injuries only derailed his time at Chelsea, the club could perhaps say that their style did not work for him. But everywhere Remy goes in England, he spends significant time on the bench.
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Since arriving at Chelsea, Remy has not made over 20 appearances in a single season. Since arriving in England, Remy only managed the feat once: 26 for Newcastle in 2013/14.
Perhaps it is the much-vaunted (say it with me now) physicality of the Premier League. Other than that one season at Newcastle, Remy’s move to England sapped him of all the potential that caught Queens Park Rangers’ eye when he was at Marseille.
Chelsea have no hope of recouping their investment in Remy. Every year that goes by (and he is already 30), his transfer value decreases. If Chelsea wait too long, his contract will expire or they will end up releasing him on a free transfer. Better to get a few millions pounds now and never speak of it again.
Michael Hector
Chelsea have a veritable plethora of centre-backs in the first team. Andreas Christensen is returning from a successful loan spell. The Blues are pursuing Virgil van Dijk and Leonardo Bonucci. And Jake Clarke-Salter is on the shortlist of contenders to be the next John Terry as the academy-star-turned-first-team-regular.
That leaves Michael Hector in a highly unenviable position. Setting aside his dubious distinction of receiving red cards in his first two games at Eintrach Frankfurt, he has no career path at Chelsea. At 24, if he is not within sight of Chelsea’s bench then it is not realistically going to happen.
After overcoming his howler debut he put in a solid season in the Bundesliga. Chelsea could find a ready buyer in that league, or even bring him back to England. If they are concerned that his value may increase over the next few years, they can insert a sell-on clause or performance clause to his transfer.
Tomas Kalas and Marco van Ginkel
These two go together because – in their cases – a permanent transfer is a combination of an apology, restitution and a better-late-than-never way of doing the right thing. Both players could succeed at Chelsea’s first team, particularly Kalas. But for that to happen, Chelsea would have had to make room for them last year or the year before.
Both players could have warded off threats from incoming transfers if they were battling as incumbents, with experience and a proven history in the Premier League. But during Kalas’ unjustly long stay in the Championship and van Ginkel’s prolonged and successful run in the Eredivisie, the ice froze over their heads. Neither will displace anyone from the current XI, let alone Chelsea’s transfers this summer.
Both players’ made deep connection with their most recent loan clubs – Fulham for Tomas Kalas and PSV Eindhoven for Marco van Ginkel. Both clubs would love to have their Blues permanently, and the players would be happy to stay, put down roots and drive for success.
Anyone stashed outside of the “big 5 + Eredivisie” or non-league in England
What does a player learn at Alanyaspor, FC Zurich, Cortulua, Gremio or Woking that is in any way transferable to or predictive of success at Chelsea FC? Seriously, do you know? Because it beats the hell out of me.
Let’s ask Kenneth Omeruo, Miro Muheim, Jhoao Rodriguez, Wallace and Nathan Baxter during their exit interview.
Chelsea loaned Baxter to Woking earlier this week. He split last season between Met Police in the Ryman Premier Division and relegation-threatened Solihull Moors in the National League. The only thing he will learn in non-league football is how to play non-league-quality football. That will barely prepare him to play in League Two.
For the other players, Chelsea can only hope that they each raise their level enough to attract a low (very low) seven-figure (maybe high six-figure) transfer offer. While their peers play in the big five leagues or the Eredivisie – auditioning at least for a transfer to these leagues if not a shot at Chelsea – these players are out of sight, out of mind. Chelsea can barely claim to be keeping them around as investment properties for Financial Fair Play purposes, given how little they will make on their eventual sale. Let them move on.
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Sell them this summer, so whatever minimal resources and attention the club expends on them every season can go towards players who have a shot of game time at Chelsea or at least a worthwhile transfer fee.