Chelsea buybacks: Only two (at best) of three are good enough to consider

It has been revealed that Chelsea has buyback clauses on Nathan Ake, Nathaniel Chalobah, and Bertrand Traore. Two of those are possibly worth it.

Last year, Chelsea allowed three young and promising players to depart rather than send them on loan again. The players had grown tired of the constant team swapping and wanted something more permanent. Chelsea granted their wish, but made sure to include a buyback clause in their contracts.

Simply put, a buyback clause means if their new clubs want to sell the player or accept a bid, they must allow Chelsea to match the bid and negotiate with the player first. This is usually done at a set price.

The Telegraph has revealed, or rather confirmed, that the Blues did in fact place buyback clauses on Nathan Ake, Nathaniel Chalobah, and Bertrand Traore. But not all buybacks are necessary to activate. Among those three, at best two can make the grade at Chelsea.

Traore is the most “sure thing”. Even before he left Chelsea, he had shown a lot of promise both on the right wing and in the striker role. His speed and deadly left foot made it appear as though he was sure to make it at Chelsea. But he could not overcome the depth ahead of him.

Since going to France, Traore has refined his talent in a young and exciting pressing side. Primarily deployed on the right wing, he has also been used centrally when other strikers were unavailable. He has scored an impressive 22 goals in 54 appearances for the French side.

So Traore makes a lot of since for Chelsea right now. The wingers are not getting any younger and the strikers are misfiring. Traore could just as easily slide in on the flank as he could in the Dries Mertens role for Maurizio Sarri. All the more, he would likely come much cheaper to Chelsea than he would other teams.

The other two are much trickier to nail down. Nathaniel Chalobah has faced long term injury since arriving at Watford and has struggled to break into the side this season. He showed a lot of promise under Antonio Conte pre-injury, but it may be too late for him to turn things around. Still, he did work under Sarri previously and could see a return go better than his Napoli stint due to familiarity.

Ake is the trickier one and the one most likely to be on the move next. Since moving to Bournemouth permanently, Ake has refined himself and become an even better player than before. Clubs such as Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur are sniffing around. Chelsea, of course, would have the first chance to take a crack at him.

But that is a tricky situation. Ake is good, but has never really looked great. Certainly not good enough to walk into a top six team. And since he departed Chelsea after riding the bench, why would he want to go through that again?

But then there is Sarri to consider. Ake, despite not necessarily being top six quality, could be tailor made for Sarrismo. He loves to push up into the midfield and has a good eye for a pass while also being smart in his defending. Sarri could mold Ake into a great player for Chelsea in a way that Mauricio Pochettino or Jose Mourinho simply could not.

Traore is the only one Chelsea must look at bringing back without any doubts. Chalobah and Ake are more situational. Chalobah will need to start playing again and Ake will need to be content with the bench for some time if he rejoins. At best, Chelsea could swing bringing two of these three back. With Ake first up, it will be interesting to see what the Blues opt to do.