Chelsea have the usual number of decisions to make this summer over what to do with their expansive loan army. We asked around about who the Blues should keep, sell and loan back out.
Chelsea have a bunch of unfamiliar faces milling about this time of year: the three dozen or so loanees. FIFA appears to have backed away from the ledge of capping the number of loanees a club can have, so the club can dither in their decisions with these young – and sometimes not-so-young – Blues in name only.
1. Loan back out
Mason Mount (Tan Yi Hao)
As satisfying as it would be to have Mason Mount in the first team squad next season, the fact remains that – apart from his single season at Vitesse – Mount has yet to have the required levels of first-tier football experience to have a consistent starting position at Chelsea. Moreover, Mount would be competing with already established first-team players like N’Golo Kante, Mateo Kovacic, Ross Barkley and Jorginho. He would always be looking in from the outside when it comes to team selections.
All things said, it would be fitting for the player to consider another year under the careful management of Frank Lampard, or perhaps carry on his development at a club like Bayer Leverkusen or Valencia. There he would undoubtedly pick up new skill sets to hasten a potential return to his boyhood club.
Ethan Ampadu (Kevin Peacock)
The youngster arrived from Exeter City in a flurry of excitement. When he’s taken to the field he has looked as assured as any first-team regular at Chelsea.
However, he is still young and needs to play more regularly in order to learn his trade out of the limelight. Chelsea’s “yoof” academy is under the spotlight like no other. The perception that it is not fit for purpose because it doesn’t produce players who step up to the senior level for Chelsea is way off the mark.
Ampadu is future captain material. He has a footballing brain way beyond his years, but it still needs to develop. A consistent run of games at a competitive level this past season has seen some of his peers – Mason Mount, Fikayo Tomori, Reece James and Tammy Abraham – overtake him in the pecking order for being next off the production line.
At just 18 years old, Ethan Ampadu has plenty of time to pursue his place in Chelsea’s history. A season away from SW6 may be the catalyst that allows him to become the next John Terry.
Reece James (Scott Brant)
Reece James is the buzz player for the upcoming season. I will listen to an argument for Mason Mount, but the expectations for Reece James have probably doubled thanks to this epic season he had in the Championship.
With that being said, he should play a full season at a top club. Not a world-class club like Manchester United or Barcelona, but maybe an Everton or Newcastle United. Let him get used to the pace and physicality of the Premier League, and not feed him to the wolves (not that Wolves), by making his debut season for Chelsea under these current horrible circumstances.
It’s so hard for a Chelsea youth to break into the squad and, even with a transfer ban, he may not get the minutes needed anyway. Roman Abramovich isn’t the type to lower expectations. He will still expect a certain standard. In the meat grinder that is Chelsea, the manager will want to win as much as possible and will likely stay with experienced players.