Chelsea’s shift away from Vitesse to the Championship paying dividends

Once upon a time, Vitesse was a well trodden path for Chelsea academy products. But the shift to the Championship is now paying off far more.

The last season that Chelsea had zero players on loan to Vitesse was the 2009/2010 season. It then became almost a joke as to how many players the Blues had on loan to Vitesse. But a loan to the Dutch side once meant that the club rated the player and expected big things from them some day.

Nemanja Matic, Matej Delac, Bertrand Traore, Christian Atsu, Dominic Solanke, Izzy Brown, Nathan, Matt Miazga, and Mason Mount all spent their first loan out of Chelsea at Vitesse. Others such as Patrick van Aanholt, Tomas Kalas, Gael Kakuta, Lucas Piazon, Sam Hutchison, Josh McEachran, Charlie Colkett, and Lewis Baker went later in their loan army stints as the next step in their development. Marco van Ginkel remains the only Vitesse player that Chelsea has purchased.

The relationship between the two clubs remained strong from 2009 to about 2017. Since then, Chelsea has shifted away from Vitesse as a stepping stone and made it more of a dumping ground and rehab center. In its place, the Championship became the premium destination for Chelsea players and it is paying dividends this season.

The relationship mostly started with the relationship between the two clubs’ owners. Michael Emenalo was not the technical director when the loans began, but his policy of buying nearly every promising young player in Europe and South America caused the loan army to swell and Vitesse to become the catch all for those players and academy products.

The premise was simple. As the entire world began to value technique more and more, the Dutch league remained accessible for these players at various skill levels to go and hone their abilities in a very technical league. The problem, despite Chelsea sending several highly promising players to Vitesse, was making the jump to the Chelsea first team.

The notion that something different had to happen to bridge Vitesse to the Chelsea first team was first tested with Baker. Baker had been one of Chelsea’s most promising young players, challenging Ruben Loftus-Cheek for the best out of the academy at the time. His two years at Vitesse were incredibly fruitful and it left many scratching their heads when he was loaned to Middlesbrough in the Championship. The loan went very poorly with Baker only making 14 appearances that season. But the club learned a very important lesson about the Championship.

It became clear that Championship football was not necessarily higher quality for Chelsea youngsters but it was surely more applicable to the English game within the Premier League. Baker had prepared for the Dutch game but not for the physicality of England. It was a lesson that Chelsea weighed the following season when Mount was loaned to Derby County and several other players joined him in the Championship.

That same season, 2018/2019, also came after to major events the previous season. The first is Emenalo’s departure from Chelsea and thus a change in policies on the loan army. The second was Leonid Slutsky’s appointment as Vitesse manager thanks to some influence from his friend Roman Abramovich. That season was largely the first season where Vitesse was less of a destination for Chelsea and more of a place to store players that did not fit anywhere else.

Charly Musonda went there to restart his career after poor loans and bad luck. Injury kept him out for the season and he is back there this year. Eduardo was sent there to clear Chelsea’s books a bit as his contract ran out. He has been replaced by Jamal Blackman as he rehabs from injury. Jake Clarke-Salter has also spent time there after failing to launch in the Championship. His loan to Vitesse was perhaps the clearest sign that the Championship had moved ahead of the Dutch side in the pecking order.

Now this season is a true reevaluation of what Championship football can offer. On most match days this season, Chelsea has started three players that had played in the Championship last season. If Reece James is able to lock down a starting spot, that number will raise to four. Surrounded by high level Premier League players, these stars of the Championship have themselves become high level Premier League players almost overnight.

Even Chelsea’s manager, Frank Lampard, should cause many to reevaluate how coaches are seen. It has not been the greatest of starts but all signs point towards the club becoming truly fantastic with time. Lampard, given Premier League caliber players, showed that even Championship managers can compete.

Last season, Chelsea had 14 players on loan in the Championship. Four of those are now first team players at Chelsea. This season, the count is down to six but some are already looking to make a case for remaining at Chelsea next season. Would Tammy Abraham, Mason Mount, Fikayo Tomori, or Reece James have been able to make the jump to Chelsea as easily directly from Vitesse? It is hard to say with certainty but competing within the same pyramid has helped them develop a skill set that Chelsea is now benefiting from.

The relationship with Vitesse is not likely to go away anytime soon but it has certainly changed. Whereas it was once the first stop for promising players, it is now one of the last before they can expect to be moved on. The last two seasons have shown that the Championship is the new destination for first time loans of promising players and a step away from Premier League football. Chelsea is currently reaping the rewards of it thanks to Mount, Abraham, Tomori, and soon, James.