Chelsea should keep an eye on Mario Pasalic, but still sell him to Atalanta

Serial loanee Mario Pasalic scored the winning goal in a “six point” game for the final Champions League berth in Serie A. The goal, the victory and what it means all strengthen his hope for a permanent transfer from Chelsea this summer.

Chelsea do not have much need for a midfielder this summer, and even if they did, it would be just cruel to get Mario Pasalic’s hopes up since we all know it would end with a mid-August loan. At this point, his hopes may not even budge – let alone elevate – at the thought of playing for the club that has owned him since July 2014. After five loans – quality loans, to be fair, and on an upward trajectory – and zero appearances, Pasalic is probably more interested in wearing his current shade of blue (and black) than Blue.

Pasalic scored one of the top goals of his career on Saturday with his first touch of the ball less than a minute after coming on against AS Roma. With Lazio eight points ahead in third place, Atalanta are fighting for the only remaining Champions League spot. Pasalic’s goal gave Atalanta a 2-1 win and a six-point margin over Roma for fourth place.

The goal was Pasalic’s fourth of the season in Serie A. He needs only one more to match his total from last season at Atalanta. His three assists tie his career-best from last season, so he will not need much more to have his best offensive season since he scored 11 goals for Hajduk Split in 2013/14.

He also has two goals this season in the Champions League, including the equalizer against Manchester City that started Atalanta’s remarkable turnaround from losing their first three group stage games to advancing to the knockout round. They face Valencia this week, with all the momentum favouring the Italian side.

Pasalic’s stats translate well to the Premier League, should Chelsea come looking. smarterscout rates his attacking output in the 96th percentile for Premier League defensive midfielders, in the 90th percentile for link-up passing and the 98th for receiving in the box.

He has played mostly as one of the midfielders in a 3-4-1-2, which makes his role similar to N’Golo Kante’s this season.

The better comparison, though, would be Ruben Loftus-Cheek, whose return will keep Chelsea from paying too much attention to Pasalic but whose chronic recurrent injuries may have Chelsea keeping a scout in Bergamo just in case. Pasalic has a similar build, physical characteristics and control on the ball as Loftus-Cheek. At this point Pasalic has significantly more experience in top domestic and European competition than Loftus-Cheek because he has not had any major injuries. That and the fact he wouldn’t cost any additional money could be the biggest factors in a decision to keep him in consideration at Chelsea.

But even with Loftus-Cheek bouncing back and forth from the pitch to the physio table, Chelsea still have a glut of midfielders. If they were to buy a midfielder this summer it would be for someone much more defensive, like Wilfred Ndidi.

And even though they have only a limited say in the matter, Atalanta have every reason to make a compelling offer to keep Pasalic, either for a third consecutive season on loan or as a permanent transfer. Pasalic signed a new contract with Chelsea last summer that takes him through 2022, which means this summer will be where his performance value and the timing of his contract converge on the highest price.

Atalanta will be motivated to buy and they will have the money from another season’s Champions League qualification. Chelsea should be just as motivated to sell as they continue paring the loan army, will need the extra money to pay for their top-line transfers and look to maximize value from every deal, incoming and outgoing.