Chelsea loan army: Keep, loan or sell? Danilo Pantic (Part 24)

Editor’s Note: Although I have promised a new article every day, I took a one-day hiatus on April 25 in light of The Pride of London publishing its 10,000th article. The regular schedule will resume today and continue on until its conclusion.

In Part 23 of this series, I broke down Luke McCormick’s career at Chelsea and discussed what his future in football looks like. For those who haven’t read the introductory piece to this series, a different player will be the subject of a new article every day. I began with goalkeepers and am currently in the process of working my way up the pitch, with each position group being sorted in order by the way in which they appear on the club’s website.

As I move on with the loan army series, I continue the deep dive into the midfield loanees with Danilo Pantic. Pantic is one of the lesser known names on the loan army list, despite being with the Blues for the better part of the last decade. This is because he has yet to play a game for the club and likely never will. Before deciding his future though, let’s take an in-depth look at his past.

More from Chelsea FC Loan Watch

• Chelsea: The €30m January signing who will highly excel with Pochettino’s appointment
• Chelsea loan Army: How Ian Maatsen has got on at Burnley
• What’s next for Chelsea’s Conor Gallagher as asking price revealed?
• The next man up for Chelsea: Left back Ian Maatsen
• The next man up for Chelsea: Center forward Mason Burstow

What does Danilo Pantic’s Chelsea career look like?

Born in Yugoslavia in the mid-1990s, Pantic’s career began at his local club, Jedinstvo Ruma. He then moved over to Partizan in Belgrade, where he spent six years with the academy. Pantic made his debut in senior football with Partizan in 2013. He came on as a substitute mid-second half in the late season contest against Spartak Subotica. While these club names may not mean much to anyone, perhaps this next fact will make this achievement even more impressive. Pantic was handed his debut at 16 years old.

It was clear then that Pantic had a bright future at the club, despite some contract disputes. The youngster signed a one-and-a-half-year extension with Partizan in December of 2013. Over the next two seasons, the midfielder would go on to make 23 appearances with the Serbian side. Juventus’ one time infatuation with the youngster gained him some attention, and he eventually caught the eye of Chelsea in 2015. He made the £1.25 million move to London before immediately being loaned out.

Pantic, as so many others before and after him have done, joined Vitesse for the upcoming campaign. He managed to play in eight games with the first team, but spent a majority of his time with the reserves. Pantic played 11 matches in the Beloften Eredivisie, the former top flight for reserve squads in The Netherlands. He scored three Beloften Eredivisie goals and tallied an assist with Vitesse’s first team. Holland hadn’t had enough of Pantic though, he returned for the next Eredivisie season, this time with Excelsior. Unfortunately, it was much of the same as he split time between the reserves and the first team.

After failing to have much success in The Netherlands, Chelsea agreed to loan him back out to Partizan for the 2017/18 campaign. He broke into the starting XI and established his permanent place just a few months into the year. Pantic’s contributions helped secure the Serbian title for Partizan and he was named in the league’s best XI for that year. Thus, the Blues extended his stay for another season. He played in 45 matches in 2018/19 as Partizan won back-to-back titles. All told, Pantic scored eight goals and contributed another eight assists.

Pantic spent the next season on loan in Hungary, where he played in 11 matches with Fehervar. He was sent out on loan again for this current campaign, this time back to Serbia with Cukaricki. Pantic has appeared in 25 games across two competitions this year, racking up three assists from midfield.

This begs the question: what does Chelsea do with Pantic this summer?

Verdict: “Sell”

Pantic is a free agent in a couple of months. He’s spent six years with the club and hasn’t come close to the first team. The Blues need to cut down their loan numbers this summer and Pantic is likely to be one of the first members to walk. He’s a talented player and at 24, he’s got another 10 years left in him at least. Hopefully he can find a permanent home where he can establish himself and continue to progress. However, that home isn’t Stamford Bridge.

Remember to check back with The Pride of London each and every day as I dive into the largely uncharted world of Chelsea’s famous loan army. Part 25’s subject is midfielder Jon Russell.