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Chelsea loan army: Keep, loan or sell? Series conclusion

By Gabe Henderson

LONDON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 04: Thomas Tuchel, Manager of Chelsea embraces Mason Mount of Chelsea following the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on February 04, 2021 in London, England. Sporting stadiums around the UK remain under strict restrictions due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in games being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 04: Thomas Tuchel, Manager of Chelsea embraces Mason Mount of Chelsea following the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on February 04, 2021 in London, England. Sporting stadiums around the UK remain under strict restrictions due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in games being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images) /
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SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND – JANUARY 30: Ross Barkley of Aston Villa looks on during the Premier League match between Southampton and Aston Villa at St Mary’s Stadium on January 30, 2021 in Southampton, England. Sporting stadiums around the UK remain under strict restrictions due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in games being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Naomi Baker/Getty Images)
SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND – JANUARY 30: Ross Barkley of Aston Villa looks on during the Premier League match between Southampton and Aston Villa at St Mary’s Stadium on January 30, 2021 in Southampton, England. Sporting stadiums around the UK remain under strict restrictions due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in games being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Naomi Baker/Getty Images) /

3. Sell

Unfortunately, due to the drastic nature of the new regulations, Chelsea is forced to make sweeping changes to its loan army. This results in the ‘sell’ category being the largest by a wide margin.

It’s never easy to simply say a club should part ways with its players, but there were some simple decisions in this series. Players like Danny Drinkwater, Victor Moses and Davide Zappacosta. know they have no future in west London, albeit for different reasons. It’d be a miracle if Drinkwater ever put on a Chelsea shirt again simply because he’s had a disaster spell since joining the Blues. On the other hand, Moses’ time has come and gone with Chelsea. He’s a figure that’ll be fondly remembered, but his future is elsewhere. The same goes for Zappacosta. The Italian fullback will always be associated with his debut worldie against Qarabag. However, his heart belongs to Italy and that’s where he should stay.

Meanwhile, there are some individuals on the sell list that find their sale is a direct result of FIFA’s new rule. This includes Jamal Blackman, Juan Castillo, Jake Clarke-Salter, Jack Wakely, Lewis Baker, Jon Russell, Tariq Uwakwe and Izzy Brown. Each and every one of these individuals has a definite future in football, they just haven’t developed fast enough to break into the senior squad at Stamford Bridge for one reason or another.

Matt Miazga and Baba Rahman have continued to impress out on loan. The fact remains neither is Chelsea caliber. Therefore, they need to make way for other young starlets to remain in the loan army. Marco van Ginkel and Danilo Pantic have simply had a rough go of things since joining the club. They don’t deserve to be strung along any longer and should be sold so they can kickstart careers elsewhere. Ike Ugbo makes this list solely because the club is preparing to sell him anyways. The most difficult decision—personally and logistically—was including Ross Barkley. I can see Barkley playing under Tuchel, many simply don’t agree and he’s in a bit of a slump to end the season at Villa Park.

The sales of many of these individuals this summer will help the Blues fund some expensive transfers, which has been the case with loan army exports for quite some time.

Next. Chelsea loan army: Keep, loan or sell? Ike Ugbo (Part 33). dark

Which loan player’s decision would you change? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter!

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