Chelsea 2-1 Bournemouth: Ranking the returning loanees
As a Chelsea fan, if by now you haven’t come to fear the mighty Bournemouth, chances are, you haven’t been in the game for long. In the five years from 2015 till 2020, Chelsea endured some miserable trips to the South Coast and suffered the occasional shock back home in London. The sense of dread that overcame some of the Chelsea faithful upon seeing the red and black-donned Cherries returned when the Blues fell behind in their first pre-season game of 2021. However, on this occasion, Thomas Tuchel’s men came from behind to beat their bogey team, 2-1.
Most first-team starters remained absent, having either just returned to training or still enjoying a little break. Tuchel, instead, named several of the returning loanees in the starting eleven against Bournemouth and introduced more in the second half. We take it upon ourselves to rank the returning loanees based on two factors – their chances of staying at the club this season and how well they performed against the Cherries.
There are a few things to straighten out before we delve into the report cards. Firstly, given that this was the first match of the 2021/22 pre-season, there was an obvious lack of sharpness among the personnel. Therefore, to dismiss any prospect’s chances to break into the first team based on this one match would be futile, just as it would be the opposite – we’ve all fell into the trap that is pre-season Boss Barkley a few too many times. Secondly, we’ve tried to be completely objective and rate the players based on this one performance, keeping the past out of it.
=14 Trevoh Chalobah
Chances of Staying: 1/5; Match Performance: 2/5
Chalobah earned good reviews during his loan spell in France last season, just not good enough to get him into the Chelsea first-team picture. The 22-year-old’s chances of staying at the club are already slim – with as many as six clubs after him – and he did those little favor with his display against Bournemouth.
=14 Jake Clarke-Salter
Chances of Staying: 1/5; Match Performance: 2/5
Clarke-Salter has spent the last couple of seasons on loan at Birmingham City and will most likely leave on a temporary deal again this summer. He came on in the second half against the Cherries as the left centerback but looked shaky on a couple of occasions. His side was the one Bournemouth exploited to carve out their best opportunities.
=14 Matt Miazga
Chances of Staying: 1/5; Match Performance: 2/5
Miazga openly stated his desire to leave Chelsea recently, having become stuck in the vicious loan cycle. The 26-year-old briefly made a couple of appearances for the Blues in his first season at the club but has since been farmed out to other clubs. The American did not cover himself in glory against Bournemouth; while his passing was decent, he could’ve dealt better with the cross for the opening goal.
#11 Ross Barkley
Chances of Staying: 2/5; Match Performance: 2/5
It was a weird cameo from Barkley, who, despite all of his deficiencies, remains within an arm’s length of the first team. The Englishman tried some flicks and tricks, barely managing to land any. However, he did save the Blues by providing the match-winning assist for Ike Ugbo’s goal.