Chelsea is now in danger of stockpiling young players, and for a top team, stockpiling that hurts the young players more than helps the club. The west London side has signed several players under the age of 21 in the past year, and while these players are said to be promising, they’re certainly not ready to contribute to the senior team, what is the plan for them? Loans. The Blues need to send some of these youngsters out on loan, and here are three young players that should go out on loan.
3 youngsters Chelsea should loan out
Faustino Anjorin, Attacking midfielder
The 21-year-old attacking midfielder has already had two loans at Huddersfield Town in the last two seasons, prior to that, his loan at Lokomotiv Moscow had been cut short due to an injury. The worrying thing is that he only played 15 games across two seasons in the Championship, out of a possible 96.
It should not be discounted that he is coming off an injury, but it has to be said that he had poor loan spells, and the only outcome of poor loan spells, is more loan spells. No one can expect to get into any senior team by not performing well on loan, so Anjorin needs another loan. As an attacking midfielder, it’s possible that he would be served better in a more ball dominant side, but if he didn’t impress in the second division, which more attacking side would be willing to take a chance on him?
Cesare Casadei, Central midfielder
Casadei impressed in the U20 World Cup, and this got many fans excited expecting his performances to earn him a chance in the first team. What his performance in the U20 World Cup actually means, is that he would not be short of suitors for a loan move. Before anyone loses their mind, it should be noted that the 20 year-old Italian has never played a senior game of football in his career, and the difference between senior football and U20s football cannot be overemphasized. Is Casadei talented? Yes. Is he extremely talented? Probably. Can he contribute to the first team now? Not likely.
Does he need gametime? Yes. Then the loan is the obvious move. Young players need playing time to develop. Playing regularly would do more for their development than being around good players. If Casadei stays, he’d be in a high pressure, fast-paced environment that is more scrutinized than the usual top flight club. Chelsea has a lot of media reach, and after coming 12th last season, the need to churn out consistent top level performances would be more pronounced next season, there’s no reason to put Casadei in that situation, especially because of the fanbase.
The fanbase is often unkind to underperforming players, and underperformance may not be something Casadei can help if he’s in a new environment. The best thing would be for him to go somewhere he can get ample playing time and develop further, away from scrutiny.
Diego Moreira, Left winger
Moreira is a forward that arrived from SL Benfica this season. He is our third candidate for a loan. Chelsea doesn’t have a place for him in the first team at the moment, and with him being mainly a left winger, he won’t even get fringe minutes.
Mauricio Pochettino is likely to stick with a consistent lineup all across the board, and change it up when he deems it necessary. Moreira is not likely to get a look in for months, which is not good for the soon-to-be 19 year-old. They could also play in the academy for a while, but for what the Blues want to accomplish, the Portuguese youngster is better served playing senior games as soon as possible.