Chelsea signed Jorrel Hato from Dutch club Ajax for around $50m. He was also handed a long-term contract until 2032, on an impressive $8.2m yearly base salary.
So, long story short, Chelsea saw something in Jorrel Hato. However, as it stands, his signing looks redundant, and he hasn't been given a runout in the starting lineup consistently enough to warrant being Chelsea's 10th highest-paid player.
The truth is, Jorrel Hato is not ready to play in the Premier League right now. Chelsea learned this the hard way, but thankfully, there is plenty of time for Hato to work on his art.
That isn't an insult to Hato. He is only 19 years old, and it was Chelsea that pursued him, not the other way round.
Chelsea needs to screw it and just do it with Jorrel Hato
It is not rocket science to suggest that Jorrel Hato needs Premier League experience to be experienced enough to play in the Premier League. Unfortunately, other clubs have proven that the Premier League is a substantial step up from the Eredivisie.
So, how does Jorrel Hato get exposure in the Premier League? Well, there is the loan route, which is proven to have a remarkably low hit rate. That would be a surefire way to ensure Hato leaves Chelsea eventually, and it's still way too early to draw that conclusion.
The simple answer is that Chelsea needs to play Jorrel Hato more, even if it's ugly at first. He needs to be coming off the bench more often than he is; just two cameos from the bench are frankly woeful.
There will, inevitably, be teething pains for Jorrel Hato in the Premier League. However, fans can hardly write him off yet, since he hasn't been given a consistent chance to prove himself.
We must address the elephant in the room here; it's only a matter of time before Chelsea's defense sees an influx of injuries. Marc Cucurella is overworked, and while some won't like to admit it, Reece James is a ticking time bomb in that regard.
When the inevitable happens. Chelsea needs to be prepared. Sure, it's great that Enzo Maresca is finally finding his strongest defense, but even if there aren't injuries, he needs to rotate the squad at some point or another.
The last Jorrel Hato needs for his confidence is to be thrown in the deep end. What he needs, instead, is patience. And Chelsea fans need that, too. There will be some ugly cameos from Hato, but they are necessary cameos. He can't improve if he isn't given the time to improve.