Football Matters: Chelsea, The Future Under Conte (Part Two)

With 38 players out on loan from our own youth academy as well as players we have signed it's worth assessing the highest profile names among them. There's no need to discuss all of them though as some are still too young to know how they would perform in the Premier League.

The ones I will not be covering at great length are:

Mitchell Beeney – GK – 21 – English – at Crawley Town in League Two

Jamal Blackman – GK – 23 – English – at Wycome Wanderers in League Two

Matej Delac – GK – 24 – Bosnian – at Royal Excel Mouscron in Belgian First Division A

Jake Clarke-Salter – DEF - 19 – English - at Bristol Rovers in League One

Alex Davey – DEF - 21 – Scottish - at Crawley Town in League Two

Michael Hector – CB – 24 - Jamaican – at Eintracht Frankfurt in German Bundesliga

Wallace – RB'LB – 22 – Brazilian – at Gremio in Brazilian Campeonato Serie A

Victorien Angban – CM/RW/LW – 20 - Ivorian – at Granada in Spanish La Liga

Lewis Baker – CM – 21 - English – at Vitesse Arnhem in Dutch Eredivisie

Jeremie Boga – CAM – 19 - French – at Granada in Spanish La Liga

Charlie Colkett – CM – 20 - English – at Bristol Rovers in League One

Cristian Cuevas – LW/LB – 21 - Chilean – at Sint-Truidense VV in Belgian First Division A

Jordan Houghton – CM – 21 - English – at Doncaster Rovers in League Two

Kasey Palmer – CM – 20 - English – at Huddersfield Town in Championship

Danilo Pantic – CM – 20 - Serbian – at SBV Excelsior in Dutch Eredivisie

Isiah Brown – ST/LW/RW – 19 - English – at Rotherham United in Championship

Islam Feruz – ST - 21 – Scottish - at Royal Excel Mouscron in Belgian First Division A

Alex Kiwomya – RW/LW/ST – 20 - English – at Crewe Alexandra in League Two

Joao Rodriguez – ST – 20 - Colombian – at Santa Fe in Colombian Primera A

Name – Nathan Ake

Position(s) – CB/LB/CM

Nationality - Dutch

Joined – 2011 from Feyenoord Youth Team

Age – 21

On Loan At – Bournemouth in Premier League

If there's one trait Nathan has the will endear him to Conte it's his adaptability. Whether he could play as the left wing back I'm not sure but he could play in the back three or in defensive midfield. Whether he is quite good enough for a first team place is yet to be seen as his loan moves have been a bit hit and miss. Last season he went on loan to Watford and played in 24 of their 38 league games as well as making four cup appearances so that wasn't too bad. This season he's at Bournemouth but Eddie Howe hasn't shown much faith in him yet as he's only made 2 league and 2 cup appearances. Between 2012 and 2015 he made 12 appearances for Chelsea but never really broke into the first team. He would be versatile cover but we have better centre back options.

VERDICT: Another year on loan

Name – Baba Rahman

Position(s) - LB

Nationality - Ghanaian

Joined – 2015 from FC Augsburg for £14m

Age – 22

On Loan At – Schalke 04 in German Bundesliga

Whether you call him Rahman or Baba, Baba Rahman, Abdul Baba Rahman etc we're told the Ghanaian has tremendous potential. As a speedy left back he will need to adapt to playing left wing back like Marcos Alonso if he wants to stay when he returns from his loan back in the Bundesliga. He's already played 11 times and scored 1 goal for Schalke (the winner against Nice in Europe) and if they're impressed with him I wouldn't be surprised if his return to Germany wouldn't be permanent. He would need to battle Alonso for a place in the side and one other player who I feel is a better prospect and I will discuss below. He looked good in spells last season for the most part looked like he was struggling to get to grips with the Premier League. Unfortunately he arrived when Mourinho was in charge and the team was going through a very rough spell. He has been quoted as saying he feels 'back home' in the Bundesliga.

VERDICT: The jury is out but might not come back from Germany

Name -Kenedy

Position(s) – LW/LB/ST

Nationality - Brazilian

Joined – 2015 from Fluminense for £6.3m

Age – 20

On Loan At – Watford in Premier League

The player I believe is our best future challenger for Alonso is Kenedy. The Brazilian arrived from Fluminense as a striker but played a lot on the left as well in our first team. He made 20 appearances last season scoring 2 goals and looked excellent every time I saw him. I was always left thinking here is a player I want to see more of, one of the players I want to see starting regularly in the first team. Out of all of the players on this list (perhaps with the exception of Andreas Christensen) Kenedy is my biggest tip for stardom at Stamford Bridge. His versatility means he could play at left wing back, left attack or even striker in years to come if we develop him right. The only blot on this is that he's gone to Watford where he's only seen 15 minutes of first team action. Personally I'd get him back now and into the squad rather than waste him at a club that doesn't appreciate him.

VERDICT: Keep

Name – Andreas Christensen

Position(s) - CB

Nationality - Danish

Joined – 2014 promoted from Youth Team / Arrived 2012 from Brondby

Age – 20

On Loan At – Borussia Moenchengladbach in German Bundesliga

Even before Conte changed the formation Chelsea fans were wishing that Christensen had signed a one year loan deal in Germany and not two. He performed so well for BMG last season and helped them to 4th in the Bundesliga. He played 39 times in all competitions for them and looked so good that he would certainly be pushing for a place in our back three now. The problem is that after two seasons in the Bundesliga he, like Baba, might feel 'at home' and not want to come back to the Bridge. Hopefully Conte will persuade him to stay and fight Cahill, Zouma, Luiz and even Azpilicueta for a place in the back line. He's already played for Denmark eight times and the light at the end of the tunnel could be that BMG are struggling in 11th place so far this season.

VERDICT: Keep

Name – Tomas Kalas

Position(s) – CB/RB

Nationality - Czech

Joined – 2010 from Sigma Olomouc for around £5m

Age – 23

On Loan At – Fulham in Championship

Kalas has been with Chelsea for six year but has only played four times for the first team. After loan spells at Vitesse Arnhem (two seasons), 1FC Cologne, Middlesbrough (two seasons) and now Fulham the time has come to decide whether he's a keeper or a leaver. He appears to have the ability to be a back-up centre back but nothing more. He's done pretty well in the Championship but whether he has what it takes to play in the Premier League remains to be seen. For me if he wanted a place in the first team squad in 2017/18 then he needed to be on loan at a Premier League club this season and playing regularly.

VERDICT: Likely to leave

Name – Matt Miazga

Position(s) - CB

Nationality - American

Joined – 2016 from New York Red Bulls for £3.5m

Age – 21

One Loan At – Vitesse Arnhem in Dutch Eredivisie

The American centre back was a real surprise signing last season and left a number of fans scratching their heads nearly as much as when we signed Michael Hector in the previous window. After chasing John Stones for an entire summer and coming up empty handed with no real 'Plan B' we panic bought Hector and Papa Djilobodji then Miazga arrived in January. He did make two appearances but has now gone to our old friends Vitesse where he has played eight times so far. I really don't see a first team future for this guy.

VERDICT: Sell

Name – Kenneth Omeruo

Position(s) – CB/RB

Nationality - Nigerian

Joined – 2012 from Standard Liege

Age – 23

On Loan At – Alanyaspor in Turkish Super Lig

Like Kalas I believe Omeruo is at the make or break age of 23 now. He hasn't played once for us and has spent his time on loan at ADO Den Haag, Middlesbrough for two seasons, Kasimpasa last season in the Turkish top division and this season he is back there with little known Alanyaspor. He seemed to do well at Middlesbrough although not as well as Kalas. If he were on loan at a higher rated Turkish club I'd have more hope for his return especially since he has been capped over thirty times by his country. I don't mean a Galatasaray or Fenerbahce necessarily but at least Trabzonspor or Besiktas. I'd like him to be good enough next season but I just don't see it happening.

VERDICT: Sell

Name – Christian Atsu

Position(s) – RM/LM/CAM

Nationality - Ghanaian

Joined – 2013 from FC Porto for £3.5m

Age – 24

On Loan At – Newcastle United in Championship

Now unfortunately I haven't seen Atsu play but he sounds like he would be good support for the wide attack roles as back-up for Hazard and Pedro. Everton and Newcastle fans would be able to supply a bit more knowledge as he was at Goodison Park in 2014/15 and is at St James Park this season where already he has scored 2 goals in 11 games. Before he joined us he played 29 games in the 2012/13 season for FC Porto so he must be pretty good but unfortunately since then he's been on loan at Vitesse Arhem, Bournemouth (where he only played twice) and Malaga as well as the two clubs above. I'd certainly like to give him a try as support next season as we don't have a lot of depth in the wide attack roles. VERDICT: Keep for testing

Name – Juan Cuadrado

Position(s) – RM/RWB

Nationality - Colombian

Joined – 2015 from Fiorentina for between £23m-£27m

Age – 28

On Loan At – Juventus in Italian Serie A

I know that Cuadrado already has one foot in a permanent move to Juventus (and the other boot is being laced up as I type) but it's worth still putting on record I believe that the Colombian would be ideally suited for the right wing back slot now. He wasn't give a fair chance by Mourinho when he arrived in the January window of the 2014/15 and most of his fourteen appearances came late from the bench. That led to him being written off as a flop by the Chelsea fans who had little knowledge of his excellent performances for Fiorentina or Colombia. Last season he joined Juventus in a one year loan deal and played 40 times and scored five goals as they won the Serie A and Coppa Italia so he's obviously a talented player. It confuses me therefore that this summer he was not only allowed to return to Juventus when we needed him most but that it was on a THREE year loan deal. As that would make him 31 by the time the loan ends it's clear Chelsea don't want him back and Juventus have an option to make the move permanent at any time. They are paying us £4.3m per season and can seal the deal for £21.5m overall at any time (taking the balance of any loan fees already paid into account). I think it's a shame to lose a player who was never given a chance but I can't see him returning now.

VERDICT: Keep if it was my choice but pretty much gone already

Name – Charly Musonda

Position(s) – CAM/RW/LW

Nationality - Belgian

Joined – 2015 promoted from Youth Team / Arrived 2012 from Anderlecht

Age – 20

On Loan At – Real Betis in Spanish La Liga

Musonda has only been a name touted around as a star of the future by many for a short amount of time really since he joined Real Betis on loan in the January window last season. Before that he was always a very good prospect having started off at the Anderlecht academy and having played for all the Belgian youth teams. Once he joined Betis though he really took control of his own destiny, man of the match on his debut apparantly against Valencia and helping the team to 10th in La Liga with 16 appearances. They were so impressed that his deal has been extended for the 2016/17 season where so far he's played 7 times in 11 games. Betis are currently 14th and have only won three times so they need to do some work to match last season. Hopefully Charly can help them there and then come back to Stamford Bridge with new skills and confidence to push for a first team place. Like Atsu I'd like to see him be given a chance next season.

VERDICT: Keep

Name - Nathan

Position(s) – RW/LW/CAM/CF

Nationality - Brazilian

Joined – 2015 from Atletico Paranaense for £4.5m

Age – 20

On Loan At – Vitesse Arnhem in Dutch Eridivisie

Nathan is another exciting Brazilian prospect like Kenedy (who arrived at the same time) and Lucas Piazon (who has been here a while now). He spent last season on loan at Vitesse Arnhem alongside Isiah Brown (now on loan at Rotherham) and Lewis Baker and with 19 appearances helped them to ninth in the league. This year he back at Vitesse where he will play alongside Miazga and Baker (again) and by next summer we should have a better idea about his future potential. If he's like Bertrand Traore (who I'll come to later) he will seize the opportunity to shine and he appears to have started well with 3 goals in 11 appearances already. VERDICT: Open minded, see how he gets on at Vitesse

Name – Mario Pasalic

Position(s) - CM

Nationality - Croatian

Joined – 2014 from Hajduk Split for £3m

Age – 21

On Loan At – AC Milan in Italian Serie A

In his three season since joining he has played in the Spanish La Liga, French Ligue 1 and now the Italian Serie A. His first loan was at Elche CF where he played 35 times and in the same season he made his international debut for Croatia. Last season at AS Monaco he helped them to third in the league and overall played 28 times and scoring 7 goals. In the summer he moved to one of the biggest names throughout Europe in AC Milan but in September it was reported by The Sun that Conte wanted to end the loan in January when Chelsea were playing badly. Whether a) it was true and b) it's still the plan if it is then we will have to wait and see. With Chalobah, Loftus-Cheek and Van Ginkel also looking for spots in support of Kante and Matic he certainly would have a fight on his hands but he's played at a very high level already which will stand him in good stead. I'd certainly like to see him given a chance just so that we don't have another Kevin de Bruyne situation on our hands.

VERDICT: Keep

Name – Lucas Piazon

Position(s) – RW/LW/CF

Nationality - Brazilian

Joined – 2012 promoted from Youth Team / Arrived 2011 from Sao Paulo

Age – 22

On Loan At – Fulham in Championship

It's getting towards the point where Piazon could soon be the new Marko Marin. The German spent four years on Chelsea's books and although he did make 16 appearances in his first season he was then loaned out to Sevilla, Fiorentina, Anderlecht and Trabzonspor before finally leaving in the summer to Olympiacos. Piazon came into the Chelsea first team in the same season that Marin was purchased but to his credit he is five years younger so has more reason to have been out on loan until now. Victor Moses is a great example of a player cast out on loan for a few years before being welcomed back in from the cold to the first team as is Thibaut Courtois but they were both in the English Premier League and Spanish La Liga respectively not the Championship. I think it's more for that reason (even though Piazon has previously played in La Liga and the German Bundesliga) that I think his time is done. His loan moves should be progressively better not worse if he is looking to get back in.

VERDICT: Sell

Name – Tammy Abraham

Position(s) - ST

Nationality - English

Joined – 2016 promoted from Youth Team

Age – 19

On Loan At – Bristol City in Championship

It's not often a player will go on loan to Bristol City and convince you he is worthy of a place in the first team squad but that's exactly what Abraham is doing for me at the moment. Although he made two appearances for us last season as a substitute against Liverpool and Leicester he is getting his first real taste of first team football at Ashton Gate Stadium and he's thriving on it. He has scored 9 league goals in 16 games and his overall record already is 12 goals in 20 games. City are up to ninth in the Championship and with Abraham scoring 9 of their 23 goals he's accounted for nearly half of their tally. He is second only to Newcastle United's Dwight Gayle in the top scorers list and his team are top of the table. He's level on nine goals with Brighton's Glenn Murray and they're in second place. Both Gayle and Murray played in the Premier League for Crystal Palace and are scoring for the top two teams in the Championship and Abraham is matching them in his first season full season at all with a mid-table team more used to playing in League One and League Two. If you play FIFA17 at all then you'll understand my argument that Tammy Abraham as much Alex Hunter as Marcus Rashford is even if he wasn't ever meant to be. The dark cloud on the horizon is that we've seen these false dawns before and not only will Abraham need a loan spell in the Premier League he'll need one at a club that plays him. Too many Chelsea youngsters look good in the Championship and then when they need help on the next step from a Premier League club they go on loan and end up left on the bench with no real game time. To finish on a positive note he was a part of England's squad in the European U19 Championship and then made his U21 debut in October, now having 2 goals in 2 games for them. VERDICT: Great potential

Name – Patrick Bamford

Position(s) - ST

Nationality - English

Joined – 2012 from Nottingham Forest for £1.5m

Age – 23

On Loan At – Burnley in Premier League

Here with Patrick we have the perfect example of the the fears I have for Abraham. He looked devastating for Middlesbrough when on loan in 2014/15 scoring 19 goals in 44 games but the following season was shafted by both Crystal Palace and Norwich City getting just 6 league appearances at the former and 7 at the latter. They were mostly from the bench and he failed to score in any game. Now he's suffering the same fate at Burnley where Sean Dyche has only given him four appearances to date. By the time the 2017/18 kicks off he'll be nearly 24 years old and if things go on the same path he'll have no goals in two years of Premier League substitute appearances for relegation threatened teams. Therein lies the problem – the threat of relegation. Managers of teams like Palace, Norwich and Burnley will be wary of taking a risk on a new, young player when every point counts. Two seasons ago I would have been writing about Bamford with a view to him pushing for a squad role but now I can't see that in his future.

VERDICT: Sell

Name – Loic Remy

Position(s) - ST

Nationality - French

Joined – 2014 from Queens Park Rangers for £10.5m

Age – 29

On Loan At – Crystal Palace in Premier League

Probably the highest profile player on the list of loanees (alongside Juan Cuadrado maybe) is Loic Remy who has been capped by France 31 times and has played for Olympique Lyon, OGC Nice and Marseille in France as well as QPR, Newcastle United and Chelsea in the Premier League, He joined at the end of the 2014 summer transfer window as support for Diego Costa and in two seasons with us scored 12 times in 47 appearances. He cannot be considered a failure when players have stayed at the club with less appearances and success. Remy has pace and good goalscoring instinct but suffered from the same problem as Michy Batshuayi is now – Diego Costa. The striker is so key to Chelsea's attack that places alongside him are limited without changing the system and there's no reason to replace a player as in form as Costa has been. I'm not sure his style of play would suit the new 3-4-3 system and it looks like his Chelsea time is considered over anyway. I think if anyone had offered to buy him in the summer he would have gone.

VERDICT: Sell

Name – Bertrand Traore

Position(s) – ST/RW/LW

Nationality - Burkinese

Joined – 2014 promoted from Youth Team / Arrived 2013 from Auxerre

Age – 21

On Loan At – Ajax in Dutch Eredivisie

I've already said how I wished we had Kenedy and Andreas Christensen with us this season but my biggest disappointment with a player going on loan was with Traore. Even before he made his Chelsea competitive debut I was excited by this player as he looked awesome on pre-season tour (when non-EU regulations don't apply). He spent two seasons on loan at Vitesse Arnhem in 2013/14 and 2014/15 playing 51 games and scoring 20 goals. He stayed with us last season and made 16 appearances scoring 4 goals. Traore looked at home in the first team it appeared he would be part of our 2016/17 squad but instead he has been pushed out to Ajax. In a recent news piece with the Mirror he criticised Chelsea's loan policy and I have to agree that a player like him should have stayed at the club. He would be ideal for either the Costa position or the wide areas where Hazard and Pedro play as he has the necessary skills to play there.

VERDICT: Keep

To round off the discussion on our loan players if you want a view other than mine on some of these guys here's a great piece from Sky Sports on our top six loanees.