Chelsea Loanees in the Championship

The West London outfit are renowned for having plenty of players on the books at Stamford Bridge. Young players have been sent out like a conveyor belt to develop future emerging talent. But the Blues have a host of players who are more senior out on loan too, and are spending the campaign away from the club

It’s fair to say Chelsea have a chequered history with the loan system, using teams like Vitesse in the Eredivisie to be a development club without too big of a reward. They’ve only really reaped the rewards in recent seasons after this long-term strategy. Trevoh Chalobah, Reece James, and Levi Colwill are recent examples that the Cobham talent can break through after successful loan spells away at the right clubs.

For the more experienced players, it is merely a route to escape Stamford Bridge. Romelu Lukaku just hasn’t settled at Chelsea despite his long-running, complicated history with the side as managers often overlook the Belgian international.

We look into some of the current crop of Chelsea players out on loan in the SkyBet Championship to see how they’re getting along so far this season and if they can emulate some of the recent success stories.

The first member of the Chelsea loan army who has a genuine chance of getting minutes for the first team is Bashir Humphreys. He’s become a pivotal member of the Swansea City backline and possesses pace and power which are all the attributes of the modern-day footballer.

A key moment during his time in Wales so far is his late winner against Norwich City, in what was his first senior goal as he had the swagger of a striker when he struck the ball home. The 20-year-old has made nine appearances so far this season and has proven to be a disciplined character as he hasn’t received a booking this season, pretty good going for a defender.

Humphrey’s development will be worth keeping an eye on as he’ll look to emulate previous success stories after invaluable experiences in one of Europe’s most competitive divisions.

Another Chelsea player plying his trade in the Championship with Ipswich Town is 20-year-old attacking Omari Hutchinson. He’s grown into the Tractor Boys team and played a role in every league game this season bar one.

Hutchinson’s most notable contribution so far is his first-half winner away to Southampton, in one of his rare starts for the club. He continues to be rotated and valued by his manager Kieran McKenna, as they battle at the top of the Championship with Leicester City.

The former Arsenal winger also notched up a crucial late assist against Birmingham City. It’s clear his stock is rising and is a player who could fit into Chelsea’s long-term plans having already made an appearance against Manchester City last season.

Tricky playmaker Cesare Casadei got off to a flying start as a fox as he netted a stoppage-time winner off the bench on the opening day against Cardiff City, in what has been the sole high point of his time so far at the King Power Stadium.

The Italian has had to settle for being rotated in and out of the side and has struggled to get consistent performances as a result. In his 12 appearances so far this season, he’s only managed 508 minutes of football which tells the story that he’s currently a bit part player in the side.

The good thing is that Casadei is in a side currently top of the Championship and learning under one of Pep Guardiola’s former right-hand men in Enzo Maresca. It’ll be interesting to see how the 20-year-old develops as the season progresses under his management.

The Wearside outfit acquired the services of Mason Burstow after first-team opportunities have become hard to come by at Chelsea. The 20-year-old striker came into Sunderland at started every game until he lost his place in October which coincided with the Black Cats' poor run of form.

He has a challenge to get back into the side as Sunderland’s form has picked up and occupy one of the play-off places which they’ll be looking to secure for a second season running. Burstow has yet to register a goal since moving to the Northeast as chances are becoming limited for the youngster to regain his place in the line-up.

Angelo Gabriel | Position: Right-Winger | Loaned to: Strasbourg | Appearances: 10 | Goals: 0 | Assists: 1

The 18-year-old Brazilian took to life in Strasbourg like a duck to water winning player of the month and the Ligue 1 young player of the month in September. He looked well worth the £13 million investment from Santos as the forward was putting in some glittering displays during the early part of his tenure at the club.

He has only registered one assist this season in 10 games, doing so in a 1-0 win over Metz in late September, however, his progress has been hindered by an adductor injury.

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