Chelsea defend loan policy as starlets such as Lukaku and Moses are sent to other clubs

The Blues believe that their tactics are good for development.


There has been criticism aimed at Chelsea in recent years for buying young talent and then never playing any of them, but technical director Michael Emenalo has defended the club’s loan policy.

This season alone, 17 Blues players have been sent out on a temporary basis with the likes of Thibaut Courtois, Romelu Lukaku and Victor Moses all unable to get game time at Stamford Bridge.

Yet Emenalo believes that the west London side’s policy is a good one and something that the team have faith in.

“We are trying to find a way because given Financial Fair Play stipulations we need to recruit young and we also need to have a reservoir of talent that we develop,” the director told the club’s website.

“We identified that for young players, the ages of 18 to 21 is the most difficult time as they wonder if they are good enough for the Chelsea first team and what is next for them.

“We felt it is better for them at that age to go on loan to somewhere where they get visibility and good competition. For psychological and physical reasons that is the best thing to do at that age.

“The loan process at Chelsea has become very professional and a good deal of thought has gone into it.
“We don’t send players out because we are trying to recover some money, we send them because we want them to play and develop and we want to monitor them.”

Emenalo pointed to the fact that Kevin De Bruyne – who previously spent 18 months away from the club after being signed from Genk – has played a big part in the side’s success so far this term.

Similarly Courtois and Lukaku are expected to be key players in the future, whilst new faces Cristian Cuevas, Stipe Perica and Christian Atsu were all bought this summer and then sent immediately back out on-loan.