Chelsea FC Loan Watch: The First Edition!

Chelsea have a staggering 29 players out on loan in seven countries across Europe. The growing number of loanees playing at various divisions & leagues is testimony of the diverse youth talent the club has amassed over the last few seasons. Starting today, we at CFC360 will take a concise look  at how our youngsters are faring every week.

Let us first take a look at the clubs in England, where FA Cup action prevailed this weekend.

Romelu Lukaku is still out injured for Everton & could not participate in the weekend’s FA Cup action.

Josh McEachran played a decent 35 minutes for Wigan when the Latics eliminated Cardiff.

Nathaniel Chalobah returned to his former club Watford with Middlesbrough and played the entire 90 minutes. Although Boro lost the game, Chalobah had a good game, starting in midfield and later slotting into central defense after Ben Gibson received a red.
Kenneth Omeruo however, remained an unused substitute for Boro as he is struggling with a minor injury.

Victor Moses spent the entire time on bench as Arsenal defeated Liverpool.

Ryan Bertrand(Aston Villa), Todd Kane(Blackburn) and Patrick Bamford(Derby) had a rest this weekend with their sides already eliminated from the FA Cup.

Sam Hutchinson joined Sheffield Wednesday the past week and was eligible for selection, but the match was called off for unsuitable pitch conditions.

Milan Lalkovic started for Walsall in a 0-0 draw at Peterborough away.

George Saville had an excellent game for Brentford, in League One, as the Bees beat Crewe 3-1 in their bid for promotion to Championship next season.

In Spain, Thibaut Courtois returned from injury to keep a clean sheet against Valladolid in Atletico Madrid’s 3-0 win. Courtois had missed Atletico’s midweek Copa Del Rey loss against Real Madrid.

Neither Marko Marin nor Oriol Romeu represented their respective clubs when Sevilla contested Valencia. Marin missed the game due to technical reasons while Romeu is out with a knee injury, which might require surgery.

In Segunda Division, Ulises Davilla started for Cordoba but was taken off after an impact-less 52 minutes.

Jhon Pirez was an unused substitute for Leganes in their victory over Laudio.

Lets make our way to Netherlands and Eredivisie now.

Patrick van Aanholt, Christian Atsu and Lucas Piazon started while Bertrand Traore made a cameo in Vitesse’s terrible loss against FC Twente. Vitesse has been in a crisis of sorts, with their winless streak continuing for five games now. Aanholt received a red card for a tackle from behind in the second half, while Atsu & Piazon were subbed off late into the game.

Cristian Cuevas, who recently joined FC Eindoven from Vitesse, started for the second division club and played the full 90 minutes in a 5-2 loss at Excelsior.

Stipe Perica, the Croatian talent Chelsea signed in January, has seen his stars rising at NAC Breda, but had a disappointing weekend after he saw the red card two minutes into the match, following a late, reckless tackle.

Coming to Italy, Wallace was not in squad for Inter Milan’s game.

Gael Kakuta was an unused substitute for Lazio in their 3-1 loss against Catania.

The weekend for the couple of Chelsea loanees in Belgium was a dampener of sorts.

Thorgan Hazard missed Zulte Waregem’s match as he was suspended after receiving a certain number of yellows.

Second division side Antwerp’s fixture got postponed, with Billy Clifford getting the weekend off.

In France, Kurt Zouma played a decent 90 minutes at right back as Saint Etienne drew 1-1 against Marseille, although he missed an early chance to score. Zouma’s stars are looking up, in spite of not playing in the central defense he is usually accustomed to.

The winter break continues for Matej Delac and FK Sarajevo in the Premier League of Bosnia & Herzegovina.

Chelsea’s latest signing Mario Pasalic continued his scoring form for Hajduk in Croatia.