Matt Law has been back on the London is Blue podcast this week, full of interesting whispers he’s picked up on his time off.
We’re reaching crunch time now – not only in terms of players being signed, but also in terms of the players at the club who are starting to realise what their place in the squad for this season might be, and if they’re happy with it.
Law’s quotes about Carney Chukwuemeka and his future were particularly revealing:
“I think Chelsea feel that they have one midfielder too many. If Carney Chukwuemeka is not in the first squad for the season opener, I think for Carney, the alarm bell will ring and he might to start having discussions with people.”
A big blow for talented midfielder
To be left out of that squad would be a bitter blow for Carney. He was so patient in his first team year here, and was rewarded with a start early last season after he earned Mauricio Pochettino’s faith. But an injury ruled him out for most of the season, and he wasn’t able to play consistently after that. He’s played just 568 Premier League minutes in two seasons.
We then fast forward to this summer, with a new manager to impress and new competition brought in on all sides to push him. He’s barely had a chance once again, and if he’s left out of the squad against Man City for that Premier League opener, nobody could blame him for giving up hope of a regular first team spot at that point.
There wouldn’t be a huge amount of time left to sort a transfer, but we can certainly see a Premier League loan being on the cards at that point. Plenty of other teams appreciate his talent, even if we don’t seem to.
