Among other things that make Chelsea stand out as a football club – especially in England – the most distinctive one is the Blues’ loan strategy. Every year there are dozens of players leaving Stamford Bridge on loan to get playing experience elsewhere.
The most loyal Chelsea fans will also follow how the club loanees are doing, whether in the Championship, France, the Netherlands or anywhere else. Just like the club ‘bets’ on the young players to develop and become first-team ready, some fans may decide to place bets on the teams that took the players on loan. For them, services like Legalbet are of significant importance, as they allow them to pick the bookmaker with the best odds.
There are many reasons why Chelsea employ this loan strategy, and this article will dive deeper into the three main ones. And just like in life, you win some and you lose some.
Getting Players Ready for the First Team
Ideally, this would be the goal with any young player that leaves on loan – they come back eventually and become an integral part of the squad. There have been quite a few such cases in recent seasons.
Levi Colwill, who is an undisputed starter at centre-back currently, was loaned out twice, in 2021/22 to Championship side Huddersfield Town and in 2022/23 to Brighton in the Premier League. The England international impressed in both stints and, in 2023/24, the decision was made to keep him at Stamford Bridge and play him regularly despite his age.
Conor Gallagher belongs in this category too. As a young lad, the midfielder played on loan at Charlton Athletic (2019/20), Swansea City (2020), West Bromwich Albion (2020/21) and Crystal Palace (2021/22). Then followed two seasons with Chelsea where he made a total of 95 appearances and scored 10 goals, being a key player in the squad. His departure to Atlético Madrid was for financial reasons and it still hurts many to this day.
The Blues currently have 18 players out on loan, and it is too early to predict who has the potential to become the next big thing and continue with the club However, Andrey Santos (Strasbourg) and Lesley Ugochukwu (Southampton) have been developing quite well.
Preparing Youngsters to be Offloaded
There are also players that shine during their time away from Chelsea, but their performances are nonetheless not enough to keep them at Stamford Bridge. In such cases, these loanees become key market assets and can be sold for hefty sums.
To take the most recent examples, Ian Maatsen was sold to Aston Villa for £37.5m, Lewis Hall to Newcastle United for £28m and Omari Hutchinson for £20m to Ipswich Town. All the players had spent the previous season on loan, performing at a top level. Maatsen even reached the UEFA Champions League with Borussia Dortmund!
It does not seem that the club will stop this strategy anytime soon. Trevoh Chalobah may become next on this list, as he has been recalled from his loan at Crystal Palace and rumour has it that the Blues are waiting for a £40m bid to offload the young defender.
Getting Rid of Unwanted Players
Finally, loans are not always about investing in the future. Sometimes these types of deals are just a way to get rid of unwanted players – those that no longer perform at the required level and there is no possibility to sell them permanently.
A current example is Kepa Arrizabalaga, who is on loan at Bournemouth and is doing quite well for himself. Perhaps the Cherries will decide to sign him on a permanent deal next summer, but it is almost impossible that Kepa will continue with the Blues. The team already has two great goalkeepers in Robert Sánchez and Filip Jörgensen, there is no need for a third one.
Other recent examples include Romelu Lukaku, who spent two years on loan before finally being signed by Napoli for around £25m. Hakim Ziyech, too, when he became not needed at Chelsea, was first sent on loan before being transferred to Galatasaray in exchange for £2.5m.
In conclusion, there are three main reasons why Chelsea send their players on loan. First, they want to develop them for the first team. Second, they want to develop them so they can be sold for a profit. And third, they get rid of unwanted players when it is impossible to sell them permanently.