Are Chelsea abusing the loan system?

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As Chelsea continue to power their way towards the Premier League title under the guidance of Antonio Conte it is easy to become enthralled by the star names and big money transfers that have underpinned the club’s success under the ownership of Roman Abramovich.

Diego Costa, Cesc Fabregas, Eden Hazard, David Luiz and N’Golo Kante are just a handful of the big-name players that currently reside within the first team fold at Stamford Bridge. All arrived for transfer fees in excess of £20,000,000 and all receive the adulation of the Chelsea supporters on a weekly basis. They are the centre of attention at England’s leading club.

But what about the players that are not in the first team? What about those young starlets that are trying to rise through the ranks?

In Chelsea’s case, this is where they implement a unique and, some might say, controversial philosophy.

The Chelsea loan-farm

At the time of writing, Chelsea currently have 37 players under contract that have been loaned out to other professional and semi-professional football clubs.

It is an astonishing figure, even for one of Europe’s leading clubs.

From Champions League challengers Juventus to non-league side Solihull Moors, Chelsea have players scattered across the globe. England, Germany, Spain, Holland, Italy, Belgium, Switzerland, Brazil – wherever you look across world football you will be likely to come across a Stamford Bridge loanee.

To put that into some sort of context, Manchester United have just five players of note currently out on loan.

In short, Chelsea play the loan system to their own tune and reap the benefits of a self-created loan-farm that allows them to generate the odd star whilst, more importantly, generating huge sums of financial income.

Reaping the benefits

It is abundantly clear that very few, if any, of those 37 Chelsea players that are currently plying their trade on a temporary basis at a club somewhere around the world will be able to break into the first team picture at Stamford Bridge. It is certainly not an impossible task, but one that is becoming increasingly difficult at a club that has an unimpressive record of promoting talent through their academy system.

The idea behind the Chelsea loan-farm is simple and two-pronged.

First, the greater the number of talented players that the club has on their books the more likely they will be to find a genuine star of the future. It is an understandable statistical gamble. The wider you spread your net in the ocean, the more likely you are to catch a big fish.

The loan system allows Chelsea to stockpile young players, many on long-term contracts, and keep them happy by sending them out to gain experience in various leagues across the world. These young stars have a relatively secure future whilst contracted at Stamford Bridge whilst having the opportunity to play regularly and continue their development at a lesser club. If a player begins to produce high-quality performances on a regular basis then Chelsea have the option to recall them and integrate them into the first team – as they have done with Nathan Ake this season. If not, then the club can take the next step.

Chelsea benefit from the loan system not because of the talent they produce, but from the money that they make. Many of the players that are loaned out have their wages paid by the team that they join whilst some clubs even pay a fee to The Blues in order to secure a loan deal. In short, the 37 players who are out on loan cost Chelsea only a fraction of what they would need to invest had they stayed in London. Then, there are the transfer fees that the club receive when they decide to cash-in on their loanees’. The Blues continue to bring in astronomical sums of money on an annual basis by selling young players – the vast majority of which will have never made an appearance for the first team.

Patrick Bamford is the perfect example.

The 23-year-old was finally sold by Chelsea in January after being sent out on loan to six different clubs since 2012. He never made an appearance for The Blues and yet they are set to receive up to £10,000,000 from Middlesbrough for a striker that has never been capable of breaking into the first team at Stamford Bridge.

Tammy Abraham is likely to follow in Bamford’s footsteps. The 19-year-old is currently on loan at Championship side Bristol City where he has attracted a vast amount of praise following a string of impressive performances so far this campaign, scoring 21 goals. Yet there has been little to suggest that the youngster will be invited back to Stamford Bridge to play a part in Antonio Conte’s revolution anytime soon. In all likelihood, he will spend the next two or three years out on loan before The Blues choose to cash in.

Clever thinking or abusing the system?

The Daily Mail estimate that the 37 Chelsea players that are current out on loan could be worth a combined total of £175,000,000 if they were to be sold in the summer.

That is an awful lot of talent that potentially could earn The Blues a staggering amount of money in transfer fees at some point in the near future.

Not everyone is impressed by Chelsea’s approach.

Critics suggest that the club have little interest in the well-being and development of their young players, claiming instead that they are using the loan system for financial gain. It is simply a case of The Blues stockpiling and handling as many young players, who have no realistic chance of ever playing for the club, as they can before selling them for a profit when they reach their early twenties. Steve Coppell once compared the ideology to “fattening lambs for slaughter”.

However, from a Chelsea perspective, they are operating well within the rules dictated by the governing bodies of football and are reaping the rewards. It is a cost-effective way for the club to cast their net as wide as they can in search of the best aspiring young talent safe in the knowledge that any player who falls short will be purchased by a less prominent side. For every Nathan Ake, who succeeds in breaking into the first team squad, there are dozens of other players that are sold on for a profit. It is a self-financing business.

Clever thinking? or abuse of the loan system? Either way, the Chelsea loan-farm is set to continue unabated for the foreseeable future.

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