It’s an all-action end to the season on the loan front as a busy Easter period led straight into another packed schedule of action for Chelsea’s young professionals.

Games are increasing in importance and it’s always interesting to see how players handle the increase in pressure when the stakes are high. Belgian midfielder Kevin De Bruyne, for example is excelling just when his team need him the most.

With Genk involved in the top tier playoffs in the Belgian league, they’re facing top quality opposition every week in search of a Champions League place. Before their weekend trip to Anderlect, De Bruyne had been involved in twelve of their last sixteen goals (scoring two and creating ten), and he was integral again on Saturday night.

Genk won 3-1 at the Constant Vanden Stock Stadium, with De Bruyne pulling all the strings from his central midfield role. He laid on the first goal for Christian Benteke and was on a different level to anyone else on the pitch, earning a standing ovation from the home supporters when substituted in stoppage time.

You can watch highlights of the game HERE, although they’re unlikely to do justice to the most in-form player in the league at the moment.

Over in Germany, Jeffrey Bruma continued to deputise at right-back for Hamburg, who picked up another three points in their battle against relegation with a 1-0 win over Hannover.

Visiting boss Mirko Slomka looked to have his team exploit the young Dutchman, playing out of position, but Bruma held his own, and with diligent help from winger Ivo Ilicevic put together a strong performance to secure the clean sheet.

Bruma is amongst a number of versatile defenders on Chelsea’s books and on Sunday in the Netherlands, two more of them went head to head in Eredivisie action.

Vitesse’s Tomas Kalas and ADO Den Haag’s Kenneth Omeruo both started at the Gelredome in a match the hosts won 1-0, but it was Nigerian Omeruo who impressed the most. Still playing in a largely unfamiliar right-back role, he showed excellent defensive ability and looked to get forward as best he could, evoking comparisons to Branislav Ivanovic.

It came on the back of his first goal for the club in Thursday night’s 3-0 win over Groningen. He headed home from a second-half corner to endear himself to the home fans even further. You can see the goal HERE.

Kalas, meanwhile, had a less spectacular game by his own standards but he wasn’t poor by any stretch of the imagination, and it’s an indication of just how good he’s been this season that anything not up to his usual standards is noted. He did, of course, feature in Thursday’s win away to VVV Venlo.

Patrick van Aanholt was not involved in either match, whilst Milan Lalkovic has returned to England after his brief spell in Den Haag. There was no Jong Vitesse fixture this week, so no action for Ulises Dávila either.

Moving onto France, where Dijon and Gael Kakuta continue to struggle. After a brief spell of excellent form which coincided with Kakuta’s arrival in Burgundy, they are now three without a win and lost 1-0 at Sochaux on Sunday to leave them just a point clear of safety.

Opponents will doubtless have targeted Kakuta as the team’s most potent attacking threat and attempted to take him out of the game and that, coupled with his natural predisposition to drift in and out of games, has contributed to his recent inconsistency.

That said, he is still young and his loan spell has to be seen as a success overall given his brilliant beginning. Hopefully he can get back to his best for the crucial final few games.

Thibaut Courtois came up against Cristiano Ronaldo and the might of Real Madrid in midweek and picked the ball out of the net four times, but there was only one he could’ve done anything with as Jose Mourinho’s team ran roughshod over yet another La Liga opponent.

The Belgian was back to his best again on Sunday away to Rayo Vallecano, keeping his twentieth clean sheet of the season in a 1-0 win.

Back on domestic shores, Josh McEachran sat on the bench for a pair of Swansea matches which finished 3-0, firstly in defeat away to QPR before a weekend win over Blackburn.

The latter ended a recent winless run for the Swans but went a long way to ensuring Premier League survival which, once assured, should see Josh get some more minutes in the final couple of games.

In League One, Yeovil and Sam Walker were on the end of a 6-0 hiding at home to Stevenage on Saturday in a match impacted by an early red card to former Chelsea midfielder and current Glover Michael Woods.

Nobody came out of the match with any credit on the home front but Sam can hardly have been blamed for any of the goals directly, with the best anyone able to level at him being an uncertainty in dealing with crosses.

One step down in League Two, and there was also defeat for Rhys Taylor and Rotherham away to promotion-chasing Shrewsbury Town, who continued their unbeaten home record.

Rhys was beaten by two excellent strikes and was rounded for the other goal after his defence had gone missing, forcing him to come off his line. The defeat all but ends Rotherham’s slim playoff hopes.

Reece Loudon started his first game for Potters Bar Town, but they lost 1-0 away to Tilbury Town.

It was Scottish Cup weekend north of the border meaning no action for Kilmarnock and Ben Gordon, which just leaves Matej Delac to check in on. He continues to be a sub for Ceske Budejovice, as we’ve come to expect.

Chelsea will play in their second FA Youth Cup Final in three seasons after besting Manchester United 3-2 on aggregate over two keenly-fought Semi Final contests.

A second half strike from Brazilian forward Lucas Piazon earned the Blues a draw on the night after Jack Barmby’s first half opener and ensured that Adi Viveash’s boys progressed to the Final against Blackburn.

United came with the intention to leave everything they had on the pitch and were much improved from a below-par first leg, but tired towards the end and the fresher legs of the home team were enough to see them home.

Whereas Chelsea had chosen to rest their players for as long as two weeks in many cases, the Reds have only just returned from an Under-17 tournament in the Netherlands, one which deprived them of first leg goalscorer James Wilson through injury.

Sam Byrne played up front in his stead, whilst Joe Rothwell was able to return to the midfield after missing the match at Old Trafford. Jack Rudge made way in a like-for-like swap.

Chelsea were unchanged but whilst they dominated the opening twenty minutes a month ago, they were on the back foot early as the visitors made good on their intentions to start well and forced the pace in the first ten minutes.

Rothwell was straight into the action, firing a long range effort over Jamal Blackman’s crossbar. Chelsea responded in kind when Amin Affane’s poor corner found its way to Alex Davey, but the defender found the upper sections of the Shed End.

The early sighters continued as Todd Kane stung the hands of Jonny Sutherland from well outside the box but whilst the United goalkeeper had made the game’s first save, Blackman would quickly become the busier of the two stoppers.

In a short space of time he first did well to intercept a cross destined for the head of centre forward Byrne, before getting down well to steer Barmby’s low shot away for a corner. From the ensuing delivery, he acrobatically beat away Rothwell’s left-footed curler.

Chelsea had lacked possession in the first twenty minutes and looked to make amends by keeping the ball for the sake of possession and to start playing on their terms. It worked too, as they got a foothold in the game and began to probe.

Adam Nditi had been involved in most of the play and the left-back went closest to opening the scoring when he showed good skill to come inside and shoot. Sutherland spilled his effort but was able to recover before the ball rolled over the line.

The stakes were undoubtedly high and one or two individuals were playing close to the edge. Piazon and Ben Pearson had one or two niggly moments together, with Piazon lashing out in tame fashion. The pair were spoken to by the referee, who was keen to put an end to the handbags.

Chalobah and Barmby exchanged half-chances which failed to materialise, whilst Piazon and Baker then went close to putting Chelsea in the ascendancy. Some ten minutes before half time, however, United grabbed the lead and restored parity on aggregate.

Tyler Blackett dribbled in from the left and used his ample frame to hold the ball up and defenders off. Chelsea were unable to clear and allowed Mats Daehli to find Barmby, who drilled home from the left side of the box. His shot was well struck but took a deflection off Todd Kane before beating Blackman.

A quick flurry of yellow cards rounded out a breathless first half as Nditi and Pearson both had their names taken for persistent infringements as much as anything.

Chelsea’s approach didn’t change a great deal in the second half, with no overall deficit to haul back, but they did look to involve Islam Feruz more. Moments after the restart Davey looked to release the frontman with a through ball but the impressive Nick Ioannou swept up comfortably.

With United defending well and retaining their shape it was most commonly a piece of dribbling which opened space for the Blues. Affane was next to chance his arm, jinking inside and working room for a shot which was eventually dragged wide of the left post.

The visitors responded well though and nearly took an overall lead through Pearson, but Blackman was on hand to save the day again. The chance had come about in a similar manner to the goal, with the Blues unable to clear their lines in a congested area.

Piazon, by far the liveliest Chelsea player, had seen more and more of the ball and was taking players on for fun, but sights of goal were few and far between.

His team were lucky to still be in the game around the hour mark though, when Liam Grimshaw found himself in nosebleed territory and produced a defender’s finish when well placed.

Alex Kiwomya entered the fray moments later, replacing Affane, who had worked hard without much reward.

He lined up on the right of the front three but it was Piazon who everything was going through, and shortly after he’d seen another shot saved by Sutherland, he got his reward with the equaliser.

Feruz showed excellent agility and balance to turn his man on the halfway line and took off towards goal. He drew the defence towards him before slipping the ball wide for Piazon, who lashed home first time into the roof of the net.

It energised the players and the crowd and they immediately went within inches of scoring again as Kane and Kiwomya combined to set up Feruz, who saw his shot take a nick off Pearson before clipping the crossbar.

Feruz and Piazon had opportunities to extend the aggregate lead but were unable to take them. Right back Kane had grown in influence throughout the match and had picked his moments to get forward expertly, impacting proceedings exactly when required.

United, needing to take a chance, gambled on the fitness of Wilson and introduced him from the bench with fifteen minutes or so remaining.

They were bound to get a look and when they did, it fell to top scorer Barmby. He worked himself some space on the edge of the box and let fly, beating Blackman but watched as his effort rolled the wrong side of the post.

Other than that, Chelsea looked comfortable in the late stages, with Feruz and Kiwomya doggedly and diligently working hard up front and Swift covering every inch of turf in the midfield. He would be replaced with moments to go and earned a standing ovation for his performance.

The Blues held onto their draw and won the tie on aggregate to set up a two-legged date with Blackburn Rovers, who were the club’s opponents in the Semi Finals in 2009-10 and in last year’s Premier Reserve League Final.

The first leg will be played at Stamford Bridge next Friday, April 20th, with a 7pm kickoff. Tickets will go on sale on Monday morning.

Chelsea: Blackman, Kane, Davey, Aké, Nditi, Chalobah (c), Swift (Nkumu 90), Baker, Affane (Kiwomya 60), Piazon, Feruz
Subs not Used: Beeney, Nortey, Mitchell

Manchester United: Sutherland, Grimshaw, McCullough, Ioannou, Blackett, Pearson, Rothwell, Daehli (Rudge 80), Barmby, Van Velzen, Byrne (Wilson 77)
Subs not Used: Jacob, Ekangamene, Hendrie

Goals: Piazon (CFC), Barmby (MUFC)
Booked: Nditi (CFC), Pearson, Blackett, Ioannou (MUFC)

You can view a full gallery of the night’s action courtesy of Dan Davies by clicking HERE.

Twenty-eight days after their first meeting, Chelsea and Manchester United renew acquaintances this Friday evening in the second leg of their FA Youth Cup Semi Final.

At Old Trafford on March 16th, goals from Amin Affane and Islam Feruz gave the Blues a slender 2-1 advantage to return south with, one which makes them slight favourites to progress to the Final, but it’s a close call.

At the same stage last year the Red Devils overturned a first leg deficit from Stamford Bridge en route to winning the trophy they are stoutly defending this year, and they possess the very same threat this year, albeit away from home in the decisive encounter.

International call-ups and overseas tours have delayed the playing of the match but Stamford Bridge will host some 5,000 fans in a tie which must have an outcome on the night.

Chelsea just about edged the first clash, playing exceptionally well in spells and responding well later in the game, but United displayed their typical class and mental strength in recovering from a poor start to first equalise and then threaten to seize victory.

The majority of their team have since been on club jaunts to either Amsterdam or Dallas, but will have returned match fit and ready for action. Chelsea, meanwhile, will feature a starting eleven fully rested, with none of them having tasted competitive action in over a week, with some last playing a fortnight ago.

The hosts are expected to line up with the same starting eleven as they did in Manchester, whilst the visitors will be forced into at least one change, with first leg goalscorer James Wilson injured at the Aegon Cup earlier this week.

Wilson could be replaced by Sam Byrne, who was introduced as a substitute at Old Trafford. However, coach Paul McGuinness is able to welcome back midfielder Joe Rothwell from injury and could add the first-year into a five-man midfield unit, with Gyliano van Velzen the nominal centre forward.

However, midfield schemers Adnan Januzaj and Tom Lawrence are still sidelined and are huge omissions which impact United’s creative options. Whilst they’re missing, Chelsea’s biggest absentee is Ruben Loftus-Cheek, who despite having returned to training in the past two weeks is unlikely to be involved.

Adi Viveash will be able to add versatile defender Archange Nkumu to his squad, most likely as a sub, but may reward Dion Conroy with another place on the bench after the schoolboy’s impressive recent form.

First leg substitutes Tom Howard and Nortei Nortey both played for the reserves on Tuesday, as did Ali Gordon and Walter Figueira, suggesting than none of them will be involved. Danny Stenning’s return from a full year on the sidelines may get him a place alongside Alex Kiwomya and Ismail Seremba on what is sure to be a very competitive list of reserve options.

Both sides lined up with a rough 4-3-3 formation – each with their own nuances – in the first leg and should do so again. Viveash has preferred to use inverted wingers in the competition to date, with Piazon and Affane driving inside, whilst McGuinness rotated Van Velzen and top scorer Jack Barmby in the first leg, with the pair swapping from flank to flank at regular intervals.

United used a more recognised two-man midfield base with Jack Rudge and Ben Pearson tireless and dogged in their engine-room roles, but Chelsea typically prefer to use Nathaniel Chalobah as the ‘holding’ player, with Lewis Baker and John Swift dropping back out of possession depending on who ended up deeper in any given situation.

Chelsea’s midfield fluidity has been arguably their strong point this season, with Loftus-Cheek having operated in Chalobah’s stead for most of the first half of the Under-18 season alongside Swift and Baker. The versatility of the two more attacking players and their tactical awareness allows any two of them to support the front three, with one of them taking up the slack and filling in defensively.

Typically, when the Blues have been chasing the game – which has been quite often in a comeback-filled campaign – it has been Baker leading the charge in the attacking third, with Swift charged to be the man to fill in and tidy up. Stronger in the tackle and a more robust competitor than Baker, Viveash clearly prefers him to regain possession.

However, with Chalobah in the team and a lead to protect/work with, Chelsea will surely look to control the match and cycle the ball around, looking to bring their wingers into play or to release Feruz through the channels.

A feature of recent outings has been for Swift to look to slide through-balls in for the tenacious forward to run onto, but at Old Trafford they didn’t quite come off. Instead, it was the pairing of Affane and Piazon who were most effective, coming in off the wing and looking to penetrate the heart of the Reds’ defence.

Piazon regularly found himself carrying the ball in from the left and ended up providing the assist for Affane’s opener.

He most commonly looked to play a simple ‘wall pass’ into someone close to the edge of the box before moving off his man to receive it back and make a decisive play, be it a shot or a pass.

Inconsistent final product prevented him from being more of a threat in the first leg but unless United provide right-back Liam Grimshaw with help, the Brazilian could be the game-breaker once again.

Affane is a more direct player, more prone to shooting, but is equally as tidy with his link-up play, and is an ever-improving set piece threat.

Of course, it’s not all about the home team, as is very much evident. Knowing they have to go out and win the match to win the tie, McGuinness and his team have no fears and will go for broke on Friday, as the coach told Chelsea TV after the first leg:

We must stand up and have a real go at it…clearly we’ll go there with the fact that we’re underdogs, we’re behind in the tie, so we might as well give it everything. Chelsea, maybe, from our point of view, they’ve got everything to lose in a sense, but really, there’s not too much in the tie.

After a shaky start on home soil, the Reds asserted themselves on the game but were scarcely able to utilise the excellent Mats Daehli nor find regular supply for schoolboy forward Wilson. Instead, centre-backs Luke McCullough and Nick Ioannou looked to drive possession out wide, where Van Velzen and Barmby looked to make hay against Chelsea’s full-backs.

Barmby in particular had success against Adam Nditi and that is a particular match-up they will look to exploit once again. The Man Utd full-backs regularly got up in support of their more advanced teammates.

When not seeking two vs one advantages wide, they would look to clip balls into the penalty area and look to take advantage from the ‘second ball’. This was the exact way in which they scored their goal, as Davey’s headed clearance bounced off Baker and allowed Wilson to sweep home from close range.

With Byrne or Van Velzen leading the line, they’ll have a significant presence to work off, meaning a more physical test for defenders Alex Davey and Nathan Aké.

The pair earned rave reviews for their first leg displays, with Davey’s positional play and sweeping up perfectly complementing Aké’s desire to get out to the ball and compete for possession.

They’ll have their work cut out though, especially from set pieces. The two teams are generally well balanced in terms of height, but United were a constant threat from corners in the first leg with Van Velzen a constant target.

McGuinness’ team often overloaded the near post and stood the ball up high to ask questions of the Chelsea defence and of goalkeeper Jamal Blackman. They mixed it up on occasion too, with the near post options peeling away to allow McCullough to come across from the far post (under the attentions of Chalobah) to glance the ball onwards.

When they’re able to assert themselves on the game they’re a match for any club in the country though, which makes it all the more important that Chelsea take advantage of their strong spells and make an impact on the scoresheet.

Throughout the competition so far they’ve not quite managed to do just that and instead of being out of sight against Norwich and West Ham and at Old Trafford, they found themselves in a contest.

The Blues can ill afford to look ahead to a two-legged Final against Blackburn Rovers in a couple of week’s time and must make good on their play.

It promises to be an excellent and entertaining evening, and you can keep fully up to date with the action throughout on Chelsea TV and MUTV, but unfortunately not ITV4 after scheduling conflicts.

If you can’t be at the ground or watch on television, follow @chelseayouth on Twitter for live match updates.

A busy Easter weekend across Europe has seen plenty of action on the loan front as Chelsea’s young professionals approach the end of their temporary spells elsewhere.

The landscape is well known now, of course, with some players very much first choice at their respective clubs, and others struggling for consistent playing time. Neil Bath, academy manager, spoke this week about important decisions which will be made over the summer when England’s youth structure is overhauled, and lessons learned from this season will impact how the club proceeds next season.

For some, like Thibaut Courtois, such moves are a necessity. At the majority of clubs, the young Belgian would already be a first choice and a star attraction, but at Chelsea he remains (for now at least) behind Petr Cech.

He has been in astonishly good form all season long for Atlético Madrid and this week helped his team qualify for the last four of the Europa League. A 2-1 win away to Hannover – the hosts’ first home defeat in eleven months – saw Courtois turn in a dominant and confident display full of composure and focus that belies his age.

Unfortunately, Diego Simeone’s team then lost Sunday’s league game 2-0 at Levante and the result puts a huge dent in their aims of qualifying for next season’s Champions League.

At least when goalkeepers are loaned out, they’re either first choice or they’re not playing at all. Unlike outfielders, who are prone to squad rotation, the situation is a very clear one.

Rhys Taylor and Sam Walker have been ever-present (when fit) since moving to Rotherham and Yeovil in January and both had productive Easters. Taylor was exceptional on Saturday in a 2-1 win at AFC Wimbledon, making two outstanding saves to earn three points that kept the Millers in the promotion picture.

Under new manager Steve Evans on Monday, Welshman Taylor retained his place at home to Cheltenham and kept another clean sheet in a 1-0 win over Cheltenham Town, who have struggled for goals of late.

Walker, meanwhile, continued his impressive recent form with a good display in Yeovil’s 3-1 win over Rochdale which all but secured their survival for another season. He was only beaten by an own goal late in the game, but on Monday went down 3-1 in horribly wet conditions at Notts County, including a controversial late goal where it appeared he had the ball under control only for Lloyd Sam to knock it loose.

On the flip side, of course, we have the unfortunate case of Matej Delac. The Croatian has played barely half a dozen times since leaving Inter Zapresic at the end of the 2009-10 season and a player who was once rated so highly is little more than an afterthought in his home country, having been overtaken in national team consideration by Ivan Kelava.

Delac was once again on the bench for Ceske Budejovice this week, watching starter Michal Danek keep a clean sheet in a 1-0 win over Teplice.

In Germany, a week after it looked like Jeffrey Bruma’s short-term future at Hamburg bode less than brilliantly, the Dutchman was back in Thorsten Fink’s starting eleven due to an injury crisis.

With Dennis Diekmeier and Jacopo Sala both injured, Bruma started at right back against Leverkusen and played well as HSV picked up another important point in their battle against the drop, maintaining a two-point gap with five games to go.

In the Netherlands, everyone had the weekend off, so there was no action for Tomas Kalas, Patrick van Aanholt or Kenneth Omeruo, nor was there any time for Milan Lalkovic.

The Slovakian has reportedly returned to England and ended his brief stay in Den Haag after a difference of opinion with club officials. Having played barely fifteen minutes since joining on transfer deadline day, the move was a clear failure and Milan’s return to England is the best approach for all parties.

Ulises Dávila played 90 minutes for Jong Vitesse in their 4-2 defeat to Jong AZ. Shortly after the match, Vitesse’s fitness coach Han van den Berg spoke of how long it typically takes Mexican footballers to adapt to Europe and what to expect from Dávila in the coming 18-24 months. You can read that HERE.

Gael Kakuta’s indifferent form continued in France as Dijon lost 2-0 at home to Nancy, leaving the club just two points clear of a congested relegation zone. After some sensational performances, the playmaker’s game has tapered off a little of late, and he’ll need to pick himself up in the closing weeks of the campaign to help ensure Ligue Une survival.

Josh McEachran spent Good Friday on the bench as Swansea lost 2-0 at home to Newcastle, and he’ll hope to feature in some form on his return to West London on Wednesday as Brendan Rodgers’ team take on QPR.

Kevin De Bruyne, however, assisted both goals for Genk against Gent in the Belgian League top playoffs. It increasingly appears that the club goes as he goes, and they will be relying on him to take them as far as possible for next season. You can also enjoy a cheeky bit of skill he pulled off during the match.

Ben Gordon and Kilmarnock were handsomely thrashed 6-0 by Celtic on Saturday as their opponents secured the SPL title in a party atmosphere at Rugby Park. With Killie’s season already effectively over and a trophy in the bag, it came as little surprise to see them overwhelmed by a team marching towards the title and little comment can really be offered on this particular match.

Finally, there was a pair of defeats for Reece Loudon at Potters Bar Town. The young left sided player featured against Thamesmead Town but was an unused sub against Ilford.

It’s the turn of the goalkeepers to take centre stage in the latest edition of the Loan Report after an interesting week for Chelsea’s quartet of stoppers.

Giving credit where it’s due, it’s also appropriate to begin with Yeovil Town’s Sam Walker, who had one of his finest days as a professional on Saturday with an inspired, man of the match performance away to Bournemouth.

Earlier in the week, Glovers boss Gary Johnson urged for patience amongst supporters who had become disgruntled with Walker’s inconsistent performances, noting that whilst Sam had not been in great form he was still young and that there would be bumps in the road.

Fresh off the back of those comments, Walker was exceptional in earning a point in a goalless draw and made a string of sensational saves, the best of which can be seen by UK viewers on the BBC Sport website from Monday morning.

The next step for Sam is to take this confidence boost through to the end of the season and secure Yeovil’s place in League One for next season, when he might very well return to the club for another loan spell.

Rhys Taylor also had a clean sheet and a victory as Rotherham beat lowly Hereford United in League Two, but unlike Walker, the Welshman had very little to do in a routine victory for the Millers.

In Spain, Thibaut Courtois picked up a pair of victories and one more clean sheet, taking him to nineteen for the season as Atlético Madrid’s starter. Los Colchoneros put one foot in the Europa League Semi Finals on Thursday with a 2-1 victory over Hannover and the big Belgian was an important reason behind securing that result, making a fine save in the closing moments to ensure a lead will be taken to the AWD-Arena.

He had considerably less to do against Getafe in league action on Sunday and it increasingly looks like Diego Simeone’s men will put all of their eggs into the Europa basket to determine their fate for next season.

Completing the set is Croatian Matej Delac, who played a league match for the first time since May 2010, when he was still with Inter Zapresic. Unfortunately, it didn’t exactly go to plan as lowly Ceske Budejovice were hammered 5-0 by Champions League outfit Viktoria Plzen.

You can see considerable highlights from the game HERE. Whilst Delac will feel he could have done better for one or two goals, he is undoubtedly very rusty from such a long time on the bench both technically and mentally.

He was back on the bench for Sunday’s home win over FC Hradec Krelové as Michal Danek returned to the starting line-up.

There were few positives elsewhere though, as Chelsea’s outfield loanees either struggled to make an impact or simply didn’t play at all. Josh McEachran was an unused sub as per usual for Swansea, Milan Lalkovic didn’t make ADO Den Haag’s matchday squad, and nor did Jeffrey Bruma for Hamburg.

Word from HSV is that the senior players believe that the best chance they have of avoiding relegation is to rely on the older, more experienced players who have been there and done it before, rather than someone more ‘raw’ like Bruma.

To that end, they have preferred the older Michael Mancienne at centre-back in recent weeks and looked slightly more secure at the back, and picked up a big victory on Saturday away to bottom-placed Kaiserslautern.

Whether it affects Bruma’s chances of remaining at the Imtech-Arena next season remains to be seen, as the Dutchman has regularly stated that he simply wants to play, but he may not get a look for the rest of this season.

Whilst Lalkovic missed out for Den Haag, Kenneth Omeruo continued at right-back, but the yellow and green side lost 1-0 to RKC Waalwijk. The Nigerian appears set to be a regular for the foreseeable future, whilst the Slovakian Lalkovic would be best served by returning to England at the earliest possible convenience.

Over at Vitesse Arnhem, Patrick van Aanholt was relegated to the bench after some shaky performances in recent weeks and remained there as his teammates drew 2-2 with title challengers AZ Alkmaar.

Tomas Kalas, of course, played the duration at the heart of the defence and held his own against Jozy Altidore and Brett Holman. Whether Kalas wants to stay at the club next season or not, there is a very high chance that bigger and better clubs will be clamouring for his services.

Ulises Dávila played for Jong Vitesse in a midweek win over Jong Feyenoord and this week watched his Mexican compatriots seal a place at the London 2012 Olympics, which he’ll have a chance of playing in.

Gael Kakuta and Dijon moved a step closer to safety on Saturday with a last-gasp draw away to Bordeaux. The French playmaker was quiet once again as his side were under the cosh for the majority of the game but he was as influential as he could be on the break and from set pieces, and did his fair share of defensive dirty work.

Genk began their Playoff 1 campaign bidding for a place in next season’s UEFA competition but were defeated 2-0 away to Club Brugge in a game Kevin de Bruyne struggled to get into.

A week after his most influential outing of 2011-12, he was much quieter, and was booked in the second half. It still stands to reason, however, that he will be key to any hopes Mario Been and his team have of finishing the season well.

Ben Gordon and Kilmarnock will finish their campaign on the wrong side of a league split though after losing 4-2 at St Mirren on Saturday. Gordon played his regular ninety minutes.

Finally, some loan news in brief. Second-year scholar Reece Loudon has struggled for playing time under Adi Viveash in the Under-18s this season and in early March joined Potters Bar Town of the Isthmian League First Division North on a work experience loan.

The full-back-cum-winger has done well at club relatively local to him, scoring a goal against Needham Market and getting some badly-needed minutes under his belt. Good luck to him there.

Chelsea’s Under-18 team rounded out their home campaign for 2011-12 with a second consecutive goalless draw against Aston Villa. 

In a match of few real chances and little incident, a point apiece was a fair result and both sides were able to offer further opportunities to younger players. 

Under-16s Mitchell Beeney and Dion Conroy started for the hosts whilst Adi Viveash was able to welcome back Archange Nkumu from injury. Amin Affane and Islam Feruz both played for the first time since scoring at Old Trafford in the FA Youth Cup. 

The visitors featured some rather small players but were into their stride first, with a Charlie Ward free kick dropping just wide and a Daniel Williams header straight at Beeney, but such moments were scarce throughout. 

Chelsea struggled to break through a compact and well disciplined opposition, particularly in the midfield area. Villa pressed well and closed space at all times, forcing the Blues backwards or into mistakes. 

It took some half an hour for them to conjure up an opening but when they did so it came from a delicious passage of play which ended with Feruz wasting a glorious chance at the far post after Affane had crossed. 

Both sides struck the woodwork before the half time whistle as Affane saw his free kick tipped into the post whilst Villa defender Donacien clipped the crossbar from a corner won after Ward had forced a fine save from Beeney. 

In an attempt to add some more verve and liveliness to the Chelsea attack, Viveash introduced Walter Figueira and Ismail Seremba at the break and they would have their moments later in the match. 

Beeney was once again alert to tip Lewis Kinsella’s free kick away to safety as the second half took on the same feel as the first. 

The flow of the game was rarely helped by the regular intervention of the referee who, whilst generally correct to the letter of the law, was often too quick to whistle and often prevented quicker restarts. 

Lewis Baker once again looked to lead the charge from midfield but struggled to find space in between clusters of claret shirts. Most impressively, however, he was dogged and relentless in his attempts to win possession back. 

Figueira had a late opening but fluffed his lines whilst a fine move saw Seremba volley towards goal only to be denied by a block on the line. 

Fankaty Dabo saw time in the closing moments, which meant Danny Stenning remained on the bench. It was the midfielder’s first matchday involvement in over a year after suffering a serious knee injury against MK Dons in March 2011.

Late pressure from the Blues saw little reward despite some good endeavour down the flanks but the last effort on target came courtesy of Villa’s Ward. His exceptionally ambitious shot from 40 yards summed up affairs on a day when defences were on top. 

Chelsea will finish up their league campaign away to Cardiff and then Ipswich, whilst the FA Youth Cup is also very much to play for as another season draws to an exciting climax. 

Chelsea: Beeney, Bangura, Nkumu (c), Conroy, Nditi, Ashton (Dabo 75), Baker, Osmanovic (Figueira 45), Affane, Howard, Feruz (Seremba 45)

Chelsea’s Reserve team earned a deserved point in South Wales on Tuesday evening as they drew 2-2 agaisnt Swansea at the Parc y Scarlets.

Dermot Drummy’s young side twice fell behind in the second half but Patrick Bamford and Lucas Piazon hauled the Blues back on terms on each occasion, with the Brazilian striking in timely fashion with just moments remaining.

It was a just result and an impressive one for a Chelsea team which gave up much in the way of experience and age, and had lost influential captain Nathaniel Chalobah to first half injury.

After an impressive 4-2 win away to Newcastle last week, the core of the team was retained with two enforced changes. Sam Hutchinson was replaced by Rohan Ince in the centre of defence, whilst Jamal Blackman’s Champions League commitments meant that he was unable to take his place between the sticks.

James Russell filled in once more, making a third appearance of the season and playing just 24 hours after keeping goal for Canvey Island against Wealdstone in Ryman League action.

Swansea counted Leroy Lita, Fedo Bessone, Jose Moreira and Andrea Orlandi amongst their starters but struggled to assert themselves on their youthful opponents for much of what was a first half bereft of notable incident.

Chalobah took a knock to his left leg midway through the half and was unable to continue, meaning first-year scholar Alex Davey saw considerable playing time in the heart of defence.

Billy Clifford, taking the captaincy from his stricken team-mate, tested Moreira whilst Aziz Deen-Conteh saw a header come back off the woodwork.

However, the hosts would get on the board first shortly after the restart with a strike from Casey Thomas, who converted from close range following a corner routine.

Orlandi and Lita threatened to extend the Swans’ lead as they enjoyed their best spell of the game but Russell kept his team in the contest and Chelsea equalised thirteen minutes from time with Bamford’s second reserve team goal.

A confident, flowing move saw substitute Adam Phillip – who played half an hour in his second match back from injury – release the former Nottingham Forest frontman, and he did the rest with an excellent finish.

Parity was not for long though, as Gwion Williams claimed his second assist of the evening in setting up Rory Donnelly for his first goal in a Swansea shirt on 83 minutes.

It threatened to end the night on a sour note for the visitors but they rallied and after Davey saw his header turned away by Moreira, Billy Clifford and Romelu Lukaku combined to play Piazon in for the game’s fourth and final goal to share the spoils.

Chelsea: Russell, Kane, Ince, Saville, Deen-Conteh, C.Clifford (Phillip 62), Bamford, B.Clifford, Lukaku, Chalobah (c) (Davey 19), Lucas Piazon
Subs not used: Beeney, Ashton, Baker

Goals: Thomas ’47, Donnelly ’83 (SCFC); Bamford ’77, Lucas Piazon ’90 (CFC)

It’s been a rather action-packed seven days on the loan front with a number of teams and players in action twice. For the first time as a Chelsea player, Kevin de Bruyne is this week’s headline act.

The Belgian international turned in a performance of the highest order when his team needed it most, scoring one and creating the other two goals as Genk beat Gent 3-1 in midweek to secure themselves a top six berth and a place in the Belgian league playoffs.

Playing in a central midfield position as opposed to his usual wide role, De Bruyne pulled all the strings and revelled in being Genk’s talisman. His free kick found Chistian Benteke for a vital equaliser on the hour mark and less than sixty seconds later he deftly flicked a ball over the top of the Gent defence to spring Thomas Buffel free for a second.

A sensational eight-minute spell was capped when he burst through from deep to collect Benteke’s pass and finish comprehensively past goalkeeper Frank Boeckx. You can see all of the action HERE.

De Bruyne revealed afterwards that he spent considerable time as a youngster playing in a more central role and generally likes to do so, something which offers much food for thought for Chelsea going forward.

Elsewhere on the loan front, it was a bit of a mixed bag, summed up by Thibaut Courtois. The Belgian was on the winning team on Wednesday night as Atlético Madrid defeated everybody’s current ‘second team’ Athletic Bilbao 2-1 at the Vicente Calderon, but suffered a surprising defeat on Sunday away to bottom-placed Zaragoza.

He had little to do on either occasion and simply exhibited his customary excellence in terms of focus, preparation and confidence to control his surroundings, but still came off on the losing side in the second of his outings due to a stoppage time penalty which he had no chance of stopping.

Staying with the goalkeepers, there was a surprise this week as Matej Delac saw some very rare playing time for Ceske Budejovice in the Czech Post Cup. The Croatian stopper kept a clean sheet (thanks to a goal disallowed for offside) in a goalless draw with FK Jablonec and played well but is expected to return to the bench for tomorrow night’s trip to Viktoria Plzen.

Sam Walker and Yeovil saw their good run of form ended this week with a 3-0 defeat away to title certs Charlton Athletic and a 0-1 home reverse against Hartlepool United.

Walker was at fault for Charlton’s opener on Wednesday as he completely mis-judged Dany N’Guessan’s fierce cross and watched it fly into the top corner. UK viewers can see it HERE.

The big goalkeeper was hardly responsible for any of the other goals the Glovers conceded over the course of the two matches but the incident did go some way to encapsulating what Yeovil fans think of their temporary number one; that he’s a generally capable player who makes some good saves but has some work to do on crosses and commanding his area.

It was also an up and down few days for Rhys Taylor and Rotherham, who beat Macclesfield and lost to Crawley but in between parted company with manager Andy Scott.

Taylor, who was excellent in the 3-0 defeat at Crawley, told local media of his disappointment upon hearing the news of Scott’s departure, remained first choice in the immediate short-term under caretaker manager Darren Patterson but faces an uncertain future on multiple fronts.

The club may choose to dispense with the services of some or all of their loanees as they see the season out under transitional management, whilst any thoughts the Welshman may have had regarding a permanent future at the club may now be under review with Scott no longer in charge.

Up in the Premier League there was only one match for Swansea this week and just twenty minutes of playing time for Josh McEachran, although it was his first of any sort in a full month.

It was also largely pointless and came in a losing cause as Brendan Rodgers’ team were already 2-0 down to Everton and looking to preserve the fitness of key starters such as Scott Sinclair, who made way for the midfielder.

The move has not gone as well as Chelsea would have hoped but they took their time in finalising the deal and in delaying affairs forced Swansea’s hand into moving for Gylfi Sigurdsson, who has been integral in recent weeks and is a definite first choice ahead of McEachran.

Hopefully, with safety pretty much secured and Sigurdsson attracting attention from other clubs, Josh will see more action in the final weeks of the campaign.

Jeffrey Bruma has also seen his playing time dwindle of late and he spent the duration of Friday night on the substiutes bench as Hamburg lost 2-1 away to Wolfsburg to leave them firmly embroiled in a relegation battle they had at one point escaped from.

Bruma was not the only player to be dropped after a woeful performance last weekend at home to Freiburg as Gokhan Töre, Slobodan Rajovic, Tolgay Arslan and Gojko Kacar were all relegated by Thorsten Fink as he sought an about-turn in form.

In France, Gael Kakuta has been in fine form of late as Dijon attempt to climb their way to Ligue Une safety and they went a long way to achieving just that with a 2-0 win over SM Caen on Sunday.

It was one of Kakuta’s quieter outings in recent weeks, thanks largely to playing wider to the right than he usually does, but he was determined and hard-working in a team effort which secured the three points. He had his moments late in the game and tried a few tricks and flicks which didn’t come off but he continues to look the part.

In the Netherlands, ADO Den Haag earned a very credible 1-1 draw with Steve McClaren’s FC Twente and Kenneth Omeruo played a full 90 minutes at right-back once again.

The Nigerian, who picked up a booking, has earned positive reviews thus far and has attracted the attention of his national team’s staff, who are considering him for full selection. He has indicated that he prefers to play at centre-back or in defensive midfield but is doing well in a new role and is set to continue there.

Milan Lalkovic returned to the matchday squad but was an unused sub and has played just fifteen minutes in six weeks at the club, confirming that the move was a last-minute deal and one which was poorly thought out.

Reports at the time suggested that the Den Haag club had seen a move for Fulham’s Danny Hoesen scuppered late on deadline day and they needed an alternative, and sourced Lalkovic from Chelsea as a result of their new working relationship.

Whilst ADO picked up a point, Vitesse surrendered all three and lost 3-1 away to Roda JC. Patrick van Aanholt and Tomas Kalas played the full match, with the Dutchman deflecting the second goal past his own goalkeeper and doing little to placate the boo-boys who appear to be targetting him on a regular basis.

Ulises Dávila and Jong Vitesse/AGOVV lost 5-0 to Jong Heerenveen/Emmen.

Finally, Ben Gordon returned to league action after a victorious Scottish League Cup Final last weekend and the good times continued as Kilmarnock beat Motherwell 2-0 to keep alive faint hopes of leapfrogging Hearts into the top half of the table before the SPL splits in two weeks’ time.

Chelsea’s Reserve team continued a fine week across all levels for the Blues with a 4-2 win away to Newcastle on Monday night.

A brace from Romelu Lukaku – taking the Belgian to seven goals in as many games – and one apiece from Nathaniel Chalobah and Billy Clifford secured an impressive three points for Dermot Drummy’s men.

They won’t be successfully defending their national title from last May but they do look like finishing the season strongly and were able to welcome Adam Phillip back from another long-term injury last night.

The 20 year-old forward, who had scored 11 times in 15 appearances before damaging his cruciate ligament back in August, made his return well ahead of schedule and played some 20 minutes of the match at the Northumberland FA’s headquarters.

January signing Patrick Bamford impressed in a matchday which featured thirteen players born or developed in England, pouring a degree of scorn on pre-match comments from the Newcastle camp that the Blues squad was cherry-picked from far and wide.

One who was not involved, however, was Jacob Mellis, as it was confirmed that he departed the club by mutual consent after a highly-publicised incident at the beginning of the month.

Mellis, 21, would likely have left the club in the summer after a frustrating season in which he inexplicably wasn’t sent on loan despite a successful spell at Barnsley last season.

With just over a year remaining on his contract and now being of the age whereby Chelsea would have to register him for Premier League involvement, a summer move was on the cards and whilst recent events may have hastened his departure, he was likely to follow Kaby and Philipp Prosenik in leaving slightly ahead of time.

Championship outfit Burnley are believed to be favourites to secure his signature, as the midfielder spent part of last week on trial at the Lancashire club and impressed in a reserve match.

However, whispers suggest he may also be attracting attention from Newcastle and Alan Pardew, who he played under briefly at Southampton. Pardew is believed to have kept tabs on him for some time and may now make a move to bring him in.

The Reserves’ victory follows the first-team’s 5-2 win over Leicester City on Sunday, which in turn came off the back of two wins for the Under-18 team in less than 24 hours.

On Friday night, Adi Viveash led his side to a 2-1 victory at Old Trafford in the FA Youth Cup Semi Final First Leg, and the following morning Under-16 coach Joe Edwards took charge of a much younger Blues side that beat Bristol City 2-0 at Cobham. Goals either side of half time from schoolboys Dion Conroy and Jonathan Muleba capped a fine couple of days for the academy.

It’s been another successful week for Chelsea’s young loan stars, and we’ll turn the headlines over to one who has today picked up his first winner’s medal in professional football.

Ben Gordon was part of the Kilmarnock side which pulled off an improbable upset in the Scottish League Cup Final, defeating Celtic 1-0 courtesy of Dieter van Tornhout’s 83rd minute winner to secure the trophy for the first time.

Gordon was involved in the winning goal, linking well with Lee Johnson down the left before Johnson crossed to find Van Tornhout at the far post. It marks Killie’s first silverware since lifting the Scottish Cup in 1997. Congratulations go to Ben and the entire Kilmarnock team.

Elswhere, Gael Kakuta was up his usual tricks in France and banged in his fifth goal in just nine appearances for Dijon to secure a 2-1 win over Marseille.

The Burgundy club has had quite the run of fixtures in recent weeks, facing title challengers Montpellier and PSG before travelling away to take on a Marseille side which has rebounded well domestically after a poor start whilst qualifying for the last eight of the Champions League.

Thriving on the big stage, Kakuta played well, looking to create and excite in equal measure, and had both the nerve and composure to step up and score a late penalty to take three huge points away from the Stade Velodrome.

There has been much talk about what the future holds for Kakuta after unsuccessful loan spells at Fulham and at Bolton, and there was certainly a sense that the move to Dijon would be something of a last-chance saloon for the young Frenchman, but he has emerged as one of Ligue Une’s outstanding players in his short stay so far. That in itself is a positive step forwards.

In Spain, Thibaut Courtois recorded his weekly clean sheet in Europa League action as Atlético Madrid comfortably saw themselves past Besiktas and into the last eight of the competition, but there was a rare reverse on Sunday as they went down 2-1 away to Mallorca.

Not for the first time this season, the Belgian was beaten by an own goal, whilst Mallorca’s second effort was a lovely strike by Michael Pereira. Atlético absolutely dominated the match and Courtois had little else to do, but equally can hardly be held accountable for the goals he did concede.

Off to the Netherlands next, where Vitesse Arnhem got the weekend off to a good start with a 2-0 victory over Heracles at the Gelredome. Tomas Kalas and Patrick van Aanholt both featured and lived up to recent billing, the young Czech being generally excellent in his defensive duties whilst Van Aanholt was slightly more inconsistent and was substituted after 63 minutes.

Kalas this week revealed that he would like to stay at Vitesse next season, when he is likely to once again be loaned out. There has been speculation that Hamburg are keen on his services but, given the choice, he would be comfortable remaining in the Eredivisie.

Ulises Dávila was not involved for Jong Vitesse against Jong Ajax in midweek as both sides used the occasion to feature some lesser-utilised first-team squad players, but he should return tomorrow against Jong De Graafschap.

On Sunday, Milan Lalkovic missed ADO’s defeat to Ajax but Kenneth Omeruo once again started at full-back, looking to build upon his excellent first two outings for the green and yellow.

Unfortunately, he wasn’t quite as impressive as before and was easily outmuscled in the build-up to Jan Vertonghen scoring the second and final goal of the game for the visitors. However, simply being involved and earning the manager’s confidence for such a big match so early in his ADO career can be looked upon favourably and the Nigerian seems set to be a regular feature until the end of the season.

Jeffrey Bruma returned to Hamburg’s starting eleven for the first time in over a month and was part of a back four which featured former Chelsea players Michael Mancienne and Slobodan Rajkovic as they hosted Freiburg at the Imtech Arena.

Thorsten Fink’s side continued a recent bad patch of form by losing 3-1 and faced a chorus of boos from home supporters, but despite the result Bruma appears to have come out of the game with some credit for his leadership in a young defensive unit.

In Belgium, Kevin de Bruyne’s Genk side continue to flounder and a 3-2 defeat to Westerlo casts further doubt on their chances of qualifying for the very complicated Belgian playoffs.

They were 3-0 down inside fifteen minutes and despite two second half goals, they suffered defeat and are sixth in the table, three points adrift of Cercle Brugge.

Back on home shores, the hectic Football League calendar meant another double-header of action for goalkeepers Sam Walker and Rhys Taylor this week, but results have been kind to the pair lately and half-continued that way this week.

Walker and Yeovil were a minute away from a midweek victory over Scunthorpe but drew 2-2, and took another three points towards safety by beating Walsall 2-1 at Huish Park on Saturday.

Against Scunthorpe and in ridiculously foggy conditions, Walker could have been a tad quicker off his line for the stoppage time equaliser and some Glovers fans feel he could have done better with Walsall’s goal in the weekend outing, but in general he has been a positive addition to the squad, even if some aspects of his game need work.

For Taylor and Rotherham, however, a pair of defeats to Torquay and Oxford leaves any outside hopes the Millers had of a playoff place much worse off with some ten games to go.