The Loan Report: January 3-8

January 8, 2017

The Loan Report remains slightly short of full strength with much of Europe still on winter breaks, but we’ve still got plenty to bring you, beginning with news of a high-profile returnee. Headliners Nathan Aké began the season struggling to get into the Bournemouth team. As 2017 begins, however, he is leaving the South Coast to return to Chelsea having impressed sufficiently during his two-month run in the side for…

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The Loan Report: December 26 – January 2

January 2, 2017

It’s been a busy Christmas and New Year period for the Loan Army, but we’ve been on top of all the goings-on in an action-packed first Loan Report of 2017. Headliners There’ve been no shortage of goals since we were last with you, and most of them have come courtesy of Tammy Abraham. On Boxing Day he scored an equaliser for Bristol City away to Wolves only to end up…

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Chelsea Academy Moments of 2016

December 30, 2016

It’s been another memorable year for the Chelsea Football Club academy, with yet more silverware added to the trophy cabinet and a host of first-team debuts headlining a group of players bursting at the seams with quality, exhibiting itself both at Stamford Bridge and out on loan. With 2016 drawing to a close, it’s time to take a quick look back at the last twelve months and celebrate another productive…

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Development Squad: Chelsea 1-2 Swansea City

December 22, 2016

Chelsea bowed out of the 2016-17 Premier League International Cup on Thursday evening after a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Swansea City at Aldershot’s EBB Stadium. The Blues needed a minor miracle if they were to make it through the group stage after Dinamo Zagreb beat Feyenoord 3-0 at Cobham on Tuesday, and gave it a good go after taking a first-half lead through Josimar Quintero, but a hotly-disputed…

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Learning to Evaluate the Loan Army

December 19, 2016

With more than fifty players having embarked on well in excess of one hundred loan moves over the past three years, Chelsea fans are well-versed in understanding the loan market, and the moves a young developmental prospect now must make if he is to realise his ambitions of a career back at Stamford Bridge. It’s an increasingly interesting/futile (delete as applicable) exercise and, with each passing year, the standard of…

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The Loan Report: December 12-18

December 18, 2016

The last full week of fixtures before many European leagues embark on a winter break saw four more goals added to the Loan Army tally, taking us to 67 for the season , whilst ensuring the streak of at least one being scored in every full week of the campaign so far continued. Headliners Three of them came in midweek, with a pair of them arriving at the Gelredome as…

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Development Squad: Chelsea 0-1 Dinamo Zagreb

December 16, 2016

Chelsea’s second Premier League International Cup outing of the season didn’t quite go to plan as they were edged out 1-0 at home to a well-drilled Dinamo Zagreb team. In a match that never really got going, the Croatians were impressive at the back and made it count when Filip Mihaljević gave them a first-half lead they never really looked like relinquishing. The result brought to an end a seven-match…

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FA Youth Cup: Chelsea 5-0 Cardiff City

December 13, 2016

Chelsea’s quest for a fourth successive FA Youth Cup triumph began in style on Tuesday evening with a 5-0 hammering of Cardiff City in the Third Round at Aldershot’s EBB Stadium. In control of things from minute one, the Blues once again outlined their credentials as favourites for the country’s most prestigious youth competition by clinically firing their way into a Fourth Round date away to either Oldham Athletic or…

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Defending The FA Youth Cup: The 2016-17 Edition

December 12, 2016

The standard has been set. When Jody Morris took the reins from Joe Edwards this summer and took charge of Chelsea’s Under-18s, ensuring the club’s recent and proud record in the FA Youth Cup was right up there with any short-term aspirations. It’s not just that the Blues have won the last three editions, becoming the first team in more than sixty years to achieve such a feat, it extends…

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The Loan Report: December 5-11

December 11, 2016

The Loan Report has a warm and familiar feel to it this week, as not only did the scoring streak continue to cover every full seven-day spell of the season so far, but the Loan Army’s leading goalscorer found the back of the net for the first time since Halloween. Headliners Tammy Abraham knew he would encounter more than a few struggles in his first season of professional football, and…

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