The Loan Report: March 5-11

March 11, 2012

It was a week like many others this season the loan front as the usual movers and shakers developing away from Stamford Bridge continued in the same vein as they have for many recent weeks and months. Thibaut Courtois typically headlines the group, with the 19 year-old Belgian goalkeeper arguably the most competent and first-team ready of all Blues youngsters on loan this season. He added two more wins to…

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Under-18s: Chelsea 3-0 Reading

March 10, 2012

Chelsea warmed up for Friday’s FA Youth Cup Semi Final clash against Manchester United with a 3-0 win over Reading on Saturday morning.  Goals from Amin Affane, Lewis Baker and Alex Kiwomya secured the win in a match which was barely a contest after a first half red card for visiting goalkeeper Dean Santangelo.  He received his marching orders for pulling Islam Feruz back after the striker had closed down…

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Chelsea Move For Young Duo?

March 8, 2012

Chelsea have this week been linked with a pair of teenagers from Italy and Spain respectively, with deals to secure the signature of both said to be close. On Monday, Italian website TuttoB.com – the Serie B-specific arm of well-known transfer speculation outlet TuttoMercatoWeb – noted that the Blues have moved to sign Pescara goalkeeper Luca Savelloni for some €2m. On Wednesday, meanwhile, ElCentroCampista.com via Spanish website Informacion.es reported that…

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Reserves: Chelsea 0-2 Arsenal

March 5, 2012

One of Chelsea’s poorest performances at reserve team level in 2011-12 saw the Blues fall to a 2-0 home defeat at the hands of Arsenal on Monday lunchtime. A team featuring just two of the eleven which beat Fulham last time out failed to impose themselves on a more experienced Arsenal eleven and goals in either half from Chuks Aneke and Hector Bellerín secured three points for Neil Banfield’s Gunners….

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The Loan Report: February 27 – March 4

March 4, 2012

Gael Kakuta has been front and centre in The Loan Report for much of 2012 and the young Frenchman continued his fine spell at Dijon this week with another goal. Kakuta’s fourth strike of his brief stay in Burgundy had threatened to cause a major upset as the hosts led table-topping Montpellier, but a late equaliser deprived Patrice Carteron’s side of all three points. The game offered little to write…

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Under-18s: Chelsea 2-2 Tottenham Hotspur

March 3, 2012

Chelsea’s Under-18s staged the latest in an impressive series of comebacks on Saturday morning to earn a point against Tottenham Hotspur.  The Blues found themselves two goals down at the break and whilst they weren’t quite able to finish the turnaround, second half strikes by Lewis Baker and Ismail Seremba saw them take a deserved share of the spoils.  Some regular faces from the youth cup run were absent ahead…

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Colombian Teen Linked With Chelsea

February 28, 2012

Chelsea have been linked with a move for fifteen year-old Colombian striker Joao Rodriguez according to reports in South America this week. The forward, who will turn 16 in May, is amongst the most prolific goalscorers in his age group in the entire continent and particularly caught the eye of Blues scouts last November, when he scored four times in the Campeonato Sudamericano Sub-15. That was the latest in a…

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The Loan Report: February 20-26

February 26, 2012

The recent hive of activity on the loan front cooled somewhat in the last seven days and the latest instalment of The Loan Report is, as a consequence, a much lower key affair. Belgian goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois had the highest profile week of anyone temporarily away from Stamford Bridge as he first kept a clean sheet for Atlético Madrid against Lazio to see Los Colchoneros into the last sixteen of…

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Under-18s: Arsenal 2-3 Chelsea

February 25, 2012

After coming back to win from three goals down on Wednesday night at Nottingham Forest, Chelsea played the role of comeback kids once again on Saturday morning as a brace from Amin Affane and a late winner from Patrick Bamford saw them twice come from behind to win 3-2 at Arsenal. First half strikes from Josh Rees and Anthony Jeffrey had Steve Bould’s side in the ascendancy but the Blues…

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FA Youth Cup: Nottingham Forest 3-4 Chelsea

February 22, 2012

Chelsea’s remarkable FA Youth Cup run continued in the most unlikely of circumstances as they turned a 3-0 half time deficit into a dramatic, late, 4-3 victory. First half strikes from David Morgan and Jordan Palmer-Samuels sandwiched a Nathan Aké own goal to leave Eoin Jess’ boys 3-0 up and firmly in control of affairs, but an astonishing second half saw Lucas Piazon get a foothold in the game before…

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