After a few weeks of a Romelu Lukaku dominated, winter break affected Loan Report, everybody was back in action this weekend across Europe, allowing someone else to take centre stage. Gael Kakuta’s first goal of the season may have come in a heavy loss for Vitesse Arnhem, but it represents the sort of progress he’s been making in the Netherlands this season and is a sign of continued positivity for…
Chelsea produced another stunning FA Youth Cup performance to add to their scrapbook on Monday night as they defeated Charlton in Round Four of this year’s competition. Having faced a two-goal deficit at half time, the young Blues might have appeared to many to be losing their grip on the trophy they won last April, but seasoned veterans know better than to write these boys off. Second half strikes from…
Romelu Lukaku has headlined many a Loan Report so far this season, but this week he’s way out on his own as the outstanding performer of the last seven days. The big Belgian forward was almost unplayable this weekend as West Brom travelled to Reading, and although the hosts pulled off a miraculous turnaround in the final ten minutes to take a 3-2 victory, it was all about Lukaku. He…
2012 was quite a year for the Chelsea FC academy. FA Youth Cup winners for the second time in three seasons back in May, the club then achieved Category One status in the new Elite Player Performance Plan, and have been leading the way in the 2012-13 Premier Academy League season ever since. Nine wins, two draws and just one defeat – away to Fulham in mid-December – secured their…
Chelsea kicked off their 2013 fixture list at Under-21 with a local derby against Fulham and ran out impressive 2-0 winners. Second-half strikes from Islam Feruz and Lewis Baker secured three points for Dermot Drummy’s team in a game which saw John Terry make his playing return from an injury which has sidelined him for the past two months. Sam Walker and Milan Lalkovic, back after relatively unsuccessful loan spells,…
Chelsea get the second half of their Under-21 league campaign underway this evening against Fulham in a match which is live on Chelsea TV. It’ll be the third time they’ve faced their West London neighbours at this level this season, and the second time in a month that they’ve hosted them. They do so again this time around because both teams have found themselves placed in Tier One of the…
Chelsea’s Under-21 team started the season well but a poor run of form scuppered their chances of matching the Under-18 team’s qualification to the Elite Group of competition. A late rally put them in contention but results elsewhere meant that they take their place in Tier One of the post-Christmas format; the second of three groups ranked by first-half performance. Winning the group will allow them a chance at winning…
With some of Chelsea’s many, many loanees still enjoying a winter break, this latest instalment is still a little shorter than most, but we’re able to lead off with another goalscorer in what has been a good season on that front. Romelu Lukaku started 2013 with a bang and grabbed himself a New Year’s Day goal for West Brom at home to Fulham. It was his seventh goal for the…
Chelsea’s Under-18 team have been arguably the nation’s best so far this season, with a berth amongst the Elite Eight confirmed well before the Christmas break. Now, with the new year well and truly here, they know who they’ll be facing and when they’ll be doing so. They have a tough opponent on the slate every single week but it’s exactly what they wanted; the most competitive games programme possible….
As the transfer window opens, it feels prudent to take stock of the twenty-something Chelsea players currently out on loan. It’s been an action-packed first half of the season, with headline-makers aplenty, and the trend has generally been positive for the (mostly) young Blues developing elsewhere. However, the picture is a lot less clear for a number of others, and they in particular will be hoping for a change of…