Chelsea have earned themselves a reputation across European football as being a somewhat of a ‘bank’ for loan players – a very controversial topic in the Football Transfer Tavern.
The Blues have an astonishing 38 – yes, you read that correctly – of their own out on loan at clubs across Europe and indeed the world this season.
Amongst those on sabbatical include Loic Remy and Kenedy who have joined Crystal Palace and Watford on season long loans respectively, while Tammy Abraham – the Championship’s current second top scorer – is loving life at Bristol City. Eredivisie side Vitesse Arnhem are fortunate enough to have three of Chelsea’s youngsters on their books for the year – Lewis Baker, Matt Miazga and Nathan.
Despite the club’s repute as one that loans out players, it must also be noted that Chelsea are more than capable of exploiting the market the other way around.
Over the years, the Blues’ have had their fair share of players for a year or so at Stamford Bridge from their parent clubs, but none thus far are yet to make a real impact at the club. It might be a curse, but are these the worst three they’ve ever had? Our landlord thinks so …
Ricardo Quaresma
The ‘next Ronaldo’ as he was once dubbed in the Tavern, Quaresma’s hit and miss career has unfortunately been far more full of the latter than the former, with his time at Chelsea being no exception to that rule.
The start of his career was promising, having enjoyed successful spells at both Sporting Lisbon and FC Porto – but things seemed to go downhill once he left his home country.
Quaresma made a mere five appearances for the Blues and scored no goals.
Maniche
Another Portuguese star who enjoyed success in the Primeira Liga yet failed to replicate that form anywhere else on the continent. Maniche earned himself quite the reputation as powerhouse central midfielder during his spells at first Benfica then Porto, but struggled after moving to Dynamo Moscow in 2005.
There was a hope that the misfiring star would be able to recapture the form he showed in his home country after joining Chelsea in January for the remainder of the season.
That prophecy was not to be fulfilled however as the midfielder was only a bit-part player, not even making enough appearances to earn himself a Premier League winner’s medal.
Radamel Falcao
Falcao joined the Blues on a season-long loan from Monaco in the summer of 2015 after a disastrous spell at Manchester United the year before.
Why anybody thought it would turn out any different for the striker in London rather than Manchester is a question that may never be answered, but what was apparent was that ‘El Tigre’ had clearly lost his roar.
Once the most sought-after striker in world football, Falcao scored only once for Chelsea before waving goodbye to re-join Monaco a year later.
