Most football fans know that the EFL is the perfect place for young, inexperienced players to get first team minutes. However, these loans don’t always work. They can explode a player’s career, as Chelsea, in particular, have found out. These Chelsea loans have produced club captains, last minute winners, countless memorable moments, derby winners and the list goes on. We’ll be taking a closer look into the success of the EFL helping to create true Chelsea legends.
Chelsea Loans – Tammy Abraham
Tammy Abraham signed for Chelsea’s youth academy aged just eight years old, playing for the blue side of London for most of his life, before leaving in 2021. He had 3 loan spells during his development. Firstly in the 2016-2017 season, he signed for Bristol City taking just two appearances to start his goal tally for The Robins, in a 1-0 win over Wycombe Wanderers in the EFL Cup. Just a few days later, he scored his first professional brace over Burton Albion, including a last minute winner.
He won the Championship Player Of The Month for September, in his debut month for also scoring another two goals during the month. He broke the record for the most goals scored by a teenager since Moussa Dembele – of Fulham at the time – after scoring his 16th goal of the season, before entering February. He ended the season with 23 goals, coming second in the running of the golden boot, falling to Leeds United’s Chris Wood. He helped Bristol City avoid relegation, earning them a 17th place finish. He became the first player in history to win Bristol’s Player of the Season, Young Player of the Season and Top Goalscorer, all in the same season.
Tammy spent the 17/18 season on loan at fellow Premiership side Swansea City. This was a big season for Abraham, as this was the season that would determine whether he was Premier League worthy yet. Abraham went on to score 8 goals in 39 appearances, which saw the Swans relegated to the Championship, on the very final day following a defeat to Stoke City.
The 2018/19 season saw Chelsea send Abraham on another EFL adventure, despite new boss Maurizio Sarri saying he saw Abraham in his plans for the season. Tammy joined Aston Villa, in what proved to be a history changing season for Villa. Abraham opened up his tally at Villa Park on the 19th of September scoring against Rotherham United. He created history 2 months later, scoring four goals in a record breaking 5-5 draw with Nottingham Forest, putting a score on show that Villa Park had never seen before.
He also became the first Villa player to score four goals in a match in the 21st century. He had scored 16 goals in 20 appearances for Villa, opening the option for the possibility of a recall from Chelsea, which did not materialize. He was named in the PFA Team of the Year before helping Aston Villa win the play-offs to find themselves back in the top flight. The season finished with 26 goals in 40 appearances in the League, the second most by any player, behind Norwich’s Teemu Pukki.
Chelsea Loans – Mason Mount
Mason Mount was an undisputed fan favourite in the Chelsea ranks, with some deeming him to be the next Frank Lampard, Chelsea legend. Mount joined the Chelsea ranks in 2005, aged just six years old. He was promoted to the senior team at aged 18, having already debuted for the club’s under-18 team, aged 15. Just 2 years later, he was a constant starter between the under 18’s and 21’s. In the successful U18 Premier League Campaign for the blues, Mount featured 30 times, scoring 10 goals in the process. He also won two FA Youth Cups, a UEFA Youth League and Chelsea academy Player of the Year by 2017 alone.
Destined for greatness, Mount joined Dutch side Vitesse on a season-long loan deal, performing well in Holland. Due to his consistency in good performances, he earned a place in the Eredivisie Team of the Year for the 2017-18 season, and won Vitesse’s Player of the Year. He made 39 appearances for the Dutch side during his time, finding the net 14 times.
Moving on, Mason returned to his parent club at the end of the year, as the club aimed to find him first team football in England. Derby County was the chosen destination on the next stop of Mount’s rise to glory. He joined the Rams on a season-long loan in July of 2018. It took him just 60 minutes in Derby colours to find the net in a 2-1 victory away to Reading.
Unfortunately there was a setback in his time with Derby, with him sustaining a hamstring injury, leaving him to watch on for two months from the sidelines. He returned to the side, where he featured in a 6-1 thrashing over Rotherham United, winning a penalty for Martyn Waghorn to put away. Just two weeks later, he found himself with a second senior hat-trick, in a 4-0 win over Bolton Wanderers. This kept the Rams’ play-off hopes alive
Derby continued their fine form, and found themself with a play-off semi-final tie with Leeds United. Mount added himself to the scoresheet in that game, winning 4-2. However it wasn’t meant to be, losing out to Aston Villa, with another Chelsea youngster, Tammy Abraham progressing in the ‘Richest game in Football’.
This allowed Mason to find his feet in a strong Chelsea side, proving all the critics wrong during his time, becoming an essential player to Chelsea’s Champions League winning campaign. He made his England senior debut during his time at his boyhood club, even going on to finish 19th in the Ballon d’Or rankings. However, possibly due to the sacking of Thomas Tuchel, which many Chelsea fans believe was the wrong decision at the time, Mount fell out of favour with new boss Graham Potter. Was this the right decision at the time? Let us know in the comments below.
Mason Mount now spends his playing time in the ranks of Manchester United, however a struggle with injuries, he finds himself struggling to make an impact.
Chelsea Loans – Reece James
Reece James is another player who may earn the title of ‘Mr Chelsea’ spending all his playing career with the blues, and is certainly a fan favourite. Like Mount, he joined Chelsea at aged just six years old. However, many fans today see him play in his right-back position.
This was not the position he joined Chelsea playing; however, he spent his youth days playing as a striker, idolising Didier Drogba. James turned professional with Chelsea in March of 2017, playing in the U18’s side. He went on to captaining this side to winning the FA Youth Cup, and was named Academy Player of the Season. The future looked bright for Reece, with yet another promising star coming from the ranks of Cobham.
In June 2018, James earned a loan move to Championship side Wigan Athletic. He scored his first goal for the Latics in March of 2019, putting a free-kick in the net, during a 2-1 defeat to Leeds United. He earned himself the captain’s armband a few times during his time with Wigan, at aged just 18. Demonstrating his leadership skills, despite his young age, a major characteristic of the Chelsea youngster. He returned to Chelsea earning indescribable experience, having been selected in the 2018-19 Championship Team of the Season. He also won three awards at Wigan’s own award ceremony, including Player of the Year.
He went on to break into the first team with Frank Lampard at the helm, in what was an extremely youthful side. He became an integral feature in the Chelsea backline, helping the club to their second Champions League title, becoming the only club in London to have 2 Champions Leagues, with the rest having zero. He has spent the majority of the last few years on the sidelines however due to having multiple recurring injuries. Following the departure of Cesar Azpilicueta, Reece James continued his captaincy from his time at Wigan, to captaining his boyhood club. He has dedicated a lot of his success to Wigan Athletic through his social media posts, and many Chelsea fans hope to see him injury-free for the foreseeable future.
Chelsea Loans – Fikayo Tomori
Fikayo Tomori was a much loved and appreciated player during his time at Chelsea, becoming another star that Cobham produced. It was also his experienced gained on loan in the EFL however, that turned him into a Premier League starter, and now a Champions League player.
Fikayo had 3 adventures in the EFL during his time to try and make a breakthrough to the senior Chelsea team, which ended up being successful. He first had a stint at then Championship, now European-place battlers Brighton & Hove Albion. He joined Albion in January of 2017, on a deal which saw him stay on the south coast for the remainder of the season. He featured a handful of times for Brighton in their Championship campaign, and also in the FA Cup during a defeat to National League Lincoln City. He first started for Brighton in March, in a 2-0 away defeat to Leeds United. He spent the whole of the 2017-18 season on loan at Hull City.
However, it was the 2018-19 campaign where Fikayo Tomori made his biggest impact, with other chelsea youngster, Mason Mount. This was a mightily successful campaign for Derby as mentioned earlier, reaching the play-off final, but falling at the final hurdle. This campaign made Chelsea more aware of the talent of Fikayo, earning him a first team position the next season when he returned. He went back to Chelsea where he was named Derby’s Player of the Year. He returned to the Blues after his efforts in the EFL deemed enough for a starting place in the Premier League. He scored his first senior goal for Chelsea, in spectacular fashion against Wolverhampton Wanderers. That goal can be viewed here Fikayo Tomori’s Spectacular First Chelsea Goal vs Wolverhampton Wanderers | Goal Of The Day #shorts
He now spends his playing time in Italy, with Serie A giants AC Milan. He joined on loan in 2021, wanting more playing time. However at the end of this season, Milan excercised the buy clause inputted in the deal and signed Fikayo on a permanent deal. He now has several appearances in the Champions League with both Chelsea and AC Milan, proving that again the EFL loans work magic in young players.
Chelsea Loans – Connor Gallagher
The final Chelsea youngster that I am going to analyze, is Connor Gallagher. He like many others joined Chelsea aged six years old. His efforts earned him a professional contract in 2018, keeping him with the club until June 2021. In May 2019, he was an unused substitute in Chelsea’s Europa League success over London rivals, Arsenal. He was even awarded Chelsea’s Academy Player of the Year for the 2018-19 season, for his playing time with the youth sides majorly.
He had many stints on loan during his time in the Chelsea youth ranks, to gain more experience in first-team football. He first spent time with Charlton Athletic, when he moved there after singing a new contract in 2019. After just a month with Charlton, he scored three goals from midfield which earned him the EFL Young Player of the Month for August. Connor was recalled by Chelsea in January of 2020, looking for a different challenge for Gallagher
It took them only 24 hours, as Gallagher moved on to joining Swansea City on loan for the remainder of the 2019-20 season. Gallagher was a crucial part in this side, which reached the Championship play-offs where they lost in the semifinals to Brentford. He later said in interviews however, his time in South Wales was what allowed him to be more creative as a player. This of which, is a major part of Connor’s game as he found during his first-team breakthrough at Chelsea.
He went on to spend time with West Bromwich Albion and Crystal Palace in the Premier League to gain top-flight experience. He was named Albion’s Young Player of the Season during his time, however they found themselves 19th in the league, finding themselves to be playing Championship football the next season.
Gallagher found a place in the midfield of his boyhood club, scoring on multiple occasions. He found himself the winner of the 2022-23 Chelsea’s Goal of the Year award for a strike against Crystal Palace. Gallagher also played a captaincy role with the Blue’s due to club captain Reece James, and vice-captain Ben Chilwell’s injuries.
The Englishman now finds himself in sunny Madrid, playing with Atletico. He found himself falling out of favour in the Chelsea ranks, as he was swapped for forward Joao Felix. He is a much loved player in the Atletico fan base, and by their manager Diego Simeone.
Conclusion
In conclusion, based on these pieces of analysis, Chelsea have used the EFL to loan out promising young stars, to nurture them ready for first team football. These Chelsea loans have proved vital as the players have gone on to produce Champions League winners, England internationals and the list goes on.
Thank you for reading this article on Chelsea loans and any feedback is appreciated in the comments below!
