Samuel Iling-Junior is set to return to the Championship as he makes the loan switch to West Bromwich Albion. Iling-Junior came through Chelsea’s academy before finishing his youth career with Juventus.
Chelsea To Loan To The Championship?
He would then go on to play 45 times for their first team from 2022-2024. Unfortunately for Iling-Junior, in recent years, due to financial issues, the Old Lady have decided to sell off a lot of exciting young players in order to raise money for signings, much to the annoyance of their fans.
The best example of this is Dean Huijsen who was sold to Bournemouth for less than £18m. One fantastic season later, the Spaniard would be off to Real Madrid.
Iling-Junior would find himself a victim of this transfer strategy. He signed for Aston Villa in 2024 as part of a swap deal with Douglas Luiz, which saw promising talent Enzo Barrenechea also move to Villa Park.
Since moving to Aston Villa, the Englishman hasn’t made a single appearance, instead being loaned out to Bologna and Middlesbrough. Barrenechea has also never made an appearance for the Villains, instead being loaned out to Valencia and Benfica.
Iling-Junior’s lack of opportunity is something I really don’t understand given the fact that Villa have been crying out for wide options during the opening games of the season and are the only team in the EFL who are yet to score a goal. West Brom meanwhile have started the season very well, currently sitting 2nd in the Championship, only trailing Iling-Junior’s former club Middlesborough.
The 21-year-old should be a brilliant signing for the Baggies given his domestic and international experience and his ability to play anywhere on the left-hand side of the field. It will be interesting to see if Iling-Junior is coming in to replace the recently departed Tom Fellows, or if they will make another attacking signing.
West Brom have had a great transfer window with the likes of Alfie Gilchrist, Nathaniel Phillips and Toby Collyer already making the move to the Hawthorns.
