Premier League – Chelsea’s “Loan Army”: Why De Bruyne, Lukaku and Salah were still sold

With its loan concept, Chelsea created a much criticized, but at the same time ingenious concept. Still, things didn’t always go according to plan.

A late evening breath of summer wafts through the Eden stadium in Prague, Romelu Lukaku claps his hands over his head and runs his way through his mane several times. Manuel Neuer is celebrating eleven meters away, having just saved the decisive penalty and thus helping Bayern Munich win the 2013 UEFA Supercup.

It would be the last move by a young and promising striker in the shirt of the Blues for a very long time, having just returned from a loan at West Bromwich Albion three months earlier. Just a few days after his bitter miss, the then 20-year-old went on to Everton – again on loan.

“He was just not ready at the time – no matter what the others say,” explains Eddie Newton, former technical coach of the loaners from Chelsea, in an exclusive conversation with SPOX and GOAL. “He just wasn’t ready to take on Didier Drogba as sole center forward. He was always compared to him, it wasn’t fair.”

Eight years later, Lukaku is back after being finally sold to Everton in the summer of 2014 for around 35 million euros. And although the Blues now had to shell out 115 million euros, they made a supposedly good deal and a plus of 20 million euros with their sale at the time, after Lukaku had only cost 15 million euros when he signed with RSC Anderlecht in the summer of 2011.

Chelsea’s ‘Loan Army’: Criticism and admiration alike

The concept of the ‘loan army’ is now a source of admiration, but initially there was also clear criticism. Young players are bought cheaply, loaned out to other clubs for development and then either make the leap to the Chelsea pros or, ideally, are sold at a profit – there was often talk of human trafficking.

“The system was already up and running, but it wasn’t particularly mature. It was basically the idea of ​​Michael Emenalo (former Technical Director),” recalls Newton of his beginnings under Rafael Benitez in November 2012. “He said we had too many youngsters Players who are too good for the U23 but not good enough for the first team. “

A new position was created, with “the department just started with me and an analyst. We worked and watched the games. But at some point the names on my list got too many and I couldn’t do it anymore,” recalls Newton. who had worked as an assistant coach under Benitez’s predecessor Roberto Di Matteo.

Paulo Ferreira, Tore Andre Flo and Christophe Lollichon were supposed to join the team and traveled across Europe to scout and promote the loan players. “We developed a world-class program that is now widely copied. A lot of clubs have asked us for help and we have helped them. You can only keep the secret for a short time.”

The fact that, in addition to Lukaku, the two huge talents Kevin De Bruyne and Mohamed Salah were sold instead of established in the first team has nothing to do with the loan concept, according to Newton, but rather with the then coach Jose Mourinho.

That’s why Salah and De Bruyne failed at Chelsea

“With Salah and De Bruyne, in my opinion, it wasn’t the talent,” Newton said in an exclusive conversation. “It was a personal thing with Mourinho. They were more than good enough, but it was the coach who couldn’t work with them. It just wouldn’t have worked back then.”

The fact that this system is now more than perfected is proven on the one hand by players like Mason Mount, Reece James or Trevoh Chalobah, who all come from their own youth and have now made their breakthrough in the first team after a few loan positions.

And on the other hand, the profitable sales of home grown products such as Tammy Abraham, Kurt Zouma or Fikayo Tomori, along with numerous other rental fees, even made it possible this summer to spend 115 million euros on a Lukaku and still have a positive transfer balance.

A win-win situation for everyone involved, and it was never about enriching oneself with players. “Many didn’t understand the loan concept at the beginning – not even the players,” recalls Newton. “But after a year or two, the players came and told me that they understood and really appreciated it.”

The feedback from counselors and parents has also become increasingly positive. “It was their careers that we helped with. I know they all wanted to play for Chelsea, but not everyone can do that,” Newton said. “I was just being honest with them and they really appreciated it. The club did a lot for these players.”