The Near Future: Players Likely To Be Loaned To Other Clubs In 2012-13

Loan deals are one of the most common methods used by big clubs to provide quality game-time to their younger players. Many players go through atleast one, sometimes even 2 or 3 loan spells before they become regulars at their club.
There are quite a few talented youngsters at Chelsea, & there is no doubt that most of them have a very good chance of making the first team one day. However, there are a few youngsters at Chelsea who are on the cusp of making the first team, but are in need of a good loan spell to ensure they are fully prepared to be first-team regulars. Let us now take a look at 3 players who will definitely be loaned out to other clubs next season :-

1) Josh McEachran- Josh McEachran is a central creative midfield player. His best attributes are his passing, vision, composure & his ability to unlock defences. Former Blues manager Andre Villas-Boas described him as a player whose "brain is always five yards ahead of the rest". McEachran has been used as a defensive midfield player under Carlo Ancelotti, but he prefers playing as an attacking midfield player or in a slightly advanced role in midfield. While there is no doubting Josh's talent, he has found regular game-time extremely hard to come by due to a variety of midfield options that the manager already has at his disposal. He was loaned to Swansea for the 2nd half of the 2011-12 season, but he made only 5 appearances for the club. He probably would have gotten more game time had he stayed at Chelsea, considering how Di Matteo was constantly rotating his starting XI due to a packed schedule during the last 2 months of the season. It seems very likely that he will be loaned out to another club this season.

2) Kevin De Bruyne- Kevin De Bruyne is a Belgian international who can play as a winger or in a more advanced central midfield position. He is pacy, skillful & a good passer of the ball. He started his career at Belgian club Gent, & joined Racing Genk in 2 years time. He made his first team debut in 2009, & quickly established himself as a regular for the club. He scored 5 goals & provided 16 assists in the 2010-11 League campaign. He was signed by Chelsea on January 31st, 2012 for a fee of around £7M. He was immediately loaned back to Genk for the remainder of the season. While he had a decent loan spell at Genk, I hardly see him being a regular under Di Matteo next season. A loan spell seems imminent, with Southampton rumoured to be interested in him. It certainly wouldn't be the worst thing in the world for both the club & the player.

3) Romelu Lukaku- Romelu Lukaku is a Belgian international who plays as a striker. He made his professional debut for Anderlecht at age 16, & he was dubbed "the next Drogba" (the player he idolized) while he was at the club. Lukaku has admitted to being a Chelsea fan. His physique & upper-body strength are similar to that of Drogba, but he's deceptively quick & skillful for a player of that built. His first season at Chelsea was a frustrating one, as it was plagued by a severe lack of first-team opportunities. He made 9 appearances for Chelsea's reserve side, scoring 7 goals in the process. His first League start came against Blackburn. He put in a man-of-the-match performance, providing an assist for John Terry's goal. While Lukaku proved in that match that he is indeed good enough for Chelsea, I don't see him getting too many chances under Di Matteo. If he isn't loaned out, he will probably be the 3rd choice striker (behind Fernando Torres & Daniel Sturridge, respectively). Expect him to be loaned out to another club before the season begins.