Chelsea plan drastic change to loan system after new FIFA regulations

Cameron Smith

• Updated: 12 May 2023 13:10 BST
• 4 min read

The days of Chelsea’s ‘loan army’ are coming to an end following a change in FIFA regulations and a new player strategy devised by sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart.

Under Roman Abramovich’s reign, the Blues were notorious for the vast number of players sent out on loan each season. However, the club are set to move away from that approach from the 2023/24 season onwards, according to the Evening Standard.

Co-owner Todd Boehly has major plans for the Blues’ academy system and wants to continue the club’s impressive record of developing talent.

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Mason Mount, Reece James, Tammy Abraham and Fikayo Tomori are just four examples of stars to graduate the Cobham academy in recent years, with the former two still at the club and the latter two sold for a combined €72 million.

All four of those players were beneficiaries of the loan system at Chelsea, with Mount and Tomori both enjoying a loan spell under Frank Lampard’s management at Derby, James excelling at Wigan Athletic, and Abraham enjoying time at Bristol City, Swansea, and Aston Villa.

Mount also spent time on loan at Vitesse Arnhem in the Eredivisie - a venture made by many other academy stars, including Armando Broja, Charly Musonda, and Josh McEachran.

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But, the relationship with Vitesse is set to end, with Chelsea ready to adopt a new philosophy regarding their loan system.

What is Chelsea’s new loan policy?

The new strategy will see only players deemed to be realistic and genuine potential first-team players sent on overseas loans. Furthermore, the Blues will look to sell any players who they feel are not reaping the benefits from the system, or aren’t viewed as a potential star by the first-team manager.

This decision has been made, in part, due to FIFA’s restrictions on sending players on loan to a foreign country. Football’s governing body has limited the number of overseas loans to seven per team, starting from the 2023/23 season.

Rather than send senior players who haven’t cut the grade out on loan, such as Tiemoue Bakayoko, who is currently at AC Milan, Chelsea want their best youngsters to fill all seven spots.

Even if the player eventually doesn’t become a first-team star at the club, the Blues hope their value will have increased, enabling them to turn an even better profit on them.

It is worth noting that players under the age of 21 and club-trained players are exempt from FIFA’s new limit on overseas loans.

Chelsea loan army

Chelsea had a record 41 players out on loan back in 2019, and while this number has reduced to 21 this season, the Blues still have an immense number of players who don’t have a future at the club on their books.

The aforementioned Bakayoko is expected to be moved on this summer, while Xavier Simons has already been sold to Hull City and Dujon Sterling is set to join Rangers.

Malang Sarr, Henry Lawrence and Ethan Ampadu are expected to leave, while Callum Hudson-Odoi and Romelu Lukaku may have their futures decided by Mauricio Pochettino when he is appointed as the club’s new manager.

Levi Colwill is set to be involved in the first-team squad next year after a fruitful loan spell at Brighton & Hove Albion this campaign.