Chelsea’s strength in depth isn’t limited to the first team. The club has a number of talented players currently out on loan, some of whom could play a key role in the future.
Many are young prospects still developing their game, with Geovany Quenda standing out thanks to his impressive spell at Sporting.
Mike Penders and Kendry Paez are gaining experience on loan at Strasbourg, while others have already made an impact with the senior side.
Nicolas Jackson is one example. After struggling for minutes at Chelsea, he moved to Bayern Munich on loan following the arrivals of Liam Delap and Joao Pedro.
Dean Huijsen talks about Nicolas Jackson’s game
Paul Merson has said Chelsea are feeling the effects of Jackson’s departure, and one of Europe’s promising young defenders has also taken notice, praising the striker for how well he played against him.
Dean Huijsen, now at Real Madrid and previously linked with a move to Chelsea this summer, called Jackson the most surprising opponent he has faced, describing him as “very good.”
The two met while Huijsen was with Bournemouth. In those encounters, Chelsea first edged out a 1-0 win, then shared a 2-2 draw at Stamford Bridge in January.
The Blues are still searching for consistency from their strikers this season. With Jackson now gone, there are growing questions about whether keeping hold of him might have helped steady their attack.
How is Nicolas Jackson getting on at Bayern Munich?
Jackson has found regular minutes hard to come by at Bayern, though that is not surprising given he is up against Harry Kane for playing time.
He has only scored once in the Bundesliga so far, but his performances in Europe have been stronger when he has had more chances.
Despite featuring for only 112 minutes across three Champions League games, the Chelsea loanee has managed to contribute with two goals and one assist in the tournament.
Against the London-based club, he came off the bench for Bayern during their 3-1 group stage win, but he did not manage to score.
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