There has been much talk about the controversial youth and loan policy adopted by Chelsea, but one man who understands it better than most is Lucas Piazon.
Lucas Piazon in action for Chelsea
Lucas Piazon joined Fulham on a season-long loan on transfer deadline day, his fifth loan move in four years since joining the Blues.
The move from Chelsea to Fulham isn’t a long one, but Piazon has previously played in Spain, Belgium and Germany whilst on-loan from the London club.
With his fifth loan move came a revelation from the 22-year-old, who admitted that going out on-loan every season is not good for him or any other young player.
Patrick Bamford is another player who has spent a lot of time on loan away from Stamford Bridge
Piazon joined Chelsea at the age of 17, when he was one of the hottest prospects in world football, and being chased by the likes of Juventus.
Chelsea paid Sao Paulo a reported £5 million up front for the teenager, which could rise to £10 million. Four years on and the Brazilian youth international has made just a solitary league appearance for Chelsea.
Piazon obviously feels the numerous loan moves have not aided his development as a player, telling the Daily Mail “It makes no sense to go out on loan all the time.”
Piazon was on-loan at Reading last season
“It is not good for any player in my experience — or the experience of the other boys. I don’t see it as a positive thing any more. To be in a different place every year is not good for me at 22,” he added.
Piazon reflected on some of his previous loan moves, and the contrasting experiences he had in Belgium compared to Germany.
“I had a great time at Vitesse Arnhem and that helped. The Dutch league is all about playing football. They don’t defend like crazy. We had a great squad, playing great football and it was so easy to score or make assists.”
Piazon enjoyed his time at Vitesse
“Then I moved to Germany where you have to run 12km or 13km in every game. After the first game I lay on the pitch, almost dead.”
The stats reflect Piazon’s comments, having scored 11 goals during his season at Vitesse and just 2 with Bundesliga side Eintracht Frankfurt.
The creative player added that “it takes time to adapt”, and that “maybe with two or three years in Germany I could have made a better impact.”
Piazon found his time in Frankfurt difficult
The short-termism that seems to dictate his career being shipped out on loan each season seems to be something which really grinds with Piazon.
“It’s time for me to stay somewhere more than one year,” he said, “If I had the chance to go for more than one season I’d do it.”
His loan move to Fulham is once again a season-long loan, and his current Chelsea deal isn’t set to expire until 2018, having signed an extension only last year.
Fulham’s are flying high in the Championship and brought in Piazon on Deadline Day
The Brazilian had looked close to completing a loan move on the continent once again this summer, but once none materialised he stayed a little closer to his new ‘home’.
As Piazon moved away from Chelsea once more, his former flatmate arrived, in the form of David Luiz, making a return to the Premier League under Antonio Conte.
Piazon described his compatriot as a “good guy” and a “great centre back”, adding that he’ll be an “important player for Chelsea”.
Piazon’s friend and former flatmate David Luiz rejoined Chelsea this summer
Chelsea currently have 38 players out on loan in 9 different countries, and have received criticism from some quarters for their hoarding and loaning out of young talent.
Despite having such a wealth of talented youngsters, very few tend to become first team regulars at the Bridge, and it seems likely that Piazon will follow a similar path to Josh McEachran or Ryan Bertrand.
Right now, Piazon says he hopes he can ‘”do a good job at Fulham.” Adding that “It’s a good club and a traditional club.”
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