Chelsea play hardball and lose with “no loan” policy for £20m youngster | OneFootball

AC Milan are always being linked with talented young players at Chelsea – and with good reason.

There’s been a huge amount of trade between the clubs in recent years, from Olivier Giroud to Christian Pulisic.

Two Chelsea academy players went directly to Milan in the form of Fikayo Tomori and Ruben Loftus-Cheek, and there was even a third party reconnection this summer, with former Blue Tammy Abraham joining the Rossoneri after a spell in Rome.

So it wouldn’t surprise us to see more moves to come – and the recent links of the Italian giants to Carney Chukwuemeka make perfect sense. The 20 year old has struggled for minutes thanks to an injury that wiped out 9 months of his season, and now is part of the “bomb squad” being kept separate from the rest of Chelsea’s players.

What was astonishing was that no deadline day move was found – even with foreign loan slots left unused. Milan were mentioned through the summer, but nothing came of it. The stance then was “no loan, sale only” and that hard line has ended up costing everyone.

Carney Chukwuemeka in preseason action.

Chukwuemeka could make a splash in Italy

We can see Carney doing really well for Milan, and Chelsea’s next moves will likely be decided by their financial situation. With plenty of years left on his contract, a loan could help him raise his value, and give Milan a cheap January option to improve. He was bought for £20m, and Chelsea will only accept a profit.

But even if that happens, it means a wasted 4 months for Carney, unable to even train with the first team. After wasting a season on the bench, he’s wasted a season injured, and is now going to waste at least half of one rotting with the reserves. It’s a tragic outcome, and not what a really promising talent deserves.