I mean it’s not out of the bounds of possibility that Chelsea just wouldn’t realise if we didn’t send him back. They have an amount of loan players greater than the population of San Marino coming back after all
I've had a look at Chelsea's options at centre back and they are nowhere near as sparse as people make out.
In terms of senior centre halves they have;
Rudiger, Christensen, Luiz and Azpilcueta.
Younger players
Ampadu, James & Tomori
Returning loanees
Kalas (26) & Hector (26).
So in truth they have anywhere from 7 to 9 options available for them before Zouma. At a push even Lewis Baker could play in there. Thats not to say Zouma is behind all of the above, I'd make him probably 5th choice. However some level of pragmatism will surely kick in. Luiz & Rudiger will be first choice, while Christensen will fill in should they be injured and increasingly Azpilicueta will. How many games are they anticipating Zouma being involved in? I imagine Tomori will always want game time and may get some under Lampard. So you have a choice really, it's say £30 + million, or keep Zouma around in the case of 3 or 4 injuries.
I suspect they keep one of Kalas or Hector as a back up rather than loaning them out (possibly both stay) as emergency cover and take the £30+ million for Zouma rather than having him as an emergency cover option.
They have Jake Clarke-Salter as well he was on loan at Vitesse Arnhem last season, he partnered Tomori at CB for The England Under 21’s this summer, albeit not too successfully, he was probably the better of the two though, Tomori was responsible for a couple of errors that lead to goals. Trevor Chalobah is another very highly rated CB that they will have to make a decision on as well.
Had no idea Chelsea had that many centre backs on their books!
And on the subject of Chelsea, bearing in mind that Lampard is apparently a shoe in, taking a while for him and whoever to actually pitch up and see what he has available isnt it?
That can't be right, because they've got about 4 million overseas players returning from loans, not just one.
I’m assuming most of those players aren’t close to the first team, I just know the registration for all European squads is the same
Kalas is going to Bristol City and virtually no chance of Hector being anywhere near Chelsea’s first team squad, especially ahead of PL experienced title winner Zouma. Also think Azpi is too small to be a CB in a back 4, which depending on how much Lampard rates Zouma pushes him up to their 3rd/4th choice (at least)I've had a look at Chelsea's options at centre back and they are nowhere near as sparse as people make out.
In terms of senior centre halves they have;
Rudiger, Christensen, Luiz and Azpilcueta.
Younger players
Ampadu, James & Tomori
Returning loanees
Kalas (26) & Hector (26).
So in truth they have anywhere from 7 to 9 options available for them before Zouma. At a push even Lewis Baker could play in there. Thats not to say Zouma is behind all of the above, I'd make him probably 5th choice. However some level of pragmatism will surely kick in. Luiz & Rudiger will be first choice, while Christensen will fill in should they be injured and increasingly Azpilicueta will. How many games are they anticipating Zouma being involved in? I imagine Tomori will always want game time and may get some under Lampard. So you have a choice really, it's say £30 + million, or keep Zouma around in the case of 3 or 4 injuries.
I suspect they keep one of Kalas or Hector as a back up rather than loaning them out (possibly both stay) as emergency cover and take the £30+ million for Zouma rather than having him as an emergency cover option.
I've had a look at Chelsea's options at centre back and they are nowhere near as sparse as people make out.
In terms of senior centre halves they have;
Rudiger, Christensen, Luiz and Azpilcueta.
Younger players
Ampadu, James & Tomori
Returning loanees
Kalas (26) & Hector (26).
So in truth they have anywhere from 7 to 9 options available for them before Zouma. At a push even Lewis Baker could play in there. Thats not to say Zouma is behind all of the above, I'd make him probably 5th choice. However some level of pragmatism will surely kick in. Luiz & Rudiger will be first choice, while Christensen will fill in should they be injured and increasingly Azpilicueta will. How many games are they anticipating Zouma being involved in? I imagine Tomori will always want game time and may get some under Lampard. So you have a choice really, it's say £30 + million, or keep Zouma around in the case of 3 or 4 injuries.
I suspect they keep one of Kalas or Hector as a back up rather than loaning them out (possibly both stay) as emergency cover and take the £30+ million for Zouma rather than having him as an emergency cover option.
Kalas is going to Bristol City and virtually no chance of Hector being anywhere near Chelsea’s first team squad, especially ahead of PL experienced title winner Zouma. Also think Azpi is too small to be a CB in a back 4, which depending on how much Lampard rates Zouma pushes him up to their 3rd/4th choice (at least)
They have that kid Miazga out on loan with Reading who is due back. They highly rate him and he's now a full international with the US.