Chelsea have confirmed on their official website that Loic Remy, Patrick Bamford and Kenedy have left the club on season-long loan deals to Crystal Palace, Burnley and Watford respectively.
None of these players seem to be a part of Antonio Conte’s plans at the moment, and will need to do exceptionally well to ever get into the Italian’s side at Stamford Bridge.
Remy was signed by the club in the summer of 2014, and the Frenchman scored 9 goals in all competitions as Chelsea won the Premier League and League Cup double. He was unable to kick on and find regular playing time last season though, scoring just once in the league. With the Blues signing Michy Batshuayi in the summer, it was unlikely that he would get too much of a look-in in this campaign.
Bamford, on the other hand, is someone who is yet to get a chance to prove his worth at Stamford Bridge. The striker was voted the Championship Player of the Year during his loan stint at Middlesbrough in the 2014/15 season, but failed to establish himself in either of his subsequent spells with Premier League outfits Crystal Palace and Norwich City. He now faces competition at Burnley from Sam Vokes and Andre Gray, and it remains to be seen if he’s given the opportunity to settle in and make an impact.
With Remy and Bamford leaving, Chelsea only have two recognised strikers in the squad in Costa and Batshuayi. Bertrand Traore and Tammy Abraham were the other front men sent out this summer. This is especially surprising considering that Conte may be looking to gradually switch to a system whereby he plays two up top.
The third loanee, Kenedy, seemed to be making in-roads in the first team last year. The Brazilian proved his versatility by playing at both the left-back and left-wing positions, but fell out of favour with Conte in pre-season. At only 20 though, Kenedy still has a long way to go before becoming the finished product and gaining some game time at Vicarage Road can only do him good.
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