Publications
Partners
Kenneth Omeruo twice played against Lionel Messi at the World Cup, won the Africa Cup of Nations with Nigeria in 2013 and spent seven years with Premier League giants Chelsea after joining the Blues in January 2012 from Belgium’s Standard Luttich youth side.
Since then, he has played zero games for the first team as his only appearance for the London-based club was in their Under-21 side in the Premier League II.
That was in 2013, when he played 65 minutes in a 3-3 draw against the West Ham Under-21 team. His lack of game time for Chelsea notwithstanding, last month LaLiga side CD Leganés paid €5 million (R81.7 million) for the Nigerian international.
Omeruo is one of the most extreme examples of the so-called Chelsea loan army that at times has consisted of more than 40 players – players on the club’s books – but who play their matches elsewhere with the hope of getting first-team experience.
Even before the ink had dried on the contract he signed with Chelsea in 2013, the now 25-year-old Omeruo was on his way to the Dutch Eredivisie. But 18 months and 36 first-team games for Ado Den Haag later, he returned to London, spending six months in the English capital and playing his one game for the Under-21 before being loaned out to Championship side Middlesbrough.
Then he moved to Turkey, where he played for Alanyaspor and Kasimpasa, before ending up in Spain on loan with CD Leganés last year. He finally ended his Chelsea loan spells when Leganés bought him outright.
The importance of the Chelsea loan programme can be seen in the fact that they employ a loan player technical coach, currently former Blues goalkeeper Carlo Cudicini, who took over the role from another former Chelsea player, Eddie Newton, when the latter was named as one of coach Frank Lampard’s assistants.
“I’m really looking forward to this new challenge in my coaching career,” said the Italian, who spent a loan period at Chelsea before going on to play 215 matches for the club.
“The loan programme is an important part of our development pathway for young players at the club and this is an exciting opportunity to work with the next generation of talented players.”
A look at the current loan army shows that it is not only young players who have been seconded to other clubs. Ghana international Abdul Rahman Baba is also 25, as is French international Tiemoué Bakayoko.
Italian defender Davide Zappacosta is 27, while Nigerian star forward Victor Moses is a year older.
England international Danny Drinkwater is the oldest current loan player at 29.
Although the players are all away from their “mother club”, Chelsea try to keep the Blues’ spirit going by not only employing a coach to oversee their development, but also connecting them with each other.
They all belong to a WhatsApp group in which the club shares information about other loan players with them.
Omeruo explains: “The message goes out when you score a goal, make a debut or get a man of the match award. I got a few.”
Although the Nigerian was sent from club to club, he believes he benefited from the system.
“I thought that I would play at Chelsea and make my name. But going there and seeing the type of players arrive, plus the club has so much money to spend, you have to accept that it might not happen.
“Chelsea has been amazing for me and for my family. But it’s time ... I need to reach my potential. It has been a wonderful journey. But the journey with Chelsea is going to end now,” he said.
What could also end is Chelsea’s approach to the loan system, which sees the London club signing dozens of players, only to send them out on loan to other clubs.
Football’s world governing body Fifa last year put forward a proposal that would see the “regulation of loans of players for the purpose of youth development as opposed to commercial exploitation”.
“The number of loans per season and between each club shall be limited, and bridge transfers and sub-loans shall be prohibited,” Fifa proposed.
This proposal was passed by the Fifa Council a few months later, with Fifa president Gianni Infantino saying: “We have brought everyone to the table and all key actors of the industry have understood that we need to take action, leading today to this reform proposal.
“This is a significant first step towards … developing a consensus on how to tackle the issue of agents, loans and other key aspects of the transfer system,” Infantino said.
Although Fifa and its stakeholders are yet to agree on the finer details, it seems likely that players such as Omeruo will soon be having to find alternative routes to take their careers to the next level once they have signed with Chelsea.
