PFA chief criticises Chelsea’s approach of ‘warehousing’ players

Professional Footballers’ Association chief Gordon Taylor has criticised Chelsea’s transfer approach of ‘warehousing’ players following the departures of Juan Cuadrado (Juventus), Marco van Ginkel (Stoke City), and Victor Moses (West Ham United) this summer.

At the moment, the Blues have 33 players out on loan, including former Germany international winger Marko Marin, who last played for Chelsea on 4 April 2013. 

Moreover, the most popular loan destination for Chelsea players is Dutch Eredivisie side Vitesse Arnhem, who have taken the likes of Danilo Pantić, Dominic Solanke, Izzy Brown, Lewis Baker, and Nathan on loan for the 2015/16 season.

“It’s a bit of a worry with so many Chelsea players out on loan. It’s almost a warehousing of players. You wonder whether it brings into question the integrity of the various competitions,” Taylor told The Mirror.

“From a player’s point of view, you can see they would want to go out on loan if there is not a first-team place available.

“But Chelsea have an academy so you have to wonder how it is they have such a phenomenal number of players out there.

“Players want to play and the loan system gives them that chance. But then there are players at these clubs in Europe who are denied the chance because others are coming in with their parent clubs paying their wages. It makes that option more attractive.

“So then it is not about the best team winning a particular competition, it is about who has the best relationship with the biggest clubs.

“It’s not so much something that we’ve been alerted to. It’s something that you can’t fail to notice because it has been such a phenomenal number of players out there.”

Chelsea, priced at 6/1 to win the English Premier League title this season, will travel to Merseyside to take on Everton at Goodison Park when Premier League actions resumes on Saturday, 14 September.

Klinsmann praises in-form Zardes

USA manager Jurgen Klinsmann heaped praise on L.A. Galaxy star forward Gyasi Zardes after the player completed all 90 minutes in his country’s 2-1 win over Peru on Friday.

“He’s an endless worker. He has speed, he has his dribbling, he can take people on,” Klinsmann said. “He gives us a new element that we didn’t have in the World Cup last year. We suddenly have another option there.

“It was something that we missed in the World Cup — speed. Now we have him on one flank and on the other, DeAndre [Yedlin], and it makes it not easy for opponents.”

Zardes, who joined the Galaxy as a Homegrown player in December 2012, has tallied six goals and two assists in 23 MLS appearances for the Western Conference leaders this term.