Chelsea have many players out on loan, including Cobham graduate Alfie Gilchrist who has excelled for Sheffield United in England’s second tier. The Blues also have many other players on loan. This Chelsea loan report will assess the five players who had the most notable performances this week.
Chelsea Loan Report: Alfie Gilchrist Impresses Once Again
Alfie Gilchrist – Sheffield United
The Blues prodigy has had an impressive season so far for Championship side Sheffield United. The Blades sit top of the league, two points clear of second place Burnley. Gilchrist played the full 90 minutes on the weekend vs Sunderland at Bramall Lane, where United secured their eighth home clean sheet in a row while winning the game 1-0. The Englishman has started six of these games.
The 21-year-old started at right-back but was moved more centrally after Harry Souttar’s red card. Gilchrist put in a solid display, completing 92% of his passes, three tackles, two blocks and four clearances as well as nine passes into the final third. John Terry has previously likened Gilchrist to himself, with the young right back showing the fans why.
Bashir Humphreys – Burnley
The 21 year old defender started left-back for Burnley in a 0-2 away win vs Stoke. Humphreys played all 90 minutes with a colossal performance, making seven clearances, one interception, three tackles and winning six duels. The Englishman also completed 86% of his passes and received a 7.53 match rating from WhoScored.com, proving his performance to be noteworthy.
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The defender previously mentioned how he “loves” his time at Burnley so far and is pleased the matches are non-stop. Surely proving to his parent club that he can stay fit and always has the desire to play.
Andrey Santos – Strasbourg
Brazilian central midfielder, Andrey Santos, has been the second-highest-rated midfielder in Ligue 1 this season, only behind Joao Neves of PSG. Santos started for Strasbourg at the weekend, where they fell short in a 3-1 away defeat to Champions League side, Brest. The midfielder has impressed all season for the French, side with The Blues planning on keeping him for the 2025/26 season.
Against Brest he received a 7.1 match rating from SofaScore, though didn’t hit the heights some of his performances have this season, losing possession ten times. Despite this, the Brazilian made four tackles and created one big chance. He would hope to have more output from him and the team with results being hard to come by recently.
Djordje Petrovic – Strasbourg
Serbian international Djordje Petrovic, like Santos, has been one of Strasbourg’s best players. Despite losing 3-1, Petrovic put in a good performance. He made five saves from inside the box including a penalty save. The goalkeeper was also safe with his feet, a good trait for any modern goalkeeper, with 93% pass accuracy. SofaScore presented Petrovic with a 7.9 match rating, the highest for Strasbourg. Chelsea have been monitoring Petrovic and have reportedly left the door open for the Serbian to return.
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Trevoh Chalobah – Crystal Palace
Central defender Chalobah picked up an important 84 minutes of Premier League gametime in a close 1-1 draw at Selhurst Park vs Newcastle. The Eagles only conceded a goal due to an unfortunate own goal from a former Chelsea defender, Marc Guehi. The Magpies only accumulated 0.04 expected goals which is a credit to the Crystal Palace defence.
The Chelsea loanee started on the right of a back three and made one tackle and four clearances as well as creating one big chance. The defender looked forward to the next match vs Ipswich stating: “it’ll be a good challenge” and “every game in the Premier League is going to be hard”. The Blues will be monitoring their academy graduate in these tough fixtures and Enzo Maresca will be making a decision on whether he feels Chalobah is progressing towards a Stamford Bridge return.