As well as all the quality Chelsea have in their first team squad under Enzo Maresca, they have an embarrassment of riches on their books who are currently away from the club.
A lot of these are younger players who are waiting for their chance at Stamford Bridge. Geovany Quenda is headlining this list as he continues to impress at Sporting.
Mike Penders and Kendry Paez are both looking to earn their stripes on loan at Strasbourg, however there are some players away from the club who have already made a major impact on the first team.
One of those is Nicolas Jackson, who eventually got his move on loan to Bayern Munich as the Blues signed both Liam Delap and Joao Pedro to play in the number nine role.
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Dean Huijsen surprised by how good Nicolas Jackson is
Paul Merson believes Chelsea are suffering after Jackson’s exit, and one of Europe’s top young defenders has praised the striker for surprising him with his performance levels when playing against him.
Real Madrid centre-back Dean Huijsen, who was a target of the Blues over the summer, named Jackson as the most surprising player he had ever faced, describing him as ‘very good’.
The Spaniard faced Jackson when he was at the back for Bournemouth, with the Blues winning 1-0 before a 2-2 draw in January at Stamford Bridge.
As Chelsea look for a regular number nine to find the net for them this season, many have been left wondering if things would have actually been much different if the Senegal star had stayed at the club.
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How is Jackson getting on at Bayern Munich?
Jackson has struggled to nail down a regular starting spot at Bayern, however it has to be taken into account that he is competing for minutes with Harry Kane.
He has just one Bundesliga goal to his name at the moment, however he has performed far better in Europe when given more opportunities.
The Chelsea loanee has two goals and an assist in three Champions League games, despite playing just 112 minutes in the competition.
He came off the bench against Chelsea in Bayern’s 3-1 win in the opening group stage game, however was unable to find the net against his parent club.