Dario Essugo’s Chelsea career has not got off to the start that the midfielder would have liked.
Essugo arrived at Chelsea from Sporting Lisbon in the summer but has missed most of the season so far because of injury.
Setbacks have prevented Essugo from returning, but even if he had been fit, breaking into Enzo Maresca’s starting XI would have been difficult.
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Chelsea midfielder Romeo Lavia preparing a pass and Manchester United midfielder Kobbie Mainoo jogging
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The 20-year-old is competing against Moises Caicedo, Enzo Fernandez and Andrey Santos for a first-team place. Romeo Lavia is also another rival for a starting position, but he has had his own problem with injuries.
Dario Essugo of Chelsea during a training session
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Dario Essugo’s representatives have already spoken to other clubs about loan move
According to GiveMeSport, Essugo’s representatives have already been speaking to other clubs about a potential loan move in January.
However, the same outlet claims that Chelsea’s priority is helping Essugo return to full fitness as they look to lighten Caicedo’s workload.
Ultimately, it means there could be some disagreements between Essugo’s people and Chelsea about what to do with him in the short-term.
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Caicedo recently returned from suspension in a major boost to Maresca. Marc Cucurella knew Caicedo was amazing after just one training session with the Ecuadorian, who has proven his quality this season.
Chelsea will be hoping that Essugo can become as impactful as his teammate one day.
Dario Essugo of Chelsea inspects the pitch
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Chelsea shouldn’t loan out Dario Essugo this season
The reality is Caicedo is playing too many games. He has made 21 appearances in the current campaign and featured 50 times in the previous one.
Essugo is a similar profile to Caicedo, so he could be a good alternative to the 24-year-old.
Like Caicedo, Essugo is good at breaking up play. As per FBref, he makes 1.74 interceptions per 90 minutes, putting him in the 97th percentile for that area among midfielders.
At some point, Chelsea may very well need to loan out Essugo. But it is worth seeing what he can actually do before they allow that to happen.
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