Chelsea’s loanee has just put in an excellent display for his current team, which earned him huge praise from supporters.
Chelsea currently have so many talented individuals plying their trade out on loan this season, including a real mixture of younger and experienced players.
When you look at the Blues squad, the likes of Reece James and Levi Colwill benefited from loan spells earlier in their careers. Hopefully, some of the current loanees can follow in their path.
Andery Santos has been earmarked for Chelsea’s squad next season because of his success out on loan with Strasbourg this year.
Photo by Harriet Lander/Getty Images
Photo by Harriet Lander/Getty Images
Chelsea loanee Alex Matos just enjoyed best performance for Oxford United
Chelsea youngster Alex Matos, 20, joined Championship club Oxford United in January on a short-term loan until the end of the season.
The central midfielder has had a stop-start spell so far as he attempts to force his way into the Oxford line-up, but he just enjoyed an excellent display for them. On Friday night, the on-loan midfielder started and impressed in a 1-1 league draw away to Norwich City.
Oxford supporters on social media raved about Matos’ contribution against Norwich, including one fan who described it as his “best performance” since joining from Chelsea.
One fan said: “Very solid at Championship level, easy to forget he is only 20 years old.”
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“One of his best performances so far for Oxford, a very good acquisition to the squad,” another wrote.
One supporter posted: “Best performance of the season.”
“Matos has been quality,” another added.
Back in December 2023, former Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino praised Matos for his character and potential.
Now that he’s a couple of months into his Oxford loan, it feels like he’s really starting to look more settled in the centre of the park. His combative display versus Norwich proved he can excel in the Championship.
Minutes played Touches Accurate passes Tackles Interceptions Dribbled past Duels won Duels lost Match rating
82 35 9/12 (75%) 3 3 0 12 5 7.2
Alex Matos performance vs Norwich via FOTMOB
Photo by Harriet Lander/Getty Images
Photo by Harriet Lander/Getty Images
Chelsea handled Alex Matos future terribly
In the second half of the 2023/24 season, Matos enjoyed a fruitful spell impressing for Huddersfield Town in the Championship. Therefore, we were excited to see him develop further away from Stamford Bridge this season.
Clubs were queuing up to sign Matos on loan during this 2024/25 campaign. However, he spent the first half of the season playing in Chelsea’s Under-21s side before leaving to join Oxford in the winter.
It feels extremely frustrating that the young midfielder’s development had to stall for six months straight after he picked up some real momentum.
When it comes to this summer, Matos needs to demand he’s playing first-team football next season, whether that’s by leaving on loan or on a permanent basis.