Chelsea headline-maker takes aim at controversial Blues loan culture

Lucas Piazon

Former Chelsea winger Lucas Piazon has blasted the club’s history of using the loan market after experiencing a decade of spells in and out of west London.

The Brazilian made headlines earlier this month when he left the Blues for Braga on a permanent deal.

That move brought his 10-year association with the Stamford Bridge outfit to an end. However, he did not have much affinity for Chelsea in that time.

Indeed, after impressing in his first half-season in the 2011/12 campaign, he then went out on seven loan spells in six different countries.

As such, Piazon has now spoken out about his frustrations at being part of the culture. In fact, several players down the years, including now-Atalanta star Mario Pasalic, went through similar experiences.

“To be honest, we would come back and we would go to pre-season with the new coach and the new players were coming in from the summer and they were always like, ‘if you do well the coach might keep you’,” Piazon told Oh My Goal.

“But deep down inside we knew that we didn’t have a chance because they were paying big money for the players and the club would definitely use them. We knew that we would be there for three, four or five weeks and they would then try to send us out on loan again.

“In the beginning I felt like Chelsea really wanted me and really wanted me to do well and come back.

lucas piazon fulham

 

“But after the third or fourth loan, I knew it was just maybe business.

“[It was] like ‘you go into the world and someone will buy you and you will be happy about it – you’re not going to play here anymore’.”

Spells in the Netherlands and Germany, with Vitesse and Eintracht Frankfurt respectively – featured among Piazon’s catalogue of loan moves.

Piazon opens up on European experiences

“When I went from Holland to Germany, it was a completely different world because the German league is totally different from the Dutch league,” he said.

“The team I was playing for in Holland was totally different from the team I was playing for in Germany.

“The way they wanted to play, what the coach wanted from me in one place and what the coach wanted from me in the other place – it took time to adapt and to adjust to what he wants and what the team wants.

“Maybe if I stayed in Germany I would’ve done a better job because it was a big change. It’s always a big change and it takes time. You have to be patient but when you’re on loan there is no patience.

“The pressure on you to perform is huge because you are from Chelsea.”

Under current head coach Frank Lampard, Chelsea have since opted to retain and use players who had previously enjoyed loan spells.

Striker Tammy Abraham is an example, the Englishman spending time at Aston Villa and Swansea.

READ MORE: Former Chelsea stalwart slams ‘not bothered’ Kai Havertz