Chelsea’s model of signing young talents to develop and eventually sell for a profit is an interesting one, but there does come a point when you wonder how much the player is really benefiting.
Lucas Piazon joined Chelsea in 2012 and he looked like a great talent, he had shone at youth level for Brazil and it was exciting to see what the future held.
He only played three times for Chelsea that season before going out on loan to Malaga, before linking up with their Dutch feeder side Vitesse the year after.
He had a successful spell in Holland and it looked like he would either break through at Chelsea or he would be allowed to leave permanently.
READ MORE: Chelsea ace looks set to reject Antonio Conte reunion to sign for Serie A rivals instead
What actually happened was he would spend the following six season out on loan at various clubs, taking him to Germany, Portugal, Italy and spells in the Championship with Reading and Fulham.
He’s now 26 and is still contracted to Chelsea, but in an interview with Goal.com he does admit his time at Stamford Bridge is probably over.
Despite that, he still feels he has a positive future ahead of him and he’s currently half way through a two year loan at Portuguese side Rio Ave:
“I signed for two years because sometimes one season is too short and you can end up having injury problems during the season and lose time. Then, when the season is over, you have to move again.”
“Here, though, we have a talented group of players and Carlos and his coaching team are helping us have a good season.”
It’s interesting to hear that point about looking to find some sort of continuity, which is something he won’t get from bouncing from club to club on loan.
Hopefully he does manage to establish himself somewhere and goes on to have a great career, but it’s hard to see him getting any chances at Chelsea.