Chelsea will loan out Angelo Gabriel to RC Strasbourg after a period of integration at the club, as he featured in two pre-season games.
According to 90min, Chelsea have made plans to loan out Angelo Gabriel and will execute it possibly after their pre-season tour. The 18-year-old highly-rated wonderkid is a raw commodity to make a mark in the Premier League, and hence a temporary move away could aid his development.
Chelsea stirred controversy after their ownership group, Blue Co, purchased Ligue 1 side Strasbourg. The issue has been deliberated for a while regarding multi-club ownership, but this deal does not seem to bother the authorities too much.
As expected, the ownership group will help the French club by loaning them promising talents to aid their development. Right now, Angelo Gabriel seems like the prospect heading the other way as Chelsea intricately plan the 18-year-old’s promising future.
After a period of battle with Barcelona, Chelsea agreed on a deal with Santos for Angelo Gabriel and subsequently signed him on a long-term deal. He has featured during their pre-season wins over Wrexham and Brighton & Hove Albion, as they could keep him until their return to England.
After that, Chelsea planned on loaning, sending Angelo Gabriel away on loan, and their other club, Strasbourg, seemed like the beneficiary. The 18-year-old has a desired profile among top clubs, and the Blues could benefit from the winger gaining massive experience elsewhere.
Strasbourg’s president, Marc Keller, shed some light on the strategy from Chelsea to loan them players. He insisted the idea wasn’t part of the ‘project’ plans.
Keller said, “We have had meetings with the sports department to define the objectives. We will have more means to be more ambitious. Loic Desire will have the handle on discussions about players that could interest us if there are any. They also have to want to come to us.”
Meanwhile, Strasbourg’s chief scout Loic Desire also had a few words on Angelo Gabriel’s future, as he said, “He won’t be arriving straight away, as Chelsea want to integrate him into the club first. He’ll come in August after the tour of the United States. We want to bring more variety to Patrick Vieira.”
Desire’s comments show Chelsea had already planned to loan the winger to Strasbourg, irrespective of whether he fits their strategic plans. Meanwhile, the Blues are linked with Michael Olise and Mohammed Kudus to possibly fill a winger’s spot available in the first team.
If either of those players arrives, Angelo Gabriel will have no room to showcase his talents. Moreover, Chelsea won’t play European football, so there are limitations at the club in the upcoming season, as Mauricio Pochettino will not want a bloated squad.
