Chelsea

Some of that was necessary due to the club's obligations to meet FFP requirements, yet the splurges in money across the last three transfer windows have not always been about the short term.

Co-owners Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital have committed vast amounts of money on younger talent, some of it with the view of immediately loaning them elsewhere to gain regular first-team football.

In other cases, players have departed Stamford Bridge on temporary deals because their suitors have not been able to agree a fee for a permanent transfer, the proposals in question still being beneficial to Chelsea in terms of fees generated and wage bills being reduced.

Here, Sports Mole takes a look at how the 18 players out on loan have fared since the start of 2023-24, not including Lewis Hall or Hakim Ziyech due to Newcastle United and Galatasaray having obligations to complete permanent transfers next summer.

SENIOR PLAYERS

Despite being Chelsea's number one during pre-season, Kepa Arrizabalaga jumped at the opportunity to join Real Madrid on a straight loan, where he would deputise for the injured Thibaut Courtois.

The 29-year-old has since made nine starts in all competitions, keeping five clean sheets, and he will hope that he is doing enough to secure a full-time move in 2024.

Romelu Lukaku eventually joined Roma after a transfer saga that had lasted most of the summer, with the Belgian taking advantage of another stint in Serie A.

Lukaku has been outstanding so far, contributing seven goals from seven starts and one substitute outing in all competitions to help keep Jose Mourinho in a job after an inconsistent start.

We class David Datro Fofana as a senior player through his outings for Chelsea last season, but he has done nothing to justify Chelsea signing him or including him in their first-team plans for the next campaign.

The 20-year-old is yet to contribute a goal or assist in 364 minutes of football at Union Berlin, subsequently losing the starting spot that he had at the beginning of his stint in Germany.

PROSPECTS EARMARKED AS FUTURE FIRST-TEAM PLAYERS

Young American goalkeeper Gabriel Slonina has made a total of eight starts for Eupen this campaign, yet he has failed to keep a clean sheet for the Belgian side and has conceded 20 goals.

Centre-back Bashir Humphreys is faring much better at Swansea City, helping the Championship club to 10 points from a possible 12 in his four appearances in the second tier.

Seven of Cesare Casadei's 11 outings for Leicester City have come from the substitutes' bench, yet the Italian midfielder has accumulated 419 minutes in all competitions in a side that looks destined to earn promotion back to the Premier League.

Andrey Santos is having far less success at Nottingham Forest, the Brazil international yet to feature in the Premier League and being restricted to one start in an EFL Cup defeat to Burnley.

Mason Burstow has six Championship starts to his name at Sunderland, accumulating over 400 minutes, yet the forward only has one assist to his name so far.

Over in Ligue 1, Chelsea will be delighted to see 18-year-old Brazilian winger Angelo Gabriel already make four starts and three substitute appearances for Strasbourg, chipping in with one assist and generally making a positive impact in France.

Diego Moreira has had less success at Lyon, featuring for 65 minutes across two appearances in September but since remaining as an unused substitute in the following two matches.

ACADEMY

Chelsea will be delighted with winger Omari Hutchinson's development at Ipswich Town, a total of five starts and eight substitute appearances being made by the 19-year-old in a squad that are second in the Championship and have reached the EFL Cup last 16.

Charlie Webster's stint at Heerenveen has been far less productive, the midfielder scoring on his only start that also saw him sent off. The young English midfielder has remained as an unused substitute since his return from suspension.

Harvey Vale has started to make an impact in League One with Bristol Rovers at left-back, accumulating 427 minutes in the third tier of English football to earn regular senior action for the first time in his career.

Tino Anjorin is past the academy stage, yet the playmaker is at Portsmouth in a bid to show that he can challenge for a Chelsea senior spot in the future. As it stands, though, the 21-year-old has been restricted to one start and three substitute outings in a team that sits at the top of League One with an unbeaten record.

Elsewhere in the same division, Dion Rankine had made seven starts and one substitute outing for Exeter City in all competitions before suffering a hamstring injury in September.

As it stands, Zak Sturge is still waiting for his first start for Peterborough United, making just five substitute appearances totalling 77 minutes in League One.

Goalkeeper Teddy Sharman-Lowe played the first game of the season for Bromley, but the 20-year-old is yet to make another appearance for the National League side.

Fellow stopper Ted Curd is plying his trade considerably lower down the non-league pyramid with Hashtag United, yet he has still earned a call-up to the latest England Under-18 squad after impressing at the Isthmian League Premier Division side.