Chelsea Transfer News: Loan Policy Criticised by Bayern Munich's Michael Reschke

Bayern Munich technical director Michael Reschke has questioned the loan policy used by Chelsea.

Reschke told German news agency SID (h/t Rajvir Rai of the Daily Mail) that Bayern would not adopt the same philosophy as Chelsea when it comes to loaning out players:

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Sending players on loan is not part of our philosophy. It’s a decision we make case by case. We always make a well-considered decision what’s best for a certain young player in his situation. For example, a temporary spell with Augsburg is a great solution for Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg but there’s no policy or clear philosophy behind it like at Chelsea.

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Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg is one of three Bayern players currently out on loan. United States international winger Julian Green is at Hamburg, and Jan Kirchhoff is on loan at Schalke.

Matthias Schrader/Associated Press

In contrast, Chelsea have 30 players who have been sent on loan this season, per Rai's article. There is a mixture of experienced internationals and youngsters who have been sent on loan by Chelsea.

Fernando Torres was the most high-profile departure after he initially moved to AC Milan. Victor Moses, meanwhile, is on loan at Stoke City.

Many players on the list of temporary departures from Stamford Bridge this season are not undertaking their first loan spell away from their club. Gael Kakuta has started just one Premier League game for Chelsea, per Soccerbase.com. Kakuta is currently on loan at Rayo Vallecano, and it is the sixth different club he has played for since joining Chelsea.

Ryan Bertrand started Chelsea’s 2012 Champions League final win over Bayern, but he is now playing for his seventh different loan club. Though the bulk of those loans were earlier in his career, the 25-year-old had a spell at Aston Villa last season. He is now on loan at Southampton.

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He has previously expressed his disappointment at his treatment by Chelsea, per Sam Cunningham of the Mail Online. Bertrand has been linked with a permanent move to Southampton, either in January or the summer, as per James Nursey of the Daily Mirror.

It certainly appears to be a longstanding policy from Chelsea as Amy Lawrence of BBC Sport says: “The bloated number of players temporarily parked away from Stamford Bridge shows the extent to which it is a clear strategy at Chelsea—a firm policy in their business plan.”

Owen Gibson of The Guardian, meanwhile, has questioned whether it is time to change the rules concerning loans.

There is possibly no end in sight for Chelsea’s loan policy either. A partnership with Turkish club Besiktas, per Matt Law of the Daily Telegraph, has opened up new opportunities for Chelsea to send players on loan.

It is understandable why young players are sent out on temporary arrangements. It allows them to build up experience before being ready to challenge for a first-team place back at their parent club.

But the number of players who have had multiple loan spells away from Chelsea suggests they may never get a chance at Stamford Bridge. It would perhaps be better for these players to leave permanently and forge a career elsewhere.