Jeremie Boga and Granada: A Loan Match Made in Heaven for the Chelsea Youngster

Chelsea are a club frequently mocked for their “loan army”—a so-called horde of players, ranging in age from teenage years to mid-20s, spread across the world playing football in temporary destinations.

In this past transfer window, the Blues sent a whopping 38 out to play football away from the confines of Stamford Bridge and Cobham, with the likelihood that each might return to play first-team football under head coach Antonio Conte varying greatly.

There are those who no fan believes they will see in Chelsea blue, such as Jamal Blackman or Lucas Piazon. It has become clear over the years they will never make the breakthrough. A sale beckons; it will happen when it suits the club.

Then there are those who are still within a shout of returning and impacting, such as Nathan Ake, Abdul Baba Rahman and Kenedy. They’re not perfect and aren’t good enough to play for Chelsea yet, but with refinement, perhaps they can claim a squad number and a future role.

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And then there’s the "special" category. In here are players whose promise and potential supporters hold close, praying they might return a better footballer, capable of breaching the setup.

A good loan away from the club for a year could be the catalyst for something great, and they might—just might—be the ones to end John Terry’s long run as the last player to rise from academy to the first team (and stay there).

Nineteen-year-old Jeremie Boga, the midfielder on loan to Granada, falls firmly in the latter category.

Perfect for Paco Jemez

While Chelsea’s loan policy—and with it their decision on which player goes where—is hardly scattergun in its approach, some deals tend to make a lot more sense than others. Boga, who will be with Granada for the entirety of the 2016-17 season, has and will continue to benefit from a perfect match.

Granada manager Paco Jemez is famous for his relentless attacking style of football. His teams never take their foot off the pedal. While that frequently leads to massive, gaping spaces for opponents to take advantage of in the defensive phase, it releases attackers to do what they do best. He will not shackle Boga.

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The fact that the French youngster can play across the advanced midfield line—centrally, left or right—is key to him staying in this Granada side.

Fluid movement and interchanging is rampant in Jemez’s system, and Boga’s ability to take up different positions every 10 minutes means he’s an incredibly useful tool to his new manager. It’ll also keep him ahead of the many others vying for his position in the pecking order—namely Arsenal loanee Jon Toral and Manchester United loanee Andreas Pereira.

There are obvious areas to work on in Boga's game, but the reality is Jemez might ignore those. Instead, he’ll caress the strengths and make them better, accentuate them using his system and reap the benefits of a productive player unleashed.

That might not please Conte, who values defensive work rate and awareness highly—but Boga stands to become a much better, more effective attacker under Jemez’s stewardship.

Bowling-Ball Dribbler

If you’re a defender, the sight of Boga dribbling toward you will not be a welcome one.

He is a little bowling ball on the move, combining speed and power with refined grace when twisting and turning. Not only is he difficult to track when feinting left and right, but he’s also got a third option of running through you—something few in his position can boast.

Credit: beIN Sport

His first instinct is to look up and locate space to run into. There is a slight issue in that he rarely looks to pass first and almost insists on dribbling just a little before handing the ball off, but it’s rare that it costs his team. His positive way of using the ball naturally drives the side forward.

If given space, he will wreck you. His first five yards are just as quick as the others, and if he sniffs out a pocket to burst into, he’ll burst past you, too.

He can also be exceptionally mazy in tight spaces, and Granada fans have already been treated to a few jinking runs that beat three or four men. His change-of-pace ability and agility mean he can open space for himself if there’s none there to take advantage of:

Credit: LaLiga

While at Chelsea, Boga was often deployed on the flank in the youth teams, but Granada have already tried him in the No. 10 role to great effect. In his league debut against Villarreal, he had a reasonably quiet game on the left before being switched inside; from here he could take ownership of the ball deep, push forward and spearhead attacks. From the moment he moved inside, he became deadly.

Sharpshooting

One thing that frustrates more than most in football is a winger who is all huff but no puff. An end product is key; you have to have it. If you don’t, you’re forever condemned to the Aaron Lennon shelf in football: full of speed, quick feet and trickery, but lacking that decisive tendency you need to reach the top of the game.

Over the last three seasons, Boga has set about demonstrating that he has quite the finish on him and that he’s seemingly able to score near-identical goals no matter the platform. He's not headed for that same shelf.

His striking technique is the same each time, and he often scores from similar positions. Given he’s done this in three countries (England, France and Spain), he deserves some credit for being tough to stop.

Credit: LaLiga

For Chelsea’s under-19s, he often made his own goals, weaseling through tight spaces, playing quick one-twos with a fellow forward and burying a right-footed strike in ruthless fashion. That continued with Stade Rennais, where he introduced his trademark skip-to-the-right-and-finish to France. He’s only played two games in Spain for Granada, but he’s already buried one classic hit from outside the box.

He’s adept at taking up good positions off the ball to finish off scraps when deployed wide. And when he drives at the heart of defences, he knows how to create an angle and space to shoot.

The control he gets on his shots is remarkable; grass-cutters, curling strikes or power drives—he has showcased them all.

Credit: Chelsea TV / UEFA Youth League

Set pieces could well become a trump card for him in the future. He’s already taking corners for Granada because of his whipped technique, while in the UEFA Youth League he converted several beautiful free-kicks from 20-25 yards.

With the aforementioned skills and his fit in Jemez's system, Boga has a chance to fulfill his promise as a member of the group of "special" Chelsea loanees.

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