Dermot Drummy hints at more loans to come

Chelsea FC sent four of their young prospects out on loan earlier this week, and it appears that there will still be more to come when the January window opens. George Saville and Billy Clifford look like they'd be ready for a loan, and some within Chelsea certainly agree. U21 coach Dermot Drummy had some quotes regarding the futures of the pair for West London Sport, so we'll pass them along for you all to read:

"We’ve got Billy playing really well and George looking really good. They’re at a very pleasing stage of their development and are getting close to the next level."

"I would think the next stage will be on loan and I would say Championship for those two, no disrespect to anyone else. I think they can play at Championship level, so if there’s an opportunity there in the future we’ll look at it."

Chelsea have not made a point of keeping their U21 talent at home this fall, instead shipping most of their brightest players out for loan spells against tougher competition. With it looking increasingly likely that Chelsea will not be placed in the elite group for the second half of the U21 season, it would make very little sense to keep any of hteir better prospects around that aren't likely to get first team minutes.

As far as potential suitors go, I'm sure that there will be plenty. Neither youngster is amongst the top prospects in Chelsea's system, but both are solid, versatile players that are physically developed enough to hold their own. I guess the loan report wasn't long enough already...