Chelsea's Jeremie Boga ultimatum to Ligue 1 side Rennes

Jeremie Boga will not be turning 19 until the first week of January, but he's already one of the most prized prospects in the Chelsea youth system.  Unfortunately, he's at the point in his career where Chelsea, as a club, don't seem to have the most solid plan for development.  Having outgrown what the English youth leagues can offer, some kids get loaned out, some stay.  Some do well on their loans, and a couple have even returned over the years to play a part (Ryan Bertrand and, especially, Thibaut Courtois).  Others do not, and they flounder for years and years (see: Nathaniel Chalobah, Josh McEachran, etc.).  It's a bit of a mess, even if the people in charge, Emenalo, Mourinho & Co, claim there is some overarching vision in there somewhere.

If rumors are to be believed, Boga had several suitors this summer.  Mid-table Ligue 1 side Rennes won out.  It was going to be a challenge, to be sure, for Boga to make the step up from U21 Premier League to Ligue 1 level, but so far, he's amassed less than 300 minutes.  While that's a good 90 minutes more than what Ruben Loftus-Cheek has gotten, the point of the loan is to get the player regular playing time.  He could just as easily sit on the bench at Chelsea.

With that in mind, according to L'Equipe (via talkSport), Chelsea have basically posed an ultimatum to Rennes:  play him or we'll be recalling him in January.  Whether L'Equipe are making an educated guess here or basing it on actual sources, it doesn't really matter.  The point is that Boga needs minutes — that's the path that's been chosen for him — and he's not really getting them at Rennes.  Granted, an ultimatum over a player they're not using is not very effective, but at least we're flexing.

Boga did start over the weekend for the first time in the league (he had another start in the cup) and rewarded manager Philippe Montanier's decision with the opening goal.  Hopefully that's a harbinger of things to come, rather than a high note to end his time there.