Ex-Chelsea men Steve Clarke and Paul Clement looking towards Chelsea for players on loan

Combining a couple smaller stories from Tuesday into one, we have former Chelsea assistants Steve Clarke and Paul Clement potentially looking towards the mothership for some help in the form of players on loan.

Clarke, club legend as well assistant to both Mourinho Mk.I and Avram Grant, has been in charge at Reading since last December, and led the Royals to their first FA Cup semifinal appearance in 88 years.  He was markedly less successful in league play, ending the season with just one win from ten; he will no doubt have to improve on those results this term.  But a raft of offseason departures have left him with a rather thin squad, as evidenced by their tired (though successful) performance in the second round of the League Cup yesterday, and he will likely be looking to add some legs before the end of the transfer window.

According to ESPN, one such pair of legs could be none other than Nathaniel Chalobah, who already spent the second half of last season on loan at the Madejski, and mostly to good reviews.  Chalobah has been a bit of a forgotten man this summer, both in the transfer market and as part of Chelsea's preseason squad, so perhaps a loan back to the Championship wouldn't be the worst option in the world.

Another man who spent some time at Reading last season was Nathan Aké, but he may be looking to upgrade to Championship promotion contenders Derby County instead this season.  Derby are currently led by Paul Clement, in his first managerial appointment after following Carlo Ancelotti as assistant from Chelsea to PSG to Real Madrid.  Clement started the season with a 0-0 draw and will be in action later today in the League Cup, but the big news around the Rams is the ACL injury picked up by young Will Hughes, which is a tremendous loss.  Fellow midfielder Craig Bryson also picked up an injury in the season-opening draw and faces up to a month on the sidelines, so Clement and staff are working overtime to find immediate help.

"We will possibly look to do something but we are not going to hit the panic button. It has to be the right person. So, one central midfielder who can play in a two or a three in midfield and possibly one other attacking player but that is not so urgent. I think the midfielder is more urgent now."

"We are going to try to do that and even if it is not before the end of the transfer window, we could still look to do a loan. The key is we get the right person, of the right quality, otherwise we stay as we are."

"We have started talking about that (bringing somebody in) already and we have a couple of names but it is difficult now because it is getting towards the end of the transfer window.  We are confident given the type of club we are and the direction we want to move in, we will get the right person in."

-Paul Clement; source: Derby Telegraph

Admittedly it's all idle speculation from this point, but Chelsea certainly could easily help an old friend out, in both his midfield areas of need with the likes of Aké or Chalobah or Piazon or perhaps even a Charly Musonda...

Don't be surprised if Derby look towards #CFC for loan help with their midfield injuries, especially with Will Hughes out for a long time.

— Chelsea Youth (@chelseayouth) August 11, 2015