Patrick Bamford: 'You can see Stamford Bridge from here'

Thanks to his combination of on-pitch aptitude and off-pitch intelligence, Patrick Bamford is easily one of our favorite loanees.  The soon-to-be 22-year-old striker has yet to make his Premier League debut on-loan with Crystal Palace, but he certainly sounds happy and content with his current arrangements.

"...I didn't realise at first that Crystal Palace were interested. But I'd said to Dad that ideally I wanted to stay close to London, because I'm a Chelsea player and although I really enjoyed my time at Middlesbrough, I was getting a little frustrated at always moving around. I felt like I didn't really live anywhere and I thought I'm going to have to do this every year if I keep going out on loan. That's when I decided I wanted to get my own place."

"I had a meeting with Alan Pardew and he was really keen. He put forward his plans, he was really positive and he put a big emphasis on improving me as a player. He was saying how he'd studied Mourinho a lot, for his own benefit as well, and so he knows how he works and he thinks he can implement things that Mourinho uses with his own game. Which will help me get ready for Chelsea, hopefully - that's the end game."

It's not the first time Bamford has spoken of his ultimate desire to get a shot at Chelsea.  Just one shot.  To seize everything he's wanted.

"I have to believe, because if I didn't there would be no point in doing all of this. In my head, if I don't get a shot at Chelsea, personally, I think I will have failed."

"When I decided to move to Chelsea I got a bit of stick at the time, but I didn't move just because of the money or just because it was a big club. I moved there because I wanted to play for them. If I gave up without ever having a proper shot at it ... whether that means doing a season on loan in the Premier League and going back there and trying to fight for a place, or whatever it may be. If I didn't do that without someone saying: ‘Look, you're not going to make it at Chelsea', without them taking the decision out of my hands, then I'd think: ‘I've let myself down a bit there'."

Of course, it doesn't all just depend on Bamford.  Even if we assume that he'll prove himself at the Premier League level this year, just as he had done so at Championship, League One, and U21 levels previously, Chelsea will still need to make room for him.  And that's not something in which we have a stellar record.  Last summer, we chose to sign Didier Drogba as third striker; this summer we chose to bring in Radamel Falcao instead, for example.  Bamford, much to his credit, remains hopeful and positive.

"I did think that [I would get my chance] for a bit [before Chelsea signed Falcao]."

"People have said that if anyone is going to get the best out of Falcao, then it probably will be José. But we'll see. It's only a year loan [with Falcao], which kind of spins back to me on a positive. If it's a year loan and I do well, then you never know what can happen."

Bamford went an unused substitute in Palace's first match of the season, but Pardew has promised him a shot at the starting striker position (at some point).  They face Arsenal on Sunday.

"In my head I think I know I can play at this level. It's just a case of waiting for my chance and then getting myself into it as fast as I can. The manager said to me I'll get my crack at No9, and when I get it, it's up to me to keep it."

Be sure to click over to read the rest of the Guardian's wonderful interview with Bamford.  Not everything that's revealed is new (such as his musical skills or the fact that he choose professional football over studying at Harvard), but he's an immensely likable character and one for whom we can only hope a Chelsea shirt awaits one day.