Chelsea loanee Nathan has to wait for another second chance at Atlético Mineiro

Chelsea attacking midfielder Nathan was finally starting to see some progress in his loan spell at Brazilian club Atlético Mineiro, after more than half a season with few chances coming his way. Unfortunately, this progress has now stalled due to time off from training, when he was technically not attached to Atlético. His loan deal had ended on June 30 and was only extended officially on July 8.

His manager, Rodrigo Santana, still likes him a lot. But now, Nathan has to re-establish himself in the team, before he can get back on the pitch regularly.

“Nathan is a player who, due to this delay in renewing his loan deal, had to lose a few days in training. He returned a few steps behind in terms of form.

”He is a player whom I utilise as an attacking midfielder or central midfielder. He comes from the back, moves the ball forward and he shots well from outside the area. [But] he is out of the plans [for now]. As soon as I get the opportunity, I will get him back [on the pitch]. He is a player in whom I trust a lot.”

-Rodrigo Santana; source: UOL

Nathan’s loan ends in January 2020. Luckily, Atlético still have a lot of games to play in the Brazilian Serie A, as well as the Copa Sul-Americana, so he should have plenty of chances to prove his worth before the end of the season. By then, he will be into the last six months of his Chelsea contract and probably ready to either move to Atlético permanently, or find himself another club.