Tariq Uwakwe joins Accrington Stanley on season-long loan

The newest addition to Chelsea’s 2020-21 Loan Army is 20-year-old academy graduate, Tariq Uwakwe, who’s linked up with Accrington Stanley in League One for the coming season.

Uwakwe is an attack-minded, skillful player who’s taken up midfield and attacking positions (including wing-back) for the Chelsea U18 team and Development Squad and been with the Blues since the Under-9 level. At 20, one might even say this loan has come a year too late, although he was linked to a Championship loan move in January, most notably to Derby County.

In the EFL, Accrington Stanley are a club best known for excelling at working within their means. Since their recent promotion to League One they’ve remained generally competitive despite a very modest transfer budget and this must be attributed, in some part, to their manager John Coleman. Coleman has been able to get the best out of players at the club and help younger ones develop as well - Dan Barlaser, who is in the reckoning Newcastle United first-team this season and Josef Bursik, a promising goalkeeper at Stoke City, are recent examples of youngsters who’ve flourished under Coleman on loan.

Coleman prefers to deploy a 4-1-4-1 or 3-5-2 system, meaning Uwakwe would most likely be competing for an ‘attacking 8’ role there although the starlet has his work cut out with midfield also being their area of highest player quality.

Good luck to Tariq and hopefully a successful season follows!