Chelsea's Oriol Romeu linked to Valencia loan move

Usually we're reading reports from the Spanish media that make little sense, but today AS had a rumor that seems to be worth noting. The Spanish paper is reporting that Valencia are again pushing hard for a loan move for Oriol Romeu, and that they'd be willing to pay a pretty substantial loan fee in order to make it happen:

Oriol Romeu may become the next days in the third reinforcement of Valencia ahead of next season. The club Mestalla is in talks with Chelsea to achieve the transfer of Spanish midfielder. The English accepts the output of Oriol Romeu as long as the Valencia take the tab and also perceived pay around a million euros for his services . The entity Mestalla try lowering the fixed amount of payment for the assignment and negotiates include a buyback option to run in May 2014.

This is the type of reporting from the Spanish media that I'd be far more inclined to believe, at least partially because they should have sources that could have this sort of information. Unlike the Juan Mata, David Luiz, Fernando Torres, or Luis Suarez transfer rumors* that seemed designed to agitate the Chelsea fanbase, this one isn't likely to elicit a strong, anti-Mourinho reaction at all. Romeu is a solid enough player, but with the presence of John Obi Mikel, Michael Essien, Marco van Ginkel, Frank Lampard, and Ramires, it's unlikely he'll see a ton of minutes this season. A loan potentially makes some sense for both the player and the club, especially if the Blues are still considering further additions to their midfield.

*Or the absolutely ridiculous Jose Mourinho tax story

The idea that Valencia would like an option to buy is interesting, but I'd have to believe that there is basically no chance of one being included. It can't hurt to ask I suppose, but I just don't see the Blues deciding that they'd need a loan fee that badly.

With Romeu likely to still be somewhat slowed as he recovers from major knee surgery, I'd be more than OK with this move. Most of us witnessed the struggles of Michael Essien to bounce back from the same sort of issue, and because of that I'd be happy to see Romeu given as clear a path to first team minutes as possible. Valencia won't be playing in the Champions League this season, but with the Europa League group stage and a busy La Liga schedule, their lack of depth in the midfield should assure him plenty of time on the pitch. As long as they're not married to the idea of that option to buy, I'd be all for it.