Chelsea’s Baba Rahman set for Schalke 04 medical ahead of loan deal — report

Although Chelsea have yet to confirm the arrival of Roma defender Emerson Palmieri at the club, the Blues are already going forward with moves for the extra left wing-backs left in the first team. As per a report from Sky Sports Deutschland, Baba Rahman is on course to do his medical ahead of a return on loan to German club Schalke 04.

The defender had been linked with a comeback to Gelsenkirchen since the injury that cut short his stay at the club back in the 2016-17 season, when he had an ACL torn during the African Cup of Nations last year while defending Ghana. Baba returned to Chelsea to recover from the issue, and was reportedly eager to prove manager Antonio Conte that he could be an option for his squad. But it seems that the 23-year-old failed in his quest, with a return to Schalke 04 drawing closer.

He will be following the steps of Chelsea youngster Kenedy, who left Stamford Bridge to join former Blues boss Rafael Benítez at Newcastle on a loan deal until the end of the season. Negotiations between Schalke and Chelsea on the length of Baba’s second spell at the Bundesliga team are still under course, with the Germans hoping they can strike an 18-month deal.

In his first stint with Schalke, Baba found it difficult to cement his place in the regular first-team lineups. Much of that came down to his competition with Sead Kolasinac, with whom we were linked with until his move to Arsenal in the summer. But all signs indicate that Schalke have a lot of faith on his talents — perhaps even more than Chelsea.