EPL 2016-17: Thorgan Hazard slams Chelsea's youth policy

Thorgan signed for Chelsea back in 2012

Former Chelsea midfielder Thorgan Hazard has slammed Chelsea’s youth policy and claimed that sending younger players on loan has found its way into the club’s culture. The common policy at Stamford Bridge was to send those arguably talented players out on loan and hope for them to come back as better players.

While Thorgan Hazard was indeed a talented player but he had given up on his Chelsea career very early in his Stamford Bridge stint. Having signed for Chelsea back in 2012, Thorgan then spent following couple of seasons at Belgian side Zulte Waregem where he netted 17 goals in 78 appearances.

It followed with a satisfactory stay at Bundesliga side Borussia Monchengladbach, who managed to sign Thorgan permanently at the beginning of last season. Reflecting on his brief yet frustrating stay at Chelsea, Thorgan Hazard said: “I knew I would not stay at Chelsea when I signed for them. It was a great opportunity to join such a big club, but I knew I needed regular playing time to show what I could do. 

“Chelsea like to buy young players and then slowly get them ready. All the young players like Kevin de Bruyne, Charly Musonda and Romelu Lukaku were shipped out on loan. You need regular playing time at that age.”

These comments reflect on how Chelsea have let players slip under their noses including two of Premier League’s best players right now, Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku.

The duo can easily command a transfer fee of over 50million but the Blues’ management failed to recognize their worth and kept a shut eye on what they could have brought to the club.

Should Man United fans be worried?

Worrying about Manchester United in a Chelsea-centric discussion might raise few eyebrows but a lot of players were denied first team opportunity under the astute reign of Jose Mourinho. Likes of De Bruyne and Lukaku were Mourinho's outcasts and till date it is a blemish to his time at Stamford Bridge.

The self-proclaimed Speical One has a habit of turning towards more established names and not worrying about the new talent coming through. Mourinho has suffered an up and down start to his time at Old Trafford and it will be intriguing to see his approach in coming seasons at Man United.

Whether he will continue to trust the likes of Marcus Rashford, Jesse Lingard, Timothy Fosu-Mensah and Luke Shaw or he will go ahead and buy more famed superstars for big bucks is a scenario we all are waiting to find out about in the near future.