There are times as a footballer when it pays to know your place.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall may well have been the only Dewsbury-Hall thinking he would become a Chelsea stalwart having made his £30m move to follow Enzo Maresca to Stamford Bridge, let alone anyone outside his family, who would all have looked at a midfield trio of Moises Caicedo, Enzo Fernandez and Cole Palmer and told him immediately that he would be a Conference League signing.
A football club now famed for flipping footballers for profit in this grim world of PSR amortisation which promotes the buying and selling of young talent without any real inclination to see them play in blue, let alone thrive as a Chelsea player, can also count Carney Chukwuemeka, Djordje Petrovic, Lesley Ugochukwu and Renato Veiga among its cast-off alumni.
Dewsbury-Hall now looks as though he’s in the perfect spot at Everton, and will probably look back on what others will see as a blip in his career at Chelsea with fondness as he played a major role in winning a European trophy and may not get a chance to win another, but the midfielder does serve as testament to a decent season for Leicester not necessarily being an indication of a major role for Chelsea following a move to Stamford Bridge.
“I’m very happy to join Chelsea,” Facundo Buonanotte said in a statement. “It’s a great opportunity for me and I’m just looking to add as much to the squad as possible, help the team and help the staff.”
The Brighton star was one of few bright sparks on loan for a dismal Leicester last season, with his five goals and two assists improving on his burgeoning reputation as a skilful operator who can ‘make things happen’ in the final third.
But it’s hardly form worthy of a move to Club World Cup winners and – in the view of many – Premier League title contenders, as evidenced by Chelsea hijacking newly-promoted Leeds for his signature and Fabian Hurzeler not planning to use him for a second season on the trot at the Amex.
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He presumably couldn’t believe his luck when Cole Palmer’s injury and the decision not to pursue Xavi Simons from RB Leipzig saw Chelsea push to sign him on loan. But most people will have been immediately concerned that this was actually a case of misfortune dressed up as luck, and the crushing reality of a year of stasis may already have dawned on Buonanotte, just two days after his move.
“It’s a great step in my career,” Buonanotte added. “I’ll get the opportunity to play in the Champions League for the first time, which will be a great challenge.”
Oh, Facundo. On Monday he made that statement having signed for Chelsea and by Wednesday that Champions League dream is already dead. He wasn’t included in Enzo Maresca’s 25-man squad for the group phase, and isn’t eligible for ‘List B’, which accommodates young players who can be drafted into the squad on the eve of games.
He should have known it was too good to be true, but like all elite footballers, he’s likely got this far by being told and believing there’s no limit to what he can achieve.
The Premier League and cup competitions may provide him with just enough football to not make this move a complete waste of time, and training with world-class players will be no bad thing, but it must be a grim feeling for his fears, and those of everyone baffled by this loan move, to be realised before he’s even kicked a ball for his brutal and callous new club.
Chelsea UEFA A list: Robert Sanchez, Filip Jorgensen, Tosin Adarabioyo, Benoit Badiashile, Trevoh Chalobah, Levi Colwill, Marc Cucurella, Wesley Fofana, Malo Gusto, Reece James, Jorrel Hato, Moises Caicedo, Enzo Fernandez, Dario Essugo, Andrey Santos, Liam Delap, Alejandro Garnacho, Cole Palmer, Pedro Neto, Joao Pedro, Estevao, Jamie Gittens, Marc Guiu.
B list: Tyrique George, Romeo Lavia and Josh Acheampong.