Olympique Lyon ends Diego Moreira loan stint and send him back to Chelsea via break clause
Transfer journalist Fabrizio Romano has reported that Diego Moreira leaves Olympique Lyon through a break clause in his contract and will return to Chelsea and train under Mauricio Pochettino.
The Portuguese forward joined Lyon during the closing stages of the summer transfer window and also featured in Chelsea’s win over AFC Wimbledon on August 30.
However, the 19-year-old’s short stint at the French Ligue hasn’t worked out as per plan, as he struggled to make a statement and featured only seven times.
Now that he has returned, it will be interesting to see what Chelsea will do with him. They will either call him to the first team or send him back to the Premier League 2, where he has already made three appearances. This decision will mainly depend on Pochettino.
Moreira’s return means he will remain in West London for the entirety of the season. As per Premier League rules, the player cannot join a third team, as the youngster has already played for two clubs this season.
There is stiff competition to be in the starting lineup for the first team, and it’s very challenging that Moreira will get a good amount of playing time because he operates from the left wing, and we already have Christopher Nkunku, Mykhaylo Mudryk and Raheem Sterling.
So, keeping him on the first team wouldn’t make sense because there is so much competition for the spot, and sending him to U21 sides is the only viable option for him to play regularly.
More Chelsea News
- Trevoh Chalobah’s return from a long-term injury has sparked interest from Fulham
- Armando Broja becomes latest academy player Chelsea prepared to sell in January
- Chelsea set to face another approach from Liverpool for Levi Colwill
Alternatively, he can wait until next season to find out what Chelsea’s plans are for him and whether they’ll be willing to let him stay. We will have more crucial games as the season moves into the second half, therefore a first-team squad must be healthy.