Now, call us old-fashioned, but we thought that a club signing a player on loan meant he played for that club – not the one he joined from.
It turns out that’s not always the case, though, and trust loan masters Chelsea to provide an example.
Jake Clarke-Salter, who made his first-team debut for the Blues towards the end of last season, joined Bristol Rovers for the season on deadline day.
ICYMI: Three players join on loan from Premier League clubs. Welcome @OfficialColkz, @Hiram_8 & Jake Clarke-Salter! pic.twitter.com/QzBzZLmqpI
— Bristol Rovers (@Official_BRFC) August 31, 2016
So imagine our surprise when we saw the teenage defender’s name on the teamsheet for a Chelsea development squad game against Tottenham Hotspur.
Our #CFCDev XI tonight is Collins; Tomori, T.Chalobah, Clarke-Salter, J.Dasilva; Quintero, Scott; Maddox, Mount, Christie-Davies; Wakefield.
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) September 9, 2016
Our eyes weren’t deceiving us. One of the 38 (thirty-eight!) players currently out on loan was still allowed to pull on a blue shirt in what the club say is an appearance aimed at helping build fitness.
Now it’s not uncommon to see a senior first-teamer turn out alongside the youngsters to recover some match-sharpness, but a loan move normally means you don’t get to play for your parent club.
It’s not against the rules, but that doesn’t mean it’s not very weird.
We haven’t seen too many loan deals with conditions like this, but then again we hadn’t seen a player sign a three-year loan deal before Juan Cuadrado did just that in August, returning to Juventus ‘temporarily’, but for longer than the amount of time he has been under contract with Chelsea.
Confused? We don’t entirely blame you. It takes a while to get your head round it all.
Chelsea FC: football’s last true mavericks?
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