Chelsea loanee’s club fans are already huge fans of ‘excellent’ player

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Chelsea have a number of players currently playing their football for other sides out on loan this season.

Some of those are unlikely to feature at Stamford Bridge again. Talk has already begun over if Raheem Sterling could be joining Arsenal permanently.

The future is certainly bright for some though. Andrey Santos is the highest rated player his age this season, and has found the goalscoring touch during his second spell at Strasbourg.

Of all the players who are out at the minute, one player who played a big part in their second half of last season is currently impressing in the Championship.

Alfie Gilchrist has been a regular for Sheffield United this season, with them sitting near the top of the table.

Sheffield United fans love Alfie Gilchrist

Playing at both centre-back and right-back, the Cobham graduate has already proven to be a popular first team player at Bramall Lane.

BBC’s Adam Oxley said: “What is clear is that Gilchrist absolutely loves defending. He thrives on a tackle, a header, a block and he celebrates a good piece of defending just as much as a striker would celebrate a goal.

“Gilchrist’s pace, concentration and positioning regularly put him in the right place to do his job, and the fans have really taken to him for all of this.”

Gilchrist proved a popular figure at Stamford Bridge too. The celebrations that surrounded his first goal for the club did not mirror the usual ones for the sixth goal in a 6-0 home win.

Chelsea fans likely missing Gilchrist this season

There may be some Chelsea fans wondering if the youngster could still be being used by the club now, with a lot of them not impressing in the Carabao Cup defeat to Newcastle on Wednesday.

Supporters were disappointed with Axel Disasi in particular, with some calling for him to be sold after that performance.

It feels as if there are not many behind the starting options of Levi Colwill and Wesley Fofana who are really proving themselves to be any better than Gilchrist.