Aside from Premier League betting statistics backing them for this seasons title, Chelsea see the development of their younger players as fundamental for any future success. With the club's links in Holland with Vitesse Arnhem and also having a lot of joy with players joining Championship club Middlesbrough, the Blue's youth system has never looked so bright.
One player who has impressed vigorously week in week out during his time in the football league is 20-year-old Patrick Bamford who is currently on loan at Derby County. The former Nottingham Forest apprentice is highly rated at Stamford Bridge who seem elated with the progress that Bamford is making and the ease in which he has settled into life in the football league at such a young age.
Previous to joining Steve McClaren at the iPro stadium, the youngster enjoyed two very affluent spells in League 1 with the MK Dons. In his first stint he found the net 4 times in 14 games. After impressing boss Karl Robinson, in the summer of 2013 the Dons went on to sign Bamford on a 6-month loan deal where he scored a staggering 17 goals in 32 appearances in all competitions.
This progress alerted many Championship clubs when he returned to Chelsea in Early January of this year. It was Derby County who eventually won the race to sign the youngster on loan until the end of the season. Bamford has again been making all the right headlines with his impressive adaptation from League 1 to Championship. However, despite finding the net 5 times in 13 games, Jose Mourinho clearly feels that the striker is not yet ready for the extreme challenges that are faced by a top four Premier League side.
With this news breaking, it will alert many Championship and maybe even Premier League clubs into showing an interest for the England under-21 international. It will be important that Mourinho once again selects the right club for Patrick Bamford as his talent is evident, but it will be how that talent is nurtured that will be the deciding factor as to whether he will become the Chelsea star that many are predicting.
