Why Dario Essugo Is Prepared To Leave On Loan Despite Chelsea Transfer Stance | OneFootball

Assessing Chelsea's midfield situation this summer and the futures of Essugo and Fernandez. Video Credit: Absolute Chelsea

Young Chelsea midfielder Dario Essugo is reportedly open to a loan move this summer despite the club’s desire to keep him.

If Enzo Fernandez ends up staying at Chelsea this season, amid interest from Manchester City, Xabi Alonso may start the season with six central midfield options in his squad.

Summer signings Jordan Henderson and Valentin Barco will join Fernandez, Essugo, Moises Caicedo, and Romeo Lavia on the list.

These six midfielders will compete for just two starting spots in central midfield if Alonso continues to deploy the 4-2-3-1 formation that he’s primarily been using so far throughout pre-season.

Chelsea will continue to trim the squad before the end of the transfer window, but they do not seem to plan to reduce the size of their midfield.

According to the BBC, Chelsea previously told Essugo, the youngest in this group, that he would be staying.

However, the 21-year-old is now understood to be open to a potential loan exit this summer in search of regular football after missing out on a big part of last season due to injuries.

Joining from Sporting Lisbon last summer, Essugo suffered a thigh injury on international duty with Portugal Under-21s in September.

He suffered another setback in January and had to wait until March before making his first appearance for Chelsea since his involvement in the Club World Cup eight months prior.

In total, he made just five appearances for the club in 2025/26; all of them as a substitute.

Essugo in action with Juventus' Kenan Yildiz during pre-season. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu

Essugo has so far had a good pre-season under Alonso, with two starts in the last three friendly matches. He also got on the score sheet in Chelsea’s 6-4 win over Western Sydney Wanderers.

Realistically, however, he remains quite low in the pecking order, with Fernandez - if he remains at the club - and Caicedo expected to be the primary midfield pair.

Essugo understandably wants regular football to regain his touch on the pitch, and if he cannot get that at Chelsea, a loan move could be a solution.

Whether Chelsea will green light an exit is another story, however.

Lavia, while a talented number six, remains an unreliable option due to his injury issues.

Chelsea would likely want to avoid a repeat of last season’s situation, in which they had to rely on Reece James and Malo Gusto as backup midfield options when both Lavia and Essugo were out with injuries.

It will be up to Chelsea and Alonso to decide whether Essugo must stay to strengthen the midfield or can leave on loan, which could prove beneficial for his development.