Despite selling occasional defender David Luiz to Paris St Germain for about £30m too much, Chelsea have allowed another centre-back to leave the club - albeit temporarily - as Oriol Romeu has joined Stuttgart on loan for the season, fresh from signing a new contract at the London club. Fans might be somewhat surprised that a defender given a new contract, and clearly identified as having a future at the club would be moved out on loan, especially with John Terry's ageing legs and the pressure of four major competitions to compete in with just Gary Cahill and Kurt Zouma as his potential partners - and presumably Branislav Ivanovic as long as Mourinho moves Cesar Azpilicueta back to right-back to accommodate Flilpe Luis. Even with those four options, having Romeu in there for the League Cup and earlier rounds of the FA Cup might not have been such a bad idea. Romeu's benefit of course is that he can also play as a defensive midfielder, but with Nemanja Matic back at the club and the heavy investment in Cesc Fabregas - the two reasons Mourinho gave for selling Luiz in fact - it seems more and more likely that he would be considered a defender anyway, as there's more likely to be a chance for him there in coming seasons. The player's time with Chelsea has been largely uninspiring so far, despite him arriving with a label as a sizeable prospect, but Mourinho clearly sees something in him that suggests he could be a big player for Chelsea in coming seasons, and perhaps he has been drawn to the loan model after the success Courtois enjoyed with Atletico Madrid last year. Perhaps he will then come back and challenge John Terry and Zouma for the back-up spots to Ivanovic and Cahill (as would surely be the case in a season's time)? Or perhaps he will become yet another prospect ruined by a top four club more intent on bringing in "established" talents for £20m plus than giving the youthful talents they invest in any chance of progressing as they would at a smaller club. Do you think Romeu should have been given a chance at Chelsea?
