Chelsea have established a reputation for allowing clubs to borrow their players and have now astonishingly got 42 out on loan for the rest of the season after the January transfer window.
Things are just starting to unravel for Maurizio Sarri with the Chelsea boss fighting for his future following the humiliating defeat at Bournemouth midweek.
But just when the Italian is in need of shaking things up, he finds himself lacking the resources to do so with several players who were part of the first-team squad last season out on loan at other clubs.
Seven players left Chelsea on loan this month with notable departures being Michy Batshuayi, Alvaro Morata and Victor Moses.
Lewis Baker and Matt Miazga also both moved to Championship side Reading while Lucas Piazon moved to Chievo Verona and Kasey Palmer joined Bristol City.
The likes of Baba Rahman, Kurt Zouma, Tiemoue Bakayoko, Kenedy, Mason Mount, Charly Musonda, Mario Pasalic and Tammy Abraham were also shipped out earlier this summer.
It has become an annual custom for Chelsea to send a small army of youth-team and fringe first-team players out on loan and now with the seven players leaving to join them in January they have eclipsed last season's loan tally of 33.
No fewer than 42 players have passed out of the Stamford Bridge revolving doors this season to destinations as diverse as Yeovil Town and Lleida Esportiu in order to gain experience.
Even Chelsea's big signing in the January window, Christian Pulisic, who moved in a £58million deal from Borussia Dortmund, was also sent straight back to the Bundesliga leaders to spend the rest of the season with them.
The only other player to join Sarri's men in January, Gonzalo Higuain, was also acquired in the same fashion after an agreement was put in place for Chelsea to take over AC Milan's existing deal.
Last summer EFL clubs and other clubs abroad had a longer deadline to secure loan deals but there is no such ruling in place for January's window. So, with the transfer market now shut until the summer, 42 stands at the grand total of Chelsea players out on loan - the highest number in their history.
