Mario Pasalic is perhaps not the most familiar face in Chelsea's loan army, not least because he hasn't made a single first-team appearance for the Blues over the course of his six-year stint in West London, and the fans might never get to see that happen.
The Croatian has been on loan at Atalanta since the summer of 2018 and after playing a key role in the Italian outfit's third-place finish in the Serie A and subsequent Champions League qualification last season, the 25-year-old has continued to fire on all cylinders this term as well.
Pasalic has starred with 7 goals and 7 assists in 32 appearances for Atalanta across all competitions this season so far, with the Croatian firing the Italian club to the quarter-final of the UEFA Champions League for the first time in their history.
However, there's more to those numbers and the recent statistics published by Whoscored.com reveal that Pasalic's long ball success percentage of 83.7 stands third among all outfielders to have attempted at least 50 long passes in Europe's top five leagues this season so far.
Only Juventus' Paulo Dybala and Real Madrid's Toni Kroos boast a better long ball success rate than the Chelsea loanee, who seems to be keeping some world-class company in that regard at the moment.
However, he still might not be lucky enough to don Chelsea's famous blue jersey. The Sun reported back in December that Atalanta have opted to trigger their £12.5 million option-to-buy clause in the midfielder's loan agreement, meaning that Pasalic might no longer be a part of the club from next season onwards.
Pasalic's potential departure from Chelsea would be reminiscent of Jeremie Boga's transfer to Serie A club Sassuolo back in the summer of 2018.
The Ivorian was sold after struggling for first-team opportunities in West London, with the Blues retaining a buy-back clause on the winger, who has since evolved into a top-quality player in Italy.
Several reports have emerged in the press over the past few months suggesting that Chelsea could be set to bring Boga back to Stamford Bridge as a cheaper alternative to top target Jadon Sancho in the summer.
Irrespective of whether that materialises, it is clear that Chelsea have been left red-faced by their decision to offload Boga and selling Pasalic might not be the wisest idea, given that the Croatian has proven his mettle in the Serie A.
Having moved to West London from Hajduk Split for a fee of £3 million back in 2014, Pasalic's loan spell at Atalanta is the fifth of his time at Chelsea after going through temporary stints at Monaco, AC Milan, Elche and Spartak Moscow.
Like many other players in the loan army, he just hasn't been lucky enough to receive a shot at the Premier League and Chelsea selling him for £12.5 million could be a massive transfer blunder, not least due to the fact that his market value will definitely have escalated after his stellar displays at Atalanta.
Surely, Chelsea wouldn't want to be linked with a move for Pasalic a couple of years down the line! That would be farcical, to say the least!
Should Frank Lampard give Pasalic an opportunity to impress in the first-team next season? Share your thoughts in comments or join our new blogging platform!
