Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho could loan players to Ludogorets after Bruno Ribeiro appointment

Chelsea could be set to send players to Bulgaria in the near future after new Ludogorets Razgrad manager Bruno Ribeiro discussed the possibility while also lauding his close relationship with compatriot Jose Mourinho.

Ribeiro, who was previously rumoured to be of interest to Cardiff City, was announced as Georgi Dermendzhiev's successor in Razgrad earlier in June after leaving Primeira Liga club Vitoria Setubal in May, having successfully steered them away from the threat of relegation.

With Ludogorets crowned domestic champions for a fourth successive year and also making their debut in the group stages of the Champions League alongside Real Madrid and Liverpool last term, expectations surrounding the A Group champions remain understandably high.

Securing loan players of a certain calibre could certainly help Ribeiro achieve his ambitions and he claims such an agreement with Chelsea is a possibility.

"Jose Mourinho is like a brother of mine," Ribeiro told the Bulgarian press, as reported by The Guardian. "We talked about Ludogorets and he advised me to come here.

"It is possible that some Chelsea players will join Ludogorets [on loan]. I'll talk with Mourinho and see what happens. Without doubt he is going to help us."

A lack of sustained opportunities for young players to impress in the first team has led to Chelsea becoming well known for their prolific use of the loan market.

Marco van Ginkel, Patrick Bamford, Victor Moses, Gael Kakuta, Oriol Romeu and Christian Atsu are just six examples of a list of players who spent the whole of last season away from Stamford Bridge.

The club also sanctioned a number of shorter-term loan deals, with the likes of Nathaniel Chalobah, Nathan Ake, Tomas Kalas and Lewis Baker dispatched to the Football League in order to gain further experience.

Chelsea have maintained a link with Vitesse Arnhem over recent years that has seen several of their younger crop – including most recently Josh McEachran and Brazilian full-back Wallace –sent to the Eredivisie and reports that initially surfaced in May suggested they were in talks over establishing a similar informal arrangement with Marseille.