Chelsea defender Todd Kane moves to NEC Nijmegen on season-long loan deal

Chelsea defender Todd Kane is set to spend the entire 2015/16 campaign away from Stamford Bridge, with the club confirming that he has followed several teammates to the Eredivisie by joining NEC Nijmegen on a season-long loan.

The former England youth defender has yet to make a single senior appearance for Jose Mourinho's side in any competition, yet has built up plenty of experience during previous spells at Blackburn and Preston North End. He signed a new three-year deal with the club earlier this week.

He made five appearances for Bristol City last season as they cruised to the League One title, before returning to the second tier for a four-month spell at Nottingham Forest in a deal that was guaranteed courtesy of a supporter winning the £250,000 prize on offer through the annual Sky Bet Transfer Fund.

Evidently not yet considered as a viable first team option at Stamford Bridge, with Mourinho able to call upon the ultra-consistent Branislav Ivanovic at right-back as well as Cesar Azpilicueta, Kane will hope to impress with his performances in rather unfamiliar surroundings at the Goffertstadion.

"Todd Kane has today joined Dutch side NEC Nijmegen on loan for the 2015/16 season," Chelsea confirmed in a statement released via their official website earlier on 6 August.

"The 21-year-old, who signed a new contract with Chelsea earlier this week, joined us as an Under-8 and will continue his development in the Eredivisie."

Kane is the sixth Chelsea player set to spend the upcoming season in the Netherlands. As part of an unofficial partnership between the two clubs, Isaiah Brown, Lewis Baker, Danilo Pantic, Nathan and Dominic Solanke have all already joined Vitesse ahead of their league opener against Willem II on 9 August.

Away from the Eredivisie, the Premier League champions once again have a very high number of players out on loan across the continent including the likes of Patrick Bamford (Crystal Palace), Christian Atsu (Bournemouth), Andreas Christensen (Borussia Monchengladbach), Marco van Ginkel (Stoke), Mario Pasalic (Monaco) and Kenneth Omeruo (Kasimpasa).