Nathaniel Chalobah wants to stay at Napoli despite Chelsea plans to recall the underused midfielder
Chelsea loanee Nathaniel Chalobah has claimed he is enjoying his loan spell at Napoli, despite reports that the Blues are considering recalling him during the January transfer window due to a lack of playing time in Serie A. Chalobah admitted he would prefer more first team opportunities, but is aware that competition at the side is high.
The 20-year-old midfielder is regarded as one of the best prospects to have emerged from Chelsea's academy in recent years. However, with spots in the first team at Stamford Bridge at a premium, Jose Mourinho sent the youngster to Napoli in September – following spells at Watford, Nottingham Forest, Middlesbrough, Burnley and Reading.
But the England U21 international has not been in the mix in Serie A, failing to play a single minute in the league campaign and having just one cameo in the Europa League, against Legia Warsaw, on his stat sheet.
The Mirror recently reported that the Blues would recall the player in January if the situation does not improve. Chalobah, however, says he is happy in Italy.
"It's been good, learning a different style of play and the Italian league is a very good league," Chalobah said to the FA website while on international dury. "Experience-wise, it's been good for me to see how they play their football, the culture, the lifestyle and everything else.
"I've enjoyed it so far and I'm just hoping to get more game time but at the minute, the team is doing really well. It's tough but I've got to be patient.
Napoli are sat in sixth placein Serie A, just four points behind leaders Fiorentina and with Gonzalo Higuain as the talisman of a team that recently crushed AC Milan 4-0.
"There's some quality players in the squad, a lot of talent and that has shown in the games and results that we've had in the last couple of weeks," the Chelsea loanee added. "We've been winning a lot of games and getting good results so the manager has been sticking with the team, but it's great to be a part of it."
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