Chelsea striker to 'consider' Aston Villa, Crystal Palace transfer options despite Hiddink assurances

Posted Saturday, January 02, 2016 by Sbnation.com

Loic Remy has been a Chelsea player for 18 months now and has been linked with moves away from Chelsea for about half that time.

His time as backup striker has sometimes been delightfully prolific, with well-timed goals contributed at most crucial times, but also maddeningly injury-filled, with a frustrating habit of becoming unavailable exactly when Diego Costa would become banned or injured as well. At the worst times, Rémy would fall to third choice behind old man Didier Drogba and empty shell of a striker Radamel Falcao. Despite all that, Remy has soldiered on and has stuck it out at Stamford Bridge.

All that might change this January as rumors of him leaving intensify.

Loic Remy is ready to consider a move away from Chelsea after failing to break into the first team picture. The 28-year-old Frenchman is a target for a string of Premier League clubs, including top four-chasing Crystal Palace and struggling Aston Villa.

Time is ticking for the man one day shy of his 29th birthday. While Hiddink has already issued a hands-off warning to Villa over Remy, it's easy to believe that the striker would be agitating for a move given this summer's Euro 2016 tournament and his probable desires to break (back) into the French national team, to add to his 31 appearances with one last hurrah. The Mirror's report does claim that the interim Chelsea manager has given assurances of more first-team chances than what had been available under Mourinho, but with Costa seemingly finding his scoring boots, Remy's opportunities could still be quite limited.