Of the 26 players Chelsea FC have out on loan this season, the situation of Tomas Kalas at FC Cologne is one of the most peculiar. Since joining the Rhineland side on loan this past summer, the 21-year-old Czech International has been unable to get himself a sniff of playing time and recently spoke to the media about his frustration with the lack of opportunities.
"“At first they were happy with my performances but then I didn’t play in any game. I don’t know what went wrong,” Kalas said. “I am in touch with Chelsea, but I don’t have any exact news about my future. I didn’t know I wouldn’t play. The club came to England in the summer and told me they would like to have me there.”"
While fellow Chelsea Bundesliga loanees Lucas Piazon and Thorgan Hazard have had success at their respective clubs, Kalas has been unfortunate to spend as much time on the bench as he likely would have had he stayed at Chelsea this season. FC Koln’s coach, Peter Stöger, has consistently chosen the duo of Slovenian Dominic Maroh and Austrian Kevin Wimmer as his two center backs and right backs Pawel Olkowski (Poland) and Miso Brecko (Slovenia) ahead of Kalas.
While it is tough to fault Stoger’s selections given Cologne have the fourth best defense in the Bundesliga (11 goals allowed through 11 games) and sit 10th in the table, it would be in the best interest of Kalas and his parent club if he moved elsewhere for more playing time.
"“Cologne plays well without me and the manager doesn’t have any reasons why he should change the defenders. But I still hope I will play. If not then a change has to come… It is in my interest and that of my agents and of Chelsea. We will solve it.”"
Having been a part of Chelsea since 2010, Kalas was loaned out to satellite club Vitesse Arnhem for two seasons before getting a few chances at Chelsea last campaign. In his four appearances last season the Blue’s won all four of their games with the most notable of them being the 2-0 victory against Liverpool at Anfield in late April. In that match Kalas took the spot of the injured John Terry and performed exceptionally against the Reds attack. To see him be relegated to Cologne’s reserve team playing in the German 4th division is something Jose Mourinho and Chelsea’s directive board must not be pleased with.
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If the Blue’s decide to recall Kalas in January they could choose to keep him at Stamford Bridge or loan him out again. Being back at Chelsea might be the best option for both the young Czech and his parent club. If John Terry or Gary Cahill were to get injured Chelsea’s credentials as title favorites would take a large hit.
The addition of Kalas would bolster the back line and possibly give one of the three other young defenders at the Bridge (Zouma, Ake, Christensen) a chance to go out on loan and test themselves. At the very least, getting Kalas back to Chelsea would mean that Petr Cech would have somebody to talk to in his native tongue on the benches.
Kalas has said that a number of Dutch, German, and English clubs would be interested in signing him on loan and recognizes that another loan may be the best option at this time in his career.
"“I left Chelsea because I wanted to play regularly… the possibility of playing there is scant.”"
With Tomas Kalas under contract at Chelsea until 2017 the club should look at a loan recall in the winter transfer window and getting him somewhere that gives him the best opportunity to progress.
Source: Express
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