Tomas Kalas Impresses On Middlesbrough Debut
Just days after being loaned to Middlesbrough, Chelsea FC youngster Tomas Kalas made his first team debut for the club. Manager Aitor Karanka was very pleased with Kalas’s performance even though he was playing technically out of position at right back. Kalas is a natural centerback and has played there for Chelsea and Vitesse Arnhem but is versatile enough to play out on the wings in a fullback position as well.
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Kalas was played at right back because the two players Boro brought in this season both suffered long term injuries. Damia Abella was brought in from Osasuna in the summer but he tore his ACL and is out for the season. The second right back Ryan Fredericks, on loan from Spurs, suffered an injury as well and is not in contention for a starting place. So what was originally a bad situation for Middlesbrough became an excellent opportunity for Tomas Kalas.
Karanka spoke to BBC News about Kalas’s performance against Reading and said, “He’s a very good player for the present, in a position that has created problems. With him now we’re much better because the position is covered by a very good player”. Ideally he can bring some stability to a position that has seen Boro use three other players in from time to time that are not natural right backs.
Karanka went on about Kalas and said, “He has shown [against Reading] that he’s a good player. He’s young but he’s experienced. He could play 90 minutes and we now have another week to work with him. It’s difficult for a player who is not playing and is new in the team but it wasn’t a surprise for me as I know him and what kind of player he is. He played an amazing game at Anfield last season against Liverpool, so it’s no surprise. I know from now he’s going to improve”.
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As we have said countless times in this space, the most important thing for a young player’s development is for him to play regularly. Kalas was left out in the cold by FC Koln for reasons we do not understand but Karanka has given him a lifeline. This move to Middlesbrough and the return to regular football could be what revitalizes the youngster’s career. Perhaps he will even discover that fullback is his more preferred position and could use that to one day displace Branislav Ivanovic in the Chelsea starting eleven.
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