Nathaniel Chalobah Loaned To Reading FC
Chelsea FC announced today that Nathaniel Chalobah has been loaned to Reading FC for the remainder of the season. It is Chalobah’s second loan of the season with the first spell coming at Premier League side Burnley.
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Reading FC is currently managed by former Chelsea FC player Steve Clarke who is familiar with taking young Blues on loan and turning them in to stars. Clarke was the manager of West Bromwich Albion when Romelu Lukaku spent a season there and put the Premier League on notice with 17 goals in 38 appearances. It was the loan to West Brom and Clarke’s usage of the player that sent him on an upward trajectory towards a loan with Everton and of course a big money transfer to Goodison Park.
Nathaniel Chalobah’s loan to Reading continues the new theme of sending our youngsters on loan to play for managers that Jose Mourinho and the brass personally trust. Chelsea has sent mulitple players, including Chalobah, on loan to Middlesbrough to play for former Mourinho assistant Aitor Karanka.
Karanka gives all the youngsters a chance and his personal relationship with Mourinho has paid dividends for our young loanee players. During his half season at Boro, Chalobah made 19 appearances and was largely impressive at the Championship level which earned him a loan to Premier League side in Burnley.
The situation at Burnley was unfortunate for the youngster as he struggled to get any real match time. He made 4 appearances in the first half of the season despite there being an injury crisis in midfield for the Clarets. There was of course the injury Chalobah suffered which resulted from a kick in the throat during a U21 match. It was a scary moment as he was rushed to the hospital but it was just damage to the cartilage and nothing that would threaten his career.
After being recalled from his loan to Burnley, Nathaniel Chalobah was linked to a loan move to Ligue 1 side Bordeaux. It would have been an excellent chance to play top flight football in a competitive league and see how the youngster would adapt to unfamiliar surroundings. Unfortunately, due to FIFA rules forbidding a player from playing for 3 teams in one season that deal was nixed.
The FA does not count U21 matches as official but FIFA does and the appearances for the Chelsea FC academy ended Chalobah’s chances for a move abroad. Instead the youngster had to be loaned to a team within the FA structure and the club chose Reading.
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Reading currently sits 18th in the Championship table and are just 7 points clear of Millwall and the relegation zone. So to say that they need some help is a bit of an understatement and a player of Chalobah’s quality can be the difference. He is versatile enough to play as a centerback or as a holding central midfielder and has done both in previous loan spells.
Chalobah is just 20 years old but he has already played for 4 clubs with Reading making it 5. His story is typical of Chelsea youngsters that are not lucky enough to find the perfect fit in a loan situation. He will have plenty of chances to impress at Reading and with the right opportunity Nathaniel Chalobah can remind us all why he is one of Chelsea FC’s top prospects.