Chelsea On The VERGE Of Completing Two Transfers, A CB & A LB

Several reports have emerged in the English press claiming that Premier League Champions Chelsea have agreed a loan move with Championship side Middlesbrough for highly rated defender Tomas Kalas. The 22-year-old Czech defender, who can play both as a centre-back as well as right-back, had already spent the second half of last season at the Riverside Club after joining on-loan from Chelsea in January.

Kalas had signed for the Blues way back in July 2010 from his hometown club Sigma Olomouc in a deal reportedly worth around £5.2 million and has since experienced loan spells at Vitesse, FC Koln and Middlesbrough last season. In July 2012 , he signed a contract extension at Chelsea that took his current deal to 2017.

Middlesbrough are incidentally managed by Aitor Karanka, who was Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho’s number-two while at Real Madrid. Apart from Kalas, another Chelsea youngster Patrick Bamford excelled at the Riverside Club last season and that may have tempted Mourinho to send the defender on loan for the next season to gain valuable experience of playing week-in, week-out.

Kalas will be joined by fellow youngster Nathan Ake at Riverside next season, who has also agreed to join the promotion chasing club from Chelsea next season in a year long loan deal. It seems like Mourinho has identified the Championship club as a suitable breeding ground for some of his prodigious talents.

The move will no doubt benefit both the young defenders as they are not presently primed to challenge for a first team spot next season, and can gain valuable experience playing in an environment that is not too dissimilar to that of the Premier League, where they are expected to thrive in the future.