Euro 2020 exposes Chelsea’s transfer failings again as Czech Republic stun the Netherlands

Chelsea: The first six fixtures of the 2021/22 Premier League

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There may have been a sense of déjà vu for Chelsea supporters as they tuned in to watch the Netherlands take on Czech Republic in the Round of 16 at Euro 2020. Not for the first time at this major tournament, the Blues have been issued countless reminders of transfer failings of years gone by.

Watching Belgium has been a delight for many in recent weeks, though this is likely to have been a much more painful experience for those connected with Chelsea.

Former players Romelu Lukaku and Kevin De Bruyne have both developed into world-class talents since leaving Stamford Bridge in 2014, highlighting how the London club have continued to make mistakes with their transfer policy.

There have been other high-profile examples of this in recent times, most notably Mohamed Salah, but one other player who has demonstrated his ability on the highest stage at the current tournament is Tomas Kalas.

The Czech Republic defender put in a fine performance to help his country book their place in the quarter-finals of the Euros, a scenario few had predicted prior to kick-off.

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Frank de Boer’s men were overwhelming favourites to secure a routine victory, but star players such as Donyell Malen, Gini Wijnaldum and Memphis Depay were left frustrated as they suffered an unlikely defeat.

Kalas was very much at the heart of this spirited display and made a critical block in the first-half of the match to deny Denzel Dumfries’ goalbound shot.

He then set-up the all-important second-half goal for his side to progress into the next round of the competition, sending a powerful header to the back-post to tee up teammate Tomas Holes to score.

Kalas only made four first-team appearances during his time with Chelsea, one of which came in a man-of-the-match display which damaged Liverpool’s Premier League title hopes during the 2013/14 season.

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His career path has followed a similar route taken by many others that were not given a chance to impress by Jose Mourinho, resulting in loan spells to Dutch side Vitesse Arnhem, FC Koln, Middlesbrough and Fulham.

Kalas officially left the Blues in 2019 to sign for Championship side Bristol City, where he has slowly developed into a key player.

Discussing his decision to finally leave Chelsea on a permanent basis after being contracted to the club for ten years, he told BristolLive:

“I could have done that (leaving Chelsea) but I still believed that the way of going on loan and getting experience, maybe one day become a Chelsea player would still be a reality, it could happen.

“But throughout the years, just like any other person in life learns their lesson, and it’s not because I was a fool for being there, I just realised that, no, I probably wouldn’t ever get a chance.

“Finally after eight years I spent outside of Chelsea, I don’t want to try it anymore, I want to be a part of a different family. And be there for a longer time. Because I was part of a family I’ve never been … like a really far, far uncle.”

His decision to move on is ultimately one that has paid off for his career, but it poses further questions about Chelsea’s approach to recruitment in recent years.

Kalas could well have been a player to play an important role for the Blues, who remained reluctant to present a pathway to the first-team.

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