In this case, it isn't so much the player himself who proved controversial, but the manner in which he arrived at the club. Under the guidance of Sporting Director Frank Arnesen, Chelsea were growing their scouting network and hoovering up as much young talent across Europe as possible with the hope of one day finding a superstar to promote through the club ranks. Arnesen's network quickly picked up on a diminutive but immensely skillful teenager plying his trade for French club RC Lens. Sensing major potential, Chelsea swooped in and offered the player a tidy contract to come and prove himself in London. He signed in 2007 and quickly established himself as one of the brightest stars of the Blues youth ranks, expected to become the heir apparent to the playmaker role in the first team. Unfortunately, RC Lens were less than impressed with the manner in which Chelsea had snapped up their young prodigy and reported them to FIFA. In 2009, Chelsea were ordered to pay 130,000 to Lens in compensation - with Kakuta himself expected to shell out 780,000 - and given an eighteen month transfer ban, preventing them from signing any new players until January 2011. Chelsea were outraged and appealed the sentence in 'the strongest possible way', arguing that UEFA had backed the signing on the basis that Kakuta had not been a registered player at Lens at the time. Chelsea were eventually cleared in the Court of Arbitration for Sport and all sanctions withdrawn. Unfortunately, after a series of unsuccessful loans, Kakuta did not go on to fulfill his potential and is currently loaned to Rayo Vallecano in a bid to revive his career ahead of the expiry of his Chelsea contract.
28-year old English writer with a borderline obsessive passion for films, videogames, Chelsea FC, incomprehensible words and indefensible puns. Follow me on Twitter if you like infrequent outbursts of absolute drivel.
