The Czech centre-back will spend this season on loan at FC Koln in the Bundesliga after hugely impressing in his two late season starts for Jose Mourinho's side last season. He attracted a great deal of attention for his performance on his Premier League debut in a crunch tie against Liverpool, where he kept Luis Suarez in his pocket throughout. With Terry, Cahill and Luiz in front of him, he didn't see much action until that point despite having been no less impressive during two years on loan at Vitesse Arnhem between 2011 and 2013. His greatest asset is undoubtedly his speed, which can see him cover ground and break up attacks in the blink of an eye. He's undoubtedly got the talent to make it at the club, but it will be interesting to see where he turns out for Koln this season. While Chelsea may not have a huge number of options in the centre of defence this season, he'll have to compete with Kurt Zouma, Andreas Christensen (already a first team member) and Kenneth Omeruo (at loan at Middlesbrough, but a regular in the Nigerian national team) to lock down his place even before Mourinho makes any more signings. He's not especially tall and may find greater luck pushing for a place on the right, where he played with some success in Holland. When he gets back to the club, a year under the wing of Branislav Ivanovic could do him the world of good and it would not be a surprise to see him settling into Mourinho's considerations in years to come.
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.
