Coming through the RC Lens academy in his native France, the Lille-born youngster could easily have seen Coupe de France time in 2007-08 if he was to stay, but the allure and attraction of Chelsea was enough for the youngster to come over.
Kakuta moved to Chelsea in 2007 and became a player for the youth team. He impressed at Chelsea after his first reserve game alongside teammate Michael Ballack. The German international told journalists, "Go see the French lad, he is the star". Kakuta soon began to flourish earning the Academy Scholar of the Year award after his first season with Chelsea. He was also voted Academy Player of the Year after finishing as the top scorer in the youth side finishing his first Chelsea season with 12 goals in 24 appearances. This included a hat trick against Port Vale in the FA Youth Cup.
For the 200809 season, Kakuta was given the opportunity to train with the first team, though he was still limited to playing with the club's reserve team. In February 2009, Kakuta saw his progress come to a shuddering halt when he suffered a double ankle fracture in a friendly against the Glenn Hoddle Academy. Kakuta missed six months returning to the team in August for a youth game against local side Queens Park Rangers.
On 1 September 2009, Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti added Kakuta to his Champions League squad. Kakuta made his much anticipated Premier League debut during a home match against Wolverhampton Wanderers on 21 November 2009 as a substitute replacing Nicolas Anelka on the hour, impressing largely with his tricks, skills, pace and enthusiasm. On 2 December 2009, he came on as a half-time substitute for Joe Cole during the quarter-final match of the League Cup against Blackburn Rovers losing on penalties when he missed the decisive penalty in the shoot-out.
On 8 December 2009, he made his Champions League debut against APOEL. He became the youngest Chelsea player to ever represent the club in the Champions League. He played 73 minutes before being substituted by Fabio Borini. The match ended in a 22 draw. Carlo Ancelotti was not satisfied with the team's performance but was very positive about the French youth international: "We had no intensity and no concentration, it was a very bad game from us. The only positive of the night was Gaël Kakuta. He played very well, he showed his fantastic talent. He trains very well everyday and will be the future of Chelsea."
On 11 September 2010, he played his second Premier League game for Chelsea in a derby against West Ham United, coming on as a substitute for Nicolas Anelka in the 76th minute. Kakuta also made an appearance in the Champions League match against MSK Zilina on 15 September 2010.
On 22 September, Kakuta started a match in the League Cup and coming off at halftime in a match which ended 43 to Newcastle. He then provided the assist for a seventh minute John Terry goal in a 20 win over Olympique Marseille.
On 21 December 2010, Kakuta signed a new four-and-a-half year contract with Chelsea, committing himself to the club until 2015. Kakuta expressed his desire to leave because he says he is unwilling to sit on the bench for another year.
Kakuta joined Bolton Wanderers on loan for the first half of the 2011-12 season, but struggled to make an impact, making just six appearances in his spell at the club. He joined French club Dijon for the second half of the season where he was much more successful, scoring 5 goals in 14 appearances for the Burgandy side.
He spent the 2012-13 season on loan again, this time in the Netherlands for Vitesse Arnhem. As part of the relationship between Chelsea and Vitesse, a number of young Blues have spent time on loan at the Geldredome and Kakuta was joined by Tomas Kalas and Patrick van Aanholt during his time there. After an initially slow start, Gael became a regular for a team chasing for the title and weighed in with a goal and seven assists as they qualified for the Europa League.
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He'll be off now, won't he, with Hazard signing looking imminent. I would imagine we're looking for someone else, perhaps Hulk, but anyway, unless we decide to never play him on the wing again and play him as the out and out 2nd choice striker behind Torres, I can't see him staying as a 3rd choice winger.
