Is Chalobah ready for the first-team?

[The only place to be 11,313]

Chalobah is no where near as good as you think he is, when you go on about Mikel you always go on about Chalobah replacing him. Chalobah is not ready for the premier league at all, he would get torchered.

I disagree (obviously). I think he ticks all the boxes although you're welcome to point out which areas you think he's lacking in.

I like him and I'm glad we do have another youth prospect but you're also talking about different things. McEachran wont make our team till he's 23, that's my opinion, you maythink otherwise fair enough.

No I think you might be right about Josh. Technically brilliant but has to be able to use those talents effectively in match situations. I think finding a team which can utilise his skill-set is going to be nigh-on impossible though which might mean he's better off coming back here. He needs to be around quality players - he's like a Formula 1 gear box. Unless you're going to put him alongside high-calibre parts he's simply not going to work that well.

Essien, pointless bringing him into the convosation, he's past it, his loan was pretty much getting rid of him.

I agree with the second part but what I was alluding to is that age and current level of competition don't have to be the defining factors in whether a player is part of next season's squad.

It's no secret that I'm a fan of Chalobah, but I'll be honest and say that I think he has all the tools he needs right now. He also has tools that 90% of pros will NEVER develop.

[Chels 238]

Good read mate, enjoyed that, thanks for taking the time. You have obviously thought about it.

They have just been speaking about him and Josh on talk sport...drivetime.

I would defo have him in the squad next season he looks like he has it all. Lets hope we give him the chance to step up to the next level.

I would also have Josh in the squad next season buts that's off subject..... maybe you could write up your analysis on him ?

[Kojo 4,676]

I disagree (obviously). I think he ticks all the boxes although you're welcome to point out which areas you think he's lacking in.

No I think you might be right about Josh. Technically brilliant but has to be able to use those talents effectively in match situations. I think finding a team which can utilise his skill-set is going to be nigh-on impossible though which might mean he's better off coming back here. He needs to be around quality players - he's like a Formula 1 gear box. Unless you're going to put him alongside high-calibre parts he's simply not going to work that well.

I agree with the second part but what I was alluding to is that age and current level of competition don't have to be the defining factors in whether a player is part of next season's squad.

It's no secret that I'm a fan of Chalobah, but I'll be honest and say that I think he has all the tools he needs right now. He also has tools that 90% of pros will NEVER develop.

Well it's nice optimism, but the shame of it is, i think age is a definite factor. 18 year old defensive midfielder is very young, and there is a huge difference with the Championship and Premier League.

Chalobah is obviously a big talent, but i really don't think he is ready. It's a shame because we really lack midfielders, especially defensive ones, but I think we will have to go in the market instead of looking into the youth. Keep Chalobah where he is if you ask me.

[The only place to be 11,313]

Well it's nice optimism, but the shame of it is, i think age is a definite factor. 18 year old defensive midfielder is very young, and there is a huge difference with the Championship and Premier League.

All fair points. There's no getting away from the fact that he is 18 and you don't see many 18 year olds in such prominent positions because most simply aren't ready.

Equally you shouldn't see a 19 year old starting in defence in a Champions League quarter-final against Didier Drogba but Varane is an exceptional talent.

Chalobah is obviously a big talent, but i really don't think he is ready. It's a shame because we really lack midfielders, especially defensive ones, but I think we will have to go in the market instead of looking into the youth. Keep Chalobah where he is if you ask me.

I think the middle ground could be him spending at least part of the pre-season with us for the new manager to assess. That might actually work in his favour as everyone will have a relatively clean slate.

[themightyblue 443]

Lets see how he does on pre-season with the rest of squad and then judge. However, as has been pointed out the gap between the Championship and playing for Chelsea in the Premier League and Europe is huge. If he comes here he won't play week in week out, but could be a massive asset to the squad. Whereas if he goes on loan he'll develop further playing every game and come back even better and maybe just as good as Mikel, Ramires, Romeu etc with a PL season under his belt. Big dilemma.

[Bir_CFC 3,455]

Send him on loan in the PL next season, call him back in January. If he's doing good add him to the squad if not send him to the championship.

To play a guy that young in a position of such influence is very risky. Regardless of if he's good enough that position is there to provide confidence to the back 4 and the front 4-5 that he'll keep it safe and tight. With a player like Chalobah just the simple fact that he's 18 and inexperienced at the top level will always force Luiz and others around to keep him in their peripherals and almost try to spoon feed him.

He needs to learn some things the hard way, make some mistakes at a team where one mistake won't relegate you to the bench for the rest of the year.

He makes one bad mistake in his first game, he's instantly third choice at Chelsea behind Mikel and Romeu, then wait till a Carling Cup game to maybe get that spot back.

[Muzchap 8,966]

For the MILLIONTH TIME YES!!!

I have a Watford season ticket holder friend £567 year for him, misses and two kids...

He CANNOT STOP RAVING ABOUT CHALOBAH his words - take Carrick and Modric and blend them together and you get CHALOBAH

He said he has so much time on the ball it's unreal - he cannot understand why he isn't in our FIRST TEAM - he said you guys fucked up and maybe Watford will get promoted because of it...

So YES IN EVERY LANGUAGE - 3rd name on team sheet next year behind Mata and Hazard.... Simples....

[Muzchap 8,966]

Also all this experience blah blah

Every year he plays outside of the Chelsea team is another year he needs to adapt back to Chelsea when he is allegedly 'finished and ready as a product'

Better to let him play and learn in the Chelsea team as he will be the midfield strength.

Just play him already I'd play him and Luiz in midfield and buy another quality CB - nice Pivot then and Mikel / Ramires as back-up... Or Romeu if he's fit again next season...

CHALOBAH could sneak into the World Cup squad - laugh at me now - but lets see come next summer

[MHL 47 378]

Depends on a whole number of things:

1. Who'll be in charge of his development at Chelsea
2. How many games he'll be given if he's at Chelsea
3. After playing almost all season at Watford, will he feel playing a bit part, which is possibly all he'd get and/or be ready for, be enough for his own views on his development
4. Who'll be the manager next season
5. Is he ready? A friend of mine who played a high standard and who's opinion I respect has watched Watford all season and says he's been generally very good. He has his doubts whether he's strong enough or experienced enough to cope with the speed, strength and ball movement in the PL

I personally would have a look at him pre-season, maybe even keep him for the first three months of the season and give him cup games and the odd EL/CL game. If he holds his own, then great, if he struggles then get him to a side in the PL or in Europe to get him top flight experience. His youth and relative inexperience make him a risk at the top level, who's prepared to take it?

[22mek22 133]

The thought of a double pivot with De Bruyne and Chalobah, with Hazard Mata Oscar infront makes my balls tingle

[blu35_army 551]

if Watford and Zola got promotion to PL next season,,the best option is still loan him. we can watch and judge after 38 match played.....

[BlueLyon 9,359]

Well he could do a Pogba (in that case he must be a realy big talent) and get a handull of games next year or he just isnt ready yet. Solely based on champ. performances you cant compare players to those in PL. Its the jump that a player can do when going to PL level from championship.

Both Pogba and Chalobah were good talents, Pogba then left and improved hugely. He is three times better player than he was at Manu. So if Chalobah comes, current level wont be enough. He will have to improve quickly and prove himself.

What Pogba makes succesfull talent is also his personality which is completely different than Chalobah. Chalobah is humble and all while Pogba is very cocky and wants to play on top level, wants to be in center of attention and his excesive work is certainly paying off. His ambitions are much higher than the ones of Chalobah at the moment. That is why he left United after all.

Chalobah should be given 2/3 DM position after Mikel and Romeu. Play him in Fa games, carling games and vs small team games. No need to buy another DM in this case. But at the very moment he couldnt be a starter or better than Mikel here.

[Rekin 835]

I am a huge fan of the guy, watched him a lot in Chelsea youth games and was almost always impressed.
I see him as a star in the future, perhaps even becoming the captain. He fits my vision of the Essien-role in the old 4-3-3 perfectly, and that is why I am keen on seeing him develop as well as possible.

The last point is why I do not want to see him with the first team next season. At this point in his career, development is key, and development comes mainly from playing against qualified opposition. He is obviously ready for the next step after the championship, meaning a loan to a club in the best leagues.
While from an emotional point of view I would absolutely love to see him play day in and day out in Chelsea starting today, we have to remember that he is after all an 18-year old kid who hasnt yet played a full season. Saying that he is ready for being an important player in the first team at this point is completely unfounded.
The championship is a much worse league than the premier league, and we have no idea how he will cope with that step. Adding to that, he is far from a finished player, there are still issues that he can improve. I would like to see a higher tempo in his game and even more strength in his body as two minor examples.
Chelsea is not at the moment the best place to be developed in, and most managers that would come here would have an immense pressure on them to achieve success, it is highly debatable whether they would be prepared to take such a huge risk in such an important position, not from the start at any rate. Do not even get me started on how unlikely any playing time would be for him if drifted out of top3.

No, I do believe in the kid, but I think everyone in this scenario would benefit if he spent around two more years on a loan, provided that it is in a premier league club where he gets to play regurarly. Preferebly with Watford the first season if they go up, and then in a club like Everton the next one.

After those two years we will have three years to judge instead of one, and he will have great opportunities to adapt his game to the PL even more. Win-win if you ask me.

[TorontoChelsea 4,064]

I don't think "is he ready" is the right question because you can't prove that anybody is not ready. Can you prove that Leif isn't good enough for Chelsea? He is good enough to play sparingly for Chelsea. Lots of players are. The real question is, is it a good move for him to be at Chelsea next season, and the answer is almost certainly no. It's not good for him and it's not good for the club. He needs to develop and he won't do that at Chelsea. Also, people are making a massive mistake if they think that looking very good in the Championship equates to success in the Premier League. It's a massive massive step up. What European league would be the equal of the Championship? The Championship has no teams in UEFA's top 450. Would you say that somebody who has done very well in the Latvian or Slovenian first division is ready to play regularly for Chelsea? Of course not. You'd want them to prove their worth at a higher level. How many players have come from the Championship and made immediate impacts with top clubs? I actually can't think of any of the top of my head. Chelsea need to win, we need to improve, we need to challenge for trophies. That's the purpose of the club. People are way too obsessed with making sure our young players get a shot.

It doesn't really matter because we're going to get a new manager and some new signings next season. Chelsea are going to spend tens of millions of pounds like every year. That's what top teams in England do to stay competitive. I'd say the odds of him playing a big role at Chelsea next season are under 100/1. The most likely scenario is a loan to a lower-table Premier League side and probably for more than one year. (And Pogba is a very different case. Italian teams have almost no money so they have to give young players chances. Seria A clubs spent a net 12M pounds. Premier League clubs spent 364M.)

[Reddish-Blue 2,513]

I don't think "is he ready" is the right question because you can't prove that anybody is not ready. Can you prove that Leif isn't good enough for Chelsea? He is good enough to play sparingly for Chelsea. Lots of players are. The real question is, is it a good move for him to be at Chelsea next season, and the answer is almost certainly no. It's not good for him and it's not good for the club. He needs to develop and he won't do that at Chelsea. Also, people are making a massive mistake if they think that looking very good in the Championship equates to success in the Premier League. It's a massive massive step up. What European league would be the equal of the Championship? The Championship has no teams in UEFA's top 450. Would you say that somebody who has done very well in the Latvian or Slovenian first division is ready to play regularly for Chelsea? Of course not. You'd want them to prove their worth at a higher level. How many players have come from the Championship and made immediate impacts with top clubs? I actually can't think of any of the top of my head. Chelsea need to win, we need to improve, we need to challenge for trophies. That's the purpose of the club. People are way too obsessed with making sure our young players get a shot.

It doesn't really matter because we're going to get a new manager and some new signings next season. Chelsea are going to spend tens of millions of pounds like every year. That's what top teams in England do to stay competitive. I'd say the odds of him playing a big role at Chelsea next season are under 100/1. The most likely scenario is a loan to a lower-table Premier League side and probably for more than one year. (And Pogba is a very different case. Italian teams have almost no money so they have to give young players chances. Seria A clubs spent a net 12M pounds. Premier League clubs spent 364M.)

I wouldn't say people are way too obsessed about our youngsters...but it's always good to see a talented youngster break into the first team...something Chelsea hasn't seen for a long, long time.

Also, when a youngster breaks into the first team, it provides proof that our youth system is doing its job.

I get that Chelsea need to improve, win trophies & with the right manager in place, I think we can achieve the right balance between high-profile stars and potentially 2-3 youngsters in the first team squad.

[gary gordon 1,777]

The entire youth set-up in football is an absolute joke imo. So many players rot away playing on some half assed training ground week in and week out. I know Rugby league is nowhere in comparison to football, but here in Australia, the youth set up is extraordinary. The under 20 (youth comp) open for the first division every week. This means they get to travel and play in front of the same crowed as the "big boys". This has proved a massive success as at least 5 players per team graduate to the first division every year, some to there parent club and some get picked up by rival clubs.

My point is, some players thrive on big crowds to perform and it also gets players ready for what to expect in the future. It's also good for sponsorship and television ratings as people have a chance to see how the youth system is going and players get more exposure.

[JDY 1,290]

Juventus also have the best midfield trio in Europe, and a back 3 that dominates opponents to the extent where they leave the field feeling like Fernando Torres. That solidity and backbone is something Chalobah will not have if he returns next season.

The transition for Pogba cannot be compared.

[communicate 2,703]

Is. Chalobah the young player who came in in one of our preseason game ?

We need to send him to another EPL team on loan then we can judge his level better

[coolhead23 1,147]

Good read, mate!

I do agree that Chalobah is a talent which can be the new poster boy for our academy but as much as i m excited by the prospect, I don’t want to get my hopes too high because over the years our so called talents have not turned up the way we expected. Having said that I m pinning my hopes yet again on Chalobah and I would want him to be on loan for another season atleast.

He has already demonstrated that he good at the championship level … now if possible the management should think of raising that level or if Watford gets into PL next season we should extend his loan as he is bound to get more game time. More over performing at the next level would only help his cause in terms of confidences, development, adaptability and a smooth passage into the first team (meaning more game time)

And at the same time, if the management has learned for our past mistakes we might have a steady manager who would be taking interest in our youth which means it might be much easier for Chalobah to blend into the first team with game time.

Everything at this moment is hope, hope and hope ….

P.S: I would have wanted him in the team next season if we had a manager who was there for some time and was in total control.

[TorontoChelsea 4,064]

I wouldn't say people are way too obsessed about our youngsters...but it's always good to see a talented youngster break into the first team...something Chelsea hasn't seen for a long, long time.

Also, when a youngster breaks into the first team, it provides proof that our youth system is doing its job.

I get that Chelsea need to improve, win trophies & with the right manager in place, I think we can achieve the right balance between high-profile stars and potentially 2-3 youngsters in the first team squad.

No top team has 2-3 youngsters in their starting XI. (If by unproven you mean having little experience at the top level). It's rare to even have one and when they do have one, it's almost always someone they scouted and bought. You look at players who have say, under 25 games of good European league experience.. ManU, Man City, Spurs, and Arsenal have a combined 0 players in the regular starting XI. Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Bayern also have 0. If you go to less than 50 games experience at a top level, you have a few like Nestasic and Caulker. If you talk about players that play regularly but aren't starting XI you get Verane, Tello, Shaquiri, and others. but again, it's a small number of players. If you can involve one young, inexperienced player in the regular rotation every year, you're doing well. I you're trying to get 2-3 unproven youngsters in your starting XI, you're not a contender, you're a mid-table team. There's too much money in football now, to compete with youngsters. You're going to beat teams buying world-class players and full internationals by bringing in players who looked good in the Championship or impressed in the youth team?

It's not easy to adapt to Premier League football. You look at someone like Oscar who was playing at a fairly high level in Brazil and for their national team, and he's had a very tough year and he's miles ahead of Chalobah right now. I like Chalobah's future, but what's the point in trying to force it? Let him develop at his own pace and if/when he's ready to step in and play a big part. Chelsea have a number of young players who are ready to contribute. De Bruyne and Lukaku should be on the squad next year and Courtois is ready when needed. Our youth policy is to buy the best young players and it's generally working. There's no need to force things. (In fact, I think Tom Cleverly another former Watford loanee is a good example of how to do things. He was Watford's player of the year in 2009-2010, ManU then loaned him to Wigan in the Premier League the next season where he played 25 games. Last year, he came back to ManU and played in 15 matches and this year, he's forced himself into a regular and important role).