Tomáš Kalas

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Tomáš Kalas
0Full Name	Tomáš Kalas
0Date of Birth	15 May 1993
0Place of Birth	Olomouc, Czech Republic
0Position	Defender
0Chelsea career	2010 - 2019
0Debut	29 October 2013
0Games (goals)	4 (0)
0Other clubs	Sigma Olomouc Vitesse Arnhem (loan) 1.FC Köln (loan) Middlesbrough (loan) Fulham (loan) Bristol City (loan)

Tomáš Kalas (born 15 May 1993 in Olomouc, Czech Republic) is a Czech international who formerly played for Chelsea

Contents 1 Pre-Chelsea career 2 Chelsea career 3 International 4 Career statistics 5 Career honours

Pre-Chelsea career

Tomáš signed for his local side Sigma Olomouc at a young age and progressed through the youth ranks to make a first-team debut as 16 year-old.

Chelsea career

Comfortable at either right back or centre back, Tomáš impressed Chelsea scouts during the 2010 European Under-17 Championships in Liechtenstein, where he would play against future club colleagues Josh McEachran and Nathaniel Chalobah. Despite widespread interest from across Europe, particularly from Hoffenheim and Arsenal, he decided to sign for Chelsea in July 2010.

Part of the deal was the importance of allowing him to remain in the Czech Republic for another season, and to move to London in mid-2011, but after spending the winter break in England, the decision was taken to have Tomáš make the move early.

He made his debut for the reserve team away to Aston Villa, and the Youth Team shortly after at home against Ipswich Town. He quickly became a key part of the club's FA Youth Cup campaign and was impressive in the run to the demi-finals.

Ahead of the 2011-12 season Tomáš featured for the first team in pre-season under new manager André Villas-Boas before joining Dutch affiliate Vitesse Arnhem on loan for the season. The young Czech was one of the stars of the campaign in being a central figure in one of the league's stingiest defences and Vitesse's return to the UEFA Europa League for the first time in over a decade. Kalas scored his first goal in senior football during the play-offs for European qualification; a stupendous 30-yard strike on the volley away against RKC Waalwijk.

He returned to the club for another season in 2012-13 and despite an early elimination from the Europa League, his campaign started well and he grabbed another goal, this time away to Groningen. Unlike the previous campaign, Tomáš saw most of his football at right-back, something he claimed to have found unusual yet beneficial for his long-term career prospects. He was a regular feature in the squad for the season consecutive year and amongst the best young defenders in the league.

Prior to the 2013-14 season returning Chelsea manager José Mourinho confirmed that the Czech defender would be a member of the first team squad for the coming season. [1] He made his debut against Arsenal in the League Cup on 29 October, coming on as a late substitute. He also appeared late on in a UEFA Champions League match against Galatasaray in March 2014, replacing Willian with seconds remaining.

His first start for the club came in a Premier League match at Anfield towards the end of the 2013-14 season. With John Terry injured and Gary Cahill rested ahead of a Champions League semi-final, Kalas put in an impressive performance as Chelsea won the match 2-0.

Requiring more regular first-team football however, Tomas joined 1.FC Köln on loan for the duration of the 2014-15 season in early June. Without a single first-team minute to his name by the time the winter break rolled around, he duly departed and headed to Middlesbrough on a three-month deal, joining fellow Chelsea loanees Patrick Bamford and Kenneth Omeruo there. He helped contribute to a promotion campaign that fell just short of suceeding but was enamoured enough with his new club that he stayed with them beyond the end of his contract to offer his support in the final weeks of the campaign. It was therefore not a surprise that he re-signed with them for the 2015-16 season and, although he wasn't always a regular in the side, he made thirty appearances in finally getting them over the line in returning to the top flight after a nine-year hiatus.

Middlesbrough opted against signing him for their Premier League adventure, so he joined Chelsea's West London neighbours Fulham in an effort to repeat the feat in 2016-17. Playoff disappointment saw them fall short at the Semi Final stage, but his job wasn't done. Returning to Craven Cottage for a second season, a playoff final win over Aston Villa saw him achieve his second promotion in three seasons.

Again, however, the opportunity of a Premier League campaign eluded him. Still in the Championship, this time he joined Bristol City for the season, but was unable to repeat the promotion trick. On July 1st 2019 he made a permanent exit from Chelsea, staying at City for a club-record fee in the region of £8m.

International

Tomáš has represented the Czech Republic at every level up to the senior squad. He made his full international debut in November 2012 against Slovakia.

Career statistics

Youth, Reserve and Under-21 Football

Season	Under-18		NextGen		Under-21		Total
	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
2010-11	4	0	-	-	10	0	14	0
2011-12	0	0	-	-	1	0	1	0
Total	4	0	-	-	11	0	15	0

Senior Club Football

Season	Club	League		FA Cup		League Cup		Europe		Other		Total
		Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
2011-12	Vitesse (loan)	33	1	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	37	1
2012-13	Vitesse (loan)	34	1	3	0	0	0	3	0	0	0	40	1
2013-14	Chelsea	2	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	4	0
2014-15	FC Koln (loan)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2014-15	Middlesbrough (loan)	17	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	17	0
2015-16	Middlesbrough (loan)	26	0	1	0	3	0	0	0	0	0	30	0
2016-17	Fulham (loan)	38	1	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	40	1
2017-18	Fulham (loan)	35	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	36	0
2018-19	Bristol City (loan)	39	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	40	0
Total		223	3	12	0	4	0	4	0	0	0	243	3

Career honours

• Premier Reserve League 2010-11