Nathaniel Chalobah has been among the ranks at Chelsea for quite a long time. Chalobah made his under 18 debut for the Blue at the tender age of 15, and made his first senior bench appearance at the same age in the Carling Cup at home to Newcastle. Since then, the Sierra-Leone-born-Englishman has been a regular in both the the under 18 and reserve teams at Chelsea, playing as either centre back, or centre midfield. Chalobah went away on a six month loan in August 2012 to Championship side, Watford, and has been doing well ever since. It was quite the aggressive loan, sending him to the Championship at the age of 17, but Chalobah has dealt with the pressures and has become a regular in the starting 11 for the hornets. Due to his impressive displays, Chelsea and Watford agreed to extending the loan agreement in January to terminate at the end of the season.
Nathaniel Chalobah has also represented the England national side at a few different age levels. He made his under 16 debut for the three lions at the age of only 13 in 2008, and by 2009 he had already progressed to the under 17 squad, aged 14. He then went on to captain England to the 2010 European Championship victory at under 17 level, aged 15. Chalobah made his under 19 debut in September 2011, and is currently the captain. Nathaniel was called up to the England under 21 squad last November for a match against Northern Ireland, coming on for Jordan Henderson in the centre midfield role in the 76th minute, aged 17.
As I said earlier, Chalobah has been impressing at Watford, and is arguably the best centre midfielder in the entire league. He has made 29 appearances for Watford to date, and has racked up an impressive 2260 minutes on the field. Although being defensively minded, Chalobah has scored an impressive four goals to date, including a lovely struck volley from the edge of the box in a 1-1 draw against Burnley, three days after his 18th birthday.
Chalobah is a composed player who doesn't take any unnecessary risks, and plays the game very safely. It does benefit him that he started his career playing as a centre back, and has taken that composure and discipline into the centre midfield role. Chalobah is very quick in the tackle, and wins a lot of aerial duels, standing at 6 foot 1. Chalobah's work rate is also something to note, as he gives his all for the full 90 minutes, never giving in.
I think if he was at Chelsea right now, he would certainly see some playing time. Earlier on I said Chalobah is arguably the best centre midfielder in the Championship at the moment, but he would easily fit into half the Premier League's midfield's at the moment. Chelsea have been low on numbers in the double pivot role, especially when John Obi Mikel was competing in the African Cup of Nations. Chalobah would fit in brilliantly there. However, taking this into account I still think it was the best option to have sent him on loan to Watford, as he starts pretty much every game.
I'm not entirely sure what I would do with Chalobah regarding next season if it was up to me. I do hope Watford get promoted, so he can stay there for another season, whilst competing in the best league in the world. It would be such a shame if they didn't, and he got loaned to another Premier League club, where he didn't see regular minutes (like Josh McEachran at Swansea).
Although I'm not sure the best option for him next season, I am sure that Nathaniel Chalobah is certainly a name to look out for, for both Chelsea and the England national side.
 |
No comments:
Post a Comment