CONFIRMED: Chelsea recall loan player to play “important role” this season | OneFootball

Things have been heading in this direction for some time, but it’s now finally confirmed.

David Ornstein has just reported for the Athletic that Chelsea have activated their option to recall Trevoh Chalobah from Crystal Palace.

The Blues tried to sell the central defender in the summer, but after not finding a satisfactory deal, agreed to loan him out until the end of the season with their London neighbours. However the deal included a recall clause for this month, and Chelsea have activated it. He made 14 appearances in total for the Eagles.

This has been coming – Chalobah was left out of Palace’s team for the FA Cup game last weekend, and the triggering of this means he will also leave them short handed for tonight’s huge game against Leicester, with little notice.

Loyal Chalobah back for more despite years of bad treatment

Trevoh Chalobah in action for Crystal Palace. (Photo by Bryn Lennon/Getty Images)

Chalobah has never been anything but a committed, loyal and humble servant for Chelsea, despite the way they’ve hawked him around and showed him repeated waves of disrespect in his time since breaking into the first team squad. They gave him a new contract at the end of 2022, tried to flog him in the summer of 2023, found out he was their best defender for most of last season – then tried again to shift him last summer.

The most hilarious part of the brief Ornstein has is that Chalobah is considered an “important part of the squad for the rest of the season” now.

The club wanted rid of him so badly they froze him out in the summer and refused to take him on the preseason tour, compounding years of shabby treatment. Yet a couple of injuries in defence and now he’s an “important part of the squad?” What kind of planning is that?

We’re lucky that the 25 year old is willing to even countenance coming back after all that. But we’re delighted he is, and he should get plenty of minutes both as central defender and as right back cover.