No way we'd sell him. Agree with loaning him to Watford though if they come up which hopefully they do.

 

Playing every week in the Premiership would be great for him.

Zola and Chalobah try to recreate Frank Lampard's wonder goal against Barcelona.

 

 

haha when Chalobah got it in, he was a mile away from the spot where Frank/Zola had done it, still a good attempt.

Someone posted this on CFC Chat. JT is here with young Chalobah, who was at U9's at the time.

 

 

 

The FA think he's a racist

lmao

The FA think he's a racist

You can obviously see his hug is not so sincere towards Nathan.

You can obviously see his hug is not so sincere towards Nathan.

 

Yeah, plus after posing for the photo, he punched Nat in the face.

Watford can buy McEachran if they want a young midfielder from Chelsea, but not Nat!

 

SSN used Chalobah as there example of players flourishing from getting first team experience this morning when talking about the new Under 21 league and youth development in England.

 

The boy is getting some serious attention, will be interesting to see where he is next season. 

Zola and Chalobah try to recreate Frank Lampard's wonder goal against Barcelona.

 

Good to see the chemistry between Chalobah and Gianfranco. But if Watford do launch a bid and make him their priority signing in he summer, would Nathaniel be tempted?

 

Good to see the chemistry between Chalobah and Gianfranco. But if Watford do launch a bid and make him their priority signing in he summer, would Nathaniel be tempted?

 

 

I guess it depends on what Chelsea have told him about their plans for his progression to the first team.

 

If we go and sign two more central midfielders in the summer he might think his path is being blocked and would be better off seeking first team opportunities elsewhere. 

Good to see the chemistry between Chalobah and Gianfranco. But if Watford do launch a bid and make him their priority signing in he summer, would Nathaniel be tempted?

 

 

Not a chance. He knows exactly how good he is (in a good way) and it's way too good for Watford beyond a loan.

 

Watford can buy McEachran if they want a young midfielder from Chelsea, but not Nat!

 

 

 

Erm, no they can't. McEachran is the better footballer of the two. Sure Chalobah has the more solid all round game and has the physical attributes but he doesn't have the ability to thread a pass through the eye of a needle like McEachran or glide past a defender as if they weren't there.

 

BOTH are in the U21 squad for the upcoming Euro's and NEITHER are for sale!!

Erm, no they can't. McEachran is the better footballer of the two. Sure Chalobah has the more solid all round game and has the physical attributes but he doesn't have the ability to thread a pass through the eye of a needle like McEachran or glide past a defender as if they weren't there.

 

BOTH are in the U21 squad for the upcoming Euro's and NEITHER are for sale!!

 

I actually think it is time to stop wasting time on McEachran. If he can't make it in a very ordinary Championship, he is unlikely to make it in the Prem. He looks lightweight, hasn't grown or filled out as the club would have wanted and even Boro' lost patience with his in and out form.  Good standard Championship player - Yes,  Chelsea first team? Not on your life !!! 

I actually think it is time to stop wasting time on McEachran. If he can't make it in a very ordinary Championship, he is unlikely to make it in the Prem. He looks lightweight, hasn't grown or filled out as the club would have wanted and even Boro' lost patience with his in and out form.  Good standard Championship player - Yes,  Chelsea first team? Not on your life !!! 

 

How can you write off a lad who has only just turned 20 (in March)? 

 

Tom Cleverly is 23 (24 in August) and had loan spells at Leicester City, Watford and Wigan and only this year got his chance in the United first team.

 

Josh will have learned a lot from his loan spell this season and still has much to learn, rather premature to write him off if you ask me. 

When Pirlo broke through properly with Milan he was around 22, now he is considered one of the best DLPs.

I read an explanation about that kind of player, put simply they use their football brains and it takes longer to perfect your vision than it takes to run past players. So explosive players like Walcott or Chamberlain will burst onto the scene before a player like McEachran or Cleverly because their skills and tallents are much easier to harness at a young age

lads, coombs knows what he's doing. our only job is to now wait for nibs' furious reply. a reply that will betray years of younger sibling anger. just sit back, grab the popcorn, and enjoy.

 

nibs, sir.

 

are you going to take that?

 

nerr nerr nerrr neerrr

Erm, no they can't. McEachran is the better footballer of the two. Sure Chalobah has the more solid all round game and has the physical attributes but he doesn't have the ability to thread a pass through the eye of a needle like McEachran or glide past a defender as if they weren't there.

 

BOTH are in the U21 squad for the upcoming Euro's and NEITHER are for sale!!

 

I have to agree with the elder brother, sorry Nibs.

McEachran's kinda become the English Mikel- sure, in theory, he's capable of doing what you mentioned, but he very rarely puts it in to practice. The loan was designed to help him become more attacking and gain confidence and experience, but it's starting to look like he doesn't have that extra gear in his locker.

I have to agree with the elder brother, sorry Nibs.

McEachran's kinda become the English Mikel

 

 

That left me completely speechless and in a case of shock.

lads, coombs knows what he's doing. our only job is to now wait for nibs' furious reply. a reply that will betray years of younger sibling anger. just sit back, grab the popcorn, and enjoy.

 

nibs, sir.

 

are you going to take that?

 

nerr nerr nerrr neerrr

 

Good spot G3.7 and although I very nearly took the bait, I managed to stay calm and rise above it.  

 

I’ve said more than enough on young Josh and I don’t want to go on again but I will!). I still stand by what I’ve always maintained. He is special and he is the best passer of a football we have at the entire club. But I do appreciate he hasn’t kicked on as we would have hoped and I think there are many reasons for that. AVB handled him terribly. After he was one of our best performers in pre-season and following on from his good showings under Ancelotti, AVB put him on the bench for just about every game from August until January and I think he might have got on the pitch once. That is demoralising for a youngster and a total waste of a season – especially when he was then sent to Swansea where Rodgers decided not to use him as he had such an established side by then.

 

He started brilliantly at Boro but has been playing through an ankle injury and it’s hard for any player to shine in a struggling side when not 100% fit. I’ll admit he doesn’t dominate games like I hoped he would do by now (like Wilshere does), but I think his confidence has been hit. Despite the celebrity girlfriend (which might also be a factor), he’s clearly a very shy and quiet lad and that won’t help his cause. I’ve seen it plenty of times at all levels of football – the quiet lads who by their very nature don’t cause a fuss and don’t speak up for themselves, it just makes it easier for coaches to not give them a fair crack.

 

He’s still only 20 with plenty of time on his side but that said, the clock is ticking, especially on his career at Chelsea. Not sure if Mourinho is the ideal appointment for Josh (or any of our youngsters for that matter) but all we can hope is that they are all assessed and he can see they are worth giving a fair chance to. At some point decisions have to be made on promising youngsters – you cannot just lose the problems by loaning them to other clubs. As Dermot Drummy said, it’s all very well sending youngsters out on loan – it’s an important part of their development, but at some point they have to get a chance as you will never get an answer unless you actually play them. In Josh’s case, he never looked out of place when he did play for the first team, in fact in a couple of those matches he was the best player on the pitch, despite the fact he was only 17.

 

It’s still my hope that we see both Nat & Josh feature for both Chelsea and England for many years to come.

sorry, think you need to get realistic...I like Josh, but I doubt he's going to be given the chance to make it at Chelsea...this club is run by politics as much as talent, which means expensive signings, senior and youth, will always be placed ahead of him...me thinks Josh will have to move elsewhere to get a chance of regular first team football

Never once been impressed with Josh to be honest, while in comparison, Ake and Loftus Cheek both looked good in the last week.

Edited May 24, 201313 yr by Jonty

Josh was very impressive in the youth team. And looked very good in the first team games he played under Carlo, in both champions league and cups

From the BBC:

 

Watford midfielder Nathaniel Chalobah impresses his manager in almost every area, except with his walk.

"He's got this cocky walking style. It makes him look different to how he is," joked Hornets boss Gianfranco Zola.

"We are working on it. But we're doing better with his work on the pitch."

 

Chalobah, 18, currently has good reason to be strutting around, after being named May's Football League Young Player of the Month to cap a tremendous season that will culminate in a Championship play-off final against Crystal Palace on Monday.

 

It is a tie Watford earned with a remarkable semi-final second leg against Leicester, which saw the Foxes miss a potentially match-wining injury-time penalty before Zola's side went straight up to the other end and scored to claim a 3-2 aggregate victory.

"The final is a big game. We're going to try to take the momentum from what was an incredible result," Chalobah, on loan at Watford from Chelsea, told BBC Sport.

"If we take that momentum into the final we will be fine."

 

Until this season, the Sierra Leone-born youngster had never made a professional appearance, but has now played 41 times for Watford, and has five goals and four England Under-21 caps.

So Zola, a legend at Stamford Bridge for his 59 goals in 229 games, has been nailing Chalobah's feet firmly to the ground before his Wembley debut.

"He will need a lot of maturity for the final - not only the skills," said Zola.

"To play a final is not just about skills - it also comes down to intelligence and how you handle yourself in terms of psychological approach.

"You are playing against another team which is as good as you. So you have to rely on your abilities as well as your intelligence. That's what I expect my team to be doing - especially Nathaniel."

 

Chalobah's story of integration at Vicarage Road has parallels throughout the squad.

Players from nine nations have arrived this season, from Argentina through Italy to Belgium.

But Zola has found a way of moulding the various cultures and languages into a team one game away from ending its six-year absence from the Premier League.

 

"I fitted in quite easily," said Chalobah. "All the foreign boys here try to speak English and try to join in with the banter. They never push themselves away from the squad.

"I think I slotted in quite easily. The good thing about this team is we win together and lose together.

"The English lads we have in the team really stamp their authority. They had a chat with the foreign boys when they all came in and showed them how things are done at the club.

"They've been in the Championship and know how it's done."

 

The fact that Watford have made 12 loan signings from sister clubs Udinese and Granada has rankled some, not least Ian Holloway, Zola's opposite number on Monday.

But there is also a British core to the Hornets this season, consisting of Lloyd Doyley, Troy Deeney, Fitz Hall, Jonathan Hogg and Nyron Nosworthy.

"If they are good players we don't care if they are Czech, Italian or English," said Zola.

"Honestly they get along very well.

 

"They realised it was difficult for everyone, because there were a lot of nationalities, some players came later in the season.

"But they found a common interest, which was playing and enjoying football together and becoming a winning team. Everyone married to that purpose.

"People who say we are a team of foreigners players probably didn't check the team sheet. We are patient; it's not a problem.

"I understand that at the beginning of the season we were an unknown team and didn't cause an inconvenience, but towards the end we were getting a little bit too good.

"But I take it as a compliment for my team and myself."