Sam Walker has spent the first half of this season on loan at Northampton Town and been their first choice keeper from opening day. As documented in the loan roundups, Walker has been reliable if unspectacular with his time on loan. In his 24 starts on loan, Walker was called into action to make 87 saves and kept 4 clean sheets. After Northampton completed the signing of Shane Higgs yesterday, Chelsea have decided to recall Walker to Cobham immediately.
It's unclear what exactly the future will hold for Walker. His contract runs down in 6 months, so it's quite possible that a January sale could be coming. We could see Walker extend, as he was certainly good enough in his time on loan to be considered as a future backup. We could loan him out again, or we could simply see him slot in as the reserves #1. It's even plausible that we could use him in one of our homegrown spots and leave Hilario off of our 25 man roster entirely. I'm sure we'll hear more on this in the coming weeks, but for now I'll just be satisfied that Walker will no longer be hung out to dry by probably the worst back four in league football.