As the transfer deadline approached yesterday we had several young players who were sent out on loan. Matej Delac was an interesting case though, as without a work permit he will not be eligible to be loaned out to a lower division club in England in the coming weeks. Because of that, we really needed to secure a loan with a foreign team prior to yesterday's 11 PM BST deadline or simply keep the youngster in London to train with the club. The club has apparently decided on the London option, and Delac confirmed as much in an interview this morning:
There I will spend this year because it was decided not to go out on loan
Google translate didn't help all that much with this article and it's funny that Matej was translated into Matthew automatically. The basic message is clear though, Delac will be remaining in London as opposed to going on loan. I'd assume that Chelsea were looking for more of a guarantee of playing time than Delac got last year, and with most clubs having their keeper situation settled at this point I'm sure that was hard to find. That's one downfall of the timing of the U20 World Cup...players are going to miss the final preparation and opening of their club seasons because of the tournament.
Delac may still be granted a work permit, as it appears the club has not gone down that road yet. Unlike recently the recently denied Joel Campbell (Arsenal), the 6'4" keeper has been called up to the Croatian senior side as an emergency keeper in World Cup and European qualifying. That has to help Delac's case, as not many players (and even fewer goalkeepers) get senior nods at 17. If granted one, Delac would be eligible to play anywhere in England (the lower division loan window opens again 9/8).
Without knowing whom we were talking to, it's hard to get a real feel for what's going on. If we weren't able to get the kid a guarantee of playing time, I'd rather he stay at Cobham regardless of the work permit situation. He's going to improve more training with Chelsea's players than he will training with a club like Vitesse. This will also give our coaches a long chance to evaluate Delac so we can reach a better decision about his future with the club and hopefully avoid another Slobodan Rajkovic type situation.
All in all, I hope the kid is granted a work permit. He's a real solid young talent, and I'd really like to see him get a few runs with the reserves this year. With Hilario's contract up, it would be nice to know we can loan out Courtois again because Delac and Turnbull are capable of backing up Cech. Hopefully we get a little more clarity on the situation soon, but at least he's not being sent out to rot again like he was last year.