Another weekend in the books, another weekend of loan action to report on. We're in our last couple of these now, so soon everyone will be heading back to London to train with their parent club or off to wherever their respective national teams are training for the summer. We may have some early insight into a loan for next season though, as Vitesse are telling the media that Tomas Kalas will be returning to the club next season. I'd love this if true, as Kalas is already firmly established as a starter there and has not yet developed beyond the Eredivisie. We'll let you know more when we hear it, but for now let's concentrate on what happened this weekend:
- Tomas Kalas - Since we're already talking about him, we may as well let you know how he did. Vitesse squared off against Heerenveen and Kalas was tasked with shutting down Eredivise goals leader Bas Dost. He did an admirable job against the giant Dutchman, and the Vitesse draw leaves them 1 win from assuring they join the playoff for the final Europa League spot. Three regular season games to go, and then potentially two more games as Vitesse tries to qualify for Europe next year.
- Patrick van Aanholt, Ulises Davila - PvA and Davila both took part in the Jong Vitesse fixture midweek, though Davila played terribly and was hauled off after 30 minutes. PvA was a bright spot in that one, and earned a spot on the first team bench where he was unused over the weekend. Both of these guys are in the same boat as Kalas as far as remaining games go, and while I'd expect to see more of PvA, I imagine our next look at Davila will be with the Mexican youth ranks.
Kenneth Omeruo - Omeruo picked up a minor knock in training and was left out over the weekend. No word yet on how this will effect his last three games, but he'll definitely be back with Den Haag next fall as he is an 18 month loan. I wouldn't be surprised if he's moved to the center of the defense over the summer, but he'll certainly be a regular player after his strong debut.
Thibaut Courtois - The big Belgian again had a pair of outings and looked pretty good for the most part. He played well as Atletico defeated Valencia 4-2 in the Europa semis, although he lost his footing on the second goal which he should have easily saved. Still, Atletico are in a good position to advance to the final. He then allowed a goal on the only shot he'd face against Espanyol, although in fairness he didn't have a prayer at that one. He looked good in picking out crosses and distributing the ball in both, so there's certainly good news to report from Spain. There are 4 games remaining in the La Liga schedule and potentially 2 cup games remaining, look for Courtois to start them all as Madrid are in a dogfight for the final Europa places next season.
Matej Delac - Delac was again #2 and on the bench. Tree...Woods...Noise?
Gael Kakuta - Kakuta has looked a bit tired lately, and he started on the bench against Lille this weekend. He did play for a half an hour, but his side were already down 2 goals and a player at that point. Look for Kakuta to return to the starting lineup this week. Dijon have 5 games left to play as they sit only a point clear of relegation, and I'd expect Kakuta to feature heavily in all of them. Gael wants this to be his last loan, so hopefully he'll make the most of this summer and earn his way into the first team.
Josh McEachran - Still in the basket, Josh was again an unused sub. Swansea have 3 games remaining, it will be interesting to see if we get another glimpse of Josh this year.
Kevin De Bruyne - De Bruyne was quiet this weekend as Standard Liege were basically man marking him with two men even when they were in possession of the ball. I doubt Anderlecht takes it that far this weekend, especially as Genk ripped apart the exposed Standard Liege defense for 3 goals that should have been 5 or 6. Genk are now half way through the playoffs in Belgium, so they have 5 games remaining.
Sam Walker - Walker had a good weekend for Yeovil in a 2-2 draw. One goal was a bit of a fluky deflection, the other was a poorly defended header. It would have been really harsh to expect more from Sam on either. Good to see a solid outing after a string of weaker ones from the big guy.
Rhys Taylor - Taylor was placed on the bench for the weekend, but it's believed to be so that the coaching staff could evaluate some other players with next season in mind. No word on whether he'll be back in the first 11 this week yet.
Jeffrey Bruma - Bruma had another start at right back this week and looked solid again. The versatility he's showing will certainly help if he wants to have a role at Chelsea next season, as he's almost certainly a better right back than either Bosingwa or Ferreira already. HSV now need only 1 point in their final 2 games to be officially safe from relegation, I'd expect to see Bruma remain on the right as they seek that point. No word on Bruma's status for next season yet, but I'd expect we'll see him feature some with the national team at the Euros this summer.
Reece Loudon - Loudon again started for Potters Bar and scored in his team's 5-2 win.
Ben Gordon - Gordon had another solid 90 as Killie won 1-0. At this point I'd be surprised to see Gordon remain on the Chelsea books next fall, but he's certainly looked solid in Scotland. Four games to go for Ben, he'll likely start them all.
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