When I was searching out Chelsea news this morning, I came across something fairly interesting in several places. According to reports out of the Czech Republic, Chelsea will be monitoring right back Gebre Selassie today as he faces off against Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal. While this report isn't all that well sourced, it almost certainly has to be true. I'm sure Chelsea and virtually all other major clubs will have scouts in attendance at every remaining game of this tournament, as they will at every game of the Olympics in London. Selassie is an interesting right back, Chelsea need a right back, so I'm sure it's not much of a jump to put the two together. Without a doubt, Chelsea will be watching him play.
Where this rumor gets interesting is the likelihood of a move. Selassie plays his club football in the Czech Republic, so with the tournament he's having it's almost a lock that he'll be moving on this summer. He's a physical marvel, with excellent size for a fullback and a background as a marathoner before his footballing days. He's also extremely unproven at the upper level, with just a handful of international appearances marking his entire experience against truly elite competition.
Obviously there is nothing concrete here, but watching the Selassie/Ronaldo matchup this afternoon is going to be absolutely fascinating. I've certainly warned against making too much from a handful of games in this tournament, but when you have a player getting his first real exposure to this level of football it's unfortunately all you have to go by. Here's hoping Selassie has an excellent game tonight, and if he does so a good word from Petr Cech would be nice as well.