Kalas impresses in Middlesbrough debut

Kurt Zouma wasn't the only young Chelsea defender to impress when given the chance today. Just one day after signing from Middlesbrough on loan, Tomas Kalas was given a start when Boro -- with Kenneth Omeruo on the bench -- went to Reading and held them to a 0-0 draw. And guess who was singled out for special praise by Boro manager Aitor Karanka?

Yep:

It's a position where we have been struggling and with Tomas we have covered the position and we have covered the position with a very good player.

Tomas is a young player but he has experience. For example he played an amazing game at Anfield (for Chelsea last season) and he showed against Reading that he is young but experienced because he hasn't played much football over the past year but he was on the pitch for 90 minutes and I am very happy with how he did.

Source: Gazette Live.

Now, we might not see Kalas as a right back in the long run after the issues he had there at Vitesse, but that he's playing at all is undoubtedly extremely good news. The 21-year-old had a rough go of things in the Bundesliga, and more than anything else he needs minutes on the pitch right now. One of the keys to doing that is to impress your manager, and it definitely looks like Kalas has begun his Boro career on the right foot. Here's to a successful loan.