Reading executive confirms Chelsea want to recall loanee in January

Yesterday against Norwich City, Chelsea managed to get a rare (for this season, anyway) clean sheet.  But, in truth, the Blues' defensive unit wasn't tested until the end of the match, when Norwich City were finally motivated to get a goal.  Chelsea completely dominated possession for most of the match until then.

Regardless, our defensive frailties have been front and center all season, with 23 conceded in just 13 league matches.  While it seems a given that the club will move for John Stones at some point, it would appear that José Mourinho wants to add more immediate options to his defence, looking to recall on-loan defender Michael Hector, according to Reading executive Samrit Thanakanchanasut:

"Chelsea want [Michael Hector] back early but I think we'll retain him as we agreed until the end of the season."

-Samrit Thanakanchanasut; Source: Goal

Hector was acquired by Chelsea on the last day of the summer transfer window from Reading, but was loaned back to the Royals until the end of the season. He's taken part in 14 games so far in the Championship, giving solid, if unspectacular performances at centre-back as Reading hope to achieve promotion back to the Premier League.

At the moment, Chelsea's first-team squad have 5 players who can play as centre-back. With one of them actually our first-choice right back and another linked to a Besiktas move after not seeing the pitch for more than a minute in all competitions, it would make sense to have Hector at Stamford Bridge to fill the gap and maybe play a more significant part in the team.