The Fulham centre-back outshone both Pontus Jansson and Kyle Bartley to help restrict Leeds United to one goal and one point.
Pontus Jansson and Kyle Bartley may have reaffirmed their status as the Championship’s most fearsome defensive pairing in Tuesday’s Championship draw with Fulham, despite the promotion chasers losing two points right at the death.
Header after header, clearance after clearance, the iron-headed duo defended manfully against a free-scoring side whose corner count delved into double figures on the night. And they could hardly be questioned for Tom Cairney’s last-gasp worldie which kept Fulham’s promotion hopes alive.
Nonetheless, the game’s best defender may not have been wearing Leeds colours on Tuesday evening. And you can guess, by virtue of his horrific second half own goal, that we aren’t talking about Tim Ream.
If there was any indication of how Chelsea’s divisive player stockpiling has perhaps gone too far, it’s that Tomas Kalas is still contracted to the Premier League leaders. He’s 23 now and hasn’t played for the club since impressing in the latter stages of 2013/14, playing a major role in that 2-0 win at Anfield.
However, in his fifth loan spell away from Stamford Bridge, the towering Czech centre-back is proving that he deserves a club to call his own. 43 appearances on loan at Middlesbrough last season didn’t yield a permanent deal but it would be no surprise if Fulham were to try and sign him on a permanent basis from their London neighbours.
But, based on Tuesday’s impressive performance, perhaps Leeds shouldn’t make it so easy for them. Jansson and Bartley are undoubtedly first-choice but with Liam Cooper out of favour and often unconvincing, it’s not beyond the realms of possibility that Garry Monk could target a new centre-back in the summer.
| Tackles Won | Aerial Duels Won | Duels Won | Interceptions | Accurate Passes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tomas Kalas | 2 | 4 | 7 | 1 | 74 |
| Kyle Bartley | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 9 |
| Pontus Jansson | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 11 |
And Kalas has proven first-hand that he could be an excellent addition to a backline high on quality though lacking in depth.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
