With the announcement that French and Sevilla midfielder Gael Kakuta (24) is set to join newly promoted Chinese side Hebei Fortune for €8 million, it brings to mind how the youngster has failed to reach the heights he once dreamt of. Kakuta was once referred to as a star by no one else but former German and Bayern Munich Captain Michael Ballack "Go see the French lad, he is a star", Ballack once said.

Kakuta was once also Chelsea's "Scholar of the Year" and Academy Player of the Year. Till date Kakuta remains the most dominant U18 talent that has passed through the club. Kakuta had more influence at youth level than successful youth players like Luke Shaw, Paul Pogba and Antonie Griezman. Kakuta will go on and play on loan at Fulham, Bolton, Dijon, Vitesse, Lazio , Rayo Vallecano (six clubs in five different countries ) before finally being sold to Sevilla this season. Kakuta moved to Chelsea from Lens in a controversial transfer in 2007.

That Kakuta has failed to live up to the hype and billing is no news, the news is rather the reason the 24 year old has decided to move East to China when he should be in the prime of his career. Guy Hillion who is a Chelsea scout once said this about the former Lens academy player :" It is a huge waste. I already said it and I repeat it, he is the most gifted player of his generation . He could have been exceptional". "Talent is not enough . When you pile on failures and there is trouble at any club where you have played , you have to ask the right questions and question yourself. There was Bolton, Fulham and Dijon too." " You can't manage everything in a player's career. You can't manage what is on his mind, his entourage or his family ".

While also Chelsea's loan policy might have contributed to his downfall , it is important to note that Kakuta's unwillingness and stubbornness to learn might have brought down his career in a short while . Chelsea's transfer policy is questioned as so many players of potential have made good impressions in Chelsea's first team but struggled to make any progress when sent on loan. There are countless examples of players who have gone down this path as Josh McEachran has failed in all his loan spells and the same can be said of Everton's Ross Barkley (Leeds). This is because, there should be a policy of allowing players who are making progress at a said club and with a perfect attitude continue with the club, rather than sending them on loan in order to convince and be successful before giving them a chance at the parent club .

The purpose of this article is not to criticise Chelsea's loan policy but to emphasise that it does not always work out as planned . Certain players deserve to remain in a parent club to be successful rather than sent out on loan . To give a better explanation, the example of Kelechi iheanacho of Manchester City comes to mind. At 17 years of old , iheanacho has remained in City instead of being sent on loan and he has impressed when played in quite a couple of games scoring more than 7 goals in all competitions this season.

The case of Kakuta might be a case of being young with an early promise, having a manager who believed in him (Carlo Ancelotti) and then going on a couple of loan deals that did not yield any result but rather demoralised and regressed him. Why do Chelsea loan out their youth players who are making progress in the first team, when there is no possibility of them being recalled to the first team as the cases of Patrick Van Aanolt (Sunderland), Daniel Sturidge (Bolton), Ryan Bertrand (Southampton), Romelu Lukaku (West Brom and Everton), and Kelvin De Bruyne (Werder Bremen) who were all never given a chance in the first team at Chelsea.

Kakuta might not have been labelled a wasted talent if he was allowed to remain in Chelsea so he could continue to develop and then allowed to play as much as 20-30 league games all season in all competitions for the West London side . While Kakuta's attitude might be questionable , it is important to note that judging a players ability at 21 might be misleading as no one could predict the ability of Nemanja Matic during his first time at the club . Chelsea it should be noted, play a distinct type of football, hence sending players on loan who play in a team that prioritises possession based football to a team that plays hoofer/clodhopper system will yield negative results .

Kakuta might have contributed to destroy his career with his attitude but Chelsea must take a huge blame for the damage. For now Kakuta will be forever remembered as a "Near Man".

Source

Mailtelegraph..com

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