‘A Star In The Making’ – Chelsea’s Gael Kakuta

Gael Kakuta has become a household name within the football world in the last few months due to the recent transfer embargo surrounding his move to Chelsea, however little is known about the 18-year old as a footballer.

Kakuta, a French footballer born of Congolese descent was snapped up by Chelsea from the French club RC Lens in 2007, an academy who have also developed establish Premier League players such as Tottenham’s Benoit Assou-Ekotto and Portsmouth’s Nadir Belhadj. He is a versatile attacking midfielder, able to play in both a central and wing role and possesses a deadly left foot.

Kakuta became an instant success within the Chelsea youth side, showing why Frank Arnesen went to so much effort to bring him to West London. In his first season for the youth team he picked up both the Academy Player of the Year award and was the top goal scorer with 12 goals in 24 appearances, a rate of 1 in 2, impressive for a striker let alone a midfield player.

The young Frenchman’s ability is emphasised through the comments and actions of the senior members of the club. Michael Ballack sung his praises after playing alongside him in a reserve game, claiming that he was the star of the match and manager Ancelotti has shown his admiration for his abilities by including him in Chelsea’s list of eligible Champions League players.  In addition to this, former RC Lens coach Joachim Marx has said ‘the easiest way to describe him is a phenomenon’ adding that he has an effortless way of playing the game and making the hardest things look easy.

Marx’s comments are something that I can personally vouch for having been lucky enough to watch Kakuta play in a pre-season friendly against Crawley Town. Kakuta was deployed in a central midfield role and pulled the strings of the game from start to finish.  He has the potential to have everything, exhibiting deft touches of skill reminiscent of an in-form Deco and despite only standing at 5ft 8, strength and pace similar to fellow ex-Ligue 1 star Michael Essien. He is able to run at defenders at pace and has the skill to glide past the opposition. Kakuta’s wicked left foot contributes to him having an eye for goal, never shying away from taking a strike when given the space and this goes some way to explaining his scoring record.

Gael Kakuta could prove to cost Chelsea football club a lot of money if all goes against them with the transfer case surrounding him, however will the skill and ability the youngster possesses he could also prove to be one of their biggest bargains yet.