Chelsea are lauded for grooming young talents across the globe but also notoriously known for their policy of loaning them out and rarely offering senior opportunities to shine and settle at the Bridge. Plenty of Chelsea rejects have proven their worth elsewhere and currently performing with distinction for their respective outfits. The saga of Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku is now well known to every individual who follows the league and the failure to explore Mohamed Salah has to be another major misjudgment by the London Blues. An array of youngsters are still out on loan in several leagues and a few of them are already demanding for settlement knowing the uncertainty of their future in Chelsea colors.
Michael Hector, the 25-year-old Jamaican centre-back, is currently on loan to Championship strugglers Hull City and wants to plant roots upon completion of his 14th loan spell. The defender was a surprise transfer deadline day signing from Reading in the summer of 2015 and was sent back on loan to the Royals as part of the deal. His last season spent at Bundesliga with Eintracht Frankfurt and despite making enough appearances back in Germany, Hector was again loaned out this term to newly relegated Hull City who were supposed to compete for an immediate Premier League promotion.
Although he still has two years left on his Chelsea contract, the English-born Jamaican international knows his time is running out and has emphasized his desire to play week in week out, something he is not going to achieve at his parent club who are yet to hand him his senior debut. “The plan is to hopefully stay at a club for a while and build a relationship. Somewhere I can build a foundation and grow. I had a bit of that at Reading for a year or two.”
The defender, however, did not rule out the option when asked whether he would like to settle in permanently at the East Riding of Yorkshire. “I would take the option if it meant I played football. I would take any option if it meant I was playing football week in and week out.”
At 25, anyone would fancy taking a center stage in his career and Hector, a regular in Hull’s backline, is no different either. The Tigers have failed miserably to stay in a promotion contention but saved a back-to-back demotion following some inspiring outings in recent weeks. The centre-back has been an integral part of their roller coaster ride and the experience at Hull will help him mature further as a footballer. Michael Dawson, their current skipper, is in his mid-thirties and the management too must start searching for his successor who will carry the baton forward for years to come and guide them towards a Premier League promotion. Hector’s experience in the lower leagues of England, as well as abroad, makes him a perfect fit for the Championship side. He will be a man in demand if Chelsea prefer to offload him this summer and Hull City must throw everything to acquire this disregarded central defensive option.
