Gaël Kakuta is one of the most talented players to have ever been signed by Chelsea but unfortunately, the former France youth international was unable to make a lasting impact with the West London side.
He arrived at Chelsea in 2007 from RC Lens in a transfer that almost cost the Premier League outfit participation in two transfer windows after the FIFA Dispute Resolution Chamber ruled that they had induced Kakuta to break his contract with Lens to move to the club.
The adjudicatory body imposed a sanction on the Stamford Bridge outfit but the Court of Arbitration lifted the sanction, ruling that Kakuta didn’t have a valid contract with Lens and as a result, the Premier League side couldn’t have breached a non-existing contract.
Kakuta joined the youth team upon his arrival and quickly made an impression on Michael Ballack who was training with the reserve team as he was recovering from an ankle injury.
After seeing the French-Congolese forward train, the 2002 UEFA Club Midfielder of the Year remarked:
“Go see the French lad, he is the star”.
Here is Kakuta making a mess of his markers in a game for Chelsea’s youth team
In his first year in the Academy, Kakuta emerged as the best youth player, winning the Academy Scholar and Player of the Year awards.
He started training with the first team in the 2008/2009 season and was included in the UEFA Champions League squad in the following season..
The former French youth international made his Champions League debut in December 2009 against APOEL to become Chelsea’s youngest player to feature in the competition but Dominic Solanke broke the record five years later.
Ancelotti who was disappointed because his team were held to a 2-2 draw by the Cypriot side was impressed with the performance of Kakuta who played for 73 minutes in the game.
“We had no intensity and no concentration, it was a very bad game for us. The only positive of the night was Gaël Kakuta. He played very well, he showed his fantastic talent. He trains very well everyday and will be the future of Chelsea.”
He recorded his first and only goal involvement in Chelsea’s clash with Olympique Marseille in 2010, the same year he was nominated for the Golden Boy Award.
He signed a contract extension with the Blues in December 2010, a decision the former Lens youth player would regret as he made just two Premier League appearances after his contract extension, spending loan terms with Fulham, Bolton Wanderers, Dijon Vitesse, Lazio and Rayo Vallecano before departing in 2015.
Despite adulation from his manager and senior players, he made just 16 appearances for the Blues and registered just one goal involvement.
Kakuta’s failure at Chelsea was never because of his lack of talent and Eden Hazard’s comment about him proves that.
”In Real Madrid I played with the best players in the world. For me, [Luka] Modric, [Karim] Benzema, they are top of the list. When you say Kevin De Bruyne he’s top on the list, when you say [Frank] Lampard he’s top of the list. Juan Mata, for me, was top of the list.
”I’m gonna give you one name and John knows the player. The only one I was saying “wow” was Gael Kakuta.
”You asked me talent. Kakuta, by, far number one. Talent. I mean, talent. Wow.’’ he told the Obi One Podcast.
He played at a time when the Blues had Florent Malouda, Nicolas Anelka, Solomon Kalou and at some point Hazard but couldn’t produce a level that would have made him a key player, recording just one goal involvement during his stay with the West London-based club.
The DR Congo international left Stamford Bridge in 2015 for Sevilla but he spent one season at the Spanish club and has gone on to play for six clubs since then-he currently plays for Iranian club Esteghlal.
