Claude Makelele has been revealed as a key contributor to Trevoh Chalobah’s impressive Blues breakthrough this season.
The young defender earned an opportunity at the beginning of the campaign and stole the headlines with a man-of-the-match showing against Crystal Palace, whilst also netting his first goal for the club.
He has assumed the role as somewhat of a back-up in recent weeks but remains firmly in the first team picture and could be handed a chance to impress during Wednesday evening’s Carabao Cup clash against Aston Villa.
Even that is remarkable to suggest considering that the 22-year-old was not expected to be in Thomas Tuchel’s plans this season and looked destined to leave on-loan once more.
However, that did not come to pass and Chelsea icon Makelele has been credited with harnessing Chalobah’s potential and talents whilst on the training pitch.
In an interview with i, the author of 'Sacre Bleu - From Zidane to Mbappe, A Football Journey', Matt Spiro, said: “It took him a good few weeks to adapt to his surroundings, but as the season went on, he became increasingly more important to the team.
"What was impressive was his ability to stride forward either from that starting position in defence or from midfield.
"He could break through the lines and start counter-attacks. It was something he worked on with [Chelsea's technical mentor] Claude Makelele.
"He didn't get talked about in the [French] national press, to be honest. But he was absolutely seen as a success at Lorient and, by the second half of the season, became a really important part of their rearguard to help them stay up.”
Of course, with Chalobah having established himself at Stamford Bridge in recent years, his development alleviated the need for the Blues to purchase a centre-back in the summer transfer window.
They were strongly linked with Jules Kounde throughout the summer but failed to pay Sevilla’s €80million (£68million) release clause.
