Tomas Kalas

At 31 years old, Tomas Kalas has this physical status:

Tomás (born 15 May 1993) is a Czech professional footballer who plays for Bristol City.

He plays as a center back but has also been playing as a right back. He started his career at Sigma Olomouc and signed for Chelsea for a reported £5.2 million in 2010.

He spent the bulk of his time on loan, first at Sigma and then at Vitesse Arnhem, 1.

FC Köln, Middlesbrough, Fulham, and Bristol City are among the teams involved.

He migrated to Bristol City full in 2019 and scored once for the Czech youth international teams, making his senior international debut in 2012.

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Club career

Kalas, who was born in Olomouc, began his career in his hometown with Sigma Olomouc, winning by 2–0 over Slovan Liberec on May 5, 2010. On July 7, 2010, he signed for Chelsea, the Premier League's champions, for a reported £5.2 million, though it was agreed that he would remain at Sigma Olomouc for the 2010-2011 season. Kalas made his Chelsea reserve team debut in a 2–2 away draw to Aston Villa on February 21. He arrived in Chelsea for the second half of the 2010–11 season.

Kalas joined Dutch football club Vitesse Arnhem on loan for the 2011-12 season from August 22nd. He was given the number 2 jersey. Vitesse beat Roda JC Kerkrade 5–0 on his debut against Vitesse on September 17, 2011, which resulted in a 5–0 victory for Vitesse.

Kalas admitted in March 2012 that he did not know where he would be playing next season, but he was happy on loan at Vitesse. "I'd like to stay another year at this club," he said. "There are three options on the table," says the author. I'll stay here, go back to Chelsea, or they'll loan me to another club in another country. I'll talk to my managers about the next season and know more in late March.

Kalas scored the opening goal in the 22nd minute for Vitesse against RKC Waalwijk on May 17, 2012; Vitesse won by 3-1. This was Kalas' first goal of his professional career.

Kalas resumed Vitesse on July 11, 2012, the 2012–2013 season's longest loan agreement was signed. He also extended his Chelsea deal until the summer of 2017. In a 3–0 victory over FC Groningen on September 16, Kalas scored his first EPI goal of the season.

Kalas was mainly deployed as a right-back during his second loan spell at Vitesse rather than his natural centre-back. During his two-year stint at Vitesse, the Kalas played in 76 games in total.

Chelsea boss José Mourinho announced on July 10 that Kalas would stay and fight for his Chelsea job until the coming season. Kalas made three appearances for Chelsea in victories over the Singha All Stars, the Malaysian XI, and the Indonesian XI during Chelsea's 2013 pre-season Asia tour. Kalas suffered fractured fibula during pre-season preparations, reducing his involvement with the first team short while the rest of the team travelled over to America for the Guinness International Champions Cup.

Kalas made his competitive debut for the senior squad on October 29, 2013 as a substitute for Juan Mata in a 2–0 victory at Arsenal in the League Cup, after recovering from his injury. In an interview with a Czech chat show, Kalas reflected on his Chelsea appearance: "I am a participant in training sessions." If they need a cone, they should take me instead."

Kalas made his Champions League debut against Galataray on March 18, 2014, beating Chelsea 2–0, replacing Willian in stoppage time.

Kalas made his Premier League debut in the Premier League for Chelsea on April 27, 2014 against Liverpool, starting in place of the injured John Terry. In a 2–0 victory that kept Chelsea in contention for the league's championship, he played the full 90 minutes.

On June 11, 2014, there were 1. The 2014-15 season for FC Köln will be spent on loan at the club. Kalas made his debut for Köln II, FC Köln's reserve team, over Borussia Mönchengladbach II, a 2–1 victory for Köln II. Kalas made another appearance for Köln II against SC Verl on October 25, 2014; the game ended in a 2–0 loss for Köln II.

Kalas, himself, was curious why he had been given the cold shoulder at Köln, where he played only two reserve games. "They were thrilled with their appearances at first, but then they didn't participate in any game [sic]. I'm not sure what went wrong." Kalas was linked to a move to several English clubs, as well as his former team Vitesse in the January 2015 transfer window, due to a lack of playing time.

Middlesbrough revealed on January 9 that Kalas would spend the remainder of the 2014-2015 season on loan at the Championship club. Kalas made his Middlesbrough debut against Reading in a 0–0 draw. Aitor Karanka lauded Kalas' transfer to the right-back position, where Middlesbrough had been severely wounded following a long-running injury to Damià Abella in September 2014.

Against Huddersfield Town and Cardiff City, Kalas maintained his place as the right-back. Kalas sustained a high ankle sprain during a match against Cardiff City on January 20, 2015. Kalas won by 2–1 away over Blackpool on February 10, 2015, returning to the starting lineup. Middlesbrough defeated Wolves 2–1 at home on April 14, 2015, with fellow Chelsea loanee Patrick Bamford assisting them.

Kalas was unable to complete his season with the Boro due to the rules of a short-term loan. Despite missing the last three games of the season, he did ask permission to remain with Middlesbrough and train with the team until the season ended. Kalas was instrumental in the Boro making it to the play-offs, but the Boro were unable to beat Norwich City in the final to qualify for promotion to the Premier League.

Kalas made the trip to Middlesbrough for the second time before the 2015–16 season comes to an end on July 13, 2015. Kalas signed a new three-year contract with Chelsea on July 23, 2015, keeping him at the club until 2018. Kalas got off early against Preston North End in the season's first game, where he held his spot as right-back from the previous season. Kalas was the starting right-back in the first half of the season, but Emilio Nsue was the in-form Emilio Nsue. Despite playing a lot less, Middlesbrough boss Aitor Karanka said Kalas was also crucial in their quest for promotion to the Premier League. Kalas played his last game for the Boro on April 19, 2016, when the Boro refused to draw the match against league leaders Burnley.

Despite discussions regarding Kalas' return to Middlesbrough for a third spell, no details were forthcoming, although Kalas' interest from other groups was evident.

Kalas signed Fulham on a season-long loan, this was his fifth loan.

Kalas made his home victory over Newcastle United on 5 August, 2016. As Fulham helped Fulham hold out for the clean-sheet, Kalas made an injury-time block to deny Matt Ritchie's goal-bound shot. Kalas missed his first league game on September 24, 2016, after suffering from a hamstring injury. In a 5–0 victory over Huddersfield Town on October 29, Kalas recovered from his injury and went on to score his first goal for Fulham. Fulham qualified for the playoffs but lost 2–1 on aggregate in the semi-finals to Reading, with Kalas forfeiting the winning penalty due to handball.

Kalas signed a new four-year deal with Chelsea on July 27th, his second season as a loaner for Fulham. In a 1–1 draw at Reading on August 12th, he was called off after 39 seconds for a foul on Mo Barrow. For his second season in a row, Craven Cottage defeated Aston Villa in the playoff finals, ensuring his second promotion in three seasons.

Kalas and fellow Chelsea loanee Jay Dasilva were both in the Championship on a season long-loan on August 23, 2018. He made 41 appearances in all competitions with the club.

Bristol City announced the permanent signing of Kalas for a club-record fee in the region of £8 million on July 1, 2019. He served on a four-year deal until 2024. In a 2-1 victory over Coventry City on September 12, he scored his first goal for Bristol City.

International career

Kalas made his U-17 debut on September 5th, 2009, as a 61st-minute replacement in a European Under-17 Championship qualifier against Belarus, which the Czechs won 1–0. He was selected for the final tournament and went on to be selected. He appeared in 65 minutes of his 9th appearance against Greece before being dismissed.

Kalas made his U-21 debut on June 1 in a UEFA U-21 Championship match against Montenegro that resulted in a 2–1 victory for the Czechs.

Kalas made his senior debut against Slovakia in a 3–0 friendly win over Andras, his hometown's Andrv stadion, on November 14, 2012, when he came on as a backup for David Limbersk in the 74th minute. Kalas was called into the squad during the Euro 2016 qualifiers. He came off the bench on October 13, 2015, as the Czech Republic cruised on for the 3–2 victory and winning the tournament in the process.

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