Chelsea activate Trevoh Chalobah clause to recall centre back from Crystal Palace loan - despite throwing him into their 'bomb squad' just five months ago
Share:
Chelsea have activated their option to recall defender Trevoh Chalobah from Crystal Palace, just five months after placing him in their 'bomb squad'. The 25-year-old had joined the Eagles on a season long loan and has made 14 appearances for the club so far this campaign.
Chalobah will not be available for Crystal Palace's Premier League clash against Leicester City on Wednesday evening. Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca had been asked about the possibility of recalling Chalobah earlier this month, but gave no indication as to whether the Blues would exercise their option.
'I said already last press conference, he is a Palace player and I think it is a lack of respect,' Maresca said. 'The reason why I think all the managers always say the same is because he is a Palace player. 'If I start to talk about Trev, it's not respect for [Oliver] Glasner, if Oliver starts to talk about our players then it is probably not good for me.
![[Chelsea have moved to recall Chalobah with defender Wesley Fofana on the sidelines]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/15/11/94117327-14287399-image-a-22_1736941505620.jpg)
'He is a Palace player. He was here with us working in pre-season very well and then he left. Now he is a Palace player.'. The recall marks a remarkable turnaround, with Chalobah having been left out of Chelsea's pre-season tour in the United States. The academy graduate feared he was being forced out of the club, with the Blues preferring Wesley Fofana, Axel Disasi, Tosin Adarabioyo, Benoit Badiashile and Levi Colwill.
Marseca, speaking in the summer, claimed it was a 'sad decision' to leave Chalobah out of their pre-season squad. ‘First of all, from my point of view, it’s always sad to leave players out, that can be out of a pre-season, or can be out of the squad or out of the first eleven because in the end they all work for the same target, that is to be part of the same team,' Maresca said in July.
