Claude Makelele has just done a really interesting interview with the Athletic where he explained a little bit about the work he was doing as Chelsea’s loan manager, a job he had for four years, until September 2023.
It’s interesting to hear not only what Makelele was doing, but also to get a wider idea of what people in that role are up to day to day.
His most interesting anecdote was related to a player who hugely took advantage of the loan system to go from a player who was not a superstar at youth level, to a first team squad player.
Trevoh Chalobah’s loans to Huddersfield, Ipswich and Lorient weren’t exactly high profile or glamorous, but they got him on the pitch regularly and allowed him to develop all parts of his game. Makelele claims to be behind the key moment in it all – the change to becoming a defender:
“One example is Trevoh Chalobah, who was playing as a midfielder,“ Makelele explained.
”I made him understand he was not a midfielder — you need to play behind (in defence), because that allows you to see the game. So we talked a lot. He tried one time and he said he was comfortable like this and he started making his way.”
