Tomas Kalas

Tomas Kalas (born 15 May 1993) is a Czech professional footballer who plays for Bristol City as captain, and the Czech Republic national team. He plays as a centre-back, but has also been played as a right-back.

Having begun his career at Sigma Olomouc, he signed for Chelsea for a reported £5.2 million in 2010. He spent most of his tenure out on loan, first back at Sigma, then at Vitesse Arnhem, 1. FC Koln, Middlesbrough, Fulham and Bristol City. He transferred to Bristol City fully in 2019.

Kalas earned 42 caps and scored once for the Czech youth international teams, and made his senior international debut in 2012. He was included in the Czech Republic squad for UEFA Euro 2020.

Club Career

Chelsea

Early career

Born in Olomouc, Kalas started his career in his hometown with Sigma Olomouc, making his debut in a 2–0 victory over Slovan Liberec on 5 May 2010. He then signed for Premier League champions Chelsea, on 7 July 2010, for a reported figure of around £5.2 million, although it was agreed that he would stay at Sigma Olomouc for the 2010–11 season. Kalas arrived at Chelsea for the second half of the 2010–11 season and made his Chelsea reserve team debut in a 2–2 away draw to Aston Villa on 21 February.

Loans to Vitesse

On 22 August 2011 Kalas joined Dutch football club Vitesse Arnhem on loan for the 2011–12 season. He was given the number 2 jersey. He made his debut for Vitesse on 17 September 2011 against Roda JC Kerkrade which ended in a 5–0 win for Vitesse.

In March 2012, Kalas admitted that he did not yet know where he will be playing next season, but was happy on loan at Vitesse. "Ideally I'll stay another year at this club," he told. "Simply put, there are three options. I'll stay here, go back to Chelsea or they will loan me to another club abroad. In late March I will talk with my managers about next season and know more."

On 17 May 2012, Kalas scored the opening goal in the 22nd minute

This page also has a version in other languages :  Томаш Калас (russian)