Chelsea defender Kalas 'set for Bristol City move in a permanent deal'

The defender has been on the books at Stamford Bridge for almost a decade but he is now set to leave in a permanent deal

Tomas Kalas is set to end his nine-year stay at Chelsea to join Bristol City on a permanent basis after the Championship club agreed a fee with the Blues for the defender.

The Robins were impressed with Kalas’ loan spell last season and are willing to make him the club's best-paid player as they hope to make a push for promotion to the Premier League next season.

The fee for Kalas could even eclipse the club record of £5.3 million which City paid to sign Famara Diedhiou from Angers in 2017.

Now 26 years old, Kalas has spent time on loan at six different clubs since joining Chelsea in 2010, with stints at Sigma Olomouc, Vitesse, FC Koln, Middlesbrough, Fulham and Bristol City.

Kalas is best known with Chelsea fans for making his Premier League debut at Anfield in April 2014 against Liverpool, who were on an 11-game winning streak. He helped to keep a clean sheet in a 2-0 win when Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard famously slipped in error for the first goal in a match that some cite as costing the club the title.

The Czech’s nine years at Chelsea make him the longest-serving non-academy produced player ono the club’s books. Aside from David Luiz, who left Chelsea and came back, Kalas is the only player to have been at the club when Frank Lampard was around as a player.