Born: Olomouc, Czech Republic, 15 May 1993
Position: Centre back
International caps: 28
International goals: 2
Signed: 13 July 2016 from Chelsea (loan); 27 July 2017 from Chelsea (loan)
Fulham debut: Fulham 1-0 Newcastle United, 5 August 2016
Fulham appearances: 76
Fulham goals: 1
Sold: 1 June 2018 to Chelsea (loan return).
Like Lucas Piazon, Tomas Kalas enjoyed successful back-to-back loan spells at Fulham from Chelsea from 2016 to 2018. Also like the Brazilian, the Czech international was disappointed not to join the Whites permanently following their promotion to the top flight. Kalas, who had experience of winning promotion already with Middlesbrough, immediately added stability and a touch of class to what had previously been a fragile Fulham back line – with his reading of the game and perceptive passing ideally suited to the way Slavisa Jokanovic wanted to play.
He was less of a fixture in the side once the Serbian head coach had paired Denis Odoi with Tim Ream at the heart of the back four but memorably came off the bench at Wembley to ensure Fulham’s ten men preserved their precious advantage over Aston Villa in the 2018 play-off final. He was a victim of the club’s scattergun summer in the transfer market and now plays for Bristol City.
