French Under-21 international Gael Kakuta will attempt to kick-start his career once again in 2012 as he will join French club Dijon FCO on loan from Chelsea, according to French sporting media today.
Kakuta has spent the first half of this season at Bolton Wanderers but despite scoring in his first start for the club, he has been unable to work his way into Owen Coyle’s plans.
Wanderers have struggled and whilst Kakuta has been impressive in his cameo outings, he has failed to earn the trust of his manager and will not be staying at the Reebok Stadium beyond the scheduled end date of January 1st.
Instead, he will return to French football for the first time since he was 15, when he left RC Lens and moved to London in a highly controversial transfer which caused Chelsea a temporary transfer ban.
Dijon are enjoying a solid if unspectacular debut season in Ligue Une after achieving a maiden promotion to this level last season. Midfielder Benjamin Corgnet has been linked with a move to Stamford Bridge as one of the club’s key performers so far in 11-12, but connections to Chelsea are much stronger than that.
The club is partly owned by Florent Malouda and the veteran winger’s younger brother Lesly is also on the books at Stade Gaston Gérard. French reports suggest that the older Malouda will have played a key role in making the move possible.
It’s arguably the most positive news Kakuta could receive at this important juncture of his career. After a spell at Fulham last season, he was looking to kick on this season and progress into the sort of player Daniel Sturridge has become (not least because of the Bolton connection) but is another six months down the line with no further development to his name.
Now, he will jump across the channel into Burgundy country, and he is still revered in France as one of their brightest talents of a generation. He remains a regular selection at youth international level and will more than likely be afforded every opportunity not only to play, but to feature in his favoured position as a central attacking midfielder directly behind the striker.
You can keep up with how Gael gets on at Dijon throughout the rest of the season here on TheChels.net, and on Twitter @chelseayouth.
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