Rajkovic – To Play Or Not To Play?

Slobodan Rajkovic has been playing a major role in Chelsea’s pre-season games, and catching the eye with some impressive performances, but it looks unlikely that he will be playing in the Barclays Premier League again this season.

He has been speaking about the time he has spent with the Chelsea squad on tour, but he is also realistic and he knows that he will not be part of the clubs plans this season. He said, “Of course I am enjoying things, I have the support of all the players so it is easy for me to play every day. I feel I am improving with them, the coach and the technical staff, and I think it’s very important for me this season.”

Rajkovic is a non EU National, so he requires a work permit to play in England, and other various criteria regarding Internationals and games played must be met. Unfortunately Rajkovic does not meet the required criteria so he will be on his travels again when he returns to England. He is philosophical though and he hopes that one day he will be able to play for Chelsea. He said, “Like you know I cannot play in England, but if I can keep at this level, play for my national team, and I can expect to play as soon as possible here.”

He went on to add, “But this year I think I will need to go on loan somewhere, probably in Holland again, but it depends on people in the club, so when we go back to London we will try to sort something out.”

All may not be lost for Rajkovic though because his manager Andre Villas-Boas would like the situation sorted out once and for all. When asked about whether Chelsea would be trying for a work permit he had the following to say, “I think that Rajko deserves a chance with a hearing panel. He has shown his qualities throughout all this pre-season. I think his talent is good enough for the Premier League.”

Encouraging words then from AVB, and if he has his way Slobodan Rajkovic will be playing for Chelsea sooner rather than later.