Czechs abroad: Matěj Chaluš has been a dabbler in Sweden, will his position change in the future?

Very few Czech players have found their way to the Scandinavian peninsula in recent years. One such example is young defender Matěj Chaluš, who signed for Sweden’s biggest club Malmö this winter. How is he doing so far?

At the end of last year, it probably came as no surprise that Malmö successfully defended their Swedish league title. However, the signing of Czech defender Matej Chalus, who came to the Swedish capital from Slovan Liberec, was even more surprising.

Chaluš came to Liberec from Slavia and gradually became a mainstay of the back line in northern Bohemia, and was captain of the Czech team at the European Under-21 Championship. New coach Miloš Milojevič chose him for the Swedish capital before the season.

“In Matěj we have acquired a centre player who fits well into the style of play we want to present. He is strong in personal duels and dangerous going forward. We believe that he can help us immediately and that he will continue to develop with us,” Malmö sporting director Andreas Georgson said about the Czech stopper in the winter.

How is Chalus so far?

So far, Chaluš is only slowly finding his feet in the first team. First came the first starts in the Swedish Cup, which starts at the beginning of the year. Malmö managed to dominate the whole competition, but in important matches without the help of the Czech defender, who sat on the bench.

The same can be said about the Swedish top competition. The first two sharp starts in the starting line-up came almost in the middle of May, when Chalus played a full portion of minutes against AIK Stockholm and Djurgarden. However, Malmö did not play well at all and had a combined score of 0::6 from both games.

The Příbram alumnus sat on the substitutes’ bench again in the next matches. His biggest competitors are currently Bosnian Dennis Hadzikadunic and experienced Danish Lasse Nielsen. However, the best Swedish team of the last years is not experiencing an ideal start, they are only fifth in the league so far.

Sweden plays a spring-autumn system, so the season is not even halfway through. The Czech defender’s engagement on the Scandinavian peninsula is not going as expected. Chaluš will have to make the most of his next chance.

Source:: iSport, Malmö FF