Chelsea goalkeeper Eduardo Carvalho has joined the clubs Eredivisie side Vitesse on a season-long loan, the Stamdord Bridge club has confirmed.
Chelsea announced on their official website on Friday that the experienced shot-stopper has joined Vitesse on a temporary basis for the 2018/19 campaign.
Eduardo, 35, has never made a first-team appearance for Chelsea, and instead works as the professional cover for current number one Thibaut Courtois.
Eduardo sealed his Stamford Bridge switch in 2016 after an illustrious career spanning three decades, and has signed a one-year-extension every season since arriving.
OPINION
Once again you feel that Eduardo is going to be serving as a backup role, although the competition will not be as fierce in the Netherlands for minutes as it is at Stamford Bridge. The Portuguese keeper has played at a great number of clubs, and this experience will serve him well as he searches for more minutes. Vitesse have high expectations going into the 2018/19 season, having finished in sixth place last time out. This coupled with a whopping nine transfer additions sheds light on what could be a big push towards the European places in the League. For Chelsea, Eduardo was never going to feature, so losing his services is no major loss, however, the team may need to find a replacement, as Courtois is constantly linked with a move away this season. Chelsea would desperately need to avoid being two goalkeepers down in this situation, so could look at finding a replacement backup in the coming weeks. The season-long loan spell could see the keeper leave Stamford Bridge at the end of the year, as Chelsea have only been issuing the Portuguese native one-year-deals.