Chelsea's Robert Huth Singing the Blues

Huth was brought to England from Berlin in 2001. At Stamford Bridge, the grounds of English Premiership club Chelsea, the fans call him The Berlin Wall, since he is something of a barricade that strikers must get around. At 1.87 meters (6 ft. 3 in.), he has the strength and size that any middle defender playing currently in top-level soccer needs.

Yet The Berlin Wall has been neglected lately in London. The one-time Cold War symbol became obsolete in 1989, and Huth's services appear to be heading for the same fate at Chelsea. At the tender age of 21, he isn't outdated yet, but is getting more and more acquainted with the feeling of the bench's cold pine on his backside.

Appearances by Huth (two late substitutions – eight minutes total) for the Blues are almost as rare as losses for the English club, currently undefeated in the Premiership.

Now Huth is beginning to sing the blues. He is determined to break through into the starting line-up of what is rapidly becoming one of Europe's most dominant teams.

To stay or not to stay?

"I'm not going to let myself be pressured. At the moment, I am not thinking about switching clubs," he said during preparations for the most recent German friendlies against Turkey and China. He also mentioned that after a recent meeting with Chelsea coach Jose Mourinho, he felt he still had a chance to make it into the starting line-up.

German national coach Jürgen Klinsmann seems less than optimistic about Huth’s chances of getting a break in the Chelsea squad.

"If people like Ricardo Carvalho (from Portugal) and John Terry (from England) are in front of Robert Huth, then you have to be a realist and say that he won’t get past two world-class defenders," Klinsmann said.

The demand from Klinsmann for all of the players who want to play next summer at the World Cup in Germany is clear: if you don’t play for your clubs, he's let it be known, you won't be playing for him.

Another team might come into question

Last summer, Huth played in his first big tournament for Germany, the Confederations Cup. The weak play on his part was strongly criticized by the soccer commentators. The defensive unit as a whole performed poorly. Germany's goalkeepers fetched the ball from the net 11 times in five games, an amazing fact considering that German teams are renowned if not for the prowess of their strikers, at least for having a rock-solid back line.

To reduce the pressure on the young defender, he was asked to practice with the U-21 national club. There is still time to play convincingly enough that he will remain part of the national squad, together with the other youthful members like Podolski, Schweinsteiger and Mertesacker.

But he has to play. Manfred Schulte, Huth's agent, was cited on the Sky Sports homepage that Huth would decide before Christmas if he wants to transfer to another club. Schulte said that Aston Villa from Birmingham would be a good fit for both club and player. The British press confirmed that a transfer at the winter break was set.

But Bundesliga side Schalke has also shown interest in the Chelsea substitute. Could there be a switch from the Blues of London to the Royal Blues in Gelsenkirchen in the works?

Schalke's sport manager Andreas Müller told Sport-Bild magazine that Huth is the kind of player that Schalke needs at the moment. To make things even more interesting, Schulte said that he knew nothing about Aston Villa.