Chelsea
Southampton lining up move for £18m-rated star with 108 Premier League appearances
Southampton will attempt to sign Chelsea midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek on a season-long loan with the option to buy, The Express reports. The Saints were interested in the England international last summer, but they were beaten to his services by Fulham, who signed him on a temporary deal. The 25-year-old has had a difficult campaign with the Cottagers, registering just one goal from 31 appearances across all competitions. Loftus-Cheek will return to the Blues this summer, but he could struggle to break into Thomas Tuchel’s plans with the competition for places. Saints boss Ralph Hasenhuttl is a big admirer of the midfielder’s talents, and he is prepared to offer him the chance to revive his career. The south coast outfit will propose to sign the Blues graduate on loan, with the optio...
Jonny Evans starts | Expected Leicester City line-up (3-4-1-2) vs Chelsea
Leicester City face off against Chelsea in the FA Cup final at Wembley Stadium tomorrow. The Foxes beat Southampton 1-0 to reach the final of the competition for the fifth time in their history – their first since 1969. They have a good record against their west London opponents, having lost just one of the previous six meetings in all competitions. However, their defeat was in the FA Cup quarter-final last term. The Foxes have lost all of their seven meetings in the competition against the Blues. Brendan Rodgers’ side need to break the streak to lift their maiden FA Cup title. Formation: 3-4-1-2 Predicted Line-up: Kasper Schmeichel is an automatic choice between the sticks for the Midlands outfit, and he will also captain the side. Jonny Evans picked up a foot injury before the 4-2 league...
Thomas Tuchel confirms Chelsea duo are fit, reveals starting goalkeeper vs Leicester City
Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel has provided a fitness update on N’Golo Kante and Mateo Kovacic ahead of the FA Cup final against Leicester City on Saturday. The Blues recently suffered a disappointing 1-0 defeat to Arsenal in the Premier League, and they will be aiming to make amends by lifting silverware this weekend. Tuchel provided an update on Kante and Kovacic ahead of the Wembley showdown, with both players in line to feature this weekend. He told football.london: “It was pain management, not a huge injury. He trained yesterday and today full, no complaints. He will start tomorrow and hopefully finish the game for us.” Kovacic has also returned to full training, and Tuchel confirmed he is excited by the return of the Croatian who last played on April 10. He added: “It’s huge because M...
‘Absolute stinker’, ‘Having a great game for Everton’ – Some Villa fans slam 27-yr-old’s display
Aston Villa were held to a goalless draw against Everton in the Premier League yesterday, and midfielder Ross Barkley had his final opportunity to impress at Villa Park. The 27-year-old will not be able to play against his parent club Chelsea in the next home game due to the terms of his loan deal. Despite making an impressive start to the season, the midfielder’s time at Villa Park will be deemed as a massive disappointment. A return of three goals and one assist in 26 league appearances is a woeful tally for a player of Barkley’s ability. He has been way too inconsistent, and the Villa fans will be delighted that he is returning to Chelsea this summer. During Jack Grealish’s absence, the on-loan Chelsea midfielder was expected to step up as the side’s main creator, but he has been thorou...
Chelsea favourites for FA Cup final against Leicester City despite contrasting midweek results
Chelsea and Leicester City are set to square off at Wembley Stadium in the FA Cup final on Saturday, May 15, and you watch it live on BBC and BT Sport (see our FA Cup live streaming page for more information). Rocked by a 1-0 Premier League loss to cross-town rivals Arsenal on Wednesday, Chelsea will be looking to bounce back and win their first trophy under Thomas Tuchel. Tuchel’s Leicester counterpart Brendan Rodgers is aiming to become only the second manager after Sir Alex Ferguson to win both the English and Scottish FA Cup. Rodgers led Celtic to back-to-back Scottish FA Cup titles back in 2017 and 2018. Mid-week wins and the Tuchel factor Leicester will have an extra day’s rest after travelling away to Old Trafford and getting a 2-1 win against a weakened Manchester United team playi...
Frank Lampard becomes favourite for Crystal Palace job
Former Chelsea boss Frank Lampard has emerged as the favourite to take over at Crystal Palace if Roy Hodgson leaves this summer. Hodgson arrived at Crystal Palace in September 2017, taking charge after the nightmare start made by Frank de Boer. This was a chance for the former Liverpool manager to rebuild his reputation, having led the England national team through a disastrous Euro 2016 campaign. Hodgson is on course for another mid-table finish with Crystal Palace After a horrible opening seven games, Hodgson turned things around at Selhurst Park, guiding the club to a respectable 11th place finish. Since then, the Eagles have finished in 12th and 14th. This season, they look on course to settle in the same area of the table, currently residing in 13th place with three games remaining. O...
Barcelona interested in Chelsea star with swap deal an option
Spanish outlet Sport has reported that Barcelona are interested in a move for Chelsea midfielder Jorginho this summer. The Italian international has enjoyed a change of fortune since Thomas Tuchel replaced Frank Lampard in the Chelsea dugout in January, reclaiming his place in the heart of the Blues midfield. However, it is claimed that the La Liga giants could offer Miralem Pjanic to sweeten any deal struck with the London club. Pjanic has fallen out of favour with Barcelona boss Ronald Koeman, with the Bosnian playmaker restricted to just six La Liga starts this campaign, despite a £54 million move from Juventus last summer. SL view – Would Jorginho’s departure be a miss for Chelsea? Jorginho played a vital role in Chelsea’s success over Real Madrid in their Champions League semi-f...
Oliver Kahn rules Bayern Munich out of race to sign Erling Haaland in summer due to high fee
Erling Haaland moving to Bayern Munich is “unimaginable” at this time, according to the club’s future CEO Oliver Kahn. Haaland has established himself as one of the most prolific frontmen in Europe since joining Borussia Dortmund in January 2020, and is attracting attention from a number of top clubs heading into the summer transfer window. Bayern are among those being linked with a swoop for the Norwegian, but Kahn claims that they won’t be able to match his price tag in the current financial climate. “Sorry, whoever spoke about that didn’t understand the situation,” the Bayern director, who will succeed Karl-Heinz Rummenigge as CEO later this year, told Bild. “A package that costs – as we heard – over €100m is unimaginable for FC Bayern at the moment.” Kahn went on to insist that Bayern ...
Review: Chelsea’s amazing title defence against Man City and co in WSL
Chelsea Women have defended the FA Women’s Super League title in a keenly-contested race with Manchester City, who finished runners-up for the fourth season running. After being crowned champions in 2019/20 under controversial circumstances, the Blues had a point to prove this time around. Title Run-In The Super League title run-in was always a two-horse race between the two best sides, Chelsea and Man City. Eventually, the London side’s 3-1 home victory in the direct encounter back in October 2020 made all the difference. Emma Hayes’ ladies wrapped up the league crown thanks to a slender two-point lead on second-placed City, having outclassed Reading 5-0 on the final matchday of the season. Both sides had suffered a single loss apiece, with Gareth Taylor’s team missing out on the title de...
Report: West Ham have come up with an exciting plan to sign £40m Villa target
West Ham United are hopeful of securing a loan deal for Chelsea striker Tammy Abraham in the summer transfer window. Chelsea are looking to offload Abraham, who has struggled for regular game time under Thomas Tuchel. The Blues are reportedly demanding a fee in the region of £40 million for the 23-year-old. West Ham, Aston Villa and Newcastle United are interested in signing Abraham, according to reports from The Athletic. It has been reported that the Magpies and Villa are unwilling to meet Chelsea’s asking price. West Ham will bid to sign the striker on loan, and they are quite hopeful of securing a deal for him. Abraham impressed on his loan spell at Villa, and it will be interesting to see if they move for him this summer. The England striker has made 12 starts in the Premie...
David Moyes & NUFC reportedly keen on snapping up £20m Chelsea centre-back
West Ham United and Newcastle United are keen on Chelsea centre-back Marc Guehi, according to The Athletic. The 20-year-old is currently on loan in the Championship with Swansea City, and the Welsh outfit will look to sign him on loan for the third time should they seal Premier League promotion via the play-offs. Southampton, Crystal Palace and Borussia Monchengladbach are also keen on Guehi, but Chelsea have triggered a 12-month optional extension in his contract that ties him to the club for the next two years. West Ham are looking to strengthen at the back this summer as they prepare for Europe next term, and they could look to sign the Blues academy graduate. Chelsea will decide whether to loan out the England Under-21 international again this summer or cash in on him. They will consid...
Christian Pulisic dismisses Chelsea exit rumours
Chelsea winger Christian Pulisic has dismissed rumours he could quit Stamford Bridge this summer. The United States international has found himself in and out of the side under Thomas Tuchel and admitted he was “very frustrated” not to start against Real Madrid in the Champions League semi-final second leg earlier this month, giving rise to speculation he could seek a move this summer. However, Pulisic says he isn’t going anywhere and is “up for the challenge” of proving himself in west London. When asked whether he saw his long-term future at Chelsea, Pulisic told ESPN: “Yeah, I’m obviously happy here. It has been an incredible two years. “People have always doubted and said: ‘Oh, he’s not playing, does he want to go here, does he want to go there?’ I’m always up for a challenge, I love c...