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Tag: Chelsea

  • Chelsea set to confirm Cech appointment

    Chelsea are set to announce the return of Petr Cech to the club in a technical role, Sky Sports understands.

    The 37-year-old was at Stamford Bridge on Thursday to complete his return to the club four years after moving to London rivals Arsenal, confirming the story Sky Sports News first broke a month ago.

    Cech announced earlier this year that he was retiring at the end of the season, with his last professional match coming in Arsenal’s 4-1 defeat to Chelsea in the Europa League final in May.

    The former Czech Republic international spent 11 years at Chelsea, winning 13 major trophies including four Premier League titles and the Champions League.

    He will return to Stamford Bridge to replace Michael Emenalo, who left his role as Chelsea’s technical director in November 2017 to join Monaco.

    One of Cech’s first involvements will be to advise the club on the appointment of a new manager following the departure of Maurizio Sarri.

  • Former Chelsea striker Torres announces retirement

    Former Chelsea striker Torres announces retirement

    Former Liverpool, Chelsea and Spain striker Fernando Torres has announced he is to retire from football.

    The 35-year-old, who is currently playing for Sagan Tosu in Japan, confirmed the end of his football career on social media.

    He wrote: “I have something very important to announce. After 18 exciting years, the time has come to put an end to my football career.

    “Next Sunday, the 23rd at 10:00AM, local time in Japan, I will have a press conference in Tokyo to explain all the details. See you there.”

  • EPL: I want Chelsea breakthrough – Abraham

    Tammy Abraham says he wants to “breakthrough” at Chelsea in the Premier League next season after a successful loan spell with Aston Villa.

    Abraham, 21, scored 26 goals in 42 appearances in all competitions for Villa last season, helping them secure promotion to the Premier League via the play-offs.

    The England U21 international has not completely ruled out a permanent switch to Aston Villa, but maintains his first intention is to work his way into the first-team picture at Stamford Bridge next season.

    “You can never say never,” he told Sky Sports when asked about a return to Villa.

    “Chelsea is obviously the club that I have been at since a young so the aim is to try and breakthrough there.

    “Like I say, you can never say never. We’ll see how things look.”

    The build-up to the new season gathered momentum with the release of fixture lists on Thursday.

    Abraham says he kept an eye out for both Chelsea and Aston Villa’s schedule.

    “I looked at both, I was excited,” he said.

     

  • Chelsea agree deal for Sarri to join Juventus

    Chelsea agree deal for Sarri to join Juventus

    Chelsea have agreed a deal in principle for their manager Maurizio Sarri to join Serie A champions Juventus.

    An agreement was reached late on Thursday evening after talks between senior officials. A deal could be completed as early as Friday.

    It is understood a compensation fee in excess of £5m has been agreed.

    Sarri arrived from Napoli in July 2018 and led the Blues to third place in the Premier League and won the Europa League in his one season in charge.

    Despite signing a three-year deal last July, he will become the ninth full-time manager to leave the club under Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich.

    Throughout the 60-year-old Italian’s time at Stamford Bridge there was repeated speculation about his position, with Chelsea fans expressing their discontent at tactics and team selections.

    One of the low points came in February when goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga challenged his authority by refusing to be substituted in the Carabao Cup final at Wembley, shortly before Chelsea were beaten in a penalty shootout by Manchester City.

    But Sarri did manage to win his first ever trophy as manager with a 4-1 victory over Arsenal in May in the Europa League final, and after the match said “he deserved” to stay with the club.

    Chelsea are currently unable to sign any players after they were banned for two transfer windows by Fifa – a decision they are appealing at the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

    Their star player Eden Hazard has joined Real Madrid for a fee that could exceed £150m.

    Significantly, Chelsea have not asked for the suspension to be put on hold until a final decision is reached. It means their only new arrival might be USA forward Christian Pulisic, a £58m signing from Borussia Dortmund in January, who spent the remainder of the campaign on loan in Germany.

    Juventus are managerless after Massimiliano Allegri left at the end of last season, having won the league title in each of his five seasons since taking charge in 2014.

  • Man Utd, Chelsea open new Premier League season

    Man Utd, Chelsea open new Premier League season

    Manchester United will host Chelsea on the first match day of the 2019/2020 English Premier League.

    The Red Devils, who finished sixth in the concluded season, missed out of a place in the UEFA Champions League.

    They will hope their dismissal performance will not continue in the coming season, as they face scary rivals in Wolves (who beat them twice last season), Crystal Palace, Southampton and Leicester City in the next four fixtures after hosting the Blues.

    Chelsea, on their part, will entertain Leicester next before playing against Norwich and Sheffield United.

    Defending Champions, Manchester City will start the defence of their title at West Ham. They will next go through their first acid test in the next game when they host Tottenham Hotspurs, who eliminated them in the last UEFA Champions League season.

    But it will be Liverpool that will raise the curtain of the season on the 9th of August, when they host promoted Norwich on the evening of Friday 9 August.

    The current winners of the UEFA Champions will hope to win the title this time, have come so clos, fighting till the last day of last season. They face Southampton, Arsenal and Burnley in their next three matches.

    They will however have a tough end to the season as they travel to Arsenal (May 2), play at home to Chelsea (May 9) and then conclude the season at Newcastle on May 17.

    Manchester City and Liverpool, the two teams who fought for the title last season, have been paired to meet at Anfield on November 9, 2019, before the return at the Etihad on April 4, 2020.

  • Aina completes permanent transfer to Torino from Chelsea

    Aina completes permanent transfer to Torino from Chelsea

    English Premier League clubside Chelsea say Nigeria defender Ola Aina has joined Serie A side AS Torino on a permanent deal.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Aina spent last season on loan at Torino and made a huge impression at the club.

    His performance prompted the Italian club to trigger a buyout option in their loan agreement.

    “Everyone at Chelsea Football Club would like to thank Ola for his services and we wish him the best of luck for the next stage in his career,” a statement on Chelsea’s official website on Wednesday read in part.

    Torino also posted a short message on their social media platform expressing their delight on the permanent acquisition of Aina from Chelsea.

    NAN also reports that the 22-year-old defender made 30 league appearances as Torino finished seventh, scoring his first goal for the club in a 1-0 win over Udinese in February.

    An FA Youth Cup and UEFA Youth League winner during his time at the Chelsea academy, Aina made just three Premier League appearances for the London side.

    All of his appearances came in his second season as a senior professional as Antonio Conte guided them to the Premier League title.

    Aina’s departure means Cesar Azpilicueta and David Zappacosta are the only right-backs in the Chelsea squad.

    The versatile defender is in Nigeria’s squad for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Egypt.

  • Chelsea coach Sarri moves out of London home

    Chelsea coach Sarri moves out of London home

    Maurizio Sarri has moved out of his London home as he waits for Chelsea to allow him to move to Juventus.

    The Daily Mail says Sarri and his staff remain in limbo while they wait for his Chelsea exit to be rubber-stamped.

    Sarri went back to Italy last week ahead of his expected appointment as Juventus boss.

    Once he returned to his home in Tuscany, Sarri gave an interview to an Italian magazine explaining how much he has missed Italy while he has been in charge at Chelsea.

    Yet the clearest hint that he has no intention of coming back to England is the fact he has cleared out the Surrey home he was staying in and moved all his property back to Italy.

    Members of his coaching staff had also given their notice ahead of moving out of their rented properties before Sarri vacated his home.

     

  • EPL: Chelsea in final talk with Lampard to replace Sarri

    Chelsea has made a move with the club former midfielder, Frank Lampard, over the chance of replacing Maurizio Sarri.

    Sarri, who ended third in the Premier League table and won the Europa League, is ready to sign for the Italian giants, Juventus.

    However, Max Allegri, who might be succeeded by Sarri in Turin, was the early choice to coach at the Stamford Bridge.

    The 51-year-old is likely to undertake a sabbatical forcing Chelsea to pursue alternative options to replace the Italian international.

    Also, Newcastle boss Rafael Benitez, Ajax’s Erik ten Hag, Watford’s Javi Gracia have also been linked with the Stamford Bridge job, but Lampard is believed to top the list of coaches.

    Meanwhile, Chelsea is said to be in doubts over Lampard’s competency, given that his lack of managerial experience, with just one season at Derby under his watch, is not enough.

    Recall that the 40-year-old narrowly missed out on promotion, losing in the play-off final to Aston Villa.

  • Tiemoue Bakayoko’s future at Chelsea decided

    Tiemoue Bakayoko’s future at Chelsea decided

    Chelsea midfielder, Tiemoue Bakayoko, will stay till next season and will not complete a permanent move to AC Milan, according to his agent, Federico Pastorello.

    The Frenchman moved to the Milan last summer in a season-long loan deal, with the Rossoneri having the option to buy him outright for €35million this summer.

    However, the midfielder struggled to break into Milan’s starting eleven even earning for himself public criticism by former manager Gennaro Gattuso.

    But then, Bakayoko’s fortunes at the club changed and he became one of the most important players in the team.

    Now, Bakayoko’s agent has revealed that the former Monaco man will be playing at Stamford Bridge next season despite reports linking him with a move to Milan’s city rival, Inter.

    “There are some rather interested clubs, we have received so many proposals, but we give priority to Chelsea,” Pastorello told L’Equipe.

    “There is the Champions League and we are looking for stability, Tiémoué has decided to stay in London.”

  • The call of Italy is strong, says Chelsea boss Sarri

    The call of Italy is strong, says Chelsea boss Sarri

    Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri says he misses Italy amid reports he could leave the club to join Juventus.

    Sarri’s future has been the subject of debate all season despite only moving to Stamford Bridge from Napoli last summer.

    The 60-year-old led Chelsea to third in the Premier League, the Carabao Cup final and won the Europa League in the final against Arsenal on 29 May.

    “For us Italians the call of home is strong,” Sarri told Vanity Fair.

    “I feel that something is missing. It has been a heavy year. I begin to feel the weight of distant friends and elderly parents I rarely see.

    “But at my age, I only make professional choices. I won’t be able to work for 20 years. It’s hard work, the bench.”

    Sarri says his relationship with the Napoli fans will not change even if he does move to a rival Italian club.

    “The Neapolitans know the love I feel for them. I chose to move abroad last year and not to go on an Italian team,” he said, having managed them from 2015 to 2018.

    “The relationship will not change. Loyalty is giving 110% when you are there. What does it mean to be faithful?”

    Sarri, who is due to hold talks with Chelsea about his future, said he thinks he “deserves” to stay at the club after their 4-1 Europa League final victory.