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Tag: Chelsea

  • EPL: Chelsea make Madueke transfer decision

    EPL: Chelsea make Madueke transfer decision

    Chelsea are growing increasingly frustrated with winger Noni Madueke and could allow him to leave the club in the upcoming transfer window.

    According to TBR, Chelsea are looking to cash in on the 23-year-old, with several Premier League clubs interested in the winger.

    Tottenham, Aston Villa, and Newcastle are all said to be interested in the England international who could be available for as little as £30 million.

    Madueke has been out of action since Valentine’s Day, picking up a hamstring injury in Chelsea’s humiliating 3-0 Premier League defeat to Brighton.

    The winger has been a key player for Enzo Maresca, scoring eight goals and providing four assists in his 28 games across all competitions.

  • Why Super Eagles star the perfect striker for Chelsea – Pennant

    Why Super Eagles star the perfect striker for Chelsea – Pennant

    Jermaine Pennant has revealed why Super Eagles star Victor Osimhen is the perfect man for Premier League side Chelsea.

    The Blues missed out on signing the Nigerian international despite making a late push for the striker as he neared the exit at Napoli.

    However, the former Liverpool player is backing the Stamford Bridge giants to revive their pursuit of the former African Player of the Year, who is in excellent form for Galatasaray.

    “He (Osimhen) would change things for Chelsea without a shout of a doubt. He knows how to put the ball in the back of the net. His numbers are flying in, his numbers are great,” Pennant told Talk Sports.

    “I’m gonna look back to Jackson and how many chances he gets a game, but the conversion rate isn’t great. He can have three or four clear-cut chances and he won’t put any of them away.

    “You’re scratching your head, thinking about how have Chelsea come away with a draw or a loss. I think someone like Osimhen, who is prolific in front of goal would boost Chelsea or boost any team.”

    Osimhen turned down a lucrative move to the Saudi Pro League after Al-Ahli had an €80 million (£68m/$88m) offer accepted, ultimately agreeing to a season-long loan in Turkey.

  • Transfer: It’s easy for Chelsea to get Osimhen’s deal done – Mikel Obi

    Transfer: It’s easy for Chelsea to get Osimhen’s deal done – Mikel Obi

    Napoli’s Victor Osimhen has been tipped for a move to Chelsea this summer by his former international team-mate John Obi Mikel.

    Osimhen’s £63M release clause in his contract, which can be activated this summer, makes it almost certain that he will leave the club for a new challenge as several top sides are linked with a move for him. The 26-year-old has spent this season on loan at Galatasaray, scoring an impressive 26 goals in 30 matches across all competitions.

    The Nigerian international was subject to an approach from Chelsea last summer but talks broke down and he ended up going to Turkey where he has certainly found his feet. Mikel is adamant that the striker wants a move to Stamford Bridge under manager Enzo Maresca who is in need of attacking talent.

    “(Chelsea) almost got the deal done for Osimhen last summer,” Mikel told Sky Sports News. “The club wanted the player and the player wanted to come as well.

    “I know exactly where we stopped. If we have to pick it up again in the summer, it’s just pretty easy to get it done because the player really wants to come to the football club.”

    Mikel believes that Chelsea should be desperate to sign the Nigerian international if they are serious about challenging for the Premier League title which has been out of their grasp for a number of years now despite major investment.

    “If you’re talking about a striker to come in and help Chelsea Football Club, you have to talk about Alexander Isak and you have to talk about Victor Osimhen,” he continued. “For me, these are the top two strikers. If we were able to get one of those guys they would definitely help for next season in terms of being able to compete to win the Premier League.”

  • EPL: Chelsea make Maresca sack decision

    EPL: Chelsea make Maresca sack decision

    Premier League club Chelsea will continue to back incumbent manager Enzo Maresca despite their 1-0 defeat to rivals Arsenal on Sunday and growing frustrations among the fans regarding his style of play.

    According to BBC Sport, the 45-year-old still has a ‘platform to succeed’ at the West London club regardless of their ongoing poor run of form.

    Mikel Merino’s 20th-minute strike was more than enough to ear Mikel Arteta’s side a fairly comfortable 1-0 win at the Emirates, taking them nine points clear of Chelsea in fourth.

    It is emphasised that, unlike last season under Mauricio Pochettino, there is no sense of division behind the scenes or rising concerns about the club’s direction. Those in charge of key decisions remain fully convinced that Maresca is the right person for the job.

    Chelsea were considered early title challengers, rising as high as second before struggling throughout the festive period and the new year, winning just four of their last 13 Premier League games.

    Maresca’s side remain in Champions League contention come the end of the season, although newly crowned Carabao Cup champions Newcastle United sit two points behind them with a game in hand.

    The Italian defended his players after the defeat to Arsenal, suggesting that they ‘controlled the game’, a sentiment that fans didn’t appear to agree with.

    One fan wrote on X, formally known as Twitter,: “We controlled the game”??!! Honestly it’s worrying how deluded he is. Controlling the bits of the pitch with sideways passing doesn’t mean you control the game. We didn’t look threatening at all. Arsenal forced us wide & shut the central areas out comfortably.”

    Chelsea will host Ange Postecoglu’s struggling Tottenham side after the international break as they seek to do a Premier League double over their rivals.

  • Arsenal’s make-shift striker proves matchwinner against Chelsea

    Arsenal’s make-shift striker proves matchwinner against Chelsea

    Arsenal ended a three-match winless Premier League (PL) run with a narrow 1-0 victory over London rivals Chelsea, extending the Blues’ worrying away league run to seven matches without a win (D2, L5).

    Early sighters from Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Martinelli set the tone for a first half in which Chelsea largely struggled to impose themselves.

    The Blues were on the back foot for much of the period, with Arsenal having plenty of joy down the right flank as Jurriën Timber’s cutback from the byline caused a moment of panic for the visitors.

    Unsurprisingly, the breakthrough eventually came from the right, where a corner was conceded, allowing Martin Ødegaard to whip in a ball that was looped over a nervy Robert Sánchez via the head of makeshift striker Mikel Merino.

    At the other end, Chelsea’s stand-in centre forward Pedro Neto was often finding himself isolated, but his side improved as the half wore on, coming close to an equaliser when Marc Cucurella’s volley slipped through David Raya’s hands, trickling agonisngly past the far post.

    Nevertheless, Arsenal kept the Blues at bay until the break, adding a 10th HT lead at the Emirates to their tally – a league high.

    Attempting to cope in the absence of an injured Cole Palmer, Chelsea made a quiet start to the second half, failing to continue their previously growing momentum following the interval.

    With an hour played, Sánchez was called into action to prevent Merino from doubling Arsenal’s advantage, making a fine save to stop a well-taken volley from crossing the line. A rather tame effort from Ødegaard soon followed before a low-key period lacking in notable action.

    Still searching for a response, Enzo Maresca’s men pushed for a late equaliser, but ultimately to no avail as the well-organised hosts held firm.

    Closing a 12-point gap to league leaders Liverpool looks to be beyond Mikel Arteta’s side at this late stage of the campaign, but victory here does give Arsenal breathing room in their bid to secure UEFA Champions League (UCL) qualification, now 10 points clear of fifth-placed Manchester City.

    One point and one place above last season’s champions, Chelsea remain in the last certain UCL spot, although a seventh PL H2H (D2, L5) without victory will have done little to boost their confidence ahead of the run-in.

    Tribalfootball

  • Cucurella “has something that is difficult to find” – Maresca

    Cucurella “has something that is difficult to find” – Maresca

    Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has admitted that defender Marc Cucurella is a special talent after his performance against Leicester City.

    The Blues’ 1-0 win over the Foxes was thanks to the Spaniard’s pinpoint finish from outside the box which is his fifth since mid-December. Another three points took Maresca’s side back into the top four and he had nothing but praise for the 26-year-old who has played a pivotal role this season.

    Maresca said: “Marc has something that is difficult to find.

    “He is clever and is intelligent. He scored two goals against Wolves and Brentford and he is probably the smallest one in the team. This shows you how intelligent he is because he is in the right position.

    “He is playing like an attacking midfielder and is doing fantastic. He has scored four or five goals with us.”

    Cucurella will be hoping to make an impact in the Conference League on Thursday night as Chelsea look to finish the job against FC Kobenhavn in West London. Maresca may opt to rotate his side much like the first leg, but after a difficult 2-1 victory first time out the likes of Cucurella may get their chance to push the club into the next round and one step closer to the final.

  • EPL: Cucurella fires Chelsea back to top four

    EPL: Cucurella fires Chelsea back to top four

    Chelsea moved back into the Premier League top four as Marc Cucurella’s second-half strike sealed a scrappy 1-0 win against Leicester City at Stamford Bridge.

    It was the Spain left-back’s fifth goal of the season – and second in successive league games after netting against Southampton.

    Cucurella’s crucial goal came on the hour mark, beating visiting keeper Mads Hermansen with a left-footed effort from 25 yards.

    Chelsea had been frustrated until then, with Hermansen saving Cole Palmer’s penalty midway through the first half following a trip on Jadon Sancho by Victor Kristiansen.

    The miss ended Palmer’s 100% record from the spot – having scored his previous 12 – and prolonged the playmaker’s goalless run to nine matches in all competitions.

    Leicester impressed during the first half and came close to opening the scoring in bizarre circumstances when Blues defender Tosin Adarabioyo headed against his own crossbar.

    But that was as close as the Foxes came, with Enzo Maresca’s men improving after the break and claim the winner to leapfrog Manchester City and take a two-point advantage over the reigning champions.

    Defeat for Leicester left them second bottom in the table, behind 18th-placed Ipswich on goal difference and six points adrift of Wolves in 17th.

    BBC

  • ‘They made me change in youth locker room’ – Lukaku on his time at Chelsea

    ‘They made me change in youth locker room’ – Lukaku on his time at Chelsea

    Romelu Lukaku has opened up on his nightmare second spell at Chelsea after a huge £98M move in the summer of 2021 from Inter Milan.

    The forward, 31, scored 15 goals in 44 games in his second spell at Stamford Bridge but was ridiculed by the media and frozen out by the club who he claims tried to portray him as something he was not. Speaking to Italian paper Corriere dello Sport he revealed he was not the only squad member who was mistreated.

    “I wasn’t alone at Chelsea. Aubameyang and Ziyech were also out of the project.

    “They made us change in the youth locker room. It’s business, the club tells you it doesn’t want you anymore and often also where you’ll end up.

    “But if you want to leave, even for serious reasons, you don’t have the option. They drag it out until the last moment, they wear you down.

    “Clubs have relationships with the media, and it doesn’t take much to put a player in a difficult position or create the wrong image.

    “Believe me, I’ve seen things I never thought I would. One day, I’d like to explain all of this to younger players, who is really working for them and who is working against them.’

    The 31-year-old went on to reveal that he feels supporters always had the wrong impression of him in English football, where he would often be called overweight and lazy.

    “In England they had the wrong idea,” he continued. “For them I was lazy, but I never reacted to the attacks. I am someone who does his job and then goes home.

    “In Italy, the opinion has been reversed, here I am a worker. Now (at Napoli) I am better than when I was at Inter. There I was 101kg, here 99kg.”

    During Lukaku’s time at Chelsea, Roma and United, he played under legendary manager Jose Mourinho and reports claimed that the pair didn’t see eye-to-eye, particularly as Mourinho sold Lukaku when at Chelsea.

    “Nothing happened between me and him,’ he explained. “Jose is a winner, I had him twice.

    “I will never speak badly of him, at Roma he didn’t have a top team, but he went all the way.”

  • Enzo Maresca targets top 4 for Chelsea

    Enzo Maresca targets top 4 for Chelsea

    Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca has set his players a clear target to win their seven remaining home games and ensure a return to the Champions League.

    The 45-year-old has been wary of committing himself by speaking publicly about aims for the season, but with the team having spent most of the campaign in the top four, he has made his expectations clear.

    The sides still to visit Stamford Bridge this season, six are currently in the bottom half of the Premier League, with leaders Liverpool the exception.

    The team has only the division’s seventh-best home record this campaign having won six of their 12 games so far, losing twice.

    “We have 13 games to go and seven of them are at home,” Maresca told a news conference on Friday. “I think that winning the seven at home can be enough to finish top four,”he said.

    That will leave Chelsea on 64 points, well short of the average of around 70 that has been required to finish in the top four across all Premier League seasons.

    However, assuming they do not suffer a total collapse in their away form, it will likely provide a sure foundation to qualify the Champions League for the first time since 2022.

    There is the added likelihood of fifth place being sufficient to qualify owing to the performance of English clubs in Europe this season.

    “We’ve spent almost our season in the top four,” said Maresca, who is facing an injury crisis for Saturday’s trip to Aston Villa.

    Noni Madueke the latest addition to a list of six players who are out. The winger has a hamstring problem and is likely to be out until April.

    “Now we have just 13 games to go, so now the target for us is to finish top four, to try to finish in the best way.

    “The difficult moment that we have now is probably because of the injury situation. We have five, six players that are significant players that are out.

    “I watched again the first game against Villa (a 3-0 win in December) and we have five players probably that are out. The team has changed completely.”

    Maresca is enduring the toughest spell of his tenure with the team on a run of two wins from nine in the league, having been second and two points off the summit on Dec. 22.

    The performance in losing 3-0 to Brighton last time out was one of their poorest of the campaign and left them trailing fourth-placed Manchester City by a point.

    “I’ve been clear since day one,” said Maresca. “I’m not here to survive, I’m here to win games. I’m here to bring this club to fight for titles.

    “The problem is that when you win games you look humble, and when you don’t win you look like a lack of ambition.

    “I’m ambitious. The club is ambitious. We have the same manager and same players and same sporting director as two months ago when we were second in the league.

    “Nothing has changed, only unfortunately that we are dealing with many injuries. This has affected the level of the team,“he said.

  • Madueke hands Maresca fresh injury headache at Chelsea

    Madueke hands Maresca fresh injury headache at Chelsea

    Winger Noni Madueke has become the third Chelsea forward ruled out until after the March international break.

    The 22-year-old winger will be sidelined for over a month after suffering a hamstring injury in Friday’s 3-0 loss to Brighton, a game Nicolas Jackson and Marc Guiu also missed.

    Like them, Madueke isn’t expected back until April, as he is also set to miss out on selection for Thomas Tuchel’s first England squad ahead of next month’s World Cup qualifiers.

    “I don’t think we miss Joao. He’s happy there (Milan) and we’re happy that he’s happy,” manager Enzo Maresca stated about the loaned out forward Joao Felix.

    “Two injuries on the last day of the transfer window. It’s a tough one. Nico could be back soon.

    “Sometimes I think we need to play a few games without certain players to realise their importance.”