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Tag: Chelsea

  • God didn’t want me to join Chelsea – Omorodion

    God didn’t want me to join Chelsea – Omorodion

    Porto striker Samu Omorodion admits that he could have joined Chelsea in the summer.

    The young forward signed for Porto from Atletico Madrid for a modest fee close to deadline day.

    However, the Bleus had agreed a £34M transfer that included Conor Gallagher going to Atleti.

    Instead, they backed out of the deal and signed Joao Felix to allow Gallagher to make the move.

    “I had a very difficult summer,” he told Spanish outlet RTVE.

    “We had a really bad time because in the end everyone knows that I was close to signing, but it’s true that if it didn’t happen, it was for a reason, because God didn’t want it.

    “I’m also very grateful to Porto for giving me the opportunity when things looked at their worst, and I’m very happy with where I am now. I’ve left the past behind and now I’m focused on what’s coming to me.”

    Tribalfootball

  • Osimhen’s January move to Chelsea cannot be ruled out – Napoli director

    Osimhen’s January move to Chelsea cannot be ruled out – Napoli director

    Napoli director Mauro Meluso has said the club are open to selling Victor Osimhen to Premier League side Chelsea this January after a failed summer move.

    The striker was strongly linked with a move to West London but the deal was never finalised and instead he made a last minute loan move to Galatasaray where he has two goals and three assists in four appearances.

    Osimhen’s £109m release clause, which no club was willing to pay in the summer, is no longer active and it is reported that his price has since been cut to around £68m.

    Reports from Corriere dello Sport state that the Nigerian forward is still adamant on joining the Blues.

    Meluso spoke on the striker’s move to Turkey and how a deal with Chelsea could be reached as the Italian club look to sell a player who is no longer part if their plans.

    “It was a last-minute solution so he would not lose the first three months of the season,” Meluso said during the Palermo Football Conference. “We will see in January.”

    The Napoli director added: “He no longer wanted to be part of the first-team.

    “He had received an important offer even before I arrived at Napoli, but (Napoli chairman) Aurelio De Laurentiis didn’t consider it because he thought about the club’s good.

    “He may have made wrong decisions but did them to keep Napoli competitive.”

    Tribalfootball

  • It’s always an honour to play for England – Madueke

    It’s always an honour to play for England – Madueke

    Chelsea winger Noni Madueke is proud to be back in the England squad this week.

    Speaking ahead of last night’s Nations League defeat to Greece at Wembley, Madueke says Three Lions selection is an “honour”.

    “I’m honoured to be back in the squad,” Madueke opened.

    “It’s always an honour to play for your country and it’s one of the best squads in the world, so it’s always an honour to be a part of it. You have to keep doing as well for your club in order for you to get called up to your country, so I’m really pleased.

    “My England debut was great. First and foremost, we won the game, but assisting the second goal was special, especially assisting Harry (Kane) on that historical night for him. I was very pleased and hopefully there are more great memories in an England shirt.”

  • EPL club will explore Janaury move for Osimhen

    EPL club will explore Janaury move for Osimhen

    English Premier League club Chelsea may yet get a second chance at signing Victor Osimhen this winter.

    The Blues were linked to the Nigerian forward throughout the summer window.

    However, a move did not materialize, with Osimhen going to Galatasaray on loan instead.

    According to Corrierre dello Sport, Osimhen remains eager to go to the Premier League.

    Whether a deal can be done between Chelsea and Napoli is not yet clear.

    However, there is a clear will from the player to get a move to Stamford Bridge.

    Tribalfootball

  • Nottingham Forest draw at Stamford Bridge in feisty encounter

    Nottingham Forest draw at Stamford Bridge in feisty encounter

    Chris Wood and Noni Madueke scored as Chelsea and Nottingham Forest played out a tactical and feisty draw at Stamford Bridge.

    Forest went ahead when 32-year-old striker Wood slid in a finish past Robert Sanchez after a good set-piece routine involving James Ward-Prowse and Nikola Milenkovic in the 49th minute.

    But Chelsea responded quickly as Madueke equalised eight minutes later after cutting in on his left foot and shooting, his fourth such effort having had the beating of left-back Alex Moreno.

    Midfielder Morgan Gibbs-White came off injured in the second half – putting his chances of contributing with England this month in major doubt as he gingerly walked off the pitch, looking in pain and frustrated.

    Referee Chris Kavanagh sent off Forest’s Ward-Prowse for deliberately handling the ball to stop a Nicolas Jackson counter-attack in the second half, giving him a second yellow card, having booked him earlier on for a more conventional tactical foul on star man Cole Palmer.

    Then, Madueke also appeared to go off injured after a melee sparked by Neco Williams, who pushed defender Marc Cucurella into Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca.

    Chelsea looked to their extensive bench to win the match, bringing on Christopher Nkunku, Joao Felix, Mykhailo Mudryk and Pedro Neto to win the game with a man advantage, but Palmer had two chances well saved by Matz Sels and Felix headed an effort wide in stoppage time.

    There were two huge efforts saved in the closing minutes.

    Williams curling effort for the visitors was saved by Sanchez, before – at the other end – Nkunku’s diving header was saved at close range by Sels.

    It felt like a close match of two in-form clubs pitting their records against each other, with Chelsea dominant in the latter stages.

    The Blues’ five-game winning run has ended but they remain unbeaten in the league since the opening match of the season, while Forest are undefeated on the road in six matches, their longest such run since 1995.

    BBC

  • Chelsea spirit helped me settle quickly – Veiga

    Chelsea spirit helped me settle quickly – Veiga

    Renato Veiga says he’s been able to settle quickly at Chelsea thanks to the squad’s team spirit.

    The defender arrived in the summer from FC Basel and is already impressing for manager Enzo Maresca.

    “We have a really good group with great individuals and good values,’ Veiga said.

    “We really like each other and are building a family, you could say. Everyone has integrated really well and the group is really together.

    “There aren’t little groups within the squad like on other teams I’ve been on, but that happens and is normal. It’s special that here in Chelsea now, we have a big group, a big family, and everyone feels together.”

    Veiga says the players have quickly responded to manager Maresca’s methods.

    “That’s what the manager wants, that we can swap a player but the ideas and the timings are there,” he told the Chelsea website.

    “It’s independent of the player that’s in each position. The manager wants us to be in the right place at the right time. So that’s what we try to do, to follow what he says.

    “We just have to put our quality in and enjoy the game.”

  • Cole Palmer breaks EPL record, shines in Brighton win

    Cole Palmer breaks EPL record, shines in Brighton win

    Cole Palmer became the first player to score four first-half goals in a Premier League game as Chelsea swept away Brighton to go third in the table.

    In a remarkably entertaining match, Palmer, 22, also hit the post and had a further goal ruled out before the break as Chelsea’s rapid frontline cashed in on Brighton’s stubborn insistence on playing a high defensive line.

    Albion scored twice early on themselves as fans were treated at a sun-kissed Stamford Bridge, with both of their strikes owing something to errors from Chelsea’s former Brighton goalkeeper Robert Sanchez.

    But, after Georginio Rutter headed the visitors ahead, Palmer took a firm grasp of the game with a stunning individual display.

    The England player had hit the post and put the ball in the net from an offside position before opening the scoring from Nicolas Jackson’s pass – with all three chances coming in the space of 138 breathless seconds.

    Palmer then scored his 10th consecutive successful penalty for Chelsea after the impressive Jadon Sancho was brought down, before capping a 10-minute hat-trick with a brilliant 25-yard free kick into the top corner.

    A fourth for Palmer, arrowed in from a Sancho pass, came soon after Carlos Baleba had seized on Sanchez’s poor ball out to give Brighton hope.

    Chelsea, who put six past Wolves last month, were again superb going forwards but Brighton’s refusal to change their approach after such a flurry of identical chances was bizarre, bordering on naive as young manager Fabian Hurzeler tasted defeat for the first time.

    Perhaps predictably the second half was far less incident-packed – although Palmer did waste a great chance for a fifth when he fired wide.

    BBC

  • Neto reveals reason for settling quickly at Chelsea

    Neto reveals reason for settling quickly at Chelsea

    Portuguese player Pedro Neto is happy with the way he’s settled in at Chelsea.

    The former Wolves winger scored a first goal for the Blues in their Carabao Cup win against Barrow.

    “It is togetherness,” Neto said regarding how he’s been able to adjust so quickly. “If we want to achieve something and you want to arrive at the level of the teams that are on the top then we have to act the same way; all together and all with the same goal, working hard together.

    “With the amount of quality we have here, no one can sleep. As the head coach has said, everyone will not play every game, so we have to work hard and continue to do it every week, in every training session, and every game.

    “That is the mentality I hope will take us to the top.

    “I am settling in really well. I needed time and the pre-season because I went to the Euros without playing many games so I am working hard to get into my best shape.

    “I will continue to work to bring happiness to this club and take the club to where it deserves to be.”

    He added: “I continue to work (on my fitness) and I continue to work on my confidence, my football and the adaptation. I hope to (reach my top level) as soon as I can.”

  • Jackson scores brace as Chelsea thrash West Ham

    Jackson scores brace as Chelsea thrash West Ham

    Nicolas Jackson scored twice as Chelsea condemned lacklustre West Ham to a third consecutive home defeat in the Premier League.

    Chelsea took a fourth-minute lead after West Ham’s players switched off at a free-kick which allowed Jadon Sancho to send Jackson clear on the left.

    Jackson left Edson Alvarez trailing in his wake then cut inside on to his right foot and threaded a low shot through the legs of Alphonse Areola.

    The Hammers’ lack of intensity was in evidence again 14 minutes later as Moises Caicedo was afforded time to slip the jet-heeled Jackson in again.

    This time Jackson left behind Max Kilman and produced a deft finish with the outside of the boot, with Areola caught in no-man’s land.

    Chelsea effectively wrapped up the points two minutes after half-time as Jackson turned provider.

    A swift counterattack culminated in the Senegal striker outfoxing the retreating West Ham defence with a clever reverse pass, and Cole Palmer fired emphatically beyond Areola.

    West Ham had earlier felt aggrieved when a strong penalty appeal – checked by VAR – was turned down after Crysencio Summerville went to ground following a tussle with Wesley Fofana.

    Mohammed Kudus, West Ham’s most likely source of a goal, had the ball in the net before half-time but was flagged for offside while Jarrod Bowen forced Robert Sanchez to save well at his near post after the break.

    Chelsea’s victory puts them within two points of Premier League leaders Manchester City, while West Ham are left languishing in the bottom half, three points above the relegation zone.

    BBC

  • Enzo Maresca gives Chelsea injury updates

    Enzo Maresca gives Chelsea injury updates

    Chelsea manager, Enzo Maresca, has revealed that Reece James’ return from injury has been delayed.

    James has been dogged by hamstring injuries and is yet to feature this season.

    Maresca has now said there is no scheduled return date for the full-back.

    “His injury is a bit delayed,” Maresca said.

    “The most important thing for him, and for any injury, is that the players come back when they are 100 per cent fit but Reece is still out.

    “Unfortunately we don’t have an idea,” he added when asked when he could return.

    Maresca also confirmed Enzo Fernandez and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall will be available again for Saturday’s meeting with West Ham but Malo Gusto is still out.