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Chelsea Transfer Rumours: Leading race for English defender, French left-back on the radar, Hunt for French winger
Chelsea have expressed the desire to add Harry Darling. The MK Dons defender is a sought-after prospect in the lower levels of English football, with the centre-back being the centre of attention for many teams across the PL. The London giants are among the teams keeping close tabs on his development.
But they are joined by Brighton while the recently relegated Norwich City are involved in the equation as well. A native of Cambridge, Harry joined MK Dons at the start of last year.
The jump from League Two to League One was not as difficult for Darling, who instantly became the lynchpin of the MK defence, racking up over 2,000 minutes of league action during the second half of the 2020/21 season. During his 18-month spell at the club so far, the 22-year-old centre-back has played 71 competitive games.
A defender by trade, the English centre-back is regarded as a modern-day defender who is adept at passing the ball out from the back and breaking the lines with his impressive range of passing. The Englishman’s skill set has not gone unnoticed, with the Blues recently expressing the desire to snap up the defender ahead of the new campaign.
With Rudiger joining Real Madrid and both Azpilicueta and Christensen being linked to a move to Barcelona, Chelsea are currently desperate for defensive reinforcements. The London giants are primarily targeting big-name footballers who can offer instant quality and stability in the defence.
Real Madrid will not put Ferland Mendy up for sale but could cash in on him if a suitor presents an attractive proposal. Los Blancos are open to offloading the 27-year-old defender for nearly €50m amid interest from Chelsea and Man United.
France international joined La Liga giants from Lyon in summer 2019 and has since endured a mixed bag of a stint with the Spanish club. While the French defender has garnered a lot of success in Real Madrid, he has also had some fitness issues, particularly in the 2021/22 campaign.
The Frenchman has turned out 105 times for Los Blancos thus far, chipping in with five goals and nine assists. But the former Lyon defender faces an uncertain future at La Liga giants ahead of the summer transfer window following Rudiger’s arrival in a Bosman move.
However, Mendy will not have a shortage of suitors if he leaves the Spanish club, with Chelsea and Man United keen on signing the defender.
The interest from the Blues stems from the uncertainties surrounding the future of Alonso. Marcos wants to return to his homeland in the summer transfer window amid links with Barcelona, with the London giants unlikely to stand in his way.
Ferland is thus a viable target for the Blues, who could have a world-class left wing-back arsenal in the Real Madrid defender and Ben Chilwell. But Chelsea will have to stave off stiff competition from Man United to secure the services of the French left-back in the summer transfer window.
Barcelona’s latest contract renewal offer was their last proposal. The Blaugrana are ready to end negotiations with Ousmane Dembele over a new contract, and he will likely move to Chelsea in a Bosman move in the summer transfer window.
France international’s stint with the London giants has left supporters divided. While Dembele has shown plenty of promise and delivered the goods in the 2021/22 campaign, his attitude problems and fitness woes have frustrated several in the Catalan giants’ fanbase.
Ousmane was top-class this past campaign, ending the season with more assists than anyone else in La Liga (13) despite playing just 21 matches. But the 25-year-old winger’s long-term future has left La Liga giants in a spot of bother for several months, especially with several European bigwigs, including the Blues, hot on his heels.
The Spanish club had announced back in winter that they would not offer the French forward a new deal after the two sides failed to reach an agreement. But negotiations resumed after the winter transfer window ended, with the Frenchman showing an inclination to remain at Barcelona.
But the Catalan giants’ hopes have been fading in the last few weeks, with recent reports touting the Blues as the favourites to add the former Borussia Dortmund winger.
The Blues will need to strengthen the front line in the summer transfer window, with Werner, Pulisic, Lukaku and Ziyech facing uncertain futures at Stamford Bridge. And the World Cup winner will be a solid addition to Chelsea’s squad this coming summer.
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Michael Carrick singles out one Chelsea player following the 6-1 defeat, but the national media disagrees
Chelsea smashed six goals past the Championship team as they booked their spot in next month’s Carabao Cup final.
The Blues trailed 1-0 from the first-leg, but the Premier League side made no mistake in Tuesday’s second-leg.
Chelsea took the lead through a Jonny Howson own-goal, with Enzo Fernandez, Axel Disasi and Cole Palmer scoring before the break.
Palmer bagged his second goal of the night to add his side’s fifth as Noni Madueke completed the rout.
After the match, Manchester United legend Carrick spoke glowingly about Palmer, calling him a ‘real talent’ in high praise.
“He is a real talent. Nice lad as well. Down to Earth and you can see when you come up against him he will go on to have a great career. It’s not nice when you are on the end of it but we can appreciate and respect how good he is,” he said via The Mirror.
Mauricio Pochettino echoed Carrick’s sentiment and hailed the 21-year-old’s ability to play anywhere in the forward line.
“He is a player with an amazing talent. It is a player that understands the game. He has the quality and the talent to see the situation and to read the game in another aspect,” he added.
“He can play from the right, striker or in behind the striker. We try to give him freedom because in this type of game he can find the best position to help the team. For me, [the best part] is when he presses and then the intuition to get the ball back.”
Palmer, who joined the Stamford Bridge outfit from Manchester City last summer, has been in brilliant form this season, scoring 11 goals in all competitions.
However, the national media picked out another Chelsea star as Matt Law of The Telegraph wrote about Ben Chilwell’s importance.
“What a difference a left-back makes. This was not just Ben Chilwell’s first start since September, it was the first time he started in his preferred position all season,” he said.
“And how Chelsea have missed him. Wearing the captain’s armband, Chilwell looked like he had never been away and sent a message to Mauricio Pochettino to give up on playing him as a winger.”
Chilwell started his first game for four months as he starred on the left-hand side in Chelsea’s victory over Boro.
The 27-year-old has only managed nine appearances in all competitions this season, having been blighted with injuries.
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Victor Osimhen breaks silence on his future amid Chelsea and Arsenal striker transfer hunt
The latest Chelsea and Arsenal transfer news as the striker has been linked with a move to the Premier League after impressing for Napoli.
Napoli striker Victor Osimhen has said that his full concentration is on helping Nigeria go as far as they can in the Africa Cup of Nations amid talk over his future.
Arsenal and Chelsea are among the teams to have been linked with an interest in the 25-year-old. football.london understands that Chelsea wanted to sign Osimhen in the summer , but Napoli’s reluctance to part ways with the player meant that attention was turned to Nicolas Jackson instead.
Mikel Arteta is likely to want to add to his striking options when the summer transfer window opens. Osimhen has been touted as a potential target.
The striker’s contract with Napoli expires in 2025, meaning that the summer could be one of the last chances that Napoli have to get a decent fee for the player if he doesn’t sign a new deal with the club. That has led to speculation that he could be on the move sooner rather than later.
Osimhen is currently on international duty with Nigeria who have secured their place in the knockout stages of the Africa Cup of Nations. It’s while representing his country that he addressed the talk over his future.
“I have to respect my contract,” he told the Guardian. “Whatever happens in the summer everybody will know. For now I am at the Afcon and I am focused on that.”
Osimhem’s goalscoring record for Napoli makes it no surprise that he continues to be linked with a transfer away from the club. Since joining from Lille in the summer of 2020 he has scored 67 times in 119 appearances for the club.
So far this season, he has scored eight times in 18 appearances in all competitions. The striker’s international record is even more impressive with him finding the net 20 times in 27 appearances for Nigeria, including the equaliser in the nation’s 1-1 draw against Equatorial Guinea in their opening AFCON game.
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Chelsea’s next five fixtures compared to Man United, Tottenham and Aston Villa in top four race
The latest Chelsea news as we take a closer look at the fixtures on the horizon for Mauricio Pochettino’s men as they look to climb the Premier League table.
Chelsea booked their place in the Carabao Cup final on Tuesday night as they came from behind to comfortably beat Championship side Millwall.
Michael Carrick’s side were leading 1-0 after the first leg at the Riverside Stadium, but Chelsea quickly settled any nerves that may have been around in the stands at Stamford Bridge. An early own goal by Jonny Howson was followed by strikes from Enzo Fernandez, Axel Disasi, and Cole Palmer to put Chelsea 4-0 up on the night at half time.
It got better in the second half as Palmer scored his second of the game before Noni Madueke made it 6-0. Middlesbrough grabbed a consolation through Morgan Rogers in the 88th minute.
After booking their place at Wembley eyes now turn to the upcoming fixtures in both the Cup and the Premier League. Chelsea sit in ninth place in the table, 12 points off a top-four spot, a good run of form could see that gap quickly close before the end of the season.
As well as fixtures ahead of Chelsea, eyes could be on who others around them in the table are taking on. With that in mind football.london has taken a look at the next five fixtures coming up for Chelsea and the other clubs looking towards the top four and the European places.
Aston Villa (H) 26 January (FA Cup)
Liverpool (A) January 31
The most difficult fixture of the run, on paper, with Liverpool currently leading the Premier League table. Jurgen Klopp’s side are four points clear of Man City in second, but Pep Guardiola’s team do have a game in hand.
The reverse fixture back in August finished in a 1-1 draw. Axel Disasi equalised in the first half after Luis Diaz’s opener.
Wolves (H) February 4
Chelsea don’t have long to wait to try and avenge the Boxing Day loss against Wolves. Goals from Mario Lemina and Matt Doherty saw the Blues fall to a 2-1 loss with Christopher Nkunku grabbing a 96th-minute goal.
Wolves have been praised for their performances under Gary O’Neil so far this season. They sit in 11th place, three points behind Chelsea in the table.
Crystal Palace (A) February 12
Crystal Palace are a team struggling to find their form with pressure growing on manager Roy Hodgson. They fell to a 5-0 loss against Arsenal in their last outing, leaving them in 15th place in the Premier League table, five points clear of the bottom three.
Noni Madueke’s 89th-minute penalty saw Chelsea come out as 2-1 winners in the reverse fixture on December 27.
Man City (A) February 17
Another difficult game on paper for Chelsea as Man City look to close the gap on Liverpool at the top of the table. The reverse fixture back in November was a memorable one for fans of both clubs as well as neutrals.
Cole Palmer’s 97th-minute penalty saw the game end in a 4-4 draw. Chelsea came from behind on three occasions to take a point.
Manchester United fixtures (current position 8th, 32 points)
Newport County (A) 28 January (FA Cup)
Wolves (A) 1 February
West Ham (H) 4 February
Aston Villa (A) 11 February
Luton Town (A) 18 February
Brighton fixtures (current position 7th, 32 points)
Sheffield United (A) 27 January (FA Cup)
Luton Town (A) 30 January
Crystal Palace (H) 3 February
Tottenham (A) 10 February
Sheffield United (A) 18 February
West Ham fixtures (current position 6th, 35 points)
Bournemouth (H) 1 February
Man United (A) 4 February
Arsenal (H) 11 February
Nottingham Forest (A) 17 February
Brentford (H) 26 February
Tottenham fixtures (current position 5th, 40 points)
Man City (H) 26 January (FA Cup)
Brentford (H) 31 January
Everton (A) 3 February
Brighton (H) 10 February
Wolves (H) 17 February
Aston Villa fixtures (current position 4th, 43 points)
Chelsea (A) 26 January (FA Cup)
Newcastle (H) 30 January
Sheffield United (A) 3 February
Man United (H) 11 February
Fulham (A) 17 February
Michael Carrick singles out one Chelsea player following the 6-1 defeat, but the national media disagrees
Victor Osimhen breaks silence on his future amid Chelsea and Arsenal striker transfer hunt
Chelsea’s next five fixtures compared to Man United, Tottenham and Aston Villa in top four race
Confirmed Chelsea line up vs Newcastle : Palmer, Jackson, Sterling Start as Nkunku seat on the bench
