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Why Chelsea Could Beat Liverpool And Man United To Sign Target For N’Golo Kate’s Replacement
New Chelsea boss, Potter could use his links at Brighton and his relationship with Moises Caicedo to try and move for him when the January transfer window opens.
The 47-year-old, who signed a long-term contract with the Blues before the international break, is taking over a relatively new-look side, with the club making seven first-team signings over the summer transfer window. Potter will have to get used to his new squad before making decisions on those he trusts and those who will become fringe players.
Kante and Jorginho, though, remain the pressing matters when it comes to contracts. The former, Kante, has really struggled with injuries in recent times with the Blues. The France international, at the time of writing, is sidelined due to a hamstring problem.
Kante faces a big decision over his future. He has had plenty of interest from elsewhere, with Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester United casting an eye over his situation during the recently-concluded summer transfer window.
Thomas Tuchel made no secret of his desire to keep Kante when he was in charge at Stamford Bridge, but it remains to be seen what Potter will think. The new Chelsea head coach could have a different vision to Tuchel – one that perhaps does not include Kante.
If the Frenchman was to move on, either in January or in the summer transfer window as a free agent, then Chelsea would surely look to sign a long-term replacement for the energetic midfielder. Potter might not have to look much further than his old club Brighton & Hove Albion.
Moises Caicedo – who was signed by Potter down on the south coast in the summer of 2021 – has been so impressive since ending his loan spell at Beerschot in January. The versatile midfielder possesses great energy and speed which means he is able to cover substantial ground over 90 minutes.
Chelsea know that if they are to firm up their interest, Caicedo will certainly not come cheap. Particularly given this would be Potter raiding his former club.
Yet he knows better than anyone that the 20-year-old is destined for stardom. What he is currently doing – is not normal for someone of his age, who has just moved across the world away from his family to pursue his dreams.
This season, albeit with only six Premier League games played so far, Caicedo has pressed the opponent the second most times than any of his Brighton team-mates. As per FBRef, the 20-year-old midfielder has applied pressure 97 times over the course of six games. The Ecuadorian has a 30 percent success rate when doing so as well.
His off-the-ball exploits have not gone unnoticed and he is attracting interest from top clubs across Europe. In fact, both Liverpool and Manchester United were credited with an interest in Caicedo in the summer transfer window but he remained at the Amex Stadium.
“It doesn’t surprise me that people are looking at him,” Potter said about Caicedo last month when in charge of Brighton. “He is playing at a fantastic level.
“He is a top kid, a great person, young, playing in the Premier League, and has all the attributes to play at the very, very highest level. We don’t want to lose him and we don’t think we will, but you never know. That is how it is but we are quite calm and confident.”
Kante’s role at Chelsea has very much changed in the past three or four years since Maurizio Sarri began to play him further up the field.
At Leicester and in his first few seasons at Chelsea, the France international was effectively operating as an extra layer of protection for the defence.
Now Kante has been given more of a license to get forward, although his main strength remains winning back the ball and moving it forward with simple passes for others to do the damage.
That is Caicedo’s game to a tee but he is already proving there is much more to his game in an attacking sense having netted two Premier League goals in just 14 outings.
Potter could use his links at Brighton and his relationship with Caicedo to try and move for him when the January transfer window rolls around. The Blues are looking for a long-term central midfield player and had to get a stop-gap when they brought in Denis Zakaria on a season-long loan deal on transfer deadline day recently. Caicedo may be that man Potter turns to.
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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
