Chelsea transfer news LIVE: Callum Hudson-Odoi, Jorginho, Ross Barkley, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and more
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Midfielder Jorginho is now the target of Arsenal, with Mikel Arteta keen to add more options in central midfield, but it is unclear whether the Blues are willing to sanction a sale to their rivals after Willian departed in a free this summer and signed at the Emirates.
Meanwhile a host of Chelsea players have been pushed to fringes following the club’s big-spending summer, and several are looking for a route out to regular playing time.
Antonio Rudiger is one of those after the arrival of Thiago Silva, and Rudiger is the subject of interest from Paris Saint-Germain, where Silva recently departed, for a season-long loan.
Likewise Callum Hudson-Odoi, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Ross Barkley are all considering their positions at the club, with Aston Villa reportedly interested in loan deals.
SOUTHAMPTON ENTER LOFTUS-CHEEK RACE
Southampton have emerged amongst the frontrunners to sign Chelsea midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek, according to Hampshire Live and the Daily Mail.
Loftus-Cheek’s future at the west London outfit has been thrown into doubt in light of Chelsea’s summer transfer splurge.
The 24-year-old has been linked with moves to Aston Villa and West Ham, but it seems that The Saints have also entered the fray.
However it would only be on a season-long loan, and not a permanent deal.
PULISIC MUST BE HANDLED WITH CARE SAYS LAMPARD
Frank Lampard says USA international Christian Pulisic must be handled with care, as he nears a return to playing following a hamstring injury.
Pulisic was forced off during the FA Cup final loss to Arsenal due to a muscle injury, and Lampard is wary of rushing the 22-year-old back too quickly.
"There is always a concern about players' fitness when the history says there have been some injuries," said Lampard.
"Last season we had some with Christian and I was questioned many times on my position on Christian, when he was in or out of the side and he didn't play.
"Of course, when you look at his recent record you are looking for the right balance to get the best out of him, which you saw in big periods last year. And you're looking to make sure you don't overcook him and leave him susceptible to injury.
"Particularly when a player has his explosive power and balance, that's a fine line. We are working on that and Christian is very open to that.
He wants to play, he is so hungry to play and he is nearly fit now, but it is certainly something we are going to have to manage this season.
"We have all seen the talent. It's something we want to get right.
"I am not saying it's a fundamental, chronic type of an issue. It's not. But we want to get as many minutes as we can out of the really great Christian that we saw lots of last season on the pitch.
"Christian isn't ready for West Brom and neither is Hakim Ziyech, but they are both training with us now which is good news. We hope to have them with us in proper match contention over the next week or two."
I WOULDN’T BE HERE IF IT WASN’T FOR LAMPARD SAYS THIAGO SILVA
Chelsea defender Thiago Silva says he wouldn’t have signed for the club if Frank Lampard wasn’t the manager.
Silva signed as a free agent from Paris Saint-Germain following the expiration of his contract with the Ligue 1 side.
Speaking to the BBC’s football focus programme, the Brazilian says he only signed for the club due to Lampard.
“If it wasn’t for him [Lampard], if he didn’t believe in me, I wouldn’t be here,” said Silva.
“I certainly feel privileged to be part of a new family and to be coached by one of the best players in the world,” he continued.
LAMPARD COY ON RICE SIGNING
Chelsea boss Frank Lampard has remained coy on the potential signing of Declan Rice from West Ham.
Rice has been linked with a move across London this week, but Lampard didn’t give anything during his press conference ahead of Chelsea’s game against West Brom.
“Again, they are rumours. I can't talk about these things. When players are ours it's not my position to speculate on what may be, and the same on the other side from players from other clubs," said Lampard.
“We have a game against West Brom and the biggest thing for me is getting the players ready for that game. I honestly don't have answers to the speculation of ins and outs going forward.”
CHELSEA OUTGOINGS ASSESSED ON A CASE-BY-CASE BASIS SAYS LAMPARD
Any potential outgoings from Chelsea will be assessed on a case-by-case basis says Frank Lampard.
Chelsea have been the biggest spenders in this transfer window, and this has inevitably led to speculation concerning some players in the squad.
The likes of Antonio Rudiger, Jorginho, Marcos Alonso and Emerson Palmieri have all been linked with moves away from London.
Speaking at his press conference ahead of their clash against West Brom, Lampard neither confirmed or denied that players could leave.
“I don't expect anything in the window, because they are our players and that's a fact,” said Lampard.
“There are lots of rumours about those players and others too, so every player would always be a case-by-case situation, and one that would be a happy solution for the player, for myself and the club.”
MENDY AN ‘ALL-ROUND GOALKEEPER’ SAYS CECH
Chelsea legend Petr Cech says new signing Edouard Mendy is an ‘all-round’ goalkeeper and played an instrumental role in bringing the 28-year-old to England.
Mendy arrived this week from Rennes, and Cech spoke to the official Chelsea website about scouting the Senegalese player:
“I started following him when Reims won Ligue 2 and got promoted,” said Cech.
"You could see the first year with Reims in Ligue 1, he made a huge step forward in terms of his progression, and last year after joining Rennes you could really see this amazing progression continue.
"He’s someone who blossomed late, and it was maybe unexpected for some people. He’s sort of new in top professional football, it’s been four years. He’s still fresh, but already has a lot of experience.
"He has the qualities of overcoming difficult moments. It’s something that might help him. Coming to Chelsea there is a lot of pressure, but when you have had different pressures in your life before, like he has when he was unemployed and without a job, you might cope much better with pressure from football.
"Last year playing with Rennes in the Europa League, and playing for Senegal, it gives him a lot of experience. I believe he will be a great complimentary unit for our team, and challenging our goalkeepers and fighting for the spot.
"Cech is as well placed as anyone to explain Mendy’s technical qualities. It is clear he makes good use of his 6ft 6in frame.
‘He is a very all-round goalkeeper. He is very good with his feet. He has all the range of distribution, from long to short, and as well in the last two years if you watch European football, the way he dominates crossing situations and high balls in the area is unlike anybody else.
"He uses his size and he has great timing to read the trajectory of the ball. He is strong at high balls and commanding the area, and he uses his size very well for saves.
“He will be another piece for the puzzle we are trying to complete, to have a really competitive team to challenge for the highest positions and titles, because Chelsea is all about that. We are a top club and we have top players in each position, and he is here to make even more competition for our goalkeeping department. It gives another option to the manager for this position.”
MENDY WON’T START AGAINST WEST BROM SAYS LAMPARD
Chelsea boss Frank Lampard says new signing Edouard Mendy won’t make his debut tomorrow against West Brom.
Mendy signed from Rennes this week for a fee believed to be in the region of £22m, leading to speculation that current No. 1 Kepa will leave before the end of the window.
Lampard has revealed that Mendy hasn’t trained much since his arrival, and so Kepa will retain his position.
INTER GIVE UP ON CHELSEA DUO
Italian side Internazionale are reportedly giving up on signing Chelsea pair Marcos Alonso and Emerson Palmieri due to the returning Ivan Perisic.
Inter boss Antonio Conte has been on the lookout for wing-backs since arriving at the club a year ago.
Ashley Young was signed during the January transfer window, as was former Chelsea player Victor Moses.
At the beginning of the summer Inter signed Achraf Hakimi from Real Madrid for the right wing-back position, and the Nerazzurri had been linked with Blues’ pair Alonso and Palmieri for months.
However Italian daily Tuttosport states that due to the return of Perisic, who will be converted into a left wing-back by Conte, the club are no longer seeking to Alonso or Palmieri.
Perisic returned from a loan spell with Bayern Munich, in which he won the Champions League.
BILIC FULL OF PRAISE FOR LAMPARD
Current West Brom boss Slaven Bilic is full of praise for Chelsea boss Frank Lampard, ahead of their meeting tomorrow.
Bilic’s side have lost their opening two games of the season so far to Leicester City and Everton.
Bilic played with Lampard during their time at West Ham together, and spoke warmly about the former midfielder:
“Frank has that determination to give everything, to try everything and to work really hard, and he carries that from his father who was first of all that kind of a player and that kind of a man; very serious, Frank Senior," said Bilic.
“And Frank, from the beginning you could see that he had a plan. He knew ‘I want to go there, I want to go there’ and the sky was the limit.
“I remember him and I mentioned his name more than probably any other player when I was talking in my career to the players – in Russia, in Croatia, in Turkey, in England – how if you have a talent, how much you can do if you have that working rate on a daily basis, because that is exactly what he was doing at West Ham.
“He was a young player that was talented and he also worked really hard. But at that stage he also had a bit of pressure on his back because his father was assistant manager, so I think that helped him a lot to cope with a bit of negativity that was always around.
“Like ‘you are there because you are protected, you are privileged because your father is pushing you’, which obviously wasn’t the case because he became one of the best. Not one of the best midfielders but one of the best players in the world.”
Chelsea have splashed the cash during this transfer window, with over £200m spent on the likes of Kai Havertz, Thiago Silva, Ben Chilwell, Timo Werner and Hakim Ziyech.
"The talent that Frank and the club have brought into Chelsea, it’s great and it gives their fans and their players and everybody the confidence that they can again become title contenders,” said the Croatian.
“They weren’t last season because obviously they didn’t spend enough money to strengthen their squad.
“Nowadays you see in every transfer that the big ones – but not only the big ones – every team from the Premiership is trying to improve, is trying to get more players, to get more quality on the pitch, so they’ve done it.
“For me it’s only the start of the season and it’s a matter of how quick they are going to gel. But they are top players and with Frank I think it will not take them a long time to gel.”
ARTETA COY ON JORGINHO RUMOURS
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta is remaining coy on rumours linking his club with a move for Chelsea midfielder Jorginho.
It emerged this week that the north London side were interested in taking the Italian midfielder across the city.
In his press conference ahead of Monday night’s game against Liverpool, Arteta neither confirmed or denied a bid for the player.
"We are still open to improve our team,” said Arteta.
“We are looking for different options depending on what happens with our players here.
“I cannot open up on players that play for a different team and their qualities.
"It's not appropriate.”
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