Chelsea Football Fans Blog
Chelsea favourite Frank Lampard believes Mohamed Salah has transformed into a free-scoring forward at Liverpool, and this has been the key towards his progress since leaving Chelsea. The Egypt international joined the Reds from AS Roma during last summer’s transfer window, and he has since been in stupendous form with 39 goals across all competitions.
Former Chelsea manager Ruud Gullit believes Antonio Conte has an opportunity of saving his job, should the Blues manager to knockout Barcelona from the Champions League. The Italian head coach has struggled to keep his side within Premier League contention this term, and a run of three defeats in four league games has increased speculation over his future.
Speaking to Omnisport, Gullit had a different perspective of the situation and cited that the 48-year-old could yet prolong his future at Stamford Bridge. According to the former Blues boss, Conte may need to concentrate on bagging a surprise win over Barcelona in the Champions League, which would enhance his reputation greatly among the Blues’ hierarchy.
Chelsea manager Antonio Conte has stressed that David Luiz’s exclusion from recent matchdays squads is solely because of his knee problem rather than the alleged bust-up, which is being talked about in the media. The Brazil international has featured in just a solitary Champions League game since he was axed from the matchday squad, prior to the Blues’ 1-0 win over Manchester United last month.
Speaking in the lead-up to the Southampton game, Conte insisted that he is saying the truth on Luiz’s injury, who is expected to be sidelined for an indefinite period with an inflammation in his knee, he said, “I understand that someone thinks I’m not telling the truth. I’m disappointed about this but I can understand it. I’d rather tell you a bad truth rather than a good lie.
Chelsea legend Frank Lampard has not ruled taking over the vacant technical director position at the club and also revealed that managing the current Premier League champions would be his ultimate job.
The former Blues midfield maestro is apparently a target of the club to replace Michael Emenalo after his shock departure from Stamford Bridge earlier this week.
Chelsea FC are reportedly close to completing the signature of Emerson Palmieri from AS Roma. The left back is expected to join the club this January before the window closes. The Blues want a double player deal with Roma for the signature of Emerson and striker Edin Dzeko.
Sky Sports claim the talks for Emerson are advanced, with the 23-year old pleased with the terms of the deal. The Serie A club just needs to give their approval for the move to Stamford Bridge to go through.
Chelsea boss Antonio Conte is unsure whether Eden Hazard will start this weekend’s London derby against Arsenal.
Hazard has made two cameo appearances for Chelsea this month after making his injury comeback during the World Cup qualifiers for Belgium. While the attacker has insisted that he is up to full fitness, Conte has refused to take any risks with the Belgian crucial to the club’s progress across all competitions.
Speaking after the Qarabag win, he said: “We must have a bit of patience with him and to try to give the possibility for Eden to recover very well. We must be calm and to do the best for the player and for the team. Otherwise, we risk a bad injury to delay the situation. This is the right way. This process is good for him.”
Sky Sports expert Gary Neville believes Antonio Conte has the 100 percent backing from his players following Chelsea’s 2-1 win over Tottenham Hotspur at the Wembley Stadium.
Following last weekend’s 3-2 loss to Burnley, the odds were against Chelsea to win at Wembley but they managed to clinch a surprise win with a brace from left wing-back Marcos Alonso. Speaking on his Podcast, Neville admitted the game was important for a number of reasons, but importantly for the harmony between the players and the coach.
He said: “In the last two or three weeks, people have been writing Chelsea off. We are aware of what happened last time after Chelsea won the title. Mancini, Ranieri and Mourinho have all been sacked pretty quickly after winning the title. They stood up today.
Chelsea could end their three-year association with striker Diego Costa this summer after manager Antonio Conte texted the player personally to suggest that he has not future at Stamford Bridge.
Despite the trophy success, his future has been the talk in the media in recent weeks with suggestions that he could entertain a move to former club Atletico Madrid. However, this route appears to have stalled for the immediate future after the Spanish club failed to have their transfer embargo overturned at the Court of Arbitration of Sport.
With that option of the radar, super agent Jorge Mendes has begun talks with AC Milan, who are willing to spend big to bring back the olden days. According to The London Evening Standard, Mendes is in discussions over a proposed deal for his client, although Costa prefers a return to Madrid. Contrasting reports also suggest that Mendes could be negotiating for James Rodriguez, who is eyeing a fresh challenge away from Real Madrid.
Antonio Conte thinks that Arsenal has better chances than his team of clinching the FA Cup.
The Blues, on the other hand, have absolutely swept the English season with as many as thirty victories in the top flight. The Premiership title is already theirs. So regardless of whatever happens in the Cup final, it will go down as a successful season for them and the players know that. And because of that Conte fears that they may not have as much hunger in them as the Gunners.
However, as per Conte, while addressing his team ahead of the Cup final, he would remind the players that they are only equalised with Arsenal and not ahead of them as far as the head-to-head numbers are concerned because they have played two games against them in the season, have beaten them once and have been beaten by them once and the margin of goals in both the results was almost the same.
Top pundit Gary Neville has hailed the way Chelsea manager Antonio Conte used David Luiz this season. The former Man United star said it was one of the best managerial decisions of the season.
The player returned to Stamford Bridge in a shocking move last summer on the final transfer day. He had moved to France to play for Paris St Germain but returned to be one of the key players this season. He is amongst the three defenders that Conte plays in his famed 3-4-3 formation.