Chelsea Football Fans Blog
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.
Premier League giants Chelsea are almost clear to lift the title after seeing off Bournemouth away on Saturday.
Chelsea defeated the Cherries 3-1 to maintain their seven points lead over closest rival Tottenham Hotspur. The entertaining affair was one the Antonio Conte-led side were desperate to see off following a victory for Spurs against Watford.
Diego Costa was denied from booking his name on the scorers’ list as his attempt was converted to an own goal by defender Adam Smith. Within three minutes of the goal, an impressive N’GoloKante slipped through his attackers to send a long pass to an equally impressive Eden Hazard. The Belgium international beat goalkeeper ArturBoructo get the second goal.
Bournemouth had an attempt hit the post but their resilience paid off in the later stages of the first half when Joshua Kings’s effort made it 2-1. After the break, the hosts pushed for an equalizer but Chelsea proved why they are atop the league. Marco Alonso’s 68th minute brilliant free kick put the game beyond Eddie Howe’s men.
Chelsea defender Kurt Zouma has revealed the philosophy that helped him to through his lengthy period out with injuries.
However, the French international finally returned to first – team action earlier this year in the FA Cup fourth round tie against Brentford, as he tries to work his way back into the team.
Zouma explains that it was his positive attitude and state of mind that has been key to his recovery and rehabilitation.
“If you are mentally good and stable, your recovery is going to be better and quicker. That’s his philosophy,” he told The Mirror.
He revealed that if you give up and you become sad while thinking about the injury, you are likely going to struggle. He feels he is still very young and can enjoy the life as a professional footballer.
Chelsea boss Antonio Conte claimed that the impressive return for Diego Costa after 15 days of incredible rumours shows that the team has incredible unity and spirit.
As one of the top strikers in the world,Costa makes a difference in any team. This was evident in the in 2-0 win over Hull City. Chelsea were struggling to create clear-cut opportunities in the game against a relegation threatened opponent. However, the blues came up with a goal just before half-time through Costa.