Club News
READ: Barcelona and Bayern lead race to land Andreas Christensen as Rudiger
It seems likelier by the day Andreas Christensen’s and Antonio Rudiger’s futures are away from Stamford Bridge
Andreas Christensen
Looks like Barcelona and FC Bayern Munich are leading the race to secure the Blues’ center back’s signature when his contract with the blues ends this summer, according to transfer pundit Fabrizio Romano.
It was further reported that the player had several offers lined up for him from clubs within the Premier League but decided to not accept any of them out of respect for the West London club he has grown up with.
Andreas Christensen situation. Barcelona and FC Bayern are both strongly interested in signing him – club sources confirm 🇩🇰 #CFC
Chelsea proposal still on the table but there’s no agreement. Nothing has changed.
Final decision to be made soon.
🔵 More: https://t.co/g3PJkt1awt pic.twitter.com/P8jjczGmCU
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) January 14, 2022
It’s very obvious why Barcelona are in the race for the Danish center back. Barcelona have been struggling at the back for a while now with a declining Gerard Pique, injury prone yet brilliant Araujo and other unreliable options.
Their defense has been very leaky this season too, often conceding average goals and when they see Christensen who has found himself in form again since Tuchel took over, the opportunity to sign him makes a lot of sense.
And with Barcelona’s finances in absolute shambles at the moment, signing a player of this quality from the European Champions for no fee at all is a big statement from the Catalans in itself.
Andreas Christensen situation. Barcelona and FC Bayern are both strongly interested in signing him – club sources confirm 🇩🇰 #CFC
Chelsea proposal still on the table but there’s no agreement. Nothing has changed.
Final decision to be made soon.
🔵 More: https://t.co/g3PJkt1awt pic.twitter.com/P8jjczGmCU
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) January 14, 2022
For Bayern, Niklas Sule’s future looks very likely away from the Bavarian club and they want to sign a player who can perfectly replace him.
The German club has always been known for making smart signings and they realize the quality Christensen has in him. The Dane can fit in perfectly to replace the outgoing German defender.
#Chelsea are 'still working' on a deal for Sevilla's Jules Kounde, who they 'really love'. Bayern Munich's Niklas Sule is another player the Blues have followed.
[via @FabrizioRomano / YouTube]
— Absolute Chelsea (@AbsoluteChelsea) January 7, 2022
Andreas Christensen also has experience of the Bundesliga as Chelsea had loaned him to Borussia Mönchengladbach for 2 seasons, with his loan starting in 2015 and ending in 2017.
His talent was quickly spotted by Chelsea and he has been highly touted at the English club ever since, with Chelsea still hoping to keep the Dane come the end of this season.
Antonio Rudiger
Despite rumors of a breakthrough in talks between Antonio Rudiger and Chelsea, it seems the German’s future is looking more and more away from the West London club.
It has been widely reported by various sources that the German defender had been in talks with two European heavyweights in Real Madrid and Bayern Munich.
🚨🎙| @DiMarzio: “Rudiger is in talks with Juventus, Man City, Tottenham and PSG. He will join one of these four clubs as things stand.” @wettfreunde
— Madrid Xtra. (@MadridXtra) January 12, 2022
However, it was later reported that Bayern Munich had dropped out of the race after listening to the defender’s salary demands leaving only the Spanish giants Real Madrid after his signature.
His name has also been linked to Paris Saint Germain lately and it makes sense given how the French club is only one of the few clubs that can afford his salary demands.
And according to talkSPORT insider Alex Crook, Rudiger’s future is pretty much away from Chelsea.
PSG's offer to #Chelsea's Antonio Rudiger is 'up to £60,000 short' of the defender's £200,000 demands.
[via @Football_LDN]
— Absolute Chelsea (@AbsoluteChelsea) January 11, 2022
He said “We know his advisors have been in talks with the likes of Real Madrid and PSG.
“I was told several weeks ago that it didn’t matter how much money Chelsea threw at him, his heart was set on a move to Real Madrid.
“We’ve seen numerous high profile examples – maybe Cristiano Ronaldo the highest of them all – of when a big club like Real Madrid come in for you it’s very difficult to keep them out of their clutches.”
It’s certainly bad news for Chelsea supporters as well as the club management as it will prove to be difficult to find players of the quality of Christensen and Rudiger in the market currently.
Club News
Predicted XI: Chelsea’s possible lineup against Brentford
Chelsea are back in Premier League action today, following the two-week international break. The Blues are readying to host Brentford – who are among the seven teams scrapping to stay in the League – at Stamford Bridge. Here, we will take a look at Chelsea’s possible lineup against Brentford.
Chelsea are staring down the barrel of tough fixtures this month. With Champions League quarter-final fixture against Real Madrid coming up just 3 days following today’s clash, Thomas Tuchel is presented with a tough test of picking the team for Brentford.
Tuchel will undoubtedly consider Wednesday’s meeting with Real Madrid while navigating the selection headache, suggesting that the key players will likely be rested. Despite that, Tuchel has great cause for optimism as the season draws to its close considering the amount of good options available in the sqaud.
Thomas Tuchel is no stranger to a selection curveball in big games considering Chelsea’s injury and COVID-19 disruptions this season, which inevitably caused them to fall behind in the title race but luckily, the only fitness concern he currently has to contend with is Ben Chilwell and Callum Hudson-Odoi‘s long-term injuries.
Besides the two guaranteed absentees, Christian Pulisic will also miss today’s game as confirmed by Thomas Tuchel in his pre-match conference. Tuchel admitted Pulisic didn’t train with the squad after returning from international duty with the USMNT.
“For Christian, we have to decide. He didn’t train today. We gave him a recovery session,” Tuchel said.
“He was here but very tired with the jet lag and time difference. So we have to figure out of it makes sense to play him tomorrow and for how many minutes.”
Reece James will be in contention to play today’s fixture after returning to fitness following another hamstring injury. James was involved in full training ahead of today’s fixture, however, his selection is still uncertain as it’s likely Tuchel wouldn’t want to rush him back to action too soon and could instead preserve him for next week’s Real Madrid clash.
Thiago Silva is also expected to feature in today’s clash despite traveling with Brazil. Thomas Tuchel was confident about his availability. The blues boss said;
“Thiago is a bit different to Christian, I have to say. Thiago did not play the third match with Brazil, came back one day earlier and had not the same jet lag as Christian.
“Thiago was here yesterday and trained today, feels very good so he is available tomorrow”.
Predicted Chelsea XI: Mendy; Christensen/Azpilicueta, Silva, Rudiger; James/Kovačić, Kante, Jorginho, Alonso; Mount, Havertz, Werner.
The official team news will be posted an hour before the kick-off time.
Club News
Updates from Cobham: Callum Hudson-Odoi and Reece James return to training ahead of Brentford clash
Callum Hudson-Odoi and Reece James have been on and off from training due to injury challenges but were spotted at Cobham yesterday to prepare for Brentford
According to Chelsea’s official website, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Reece James were seen training alongside other teammates, readying themselves for a potential feature in the upcoming Brentford fixture.
Injury crisis is a leading concern in physical sports. When it comes to football, injuries can greatly impact team performance as it can leave even key players sidelined for days, consequently damaging the team’s chances of success.
Just like any other team, Chelsea also fell victim to injury troubles, due to which, they endured an alarming slump – Plaguing the entire squad and adding misery to the club’s title hopes this season. Thomas Tuchel has been dealing with continuous injury and COVID-19 disruptions since the start of December.
That is when Reece James was condemned to an unfortunate injury that saw him withdrawn from the squad for quite a while. Since Tuchel’s system is largely dependent on the strategic use of his wing-backs, having to compromise on James and Chilwell’s crucial skills saw Chelsea drop from first to third in the Premier League.
The defender recently returned to first-team after recovering from a long spell of hamstring injury, however, he was reinjured following the Burnley clash during the starting week of March and has been absent from training since.
Upon examination, it was declared that James had sustained yet another hamstring injury, but fortunately, it wasn’t a repeat to the same leg and wasn’t as bad either. But, the player was advised to rest for 2 weeks initially, which was later extended to three.
Reece James was also called to represent England internationally during the break, however, Chelsea’s medical team didn’t see him fit and advised against his selection.
Callum Hudson-Odoi on the other hand, has been out of training, on and off, due to an Achilles injury. CHO hasn’t played since the win at Luton Town on 2nd March.
However, both Callum Hudson-Odoi and Reece James have now returned to fitness and will be in contention to start against Brentford this Saturday.
Additionally, Hakim Ziyech, Kepa Arrizabalaga, Malang Sarr, Romelu Lukaku and Ruben Loftus Cheek were also snapped training for the upcoming fixtures.
'Very, very good guys!' 👏 pic.twitter.com/8lDiza3613
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) March 30, 2022
Jorginho, who was representing Italy in the World Cup qualifiers, was also among those training at Cobham as he was sent back early after Italy’s defeat.
Chelsea have key fixtures coming up in the month of April including Premier League, Champions League as well as FA Cup games. It’s going to be a tough challenge for the club to navigate considering the fixture congestion, hence, having all players fit to start will be a boost for Thomas Tuchel.
Club News
Team news ahead of Chelsea’s Champions League encounter with Lille on Wednesday
Thomas Tuchel provided team news in today’s press-conference ahead of Chelsea’s upcoming Champions League fixture
Thomas Tuchel revealed some team news in today’s live press-conference ahead of Chelsea’s next Champions League encounter. Kai Havertz also talked to the media.
Chelsea are set to prepare for a trip to Northern France tomorrow, where they will face Lille in Champions League round of 16, second leg. The blues have a 2-goal aggregate advantage over Lille from the first leg, and will look to claw their way to the Champions League summit, in the obvious hopes of retaining their European crown.
Kai Havertz, who has been in glittering form for Chelsea recently, was one of the players to register himself on the scoresheet through a header, early on into the first leg clash against Lille. Following him, was Christian Pulisic, who also recorded a beautiful finish for Chelsea, assisted by N’Golo Kante, finally sealing the game.
The Blues now look forward to booking their spot in the quarter-finals of the Champions League by producing yet another top performance to finish the job against their counterparts.
Cesar Azpilicueta and Marcos Alonso are expected to start as confirmed by Thomas Tuchel in today’s press conference.
Azpilicueta was called off against Norwich after the defender complained of stomach issues. He sat out the Newcastle United game as well, but is reportedly fit now to feature in the upcoming match.
Marcos Alonso, who was out on account of covid-19, was also seen back on the bench for Chelsea against Newcastle United on Sunday. Him, along with Azpilicueta, will be featuring a start in the Champions League fixture on Wednesday as well.
Reece James and Callum Hudson Odoi, however, are huge doubts. Reece James was recently reinjured, owing to a hamstring injury, while Hudson Odoi had been battling a reported Achilles injury. Hence, their availability remains uncertain as of now.
“I think Marcos is ready to start, Azpi is ready to start. We will try to have Reece and Callum later in training but will be a very tight race. We will take this decision after the training session. They were not involved. Let’s see if it is worth the risk, it will be very tight with these two.” – Chelsea Boss, Thomas Tuchel in today’s press-conference
Follow the details of the press-conference by clicking here
Acknowledging Lille’s recent recapturing of form in domestic matches, Thomas Tuchel said;
“To be honest, I think they played well at Stamford Bridge. They were very physical, attacked high up the pitch. It was impressive. They had a good pressing game, were very brave, and had the mentality they had nothing to lose”,
“They will play an attacking 4-4-2 that is aggressive, fluid and direct. We’ll have to be ready for that. But we are also confident in ourselves. It’s half time right now. No match is decided by a 2-0 scoreline. The second half is tomorrow and we’ll have to produce another top performance. I think Lille played on Friday so they’ve had a good amount of time to recover. That is why we have to be ready physically and mentally for a tough game”.
Lille have a little advantage of 2 day’s rest over the Blues, as they have had congested Premier League fixtures. However, Tuchel’s side are known to thrive on chaos. They are no strangers to pressure and have navigated through even tougher challenges; especially the one currently prevailing them. Despite their off-pitch woes, their attention and focus ramain on winning matches as shown in their recent unbeaten run.