Chelsea close to sealing club-record deal for Lukaku

Romelu Lukaku is close to signing for English Premier League club, Chelsea after the back-and-forth around his departure from Inter Milan is set to end.

The Belgian striker is said to coming to the Premier League side for a club-record fee of £97.5m from the Serie A champions.

Despite saying earlier in the summer he was happy to stay with Inter, the 28-year-old reversed his stance this week and told Inter that he wanted to join Chelsea if the right offer was received.

Some details are still to be resolved, but provided there are no unexpected problems, Lukaku will return to the club where he spent three seasons from 2011.

But between the short stay at Stamford Bridge, Lukaku spent two year on loan at West Brom and Everton.

Lukaku scored 47 goals in 72 Serie A appearances over two seasons at the San Siro, helping Inter to a first league title since 2010 last term.

#UCL Draw: Chelsea will face Atletico Madrid in last-16 of Champions League

Chelsea will face Atletico Madrid in the last-16 of the Champions League.

Frank Lampard’s side will face Diego Simeone’s side over two legs in February and March after finishing top of Group E.

The Blues managed to finish top ahead of Sevilla, Krasnodar and Rennes as they went unbeaten in the group stages.

The first legs will take place on 16/17 and 23/24 February, with the second legs on 9/10 and 16/17 March. 

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Full list of confirmed ties:

Borussia Monchengladbach vs Manchester City

Lazio vs Bayern Munich

Atletico Madrid vs Chelsea

RB Leipzig vs Liverpool

FC Porto vs Juventus

PSG vs Barcelona

Sevilla vs Borussia Dortmund

Atalanta vs Real Madrid

‘Mourinho has brainwashed Tottenham players’ – former Chelsea boss can deliver Premier League title, says Sherwood

The former Spurs head coach sees no reason why his old club can’t lift English football’s top prize under their current manager

Jose Mourinho has “brainwashed” his Tottenham players, according to Tim Sherwood, who believes the former Chelsea and Manchester United boss can deliver Premier League title this season.

Tottenham have emerged as the surprise early pacesetters in the top flight this season, having picked up 20 points from a possible 27 so far.

Mourinho’s men lost their opening game 1-0 at home to Everton, but have since regrouped to establish themselves as a formidable force, with thrilling wins over Southampton and Manchester United providing evidence of their attacking power.

Spurs have also proven they are capable of grinding out results when not at their best, seeing off Brighton and West Brom in an unconvincing but effective fashion, and they currently boast the best defensive record in the entire division.

Another impressive clean sheet was recorded in a 2-0 victory over Manchester City on Saturday, with talk of Mourinho being on track to win his fourth Premier League title increasing with each passing game.

Sherwood has praised the Portuguese for raising the collective confidence levels within his current squad, and sees no reason why they can’t lift the trophy if they continue on their current trajectory.

“He’s found a way with the group of players he has,” the ex-Spurs midfielder and manager told talkSPORT.

“He’s bought very well, [Sergio] Reguilon has been a good signing at left-back, but [Pierre-Emile] Hojbjerg for me has been the best signing. He fits into the style and just protects the two centre-halves.

“Jose has brainwashed his players to believe they have to work to achieve something – they need to win trophies, this group of players.

“When you play as solid as they do, he’s almost brainwashed them into believing.

“And why wouldn’t you believe in him? He’s won 20 major trophies in his career and you’re winning football matches, so then you start believing that this guy is the real deal, he knows what he’s talking about, and why can’t we win the league?”

Sherwood, who won the Premier League crown with Blackburn in 1994-95, added: “When we’ve got players like Son and Kane, who are world class and could probably play in any team in the world, you’ve always got a chance.

“They haven’t played fantastically well this season, but who cares? On the back of my medal it doesn’t say: ‘Oh, and by the way we didn’t play well for 24 games’.

“You just go and pick it up at the end of the season, and that’s it!”

Former Barcelona & Chelsea star Fabregas ‘disappointed’ in Guardiola but still considers Mourinho a ‘friend’

The Spanish midfielder, who now plies his trade in France with Monaco, has opened up on his relationship with two of his former managers

Former Barcelona and Chelsea star Cesc Fabregas has expressed “disappointment” in his old mentor Pep Guardiola, while revealing he still considers Jose Mourinho a “friend” to this day.

Guardiola lured Fabregas to Camp Nou from Arsenal back in 2011, having seen him emerge as one of the best midfielders in Europe at Emirates Stadium.

Barca went on to win four major trophies during the Spaniard’s first full season at the club, but ultimately missed out on La Liga and Champions League honours.

Guardiola decided to call time on his four-year reign in Catalunya at the end of the campaign, and took a 12-month sabbatical before returning to management at Bayern Munich.

Fabregas says he hasn’t spoken to the 49-year-old, who is now in charge at Manchester City, since his departure from Camp Nou, and has hinted that the pair’s relationship has been damaged beyond repair.

Asked if he’s been in contact with Guardiola at all over the past eight years, the Monaco playmaker told CCMA: “No, no, with Pep nothing at all.

“I don’t know if the disappointment with Pep is mutual. Things happened, but I prefer not to talk about it. Pep was my idol since I was a child. It is from him that I have learned the most, perhaps, since I was four until now.”

Fabregas eventually left Barca to join Chelsea in 2014, and went on to pick up his first Premier League title under Mourinho.

The 33-year-old has credited a man currently occupying the hot seat at Tottenham for helping him to rediscover his best form at Stamford Bridge, having previously seen him as a rival during his time at Arsenal and Barca.

“Mourinho inspired me the most when I left Barca,” Fabregas added.

“He told me that we had had our issues on the pitch when he was at Chelsea and I was at Arsenal and then when he was coaching at Real Madrid and I was at Barcelona, but that for him, it all ended there. We turned the page.

“He told me about his project. I had to go where I thought I would do best, the decision was mine and it didn’t depend on what people said. I prioritized the professional [aspect], and today I still write to him and I consider him a friend.

“He helped me a lot at a difficult time in my career and perhaps I played one of my best seasons with him.”

Fabregas brought the curtain down on a hugely successful five-year spell at Chelsea when he signed for Monaco last year, and will be back in action when the French outfit play host to reigning Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain on Friday.

Kepa Arrizabalaga drops another clanger as Chelsea are held by Southampton despite goals from Timo Werner and Kai Havertz

Kepa Arrizabalaga made headlines for the wrong reasons once again during Chelsea’s 3-3 draw at home to Southampton on Saturday.

A Timo Werner brace and Kai Havertz goal looked to have ensured that the Spanish goalkeeper’s error did not cost the Blues any points, then Jannik Vestergaard popped up with an injury time equaliser.

Kepa returned to the Blues XI, making his first club appearance in almost a month as new signing Edouard Mendy missed out with a thigh issue.

Chelsea opened the scoring through a fine individual effort for Werner just past the quarter-hour, completely outfoxing Jan Bednarek on the turn before slotting past Alex McCarthy.

The German doubled his tally just before the half-hour, again stealing a march on the hapless Bednarek.

Werner raced in behind the struggling Saints defender, chested on and then clipped over the advancing McCarthy – before heading into the empty net.

The 2-0 lead had Chelsea in buoyant mood, with the hosts appearing fluid on the ball and more comfortable in their developing system.

Chelsea were forced out of cruise control just before the break when Southampton pounced after robbing Kai Havertz deep in Blues territory.

Lethal finisher Ings latched onto the through ball, rounded Kepa and slotted home to put the Saints back in the clash, trailing 2-1.

Chelsea held their lead until the break, but will have been hugely frustrated to have conceded having dominated the bulk of an engaging first half.

Che Adams blasted Southampton level at 2-2 ahead of the hour, firing high into the net after sloppy play at the back from Chelsea.

Kurt Zouma’s miscued backpass initially put Kepa in trouble, with the Spain goalkeeper then missing the ball and then later crashing against the near post.

Adams latched onto the loose ball and blasted home to level.

But Chelsea rallied immediately to regain the lead, Werner teeing up Havertz for a neat dinked finish to make it 3-2.

Werner added an assist to his goal brace to drag the Blues back into the ascendancy, with Havertz capping a fluent move.

Jannik Vestergaard bludgeoned home the added-time equaliser from a free-kick that Chelsea failed to clear.

Southampton  were back level at 3-3, with Chelsea hanging on in the closing stages.

The final whistle came shortly afterwards though, leaving the teams sharing the spoils.

Kai Havertz: Chelsea midfielder says Premier League games are ‘exhausting’

Chelsea’s new signing Kai Havertz says the Premier League has no bad players and that the games are “exhausting”.

Havertz signed for Chelsea from Bayer Leverkusen last month, and has made five appearances and scored three goals for Frank Lampard’s side so far.

The 21-year old scored a hat-trick as Chelsea romped to a 6-0 victory against Barnsley in the third round of the Carabao Cup, but is yet to score in his four Premier League appearances. The German international says the league is “more intense” than what he experienced in the Bundesliga due to the fact that “everybody is at a very high level”.

“It was difficult for me, especially because the Premier League is a completely different league,” Havertz told Chelsea’s official website. “It’s more intense and I noticed that in the first few games.

“The intensity in the duels and the runs is much higher. It’s a completely different league and the games are very exhausting.

“The Bundesliga isn’t worse but I noticed differences. It seems to me like there aren’t any average or bad players here – everybody is at a very high level.”

Havertz was satisfied with his performance against Barnsley, but says he is aware it will take him time to adjust to his new environment and build relationships with team-mates.

“The hat-trick was good for me,” he said. “The start was a little difficult because I only trained with the team for five or six days, then played the first game right away. It was also a very big step for me to leave my family and familiar surroundings. Of course, it takes time to get it right.”

Havertz is currently with the German national team ahead of Nations League fixtures against Ukraine and Switzerland, both live on Sky Sports.

The midfielder made his international debut in September 2018, and says he is remains patient in his quest to add to his eight appearances so far under Joachim Löw.

“In my two years with the national team, I haven’t played too many games but I’m still relatively young,” he said.

“I have a lot of games ahead of me which is why so far I’ve always remained calm. I have enough self-confidence to attack the national team.”

Thiago Silva & Zouma give Lampard cause for hope of a settled Chelsea defence

The Blues boss has been chopping and changing his backline since taking over the club but he is keen to stop in the near future

Frank Lampard is hoping that he can find a settled Chelsea defence after the partnership of Thiago Silva and Kurt Zouma impressed in the 4-0 win over Crystal Palace.

Silva, signed on a free transfer from PSG, worked well in a new-look backline that featured fellow new signings in goalkeeper Edouard Mendy and left-back Ben Chilwell, alongside Zouma and Cesar Azpilicueta.

It was the first clean sheet for Chelsea in the Premier League this season in five attempts and it comes after the Blues conceded 54 league goals last term.

Lampard says he is searching for a more settled defence than last season when the club conceded the highest number of goals since Roman Abramovich bought the club in 2003.

“I am really pleased with the clean sheet for everybody involved,” Lampard said at Stamford Bridge. “Not just the goalkeeper and the back four but the whole team. We didn’t give a really dangerous team away from home any chances to score which was great for the focus of the team.

“Yes, Thiago and Kurt looked very good, very composed. With Thiago, he has great experience and we saw that. It is still early days in terms of fitness, so let’s see how that partnership works but I want to find some sort of stability in the back four, of course, you do.

“It needs some competition and those two showed how well they can do it but that needs to continue.”

Roy Hodgson’s Palace side are known to be dangerous on the counterattack and at set-pieces, and have produced high-profile upsets in recent times, including a win over Manchester United already this season.

Indeed, they competed well with Chelsea in a scoreless first half before their collapse in the second half. Lampard was heard shouting ‘move it quicker’ in a drab first half and he continues to send a message that his side are still learning to gel after seeing six new signings arrive this summer for a total spend of around £220 million ($275m).

“There’s always a big eye on Chelsea as a club and, of course, we brought in players over the window and I understand everyone wants to see it straight away that we come together,” he added.

“It is just not the way that football works. What you saw in the first half was control of the game but I felt in the final third, especially in the middle of the pitch, was a little bit slow. It allowed a team as well organised as Palace to just deal with us for most of the first half.

“In the second half, we found Ben Chilwell quicker; we found balls between the lines, we were prepared to go one-on-one with defenders. Those are the things that are going to grow, that’s something that I have to drive.

“The players will get better with each other and learn the movements that I want them to make and I think we saw a little snippet of that in the second half but there’s a lot of work to do on that.

“As much as I won’t get too down as some seem to be after the West Brom and Tottenham games, I won’t get too high either. There’s a lot of work to be done but today, we saw some nice signs.”

Bukayo Saka: Arsenal wonderkid could be Nigeria’s biggest loss to England

The Arsenal teenager is likely to make his competitive Three Lions debut in October, thus terminating any hope for a Super Eagles career

Another one that got away — except Bukayo Saka just isn’t any ordinary player.

Maybe it’s recency bias, perhaps not, but seeing the Arsenal youngster potentially feature for England in their Uefa Nations League game on October 11 against Belgium at Wembley or Denmark at the same venue three days later will rankle.

Many Nigerians had dreamed of arguably the most-talented Premier League youngster at the moment representing the three-time African champions. The loss of Chelsea pair, Tammy Abraham and Fikayo Tomori, last year was felt initially, but the general feeling afterwards indicated that supporters of the West African nation had moved on in a trice.

Having drawn up fantasy formations including Saka in the Nigeria set-up — in a 4-3-3 alongside Villarreal’s Samuel Chukwueze on the right flank and Victor Osimhen at centre-forward or in a 4-2-3-1 with the Arsenal youngster in a front four together with the aforementioned forwards and possibly Alex Iwobi in the hole — the sensation’s inclusion in Gareth Southgate’s 30-player squad saddened many in the West African nation.

Further rubbing salt into the wound was the fact the news broke on Nigeria’s national day, October 1, when the nation celebrated the 60th year of her sovereignty. While the breaking story was probably inconsequential in the grand scheme of things, in a sporting sense, missing out on the 19-year-old felt like a kick in the teeth.

Of course, the Super Eagles will move on, just as they did when Abraham and Tomori chose the Three Lions. The continued rise of Osimhen as one of the brightest young frontmen in Europe means nobody rues the Chelsea striker’s decision now. In fact, there’s a feeling the Napoli frontman has a lot more about him and will be Nigeria’s number nine for years to come.

As for the centre-back, despite his promise and composure in possession, the 22-year-old hasn’t developed as many imagined after a bright start to 2019/20 as a Premier League defender.

As it is, the Blues youngster hasn’t added to his solitary England cap — picked up against Kosovo in November 2019 — while he’s arguably not significantly better than the current options at Gernot Rohr’s disposal.

For Abraham’s part, there was always going to be uncertainty over his long-term international career, especially with Harry Kane unlikely to be displaced as England’s primary frontman. Also, the form of Everton striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin and the presence of Manchester United striker Markus Rashford suggests there isn’t a clear path to regular game time for the European nation.

Given the odd antipathy that grows after Anglo-Nigerians reject the African nation, the schadenfreude that’ll follow if Abraham and Tomori fail to cement their place for the Three Lions will be extreme. This is largely due to a feeling among fans of the Super Eagles that, despite the lure of playing for England, the 1966 World Cup winners have never seemed to integrate them satisfactorily into the side — except for possibly Dele Alli.

While John Fashanu, John Salako, Gabriel Agbonlahor and Carlton Cole immediately spring up as players who spurned Nigeria — Fashanu has since revealed this wasn’t the case — but never really flourished, there’s a fear that the same may eventually befall Abraham, Tomori and Saka.

The aforementioned quartet played a combined 17 fixtures for the Three Lions, many of which were non-competitive fixtures, and their careers with the English national team never got off the ground.

Then there’s the pair of Jordon Ibe and Dominic Solanke, two players who pledged their allegiance to the European nation but have just one cap between them — a friendly against Brazil in 2017 for the former Chelsea and Liverpool attacker.

Ibe, who rejected Nigeria in 2015, was never given a chance by the Three Lions, leading to harsh criticism for the former prospect from fans of the Super Eagles.

While the jury remains out on Abraham and Tomori, there’s seemingly been a poor trend with Nigerians with dual citizenship who opt to play for the Three Lions, prompting fears concerning Saka.

What isn’t considered, however, is the talent level of the Arsenal academy graduate compared to his predecessors who either didn’t get a look in or have their paths to consistent game time shrouded in doubt and uncertainty.

With the 19-year-old, there seems to be a high ceiling that, ceteris paribus, indicates he could develop into a gem of a player in his prime.

Saka’s adeptness in different roles makes him an asset for any England boss now or in the future — although many observers feel his versatility could hurt his development as a player — something Nigeria may have benefitted from with his proficiency at left-back and out wide on both flanks.

Months ago, the Nigeria Football Federation President Amaju Pinnick stated that the country would cease to place players with dual nationalities on pedestals, an assertion that was welcome by supporters owing to previous embarrassing snubs.

“Saka is an excellent prospect but we have other players in his position who are playing so well,” Pinnick said in an Instagram Live chat in July. “We have talents everywhere so we won’t beg people to play for Nigeria.

“It is about ardour and fervour. If it’s their desire and they merit it, they’ll be given a chance to represent Nigeria.”

It’s safe to say Saka merited a place in the side following his meteoric rise at Arsenal, but evidently never yearned for a Super Eagles career.

In that sense, Nigeria leaves with her pride intact. However, given the supreme talent he possesses, supporters will wear a rueful grin when they consider what might have been had the youngster chosen the West African giants.

‘I cannot have grudges’ – Lampard addresses uncertainty around Chelsea player sales and Alonso incident

The Blues will be active in the transfer market but it is mostly going to be around slimming down their squad having signed six players this summer

Frank Lampard is readying himself for Chelsea‘s game against Crystal Palace on Saturday afternoon amid uncertainty in his squad around outgoing transfers ahead of deadline day.

The transfer window closes at 5pm on Monday with a host of Chelsea players likely to leave the club. Ross Barkley became the latest to depart this week, on a season-long loan to Aston Villa.

The latest player to see his future thrown into doubt was Marcos Alonso after he was subject to a dressing down by Lampard in front of the squad before being substituted at half-time away at West Bromwich Albion.

Lampard addressed the situation for the first time with Internazionale interested in taking him on loan in the coming days. The Blues boss approached the subject cautiously but was clear that he doesn’t want to hold grudges with his squad over incidents.

“I am not going to disclose what goes on in the dressing room, I think that would be wrong,” Lampard said of the incident which has since been widely reported. “We were disappointed to be 3-0 down at half-time, I had to make changes.

“All I ask from all the players, through the good and the bad, is that the players stick together. That is the only thing which will bring through a successful group. That’s as much as I have got to say on it. It doesn’t affect anything ongoing.

“I cannot have grudges but carry on. We work, we carry on and be honest with each other and carry on to work to get better and better and things happen over the course of a season they happen a lot.”

Lampard could see Antonio Rudiger leave with Paris Saint-Germain leading the race for a loan deal, Chelsea having signed Thiago Silva from the French club a free transfer.

Fikayo Tomori is likely to stay, and so is Callum Hudson-Odoi despite talk of a loan move to Bayern Munich, but Ruben Loftus-Cheek could make a temporary move. Lampard spoke about the three homegrown stars, with the latter gaining interest from West Ham.

“With every player in the squad, with the situation of a loan you have to consider what’s best for the player, what’s best for the club first and foremost,” he said. “Then see how it stacks up. So with all those three players, I would take those things into consideration.

“I haven’t got an answer for you on any of those three. I have a good relationship with them all, speak honestly with them, again that’s one that we’ll broach player by player in the next few days.

“Once the window shuts every player that will be here will be used within our squad, because it’s a long season and a lot of competitions coming up. We’ll know more on Monday.”

When pressed about Rudiger, who also has interest from Jose Mourinho’s Tottenham, Lampard said: “No, there are no more developments.”

Are you crazy?’ – Klopp unhappy with Liverpool applause of Chelsea red card

The Reds boss wasn’t impressed with the reaction from one of his members of staff after the Blues were reduced to 10 men

Jurgen Klopp reiterated his dislike for any unsportsmanlike behaviour after remonstrating with a member of the Liverpool staff for applauding a red card handed to Chelsea defender Andreas Christensen on Sunday. 

After VAR intervention, an initial yellow card for Christensen was upgraded to red for a poor challenge on Sadio Mane and Klopp was left fuming when someone on the Reds bench began applauding the decision. 

“Are you crazy? We never ever do that, ok?,” Klopp could reportedly be heard shouting from the sidelines. 

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