Chelsea News And Transfers LIVE: Caicedo Latest, Kante Boost, Funny Alexander-Arnold Comparison
London live blog for all things Chelsea on Monday, September 26.
We are now at the mid-point of the international break and there were key updates on Sunday regarding the futures of Chelsea targets Rafael Leao, Moises Caicedo and Leandro Trossard.
Graham Potter is continuing to plan for Chelsea’s return to Premier League action which is in just one week as his new side travel to Selhurst Park to play against Crystal Palace when the international break ends.
The manager will be hopeful of having N’Golo Kante ready for the game as the Frenchman trains on his own at Cobham but he could well be without the medical chief at the club, who may be leaving.
There is plenty to discuss around Stamford Bridge on what Potter is planning to do in his first Premier League clash and around rumours for the next two transfer windows.
Five Blues nominated in greatest Premier League Transfer of all time, have your say below!
Reece James appears to be in the clear for a World Cup starting spot and shouldn’t have any issues with his competition at England after Trent Alexander-Arnold was brutally put down by a former Chelsea star.
Alexander-Arnold, who has reportedly been left out of Gareth Southgate’s squad for the final UEFA Nations League match and the last game before England start the winter World Cup, will have only played five of the last 31 matches for his country and was left out of the Euro 2020 squad altogether.
His form since then has made him one of Chelsea’s most important players and has also elevated him on the world status too.
Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham all explored the possibility of signing Villarreal star Pau Torres but baulked at his £40million price tag.
Chelsea signed two new central defenders in the summer transfer window with Kalidou Koulibaly and Wesley Fofana making the move to Stamford Bridge.
For Chelsea’s two-time player of the season and one of their shining lights through an otherwise tough season, Mason Mount has started poorly this term. It’s not an elephant in the room, it’s true of a lot of players, but it is disappointing.
Bearing in mind that Mount’s longest run of not getting a goal or assist in the league since making his debut in 2019 is seven games, dating back to the end of the 2020/21 season, his current stretch of six games is baron for a player of his quality.
The entirety of Chelsea’s problems don’t come close to boiling down to just being on Mount’s shoulders, but the 23-year-old has generated quite a name for being a consistently high and reliable performer.
Year on year his attacking output has improved despite being shunted about, and Graham Potter looks set to cement the England star in his own XI too.
He’s been through the ringer at club and international level.
The scale of the rebuild needed at both Chelsea and England is unavoidable and he doesn’t have much time before even more damaging questions will be asked.
After Chelsea started their Women’s Super League campaign with a shock defeat at Liverpool, a response was required at Kingsmeadow against Manchester City from Emma Hayes’ side.
There were a couple of eye-catching surges in possession from Lauren James – more on her shortly – but it was Guro Reiten who led the Chelsea attack in the first half.
Chelsea and Brighton – a relationship in the transfer market that has blossomed over the last few months.
Whether it’s Levi Colwill, Marc Cucurella, Billy Gilmour or most recently Graham Potter, the two clubs in question will most likely continue trading with each other, especially with Potter now in the Stamford Bridge dugout for the long-term.
Chelsea have spent £270million in Todd Boehly’s first summer but the owners have promised significant and stable investment in the first team squad over their reign which will be music to the ears of new manager Graham Potter.
Denzel Dumfries, Tino Livramento, Tariq Lamptey – which one of the three, if any, will join Graham Potter’s Chelsea revolution?
Azpilicueta has struggled in the early parts of 2022/23 and that decision to keep the Spaniard, despite his leadership quality, isn’t showing its fruits on the pitch anymore as the player who has won it all is starting to suffer the same fate Branislav Ivanovic had during his latter days in a Blues jersey.
Marc Cucurella seems to have sorted out the left-back question in the long-term with the former Getafe player set to compete for that spot with other option Ben Chilwell.
Currently, both players have been rotated or fitted into the same team under the previous boss Thomas Tuchel.
Danyal Khan.Graham Potter hampers Chelsea’s chances in signing Brighton ace amid Liverpool transfer battle.
Graham Potter is keen to reunite with at least two new Brighton players over the next couple of transfer windows but he may have put Chelsea on the back foot with previous comments on one certain player.
One name who has made himself available to a future £50m move is Ecuadorian international and Brighton star Moises Caicedo, who was successfully brought into the Amex by Potter to replace Yves Bissouma, who is now plying his trade at Tottenham Hotspur.
“It made me very sad now that he left for Chelsea because he helped me a lot and I wanted to continue having him as a manager, but that’s football,” Caicedo told Ole via the Evening Standard.
Danyal Khan.Major injury boost ahead of Champions League.
During the international break, AC Milan have been hampered with a number of injuries to key players including Theo Hernandez and Sandro Tonali.
This will hand Chelsea a major boost should the Milan duo be absent with both being regarded as crucial players in Stefano Pioli’s side.
Gazzetta dello Sport have reported the extent of the Italians’ injury woes, with up to four players facing a race against time to face the Blues at Stamford Bridge after the international break.
As well as Tonali and Hernandez, former Liverpool striker Divock Origi and Ante Rebic are also doubts ahead of the game against Chelsea.
Danyal Khan.Rafael Leao is still a target for Chelsea in the next few transfer windows.
Leao was a player Boehly enquired about but after having a few others rejected, the new owner decided to move on his player search, with AC Milan looking for a fee close to his release clause of around £134m.
Since then, the 23-year-old has been in contract negotiations with the Rossoneri in the hope that he can agree a new and improved deal which will see him become one of the highest earners at the club.
“Have I rejected offers for Leao and Hernandez?,” Milan technical director and club legend Paulo Maldini answered to Get Italian Football News.
We are the mid-point of the international break and we will bring you all the latest.