Tag: Chelsea

  • Barkley snubs Chelsea in dramatic end to transfer deadline day

    Barkley snubs Chelsea in dramatic end to transfer deadline day

    Chelsea suffered a dramatic late blow on transfer deadline day when Everton midfielder Ross Barkley rejected a move to Stamford Bridge after travelling to their training ground for a medical.

    On a day of frenetic spending which took the English Premier League total to a record far above one billion pounds, they also missed out on two of their other targets.

    The Premier League champions missed out on Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Fernando Llorente.

    England midfielder Oxlade-Chamberlain signed for Liverpool and Spaniard Llorente joined Tottenham Hotspur in deals worth 35 million pounds and 12 million pounds respectively.

    But Antonio Conte’s side still managed some business, paying Torino 23 million pounds for defender Davide Zappacosta and then pushing through a late deal for Danny Drinkwater.

    Special dispensation was requested from the English Football Association (FA) to register Leicester City’s midfielder after the official deadline, making it one of several deals to come through late.

    However welcome those signings will be for Chelsea, they may not compensate for the snub delivered by England midfielder Barkley.

    He arrived at their Cobham training ground late on Thursday only to turn round and head back north.

    Everton’s majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri said Barkley had turned up at the west London club’s Cobham training base only to undergo a dramatic change of heart as the transfer deadline clock ticked down.

    “The two clubs agreed a deal of 35 million pounds. I think personal terms were agreed and after medical (sic) we heard from Paul Martin, Ross Barkley’s agent, that he had changed his mind,’’ said Moshiri.

    He added that Barkley, who is in the final year of his contract at Everton, wanted to “reconsider his position’’ in the January transfer window.

    “It was a big surprise but this is football,’’ Moshiri said.

    A source close to 23-year-old Barclay said the midfielder did not have a medical and wanted to make a decision about his future when he was fully fit.

    He has been sidelined with a hamstring injury after a hernia operation.

    Alexis Sanchez was another player staying put, although for different reasons.

    Arsenal turned down a 60 million pounds bid from Manchester City after failing to secure his potential replacement, Monaco’s Thomas Lemar.

    This was in spite of a 92 million pounds bid reportedly being accepted by the French club.

    British media speculated that the France winger would have preferred a switch to Liverpool, who were reported to have made their own bid.

    The development was a possible indication that Brazilian midfielder Philippe Coutinho could be en route from Anfield to FC Barcelona.

    Although that deal looks unlikely, the transfer window in Spain does not close until Friday.

    Liverpool failed to lure central defender Virgil van Dijk from Southampton, who refused to sell in spite of a high-profile transfer request.

    This development had led to the Dutch international’s exclusion from first team training.

    But the Merseyside club did agree a fee to sell French defender Mamadou Sakho to Crystal Palace for 24 million pounds.

    West Bromwich Albion’s Jonny Evans is also staying put despite being linked with a move to Arsenal or Manchester City, who still ended up as the window’s top spenders.

    This was after lavishing in excess of 200 million pounds on players.

    Spurs are traditionally busy on deadline day and completed the signing of Llorente from Swansea and paid PSG 23 million pounds for Ivorian Serge Aurier.

    Swansea re-signed striker Wilfried Bony from Manchester City and, in one of the day’s surprises, brought in Portugal midfielder Renato Sanches on loan from Bayern Munich.

    Another Portugal Euro 2016 winner, Adrien Silva, was due to join Leicester in a late deal with the Foxes also signing Austria’s Aleksandar Dragovic from Bayer Leverkusen.

    Every Premier League club brought in at least two players in the window, with Watford and promoted Huddersfield Town the busiest teams with each making 13 signings.

    Brighton & Hove Albion left it late to bring in goalkeeper Tim Krul on loan from Newcastle United and defender Ezequiel Schelotto from Inter Milan.

    Everton, one of the window’s most prolific spenders, lavished a further 10 million pounds on Hajduk Split’s teenage striker Nikola Vlasic.

    France defender Mamadou Sakho joined Crystal Palace from Liverpool on a four-year deal, the club said on Friday.

    The deal for centre-back Sakho, who spent the last season on loan at Selhurst Park and played eight games for Palace, was worth about 26 million pounds ($33.65 million).

  • Barkley snubs Chelsea in dramatic end to transfer deadline day

    Barkley snubs Chelsea in dramatic end to transfer deadline day

    Chelsea suffered a dramatic late blow on transfer deadline day when Everton midfielder Ross Barkley rejected a move to Stamford Bridge after travelling to their training ground for a medical.

    On a day of frenetic spending which took the English Premier League total to a record far above one billion pounds, they also missed out on two of their other targets.

    The Premier League champions missed out on Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Fernando Llorente.

    England midfielder Oxlade-Chamberlain signed for Liverpool and Spaniard Llorente joined Tottenham Hotspur in deals worth 35 million pounds and 12 million pounds respectively.

    But Antonio Conte’s side still managed some business, paying Torino 23 million pounds for defender Davide Zappacosta and then pushing through a late deal for Danny Drinkwater.

    Special dispensation was requested from the English Football Association (FA) to register Leicester City’s midfielder after the official deadline, making it one of several deals to come through late.

    However welcome those signings will be for Chelsea, they may not compensate for the snub delivered by England midfielder Barkley.

    He arrived at their Cobham training ground late on Thursday only to turn round and head back north.

    Everton’s majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri said Barkley had turned up at the west London club’s Cobham training base only to undergo a dramatic change of heart as the transfer deadline clock ticked down.

    “The two clubs agreed a deal of 35 million pounds. I think personal terms were agreed and after medical (sic) we heard from Paul Martin, Ross Barkley’s agent, that he had changed his mind,’’ said Moshiri.

    He added that Barkley, who is in the final year of his contract at Everton, wanted to “reconsider his position’’ in the January transfer window.

    “It was a big surprise but this is football,’’ Moshiri said.

    A source close to 23-year-old Barclay said the midfielder did not have a medical and wanted to make a decision about his future when he was fully fit.

    He has been sidelined with a hamstring injury after a hernia operation.

    Alexis Sanchez was another player staying put, although for different reasons.

    Arsenal turned down a 60 million pounds bid from Manchester City after failing to secure his potential replacement, Monaco’s Thomas Lemar.

    This was in spite of a 92 million pounds bid reportedly being accepted by the French club.

    British media speculated that the France winger would have preferred a switch to Liverpool, who were reported to have made their own bid.

    The development was a possible indication that Brazilian midfielder Philippe Coutinho could be en route from Anfield to FC Barcelona.

    Although that deal looks unlikely, the transfer window in Spain does not close until Friday.

    Liverpool failed to lure central defender Virgil van Dijk from Southampton, who refused to sell in spite of a high-profile transfer request.

    This development had led to the Dutch international’s exclusion from first team training.

    But the Merseyside club did agree a fee to sell French defender Mamadou Sakho to Crystal Palace for 24 million pounds.

    West Bromwich Albion’s Jonny Evans is also staying put despite being linked with a move to Arsenal or Manchester City, who still ended up as the window’s top spenders.

    This was after lavishing in excess of 200 million pounds on players.

    Spurs are traditionally busy on deadline day and completed the signing of Llorente from Swansea and paid PSG 23 million pounds for Ivorian Serge Aurier.

    Swansea re-signed striker Wilfried Bony from Manchester City and, in one of the day’s surprises, brought in Portugal midfielder Renato Sanches on loan from Bayern Munich.

    Another Portugal Euro 2016 winner, Adrien Silva, was due to join Leicester in a late deal with the Foxes also signing Austria’s Aleksandar Dragovic from Bayer Leverkusen.

    Every Premier League club brought in at least two players in the window, with Watford and promoted Huddersfield Town the busiest teams with each making 13 signings.

    Brighton & Hove Albion left it late to bring in goalkeeper Tim Krul on loan from Newcastle United and defender Ezequiel Schelotto from Inter Milan.

    Everton, one of the window’s most prolific spenders, lavished a further 10 million pounds on Hajduk Split’s teenage striker Nikola Vlasic.

    France defender Mamadou Sakho joined Crystal Palace from Liverpool on a four-year deal, the club said on Friday.

    The deal for centre-back Sakho, who spent the last season on loan at Selhurst Park and played eight games for Palace, was worth about 26 million pounds ($33.65 million).(NAN)

  • 10 Transfers that could still happen before the end of the window.

    10 Transfers that could still happen before the end of the window.

    1. Fernando Javier Llorente Torres to Chelsea::

    Born 26 February 1985, nicknamed El Rey León is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a striker for Welsh club Swansea City and the Spain national team.

    Llorente started his career with Athletic Bilbao, working his way through the various youth ranks and becoming one of the most important offensive players for the club in the following decade, since making his first team debut in 2005. He scored 29 goals in all competitions in the 2011–12 season, and was described as a “Bilbao legend”.

    Antonio Conte has long had an admirer of the experienced forward, with the Chelsea boss having signed Llorente once before while he was Juventus manager. However, Swans boss and former Madrid assistant Paul Clement said on Sunday that “I’m confident of keeping Fernando and I see no reason why I shouldn’t be”. Clement has also previously stated that he’d had reassurances from the World Cup winner that he would not be leaving South Wales. With Swansea’s other big name, Gylfi Siggurdson, having departed for £45m, one would think the Swans will choose to keep Llorente even in the face of big-money offers.

    He has been a subject of a transfer to Chelsea since last season and the rumour resurfaces again and unless Swansea get a replacement for him, they are unwilling to release him.

    Likelihood of the transfer: 50/50

    9.Jamie Vardy to Everton or Chelsea: 

    Jamie Richard Vardyborn 11 January 1987 is an English professional footballer who plays as a striker for Premier League club Leicester City and the England national team.

    Vardy began his senior career with Stockbridge Park Steels, breaking into the first team in 2007 and spending three seasons before joining Northern Premier League club FC Halifax Town in 2010. Scoring 26 goals in his debut season, he won the club’s “Player’s Player of the Year” award, and then moved to Conference Premier Club Fleetwood Town in August 2011 for an undisclosed fee. He scored 31 league goals in his first season at his new team, winning the team’s “Player of the Year” award as they won the division.. In the 2015–16 Premier League season, he scored in eleven consecutive Premier League matches, breaking Ruud van Nistelrooy’s record, and was voted the Premier League Player of the Season and FWA Footballer of the Year as outsiders Leicester won the title. Vardy made his international debut in June 2015 and was selected for UEFA Euro 2016.

    It would not surprise anyone were Leicester to cash in on the former factory worker, especially with Chelsea and Everton prepared to pay £40m for his services. Vardy may well feel that this summer is his last chance of a big move, and with Leicester failing to repeat their wonder-season from 2015/16, a move would seem the logical step for the England international.

    Likelihood of the transfer: 50/50

    1. Jonny Evans to Manchester City: 

    Jonathan Grant “Jonny” Evans (born 3 January 1988) is a Northern Irish professional footballer who plays as a defender for and captains Premier League club West Bromwich Albion and plays for the Northern Ireland national team. Evans was born in Belfast and started his career at Green island FC, where he was spotted by Manchester United scouts. He progressed through Manchester United’s football Academy to play in several foreign tours in the summer of 2006. He made his Manchester United first team debut in the 2007–2008 League Cup, becoming a regular first-team squad member the following season. Evans is the second most decorated player in Northern Irish football history with 10 major trophies.

    However Evans’s recently-granted status as West Brom captain means that Tony Pulis is reluctant to sell. Evans himself has just declared loyalty to the Midlands outfit – on Sunday, he stated in West Brom’s matchday programme that “until anybody tells me different, I’m committed to the Albion and I’m only thinking about getting in this team”. As well as rebuffing Manchester City’s bid of £18m, Pulis’s side have also rebuffed a bid of more than £20m from Leicester City.

    Pep Guardiola seems to be angry with the defensive options he has at his disposal and wants to get a defender with a champion’s league experience.

    Likelihood of the transfer: Not Sure

    7.Virgil van Dijk to Liverpool: 

    Virgil van Dijk (born 8 July 1991) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a centre back for Premier League club Southampton and the Netherlands national team.

    After beginning his career with Groningen, he moved to Celtic in 2013, where he won the Scottish Premiership and was named in the PFA Scotland Team of the Year in both of his seasons, also winning the Scottish League Cup in the latter. In September 2015, he joined Southampton.

    Van Dijk made his international debut for the Netherlands in 2015. After a successful 2016–17 season at Southampton Van Dijk was subject to interest from Liverpool who apologized to Southampton for an illegal approach on the player after having reportedly made his interest in a move to Liverpool clear. On 7 August 2017, Van Dijk handed in a transfer request to Southampton and released a statement along with it, emphasizing his wish to join a different club in the transfer window.

    Van Dijk has repeatedly made it clear he wants out from St Mary’s this summer, handing in a transfer request and even refusing to make himself available for pre-season matches. Mauricio Pellegrino’s side, however, seems utterly unwilling to let Van Dijk’s petulance win out. Their stance – that he is going nowhere – has never wavered.

    Likelihood of the transfer: Liverpool

    6.Renato Sanches to Liverpool or Swansea: 

    Renato Júnior Luz Sanches born 18 August 1997, is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for German club Bayern Munich and the Portugal national team.

    He began his career at Benfica, making his professional debut for the reserves in October 2014 and for the first team in October 2015. In his only season for them, the team won the Primeira Liga and Taça da Liga. He then agreed on a move to Bayern Munich for an initial €35 million, the then highest fee for a Portuguese player leaving the domestic league.

    He made his full international debut in March 2016 and was chosen for UEFA Euro 2016 in France, at the age of 18, making him the youngest Portuguese to play in an international tournament, and the youngest player to win a Euro 2016 Final. He scored one goal during the competition and won the Young Player of the Tournament as Portugal captured the title for the first time in their history. He was the recipient of the 2016 Golden Boy Award.

    Sanches has himself expressed a desire to leave Bayern. Consequently, a clutch of upper-level Premier League sides have attempted to sign him this summer. Liverpool’s overtures have been particularly strong, and Sanches is very much a Jürgen Klopp player: young, hungry and swashbuckling in possession, but Liverpool’s attentions may be elsewhere.

    Likelihood of the transfer: Swansea.

    5. Shkodran Mustafi to Inter Milan: 

    Shkodran Mustafi born 17 April 1992 is a German professional footballer who plays as a central defender for English club Arsenal and the Germany national team.

    He began his career in the youth ranks of Hamburger SV and English club Everton, where he made one substitute appearance in two-and-a-half-years before leaving to Sampdoria in January 2012. He signed a five-year deal at Valencia in August 2014, and moved to Arsenal for a reported £35 million two years later.

    Mustafi made his full international debut against Poland on 13 May 2014, and was part of the German teams that won the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup. Mustafi joined English club Arsenal for an undisclosed fee, reported to be in excess of £35 million. He made his debut in Arsenal’s 2–1 Premier League win over Southampton at the Emirates Stadium on 10 September. Mustafi beat Bacary Sagna’s record unbeaten start of 17 games at the club in Arsenal’s 3–3 draw against Bournemouth with his 18th game without defeat. The former Sampdoria player is believed to be yearning for a return to Italy’s warmer climes, with Inter Milan heavily linked to the German international. Though the Nerazzurri were rumoured to be interested in signing Mustafi on loan with an option to buy him later, Arsenal would prefer a permanent transfer after paying Valencia £35m for his services only one year ago. But unless Inter suddenly decide to cough up a bucketful of cash, it looks as if Mustafi won’t be leaving the Emirates any time soon.

    Likelihood of the transfer:  Unlikely

    4.Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain to Chelsea or Liverpool:

    Alexander Mark David Oxlade-Chamberlain born 15 August 1993 is an English professional footballer who plays as a winger for Premier League club Arsenal and the England national team.

    After rising to prominence with Southampton during the 2010–11 season aged 17, he signed for Arsenal in August 2011. Scoring twice in his first three matches for the club, Oxlade-Chamberlain became the youngest English goal scorer in UEFA Champions League history and has also claimed a regular place in the England Under-21s team. Fans have nicknamed Oxlade-Chamberlain “The Ox”, derived from the first part of his surname, as well as his physical tenacity and powerful playing style.

    Oxlade-Chamberlain made his debut for the senior England team on 26 May 2012 in a 1–0 win against Norway in a friendly. Following this, he received a surprise call-up to the England squad for UEFA Euro 2012, becoming the second youngest player ever to represent England in the European Championships behind Wayne Rooney.

    Although the 24-year-old was offered an improved contract in early July, his rejection of it clearly signalled his desire to leave. Boss Arsene Wenger has expressed a desire to keep the England winger, but there is a sense that Oxlade-Chamberlain is replaceable, unlike a certain Chilean forward. Antonio Conte and Jurgen Klopp are thought to be extremely keen on signing Oxlade-Chamberlain, with the ex-Southampton man’s versatility appealing to the Italian. It remains to be seen exactly how much Chelsea are willing to pay for a player with a dubious injury record, however.

    Chelsea agreed a $35m deal to buy him from Arsenal on Tuesday but Oxlade reject the chance to play for Chelsea and chooses to prefer waiting for Liverpool to make their offer for him.

    Likelihood of the transfer. Likely Liverpool

    3. Danny Drinkwater to Chelsea:

    Daniel Noel Drinkwater born 5 March 1990 is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Premier League club Leicester City and the England national team. He has previously spent time on loan at Huddersfield Town, Cardiff City, Watford, Barnsley, and played for Manchester United, and has played internationally for England at under-18, under-19 levels.

    Drinkwater had his most successful year as a professional, scoring seven goals and being named to the PFA Championship Team of the Year alongside teammates Kasper Schmeichel and Wes Morgan, as Leicester were promoted to the Premier League after winning the Championship. On 17 June 2014On 25 August 2016, Drinkwater signed a long term contract to remain with the club to 2021.

    Leicester city are currently insisting on £40m for Drinkwater, having rejected a £25m bid from Chelsea earlier this month. Chelsea believes, however, that Leicester city are just waiting to sign a pre-emptive replacement for Drinkwater before cashing in. Even in this age of inflated transfer fees, £40m seems too much for a player who is struggling to make the England squad. It is difficult to believe that Foxes are standing in the way of a move should the Blues mount an offer north of £30m

    Likelihood of the transfer.50/50

    2.Alexis Sanchez to Manchester City:

    Alexis Alejandro Sánchez, also nicknamed El Niño Maravillaand “Ardilla”, was born 19 December 1988, also known as simply Alexis, is a Chilean professional footballer who plays as a forward for English club Arsenal and the Chile national team.

    After his debut season of first-team football with Cobreloa, Sánchez was signed by Italy’s Udinese in 2006. Following successful loans at Colo-Colo and River Plate, he began playing in Serie A. In 2011, he was signed by Barcelona for £25 million, becoming the most expensive transfer in Chilean football history.Sánchez signed for Arsenal in July 2014 for a fee reported to be £31.7 million, making him the third-most expensive signing in the club’s history after Mesut Özil and Granit Xhaka.He has been a full international for Chile since 2006, and has earned 115 caps, making him the team’s joint most capped player of all-time, alongside goalkeeper Claudio Bravo. With 38 goals, he is La Roja’s highest top scorer of all-time. He also played in two FIFA World Cups (2010and 2014) and the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup, as well as three Copa América tournaments, winning two of the latter.

    Two major factors point towards the Chilean’s departure from North London in the next few days. First, as has been widely reported, his wage demands are astronomical. Manchester City are perhaps the only club in the world willing to lavish Sanchez with in excess of £400,000-a-week. Secondly – and this is perhaps bound up with his wage demands – Sanchez’s commitment to Arsenal has seemingly faltered as time has elapsed. In July he claimed to be ill in a less-than-convincing Instagram post after Arsenal had expressly stated he was returning to training, and on Sunday he was spotted seemingly laughing on the bench while the Gunners were being thrashed 4-0 by Liverpool.

    Likelihood of the transfer: much unlikely

    1: Philippe Coutinho to Barcelona:

    Philippe Coutinho Correia born 12 June 1992 is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder and winger for Premier League club Liverpool and the Brazil national team.

    Born and raised in Rio de Janeiro, Coutinho showed prodigious talent and excelled in Vasco da Gama’s youth system. He was signed by Italian side Internazionale in 2008 for €4 million and subsequently loaned back to Vasco, where he became a key player. He made his debut for Internazionale in 2010 and was seen as the “future of Inter”, but struggled to establish himself in the first team and was loaned to Spanish club Espanyol in 2012.

    In January 2013, he was signed by English team Liverpool for £8.5 million. He flourished at Anfield; his combination of vision, passing, dribbling and long-range strikes earned him the nickname Little Magician from Liverpool fans and teammates.  After he was named in the 2015 PFA Team of the Year, Brazilian legend Pelétipped Coutinho for a “great future”.

    Coutinho made his senior debut for Brazil in 2010 at the age of 18. He has since made over 20 appearances and represented the nation at the 2015 Copa Américaand the Copa América Centenario.

    The fleet-footed playmaker has been linked with Nou Camp for the entire summer, or so it seems. Reports in Spain suggest Liverpool’s hardline stance against selling Coutinho has softened in recent days, but the Reds would still rather refuse to sell the Brazilian than leave complex transfer negotiations to the last minute. A struggling Barcelona are prepared to offer well in excess of £100m to secure the Brazilian’s services, emboldened by their £200m windfall from Neymar’s PSG move, but the sticking point remains Fenway Sports Group’s willingness – or lack thereof – to sacrifice Liverpool’s star man

    Likelihood of the transfer: Unlikely

     

  • Burnley stun Chelsea at Stamford Bridge

    Burnley stun Chelsea at Stamford Bridge

    Sam Vokes scored twice as Burnley surprised defending English champions Chelsea 3-2 at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.

    Chelsea had Captain Gary Cahill and Cesc Fabregas sent off and Burnley took full advantage through Vokes’s brace and a superb Stephen Ward’s effort.

    Two second half goals from new signing Alvaro Morata and David Luiz were not enough to save the champions’ blushes.

    Burnley’s win, the club’s first at Chelsea since 1971, was one of the few surprising results in the opening day of the English Premier League (EPL).

    Newcomers Huddersfield stunned Crystal Palace 3-0 at Selhurst Park while Watford forced 18-time English champions Liverpool to 3-3 draw at Vicarage Road.

  • Moses scores as Arsenal secure comeback win to lift Community Shield

    Moses scores as Arsenal secure comeback win to lift Community Shield

    Super Eagles striker Victor Moses on Sunday scored a goal for Chelsea but unfortunately it was not enough as Arsenal secured a comeback win to lift the Community Shield at the Wembley Stadium.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Community Shield is the season’s traditional “curtain raiser’’ which pitted Premier League champions Chelsea against FA Cup winners Arsenal.

    Arsenal has won the trophy three times in four years.

    Moses had opened scoring for Chelsea early in the second half after a goalless first half which saw both sides unable to convert their goal scoring opportunities.

    Arsenal were caught off-guard at the restart as Granit Xhaka ballooned a clearance from a corner high in the air.

    But Gary Cahill flicked it back into the middle of the box as Moses timed his run to perfection, creeping through to drive in from close range and slotting the ball past Petr Cech in the 47th minute.

    The goal was Moses’ first for Chelsea in 27 games. His last one came against Tottenham HotSpurs in November.

    NAN reports that the Super Eagles’ midfielder, Alex Iwobi, also had a decent performance for Arsenal with some nifty footwork, going closest to scoring in the 49th minute after twirling his way through a couple of players before getting his shot off in the mark.

    But the shot was weak and straight at goalkeeper.

    He was, however, substituted in the 67th minute alongside Arsenal’s new signing Alexandre Lacazette who also came close to scoring with a shot that hit the post in the first half.

    Oliver Giroud and Theo Walcott were introduced as their replacements as Arsenal desperately went in search for the equaliser.

    With 10 minutes left to play and just as Chelsea looked poised to win, the game unfortunately took a twist of fate as Chelsea went down to 10 men.

    Pedro Rodriguez went late and high with his studs up on Mohamed Elneny.

    Referee Bobby Madley had a little think and then pulled out the red card as Antonio Conte expressed his displeasure at the referee’s decision.

    It was indeed a crazy couple of minutes for Chelsea as straight from the free-kick conceded by Pedro, Arsenal equalised in the 82nd minute.

    Granit Xhaka’s delivery was headed in powerfully by new boy Sead Kolasinac.

    There were just 82 seconds between Pedro’s red card and Kolasinac’s goal.

    Kolasinac became the first player to open his goal account for Arsenal in the Community Shield since Gilberto Silva in 2002.

    It was certainly dramatic and cranked up the atmosphere in the closing stages.

    The game, however, ended in a 1-1 draw and went straight into the lottery of penalty shootouts.

    With the game going straight into penalties, the Gunners showed their superiority; scoring all their four kicks, while the Blues could only put in one.

    Thibaut Courtois and new club-record signing, Alvaro Morata lost their kicks.

    Sunday’s win extends Arsenal’s unbeaten record to 9 at Wembley

    It was indeed a turnaround as Arsenal secured their first trophy of the season, beating Chelsea 4-1 on penalties.

  • Chelsea eager to sign Drinkwater

    Chelsea eager to sign Drinkwater

     

    Chelsea are interested in signing Leicester City midfielder Danny Drinkwater, according to Sky sources.

    The England international is one of the midfielders the Premier League champions are looking at as a possible replacement for Nemanja Matic, who has been sold to Manchester United for £40m.

    Chelsea have already bought Tiemoue Bakayoko from Monaco, but Blues manager Antonio Conte wants to sign another midfielder.

    The Italian has already asked Bayern Munich about signing Renato Sanches and Drinkwater is also on his list of targets.

    However, Leicester are under no pressure to sell Drinkwater and he is not for sale, having signed a new four-year contract last summer.

    The 27-year-old was an integral part of the Leicester team that won the title in 2015-16 and his performances earned him a call-up to the England squad in March 2016.

    N’Golo Kante, who partnered Drinkwater in that title-winning Leicester midfield, joined Chelsea last summer for £30m and has enjoyed great success at Stamford Bridge.

    The Frenchman was a member of the Premier League-winning team for the second season in a row and won the PFA and FWA Player of the Year awards.

    Drinkwater aside, Chelsea’s other midfield targets include Everton’s Ross Barkley and Arsenal’s Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.

  • Perisic nets as Blues taste defeat in final tour game

    Perisic nets as Blues taste defeat in final tour game

     

    Chelsea ended their pre-season tour in defeat as Inter beat the Premier League champions 2-1 to win the International Champions Cup in Singapore.

    One of the most outrageous own goals ever scored was not enough to prevent Chelsea ending their pre-season tour with another defeat.

    Inter’s Geoffrey Kondogbia somehow found the top corner of his own goal from more than 40 yards to help the Premier League champions back into the game.

    Inter took the lead in controversial fashion in first-half stoppage time as Cesar Azpilicueta was penalised for a soft challenge on Stevan Jovetic inside the box. Jovetic saw his penalty saved by Thibaut Courtois, but he slammed home the rebound.

    Manchester United target Ivan Perisic netted the second with a powerful low effort (53), before Geoffrey Kondogbia scored a bizarre own goal (74), somehow beating his own goalkeeper from 45 yards with a miscued  back pass

    Antonio Candreva almost opened the scoring for the Italian side early on, but his effort from the right of the box was kept out by a combination of David Luiz and goalkeeper Courtois.

    Luiz then saw a free header blocked by the body of Milan Skriniar, but Inter were ahead late in the half.

    Jovetic chested down the ball in the area before seemingly being dispossessed fairly by Azpilicueta, but the former Man City man went down under the challenge and received a penalty from referee Sukhbir Singh. Courtois saved to his left, but Inter reacted fastest to the rebound as Jovetic cleaned up.

    There was more poor officiating after the break as Jovetic had a goal wrongly ruled out for offside, but Inter got their second as Perisic’s fierce effort from the left of the penalty area found the bottom corner past Courtois.

    Inter sub Joao Mario should have made it 3-0 from Perisic’s unselfish pass, but his low effort was saved by the boot of Courtois.

    The game then turned Chelsea’s way with just over 15 minutes remaining as Kondogbia’s pass back to his own goal flew over Daniele Padelli’s head and into the top left corner.

    Michy Batshuayi then had a goal wrongly ruled out for offside late on, but it ended 2-1 to Inter despite a late rally by the Blues which merely hit the rocks.

  • More Chelsea players join Ola Aina on loan

    More Chelsea players join Ola Aina on loan

     

    Just one more player on loan,  and Premier league defending Champions Chelsea have 22 players or complete double squad on loan across the globe.

    Nigeria born Ola Aina who started with Chelsea Youth team in 2007, joined the senior team eight years later where he made just two appearances including that of 3-0 victory over Leicester City in which he replaced compatriot Victor Moses in the 82nd minute.

    But early this month Chelsea announced they had loaned out Aina to Championship side Hull City.

    The former England U-16-20 ace is however not the only Blue on the road, in fact at the last count following Friday’s despatch of Tomas Kalas, Michael Hector and Jamal Blackman to Championship sides Fulham, Hull City and Sheffield United respectively, the number of Chelsea players on loan has hit 21 with just one player needed to form two complete squad of 22 players.

    Kalas will spend a second season loan at Fulham after signing a new four-year contract with Chelsea, while Hector will work under the Tigers’ Russian manager Leonid Slutsky, a friend of Roman Abramovich, at the KCOM Stadium.

    Blackman heads to Sheffield United, having impressed during his time with Wycombe last season.

    Chelsea’s loan business is not expected to stop with approximately 15 more players expected to be loaned out before the transfer window closes.

    Kalas’ Chelsea team-mate Lucas Piazon also signed up to a second season-long loan with Fulham earlier this month as they look to go one better and earn promotion back to the Premier League.

    The 24-year-old centre back, who has six caps for Czech Republic, was a key part of the Fulham side which finished sixth in the Championship last season only to be beaten in the play-off semi-finals by Reading.

    Kalas signed for Chelsea from Sigma Olomouc in 2010 but has made just four appearances for the club – though one of those came as a starter as Chelsea famously halted Liverpool’s title bid at Anfield in 2014.

    He has spent time on loan at Chelsea’s Dutch feeder club Vitesse Arnhem as well as at German side Cologne and with Middlesbrough and Fulham in the Championship.

    Hector, 25, joined Chelsea from Reading in 2015 before being sent straight back to the Madejski Stadium for a season.

    The 12-cap Jamaica international gained valuable experience in the Bundesliga last year with Eintracht Frankfurt and follows fellow Blue Ola Aina in joining Hull on loan.

    As well as Wycombe, Blackman has had temporary spells at Middlesbrough and Swedish club Ostersunds, and is yet to make his Chelsea debut.

    CHELSEA PLAYERS OUT ON LOAN

    GOALKEEPERS

    Nathan Baxter (Woking)

    Bradley Collins (Forest Green Rovers)

    Jamal Blackman (Sheffield United)

    DEFENDERS

    Ola Aina (Hull City)

    Fankaty Dabo (Vitesse Arnhem)

    Todd Kane (Groningen)

    Jay Dasilva (Charlton Athletic)

    Kurt Zouma (Stoke City)

    Tomas Kalas (Fulham)

    Michael Hector (Hull)

    MIDFIELDERS

    Charlie Colkett (Vitesse Arnhem)

    Mason Mount (Vitesse)

    Ruben Loftus-Cheek (Crystal Palace)

    Kasey Palmer (Huddersfield Town)

    Danilo Pantic (Partizan Belgrade)

    Lucas Piazon (Fulham)

    Josimar Quintero (Rostov)

    Marco van Ginkel (PSV)

    FORWARDS

    Tammy Abraham (Swansea City)

    Izzy Brown (Brighton & Hove Albion)

    Ike Ugbo (Barnsley)

  • Burglars of John Terry’s house get 28 year jail term

    Burglars of John Terry’s house get 28 year jail term

     

    A gang of burglars who deliberately targeted the mansion of former England captain John Terry after he posted pictures of his family skiing on Instagram have today been jailed for nearly 28 years.

    The former Chelsea footballer and current Aston Villa captain was on a skiing holiday with his family when their £5million mansion was raided and ransacked in February.

    Darren Eastaugh, 30, Joshua Sumer, 27, Roy Head, 28, and Oliver Hart, 25, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit burglary between February 1 and March 27 this year.

    The conspiracy involved seven burglaries across Surrey and Sussex earlier this year, with a total lost from all of them was £600,000.

    Today all four were jailed for a total of 27 years and 11 months at Kingston Crown Court.

    A fifth man, Kye Hardy-King, 25, pleaded guilty to one count of handling stolen goods when some of the stolen property was found at his home.

    Former England captain John Terry and his wife Toni (left) shared a photograph of the pair on a skiing holiday (right) on Mr Terry’s Instagram page which led to the couple being burgled and losing nearly £400,000 worth of goods

    They struck after the footballer, who now captains Championship side Aston Villa, posed for pictures on the slopes of the French Alps with his wife Toni, 35, boasting to his 3.4million followers that he was having a ‘great few days away skiing with the family’.

    But while the couple happily shared photos and videos of their lavish holiday, they didn’t realise the posts had attracted the attention of a ruthless gang of prolific burglars.

    The men broke into their £5million mansion in Oxshott, Surrey, and spent hours ransacking the property, swiping designer handbags worth £126,000 and rare signed first edition Harry Potter books valued at £18,000.

  • Chelsea Most Expensive Player, Alvaro Morata Unveiled

    Chelsea Most Expensive Player, Alvaro Morata Unveiled

    Chelsea have completed the signing of Alvaro Morata from Real Madrid for £70.6million.

    The Spain striker flew into Heathrow terminal on Thursday, and the Blues have now confirmed the club-record deal after he passed his medical at Cobham.

    Morata has put pen to paper on a five-year contract at Stamford Bridge worth in the region of £155,000 a week, and he will join up with the rest of the Chelsea squad in Singapore next week.

    Alvaro Morata is officially a Chelsea player after completing his transfer from Real Madrid

    He has signed a five-year contract at Stamford Bridge worth in the region of £155,000 a week

    The £70.6million transfer is a club record buy for Premier League champions Chelsea

    Upon completing his transfer, Morata told the club’s official website: ‘I am so happy to be here. It’s an incredible emotion to be part of this big club. I am looking to work hard, score as many goals as I can and to win as many trophies as possible.’

    Technical director Michael Emenalo added: ‘We are delighted to complete Alvaro’s signing and welcome him to the club. We believe he can make a great impact for Chelsea and look forward to seeing him in action.

    ‘Alvaro has proven class at the highest level and his quality will be a huge asset to Antonio and the squad.’

    Chelsea uploaded a picture of Morata signing the contract via their Instagram account, which Diego Costa liked. The wantaway striker will be hoping this new signing can pave the way for him to leave Stamford Bridge this summer.

    Morata, who said his goodbyes to Real Madrid on Wednesday, becomes Chelsea’s fourth signing this summer after the arrivals of goalkeeper Willy Caballero, defender Antonio Rudiger and midfielder Tiemoue Bakayoko.

    Chelsea posted a picture of Morata signing on Instagram which was liked by Diego Costa

    Costa wants to leave Chelsea after being told by Antonio Conte he isn't part of his plans

    Morata has left  Real after helping them win La Liga and the Champions League last season

    Tiemoue Bakayoko posed with his new Chelsea team-mate Morata in an Instagram post

    Morata is spotted arriving at Heathrow Airport with wife Alice Campello on Thursday morning

    The Spanish striker is expected to sign a five-year deal with Chelsea to complete a £70m move

    Morata travelled overnight from Real Madrid's pre-season camp with agent Juanma Lopez (R)

    Morata also hailed Antonio Conte as one of the best coaches in the world

    Morata embraces Zinedine Zidane at Real Madrid's LA training base as he says goodbye

    Morata was also seen saying goodbye to Gareth Bale in the video posted on Madrid's YouTube

    Morata speaks to Lucas Vazquez (right) and Dani Carjaval (centre) ahead of his Chelsea move

    MORATA THE LA LIGA GOALSCORER

    Minutes played: 1,331

    Goals: 15

    Assists: 4

    Minutes-per-goal: 89

    Shots-per-goal: 3.6

    All stats for the 2016-17 La Liga season

    Blues boss Conte briefly worked with Morata at Juventus and believes the forward – who scored 20 goals as Real won both LaLiga and the Champions League last season – can bring something different to the Chelsea frontline.

    Speaking at a press conference in Beijing earlier on Friday, Conte said: ‘We have added a fantastic striker, even at a young age he has won a lot already and we are looking forward to welcoming him to the squad.

    ‘I think for sure this is a good signing for us. He is a young player, but has a lot of experience, he went to Juventus and Real Madrid. He has a lot of experience and I think this is a good sign for us.’

    Morata will now join up with the Blues squad on their pre-season tour of Asia. They play Arsenal in a friendly at the Bird’s Nest Stadium on Saturday before heading to Singapore.

    The Spain international thanked Madrid's supporters in a video posted to the club's YouTube

    Morata scored 20 times in all competitions for Real last season despite limited opportunities

    Morata spent two seasons at Juventus between 2014 and 2016 before Real resigned him