Chelsea transfer rumours: Olivier Giroud ‘offered’ to Real Madrid, Blues wonderkid set to leave
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Chelsea were the big spenders of the summer transfer window, racking up a spending total of more than £200million.
But having spent so much ahead of the season without much to show for it - Frank Lampard’s men currently seventh in the Premier League - the Blues are unlikely to spend much in the January transfer window.
Nevertheless, the transfer rumour mill continues to involve Chelsea with a number of outgoings on the table, including out-of-favour defender Fikayo Tomori, who could be set for a loan move this month, following Danny Drinkwater through the exit door.
Join us below as we run you through all the latest Chelsea transfer talk.
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Maldini delivers latest on Tomori
AC Milan technical director Paolo Maldini has provided the latest on Chelsea defender Fikayo Tomori.
The Blues centre-back is expected to join the Serie A giants on loan until the end of the season amid a lack of game time this season.
“Between the almost signed and the signed things change. It’s a creative market," he said, as per SempreMilan.
“If we follow him and tried to take him even a few months ago, it means that we have seen in him some characteristics that are right for us.”
Giroud offered to Real Madrid
Chelsea striker Olivier Giroud has been offered out to Real Madrid, according to reports in Spain.
According to Defensa Central, Giroud is keen to leave Stamford Bridge when his contract expires at the end of this season.
(Image: Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images)
And the report also claims that an agent - and it’s not clear if it’s the Frenchman’s own agent - is working behind the scenes to get Giroud a new club, offering him to Spanish giants Real Madrid.
Though, it’s reported Real have turned down the offer having already loaned out Luka Jovic during this window.
‘Top clubs’ monitor Chelsea starlet
Chelsea face the prospect of losing one of their brightest young talents Marcel Lewis.
The 19-year-old is out of contract this summer and is yet to agree a new deal, leaving the Blues exposed to the possibility of losing the young attacking midfielder.
Lewis has scored four and assisted as many in just 10 appearances for the under-23s this season and is a highly-rated prospect.
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And according to Football Insider, a number of ’top clubs’ are now keeping tabs on the situation with a number of Premier League and Bundesliga clubs prepared to offer a pre-contract deal this month ahead of the summer.
Lewis is said to have trained with the first-team in recent weeks and Chelsea are keen to keep him.
But they may have to put their money where their mouth is or face losing him to one of their rivals.
‘Terrible’, ‘Very bad form’, some Chelsea FC fans slam experienced star after Man City defeat
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A section of Chelsea FC fans have criticised the performance of midfielder N’Golo Kante following the disappointing 3-1 loss to Manchester City in the Premier League.
The Blues had gone into the game on the back of attaining only four points from five matches and their misery continued as they were unable to cope with the attacking threat from the Cityzens.
They were down three-nil after just 35 minutes on the clock and that pretty much ended the game as the Cityzens were able to control the proceedings during the second half.
Kante has been a hugely instrumental player for the Blues this term, but he has gone through a bad patch over the past month. Against the Cityzens, he was culpable of losing possession in critical moments and one of those contributed to the Cityzens’ third goal.
The Frenchman is widely regarded as one of the best midfielders in the Premier League, but he has not been spared from the criticism from some supporters following another lacklustre display from the Blues in the Premier League.
Twitter Reactions:
Kante out of position for that 2nd City goal, poor decision making for the third too. — MJ (@MujeebLa) January 3, 2021
– Without a fit James are defence has no pace.
– Kante is in very bad form.
– A run of tricky fixtures came at the wrong time. — James Holden (@MrJames007619) January 4, 2021
What’s bad is that even our top players couldn’t show their class in the City game. Kante was terrible. Our defence which has been good was very bad. Kovacic was bad.
Some positives: Kai with a decent performance and an assist. CHO with a goal and Billy Gilmour with a good game. — Pride Of London (@PrideOf01334782) January 4, 2021
When I said we needed to sell kante, I was called a mad man. — N A G A T O☠🐺 (@bastian_killz) January 3, 2021
We barely touched the ball, didnt even chase for it. Sloppy passes, poor challenges from tackles, no recoveries. Kante Kovacic were awful last night but I can’t think about the right sub except Gilmour (that turned out to be good). Mount tried but he was outnumbered in the mid. — k (@kameeew) January 4, 2021
With the defeat, Chelsea FC find themselves eighth on the table with 26 points, seven behind leaders Liverpool. The game to the top could extend if the Reds beat Southampton tonight.
The Blues will switch their focus to FA Cup action this weekend when they entertain League Two Morecambe at home in the third round. It should be a comfortable game for them irrespective of their league form.
Stats from Transfermarkt.com
Football rumours: Chelsea to replace Frank Lampard? Dele Alli to PSG?
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Far be it from the Rumour Mill to claim to know what goes on in the mind of Roman Abramovich, but it’s being reported that Chelsea’s Russian owner is ready to replace Frank Lampard unless he quickly whips his side into shape following last night’s humiliation at the hands of Manchester City.
The Athletic say the 42-year-old manager’s position is “under serious threat” and claim Chelsea have “started to explore alternative plans with a view to replacing Lampard if the current slump continues”. They don’t, however, go so far as to speculate over who might take over should Abramovich pull the trigger.
With their client under contract at Tottenham Hotspur until June 2024, Harry Kane‘s “people” have begun informal talks with Daniel Levy with a view to extending his deal in a bid to keep cashed-up predators at bay. It’s been suggested the installation of Mauricio Pochettino at Paris Saint-Germain has got the Spurs club hierarchy twitchy and they want to keep their star striker sweet in a bid to prevent him having his head turned by the French champions or anyone else. Still in José Mourinho’s bad books, Dele Alli continues to be linked with a move to the French capital and is believed to have held talks with his former manager. PSG are also hoping to make the loan signing of the Everton striker Moise Kean permanent, with a fee of £31m being mentioned.
French sports daily L’Equipe claim William Saliba is ready to take a significant reduction in wages if it means getting the opportunity to leave Arsenal on loan. Having failed to make a single appearance under Mikel Arteta, the 19-year-old French defender is hankering after a temporary return to his former club St Etienne. Dutch side PSV Eindhoven are also believed to have enquired about the possibility of taking him on loan. David Luiz, Shkodran Mustafi, Sokratis Papastathopoulos and Calum Chambers may also be shipped out in a January exodus of defenders that would free up a sizeable chunk of the club’s wage bill.
Steve Bruce wants to bolster Newcastle United’s midfield and has identified Leicester City’s Hamza Choudhury as a potential enforcer; Brendan Rodgers has said he will assess the midfielder’s future in the next couple of weeks. Third in the table following their win over Bruce’s side on Sunday, Leicester want Schalke’s Turkish defender Ozan Kabak, but will have to fend off interest from Milan, Crystal Palace, Manchester United and Tottenham to land the £25m-rated 20-year-old. In need of a centre-half, Liverpool had been linked with a move for Kabak but for reasons that remain unspecified, are understood to have cooled their interest.
The Birmingham Mail say Aston Villa are giving Norwich City winger Emi Buendía the glad eye, but are unlikely to be successful in their attempts to bring him to Villa Park in the current window. With seven goals to his name already this season, including his weekend winner against Barnsley, Buendía is also the subject of long-term interest from Arsenal. QPR goalkeeper Seny Dieng is a man in big demand, with Arsenal, Crystal Palace and Leeds all reported to be interested in securing the 26-year-old’s services.
And finally, having once described Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage as a “forthright, forward-speaking, intelligent man”, the West Brom manager Sam Allardyce has fallen victim to karmic irony and new regulations that came into force following the UK’s recent exit from the European Union. “I have found three players already who were capable of coming here and they’re not allowed,” he said of his January recruitment drive. “It’s a shame.”