Chelsea – Sport Witness http://sportwitness.co.uk Mon, 04 Dec 2023 10:16:48 +0000 en-GB hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=5.1.15 Player lays into Chelsea after miserable Stamford Bridge spell – Says Blues are ‘asking for problems’ http://sportwitness.co.uk/player-lays-chelsea-miserable-stamford-bridge-spell-says-blues-asking-problems/ http://sportwitness.co.uk/player-lays-chelsea-miserable-stamford-bridge-spell-says-blues-asking-problems/#respond Fri, 01 Dec 2023 17:40:08 +0000 http://sportwitness.co.uk/?p=450520 Former Chelsea winger Hakim Ziyech has admitted he could talk about his time at the club “for a long time” as he laid bare everything that went wrong at Stamford Bridge. The winger has been speaking to Voetbal International in the Netherlands about his time in Blue after leaving for Galatasaray in the summer. He

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Former Chelsea winger Hakim Ziyech has admitted he could talk about his time at the club “for a long time” as he laid bare everything that went wrong at Stamford Bridge.

The winger has been speaking to Voetbal International in the Netherlands about his time in Blue after leaving for Galatasaray in the summer.

He was one of several high-profile departures in the summer transfer window as Mauricio Pochettino and those in charge cleared the decks following the extravagant spending under Todd Boehly and co.

Ziyech was one of those who were surrendered for the sake of balance on the books, bringing an end to a miserable spell in London that saw him manage just 14 goals and 13 assists in 107 games following a €40m move from Ajax in 2020.

He had arrived from the Netherlands with a huge reputation having been the star of the show for the Dutch side, where he managed 49 goals and 81 assists in 165 games.

He didn’t come close to matching that for Chelsea, where he failed to impress a succession of managers, one of many problems he says ruined his time at the club.

“Pff, Chelsea, we can talk about that for a long time,” he said.

“But the conclusion is that things did not turn out as we had hoped. It was a period full of coaching changes, nagging with the club management, a departure to Paris Saint-Germain that did not happen at the last minute, and it was disappointing in terms of football.

“We had three teams there with top players. At a certain point we run out of patience. A selection with forty players for one team is simply far too much and is asking for problems.”

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“I always liked Chelsea” – Defender reveals affinity for Blues, Blues legend a ‘great role model’ for him http://sportwitness.co.uk/i-always-liked-chelsea-defender-reveals-affinity-blues-blues-legend-great-role-model/ http://sportwitness.co.uk/i-always-liked-chelsea-defender-reveals-affinity-blues-blues-legend-great-role-model/#respond Fri, 01 Dec 2023 17:08:18 +0000 http://sportwitness.co.uk/?p=450518 VfB Stuttgart Dan-Axel Zagadou has revealed he would have loved to play for Chelsea, having grown up as a massive fan of Didier Drogba. The defender has been speaking to BILD about his career so far and where he may have ended up if he’d had any say in the matter. He’s currently playing for

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VfB Stuttgart Dan-Axel Zagadou has revealed he would have loved to play for Chelsea, having grown up as a massive fan of Didier Drogba.

The defender has been speaking to BILD about his career so far and where he may have ended up if he’d had any say in the matter.

He’s currently playing for Stuttgart after joining them on a free transfer in the summer after a five-year stay at Borussia Dortmund came to an end.

He has been re-establishing himself with Stuttgart after something of a disappointing end to his time at Signal Iduna Park, where he had been a regular before falling down the pecking order and eventually being allowed to leave at the end of his contract.

He had been with Dortmund after joining them from Paris Saint-Germain in 2017, having previously spent six years working his way up the French side’s various youth ranks to PSG B before moving to Dortmund.

That means so far, his career has been limited to France and Germany, but he admits he wouldn’t have minded a move to England at some point, and to one club in particular, Chelsea.

“I’m a professional now, so I don’t have a favorite club anymore,” he said.

“When I was little, I was a big fan of Paris Saint Germain. And I always liked Chelsea FC because of Didier Drogba.

“Because of my Ivorian roots, Drogba is a great role model for me that I look up to. My father is also a huge fan of his. In Ivory Coast he is a national hero.”

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“As if he was going to kill us” – Chelsea player explains on-pitch confrontation, calls Tottenham man ‘crazy’ after defending him http://sportwitness.co.uk/going-kill-us-chelsea-player-explains-pitch-confrontation-calls-tottenham-man-crazy-defending/ http://sportwitness.co.uk/going-kill-us-chelsea-player-explains-pitch-confrontation-calls-tottenham-man-crazy-defending/#respond Fri, 01 Dec 2023 15:45:40 +0000 http://sportwitness.co.uk/?p=450491 Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernández has labelled Tottenham’s Cristian Romero ‘crazy’, despite appreciating the defender’s support on the pitch when with Argentina. AS cover comments from the midfielder today, who has been remembering Argentina’s World Cup victory almost a year ago. The Albiceleste won the tournament in Qatar last year after one of the best World

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Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernández has labelled Tottenham’s Cristian Romero ‘crazy’, despite appreciating the defender’s support on the pitch when with Argentina.

AS cover comments from the midfielder today, who has been remembering Argentina’s World Cup victory almost a year ago.

The Albiceleste won the tournament in Qatar last year after one of the best World Cup finals of all time saw them win on penalties after a scintillating 3-3 draw with France.

That saw he and his teammates completely fail to control France star Kylian Mbappe, who bagged a hattrick of goals in the game, including a 118th minute penalty to draw his side level in added time.

The game proved to be a controversial one, to say the least, thanks to some of the actions of the Argentina squad during it.

One that stands out is Tottenham defender quite literally screaming and celebrating in Mbappe’s face as he celebrated one of his side’s goals.

He later revealed he had done so after the Chelsea midfielder had clashed with the PSG star earlier in the game, seeing it as an ideal opportunity to get revenge for what had been said. Fernández appreciates that, even if he does think the Tottenham man is a little bit crazy.

“I remember what he told me, things about the game,” the Chelsea man told Star+, relayed by AS.

“There were plays that we celebrated, like some divided ones, and he (Mbappe) made signs to us as if he was going to kill us. He told us that they were going to win the final.

“He got into it with me, I don’t know why. And well, I have a soldier who defends me. Cuti is crazy, ha ha ha. When we scored the goal, he started celebrating it in his face.”

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Huge transfer blow for Chelsea as player now ‘wants to join’ another club – Blues had €20m offer rejected http://sportwitness.co.uk/huge-transfer-blow-chelsea-player-now-wants-join-another-club-blues-e20m-offer-rejected/ http://sportwitness.co.uk/huge-transfer-blow-chelsea-player-now-wants-join-another-club-blues-e20m-offer-rejected/#respond Fri, 01 Dec 2023 15:16:37 +0000 http://sportwitness.co.uk/?p=450504 For the past six months, Chelsea have been heavily linked with the signing of Corinthians’ Gabriel Moscardo. Numerous articles in Brazil have been written about the topic, with some even claiming that a deal with the Stamford Bridge side was done. However, Paris Saint-Germain have recently joined the fray, and completely turned everything upside down,

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For the past six months, Chelsea have been heavily linked with the signing of Corinthians’ Gabriel Moscardo.

Numerous articles in Brazil have been written about the topic, with some even claiming that a deal with the Stamford Bridge side was done.

However, Paris Saint-Germain have recently joined the fray, and completely turned everything upside down, at least according to Foot Mercato in France, leaving Chelsea in their dust.

The website claims that the Ligue 1 side have now made a €22m offer for the player, coming a few days after reports that the Blues had a €20m bid rejected, clearly trying to make the most of the opportunity.

Corinthians, down their end, would like €25m for their star, and negotiations are continuing between the two clubs to try and find a ‘total agreement’.

The biggest problem for Chelsea, other than the fact their offer has been rejected, is that Moscardo now ‘wants to join’ Paris Saint-Germain in January.

That is seen as a ‘big step forward’ for the French club, and they are also being helped by Corinthians, who don’t want ‘negotiations to last forever’ and the idea is to ‘reach an agreement in the next few days’.

L’Equipe also have an article on Friday on the matter, explaining that Paris Saint-Germain are ‘advancing’ in the transfer, but have not made an official offer yet.

Chelsea thought they had a lead in the race to get him, but it appears the French side have now overtaken them.

Now, Luis Campos ‘is awaited in Brazil in the next few days’ to meet with the player’s agent, Rodolfo Ximenes.

In short, Chelsea need to act very quickly if they don’t want to lose out on Moscardo, but appear to have a lot of work to do to convince him that a move to London is better than Chelsea.

If you ask us, this all feels very reminiscent of the Manuel Ugarte saga, and we all know who won that.

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“You’re a pain…” – Club director refusing to talk about Chelsea player’s future http://sportwitness.co.uk/youre-pain-club-director-refusing-talk-chelsea-players-future/ http://sportwitness.co.uk/youre-pain-club-director-refusing-talk-chelsea-players-future/#respond Fri, 01 Dec 2023 12:19:41 +0000 http://sportwitness.co.uk/?p=450345 There’s still a long way until the end of the season, but the Italian media is already worried whether AS Roma will be able to buy Romelu Lukaku from Chelsea. The Belgian star is loaned from the Blues until next summer, and with no set purchase option, the clubs are expected to look for an

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There’s still a long way until the end of the season, but the Italian media is already worried whether AS Roma will be able to buy Romelu Lukaku from Chelsea.

The Belgian star is loaned from the Blues until next summer, and with no set purchase option, the clubs are expected to look for an agreement to make the move permanent.

Roma director Tiago Pinto has been interviewed by Sky Italia. In quotes brought by Voce Giallorossa, he made it clear that the local media shouldn’t be asking about that.

“We’ve already courted him, otherwise he wouldn’t be here (laughs). Quick to talk about this, let’s enjoy Lukaku until the end, try not to do what you did with Dybala who always asked about the clause, you are a pain (laughs),” said Pinto.

Since being loaned from Chelsea to Roma last summer, Lukaku has nine goals and one assist in 15 appearances so far.

The situation isn’t only complicated because of the purchase fee, but also because other clubs may get interested in his signing once the season comes to an end.

Earlier this week, reports from Belgium claimed that even Newcastle United are in the picture to sign him from Chelsea, so Pinto is probably right in claiming we should wait for a few more months to see what happens.

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Chelsea man showing ‘deep tactical flaws’ after big summer move – ‘Struggling’, feels ‘isolated’ http://sportwitness.co.uk/chelsea-man-struggling-big-summer-move-showing-deep-tactical-flaws-feels-isolated/ http://sportwitness.co.uk/chelsea-man-struggling-big-summer-move-showing-deep-tactical-flaws-feels-isolated/#respond Fri, 01 Dec 2023 11:16:14 +0000 http://sportwitness.co.uk/?p=450429 Spending vasts amounts of money on young talent over the course of the past two transfer windows, Chelsea have turned to Brazil a fair bit. The Blues have already signed the likes of Andrey Santos and Angelo Gabriel from there, with the former unsuccessfully sent on loan to Nottingham Forest, while the latter was gifted

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Spending vasts amounts of money on young talent over the course of the past two transfer windows, Chelsea have turned to Brazil a fair bit.

The Blues have already signed the likes of Andrey Santos and Angelo Gabriel from there, with the former unsuccessfully sent on loan to Nottingham Forest, while the latter was gifted to new satellite club Strasbourg in Ligue 1.

L’Equipe in France have a big article on the Brazilian on loan from Chelsea, explaining how difficult it has been for him in France, with some criticisms thrown his way.

While he enjoyed a good start with some promising performances, what followed wasn’t pretty, as the winger is ‘struggling to seduce’ after four months.

The idea was for him to get lots of game time away from Chelsea, and he has mostly been ‘neutral and insipid’ on the pitch since.

He’s accused of being rather predictable with his dribbling, with some of his teammates becoming ‘frustrated’ as they try and offer him solutions.

The biggest issue, however, is his ‘profound tactical flaws’, as he seems incredibly reluctant to track back, which often proves costly for his team.

Due to this, he has found himself out of the starting line-up, with some at the club trying to rally around him to lift him up a bit.

One said: “It’s been hard for a few weeks for Angelo, but he has mitigating circumstances: he’s discovering European football. He didn’t do pre-season with us and he has felt a bit isolated because of the language barrier.”

The club have since brought in João Francisco Almeida as a fitness coach, who is also acting as the player’s interpreter, in hope that this could help him settle in a bit better.

In the meantime, as L’Equipe put it, his expected explosion on the scene will simply have to wait a while longer.

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‘Radical turn’ – Chelsea agreement to sign player dramatically turned on its head http://sportwitness.co.uk/radical-turn-chelsea-agreement-sign-player-dramatically-turned-head/ http://sportwitness.co.uk/radical-turn-chelsea-agreement-sign-player-dramatically-turned-head/#respond Fri, 01 Dec 2023 10:16:51 +0000 http://sportwitness.co.uk/?p=450338 Even the Spanish media is now having a say on the race for Chelsea target Gabriel Moscardo. Sport feature a story claiming Barcelona would also like to buy the player from Corinthians, but it’s really Paris Saint Germain who have ‘pole position’ in this race. Following recent reports from Brazil which said Chelsea had an agreement

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Even the Spanish media is now having a say on the race for Chelsea target Gabriel Moscardo.

Sport feature a story claiming Barcelona would also like to buy the player from Corinthians, but it’s really Paris Saint Germain who have ‘pole position’ in this race.

Following recent reports from Brazil which said Chelsea had an agreement for the player, the outlet writes that there have actually been ‘very significant’ moves ‘in recent hours’.

PSG reportedly took the lead by entering the bidding ‘very strong’, as there’s a ‘rush’ at the French club to get the signing done as soon as possible.

Sport writes that Barcelona director Deco made ‘several moves’ for this transfer in the past few weeks, but it’s not clear whether the Camp Nou side could compete in the auction.

According to the outlet, PSG are forcing a ‘radical turn’ by taking ‘advantage of the gap left by Chelsea’, as if the Blues were no longer a strong competitor in this race.

Reports from Brazil have indeed been claiming PSG are looking strong, and it remains to be seen whether the Stamford Bridge side really gave up.

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“Visa accepted” – Player on verge of finally travelling to Chelsea after completing Blues transfer http://sportwitness.co.uk/visa-accepted-player-verge-finally-travelling-chelsea-completing-blues-transfer/ http://sportwitness.co.uk/visa-accepted-player-verge-finally-travelling-chelsea-completing-blues-transfer/#respond Thu, 30 Nov 2023 17:16:18 +0000 http://sportwitness.co.uk/?p=450325 It seems Chelsea will soon have the chance of having Kendry Paez at their headquarters. The 16-year-old, who was bought from Ecuadorian side Independiente Del Valle, now has to wait until he turns 18 to be able to complete the transfer to Stamford Bridge. However, as Mach Deportes today interviewed the South American’s side sporting

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It seems Chelsea will soon have the chance of having Kendry Paez at their headquarters.

The 16-year-old, who was bought from Ecuadorian side Independiente Del Valle, now has to wait until he turns 18 to be able to complete the transfer to Stamford Bridge.

However, as Mach Deportes today interviewed the South American’s side sporting director Roberto Arroyo, it was revealed that Paez will soon pay Chelsea a visit.

“We just had Kendry Paez’s visa accepted, and now we have to wait for Chelsea FC’s planning for him to travel.”

In a recent interview, Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino had already claimed that Paez is set to spend some time at the club to start his adaptation.

Olé points out that this visa is very important for him, as the player was recently blocked from travelling to the United States because of a similar permit in the North American country.

Independiente Del Valle are still playing the final games of the Ecuadorian League, so Paez’s trip to the United Kingdom shouldn’t take place in the coming weeks.

There’s big expectation in South America around the wonderkid’s potential, and Chelsea shall have a taste of that in case they can get to use him in training.

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Chelsea have ‘said no’ to club’s offer for January deal – Player struggling in ‘complicated’ situation with Blues http://sportwitness.co.uk/chelsea-said-no-clubs-offer-january-deal-player-struggling-complicated-situation-blues/ http://sportwitness.co.uk/chelsea-said-no-clubs-offer-january-deal-player-struggling-complicated-situation-blues/#respond Thu, 30 Nov 2023 14:16:24 +0000 http://sportwitness.co.uk/?p=450269 AC Milan are failing in their mission to get Benoit Badiashile signed from Chelsea, according to reports from Italy. TuttoMercatoWeb today writes that the Blues ‘said no’ to the Rossoneri’s recent offer for the 22-year-old. It’s said that given the player’s struggles to find a place in Chelsea’s team, with him living a ‘complicated’ situation,

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AC Milan are failing in their mission to get Benoit Badiashile signed from Chelsea, according to reports from Italy.

TuttoMercatoWeb today writes that the Blues ‘said no’ to the Rossoneri’s recent offer for the 22-year-old.

It’s said that given the player’s struggles to find a place in Chelsea’s team, with him living a ‘complicated’ situation, Milan were trying to get him on a loan with an option to buy.

Chelsea, however, reportedly want to evaluate what happens between now and January and only then take a decision.

He was a starter in the match against Newcastle United, which wasn’t his best performance, and should start getting more chances to play in the coming weeks.

Therefore, that’s why it’s ‘too early’ for them to accept any bids right now.

Badiashile struggled with injuries at the start of the season, and only made two appearances for the Blues so far, both in November.

The rejection to Milan’s bid makes it clear they have some faith in him, and it’s now up to him to battle for his place in Mauricio Pochettino’s side.

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Chelsea want to sign ‘insanely exciting player’ – Director makes it clear Blues need to pay up http://sportwitness.co.uk/director-claims-a-lot-of-money-needed-to-sell-chelsea-target-says-player-is-insanely-exciting/ http://sportwitness.co.uk/director-claims-a-lot-of-money-needed-to-sell-chelsea-target-says-player-is-insanely-exciting/#respond Thu, 30 Nov 2023 10:16:47 +0000 http://sportwitness.co.uk/?p=450143 Roony Bardghji’s rise at FC Copenhagen has Chelsea and various other clubs taking notice. Earlier this month, Tipsbladet stated the Blues are ‘crazy’ about the 18-year-old and it may not be long before they contact Copenhagen sporting director Peter Christiansen for a potential deal. On November 17th, the winger said he’s pleased to be linked

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Roony Bardghji’s rise at FC Copenhagen has Chelsea and various other clubs taking notice.

Earlier this month, Tipsbladet stated the Blues are ‘crazy’ about the 18-year-old and it may not be long before they contact Copenhagen sporting director Peter Christiansen for a potential deal.

On November 17th, the winger said he’s pleased to be linked with a move to Chelsea and insisted that he’s ready to make a big jump.

After Bardghji opened the door for the transfer, Christiansen now says he’s aware several clubs are showing interest in the exciting youngster. He made this claim to TV4, relayed by Fotbollskanalen, who also point out the west London club’s interest in the attacker.

The Sweden U21 international has made 27 appearances and has scored 11 goals, which includes a winner against Manchester United in the Champions League. The Copenhagen director says this has seen him draw attention from other clubs.

“There’s a lot of interest in Roony and there has been for a long time. He’s a great talent. He is a hyped player and has been for years. Scoring a goal against Manchester United turns it up a bit, that’s for sure,” he said.

“He is an insanely exciting player and now he got the chance from the start. Then we’ll see if he can deliver on the biggest stage in Europe.”

With Chelsea among several clubs in the picture for the player, the Copenhagen official has warned the interested parties that they will to have spend big to secure Bardghji’s services.

“Yes, I think so. We decide that. The clubs that want Roony have to pay a lot of money, or he will stay for a couple of years at FC Copenhagen,” Christiansen explained

“We have sold players for three-digit million [Danish krone] amounts in the last three years. It also applies to Roony Bardghji.”

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