There are reports Manchester United are planning to trigger a one-year extension in Nemanja Matic’s contract to avoid losing the midfielder on a free transfer.
Inter Milan manager Antonio Conte is unhappy with the depth of his midfield at San Siro and wants to bring in reinforcements, according to Italian newspaper Corriere dello Sport.
The Italian worked with Matic in his first year at Chelsea, fielding the Serbian 40 times as the Blues won the Premier League.
Matic’s current Old Trafford contract expires in June and Inter would consider even making an offer in January to solve their midfield problems.
But it is more likely that Inter, alongside a host of clubs, will try to sign Matic in the summer when he is set to become a free agent.
United can trigger a one-year extension in the 31-year-old contract and, as per the report as cited by Sunday Express, are considering doing so to avoid losing Matic on a Bosman.
Matic has fallen down Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s pecking order at United with Scott McTominay the first-choice holding midfielder.
Mexican side Tigres scored two goals as the players from opposing side Veracruz went on strike during the opening minutes of their league game.
Veracruz were protesting over unpaid wages and stood by as Tigres went 2-0 up, before going on to win 3-1.
Plantel de Veracruz no cobra hace 6 meses. Hoy, en su partido vs Tigres, decidieron quedarse parados cuando el árbitro pitó el arranque. Qué pasó luego? Les hicieron 2 goles en 4 minutos 😐 pic.twitter.com/tu5Ipjw2eS
“They knew that we were going to stay still for three minutes, it’s sad,” said Veracruz defender Carlos Salcido.
But Tigres’ Guido Pizarro said: “They told us they were going to stop just for a minute and then it was three.”
He added: “We said we [Tigres] would only stay still for a minute.”
Veracruz are bottom of the table without a win in 13 games and their players sarcastically applauded their Tigres counterparts at the end of the game, report BBC.
Christian Pulisic is confident he will rediscover his “scoring touch” after helping Chelsea to victory over Newcastle United on Saturday.
The American has largely been a bit-part player at Stamford Bridge this season, struggling to force his way into Frank Lampard‘s side.
Introduced just after the hour mark this weekend, however, Pulisic’s driving run and pass inside to Callum Hudson-Odoi helped create space for Marcos Alonso, who fired home the game’s only goal, and the winger said after the game that he is confident he can build on his promising cameo.
“It was a really good game, happy for the team, had a strong performance, they defended really well, and I was happy to make an impact,” Pulisic told ESPN after the match.
“[Lampard] told me to do exactly what I’m doing now, continue to train hard, when I get my opportunity I have to take it.”
Chelsea have built around youth this season, with key roles for Fikayo Tomori at the back, Mason Mount in midfield and Tammy Abraham leading the line.
Yet Pulisic, similarly tender at just 21 despite several seasons as a role player at previous club Borussia Dortmund, has thus far been unable to truly ingratiate himself, with the return of Hudson-Odoi seemingly pushing him further down the pecking order, report the Independent
But Lampard hinted that the American may be more involved in the weeks to come.
“I am really pleased for him,” Lampard said after a victory that lifted his side into the top four of the Premier League.
“He is a hot topic because of his national team. Everyone has got carried away with the short term but in the long term there is a lot more to come.
“I am delighted for him. He will feel good about that and he should do.”
Pulisic was heavily involved after coming on, with his injection into the game crucial in allowing Chelsea to secure the win.
He did, however, eschew a good shooting opportunity in favour of feeding Tammy Abraham, who was denied by a fine block from Pulisic’s international teammate DeAndre Yedlin.
“I was going to shoot last-second, but I saw Tammy wide open and then DeAndre made an unbelievable block, so maybe I should have shot it,” Pulisic admitted.
“I just don’t have that scoring touch but I know it will come back.”
Marcos Alonso’s second-half strike helped Chelsea move up to fourth in the Premier League table with a 1-0 win over Newcastle United.
The Blues had the better of the first half, with Willian heading wide and Mason Mount forcing Martin Dubravka into a save.
Tammy Abraham headed against the crossbar during the early stages of the second half and could only head over minutes later.
Dubravka then denied substitute Christian Pulisic before Alonso broke the deadlock on 73 minutes after being played in by Callum Hudson-Odoi.
Abraham had a late effort brilliantly cleared off the line by DeAndre Yedlin as Chelsea earned a third consecutive victory to move up to fourth on 17 points.
Some of the club’s stars took to the social media to celebrate the victory:
César Azpilicueta@CesarAzpi
3 points and clean sheet! ✅ #KTBFFH 💙
kepa Arrizabalaga@kepa_46
Great 3 points!! Solid team effort against tough opposition!!
Keep pushing lads!!
@chelseafc
Willian@willianborges88
+3 points!!!💪🏿🚀 Great teamwork lads!!! Thanks for the support at Stamford Bridge today! .
Mais 3 pontos!!! 💪🏿🚀Grande trabalho em equipe rapaziada! Muito obrigado pelo apoio no Stamford Bridge hoje!!!
Callum Hudson-Odoi@Calteck10
That’s what I’m talking about!! Massive 3 points and well done to the boys for a great win. Glad to contribute with another assist👊🏾💙 #CFC
Mateo Kovačić@Mateo_Kova23
Number 5⃣ in a row 💪🏻Working hard always gets you there. Let’s go Blues 💙
@ChelseaFC
Fikayo Tomori@fikayotomori_ +3 points!!!✅ love a clean sheet🤩🤩🤩.
Chelsea has announced the signing of Bollywood actor Arjun Kapoor as the club’s brand ambassador for India.
Kapoor visited Chelsea’s training ground in Cobham where he met Frank Lampard.
According to Chelsea official website, the multi-talented actor, who is an ardent Chelsea fan, will lead the club’s India fan engagement initiative which will include Kapoor being featured in a series of digital talk shows featuring Blues fans in India.
He will also be across Chelsea FC’s social networks and will communicate with fans online and in person.
Speaking about the association, Lampard said, ‘We are delighted to welcome Arjun Kapoor into the Chelsea FC family. He is a versatile actor with a fantastic personality and a deep love for the club. Arjun’s charisma and passion will be brought onto screens as he hosts our brand-new digital fan-show “Out of the Blue with Arjun Kapoor”.
As a brand ambassador for the club in India, Kapoor will interact with Chelsea fans and current squad members, bringing the Indian Chelsea FC community closer to the players and the club.
Kapoor said: ‘I have passionately rooted for the club, celebrated the victories and felt the heartbreaks from the losses. Chelsea is in a rebuilding phase and as a fan, I’m privileged that I’m getting to spread the word in India through my knowledge of the club and the game.
‘I feel like a child inside and can’t stop smiling. It’s like a dream come true to be the brand ambassador of Chelsea FC in India. I’m thrilled that I will be hosting the club’s exclusively crafted campaign Out Of the Blue, intended to bring the Indian fans closer to the club.’
There are reports Chelsea winger Pedro is growing increasingly unhappy at the west London club after losing his place both in Frank Lampard’s starting XI and even the matchday squad.
After starting the first two games of the season against Manchester United and Leicester City, the World Cup winner has only played in one of the subsequent six Premier League games.
The likes of Mason Mount and Willian have been preferred by Lampard, while the return to fitness of Callum Hudson-Odoi has increased competition even more.
According to Spanish newspaper Sport, Pedro is not enjoying his current predicament and is no longer ‘feeling good’ in England. The 32-year-old’s issues are two-fold, losing his place in the team while his former partner and three children have all returned to Spain.
The Metro report that Pedro is enduring one of the most troubling periods of his career and is no longer enjoying his time at Stamford Bridge, which could prompt him to seek a move away.
Lampard has made a notable shift away from Chelsea’s experienced veterans since taking charge, promoting the club’s emerging crop of talented academy products.
Pedro’s form is also an issue, having not scored a Premier League goal since February. So far this season, the Spaniard has only managed to score or assist against League Two side Grimsby Town in the Carabao Cup, firing blanks in his other six outings.
There are reports Chelsea are interested in signing Atalanta midfielder Ruslan Malinovskyi following a recommendation from a club legend.
According to Sportarena.com, the Premier League club have set their sights on the 26-year-old who only joined the Italian side in the summer.
The Ukrainian was reported to be brought to Chelsea’s attention by former player Claude Makelele.
Starting his club career in Shakhtar Donetsk, Malinovskyi was sent out on loan to Genk where he impressed the Belgian club enough to later join on a full transfer.
Sportsmail report that while competing in the Belgian Pro League he scored 23 goals in 93 appearances and was a crucial part in them winning the league in the 2018/19 season.
Malinovskyi then joined Atalanta for €13.7m and so far this season has made eight appearances for the club across the Serie A and Champions League.
However it is on international duty where he has impressed the most, scoring both goals in a 2-0 win over Lithuania and also shining in their 2-1 win over Portugal.
Should Chelsea make a move, the club would be hoping that the Ukrainian’s defensive capabilities and hard work ethic match that of Makelele.
Makelele was a star in Chelsea’s midfield for five seasons between 2003 and 2008, winning two Premier League titles.
The Frenchman rejoined the Blues in August 2019 in a coaching capacity.
Chelsea manager Frank Lampard has expressed his joy that his team’s persistence and hardwork hardwork eventually paid off after Blues victory over Newcastle.
Marcos Alonso’s 73rd goal was all Chelsea needed to secure the three points at stake after several misses in front of goal.
Speaking after the match, Lampard said: “Yeah, credit to Newcastle, you can see why they’ve got a couple of big results this year. They’re organised, men behind the ball, a threat on the counter attack and in the first half we were a little bit safe and a little bit slow.
“We moved the ball side-to-side but not with enough urgency and not enough risk to take people out of the game. That was the message at half time and for the majority of the second half we did that, we were good.
“We created a lot, the combinations were good, we played between the lines more. People were going one-v-one, Callum, Willian, Christian when he came on, and there should have been more goals. It would have made the last ten minutes more comfortable.”
“Delighted. If there was a worry it was that the international break might have cut out momentum and we’d forget the good thing we were doing to get those results. But particularly in the second half you saw a spirit and energy in the team.
“Every game now we need to go back to basics and keep trying to pick up those wins, because it’s a tough league when you see the results around you realise how tough it is. You take nothing for granted. Today it was tough, we had a bit of a problem and we solved it with the way we played in the second half.”
The Blues boss stated he was pleased his boys kept playing and not panic despite their inability to find the back of the net before Marcos Alonso’s 73rd minute goal.
His words: “I’m pleased with that. The players need to be brave and confident. It’s a great sign of the squad when subs come on and make such a difference. Kovacic was outstanding when you’re talking about taking people out of the game, centrally, creating opportunities.
“Christian came on in a position just behind Tammy and started to turn and get at people, which created the goal. So, I’m pleased.
“That’s the way we are. We have to play like that. We’re not going to go long unless it’s an option needed to change things up. It could have been an option we needed later on today but we got our reward.”
On Callum Hudson-Odoi? “I thought he was good, really good. I agree. In terms of product on the wing and taking people on. He looked sharp, getting at people. A big threat. I am really pleased with that.
“The end product will come even more with Callum, another young player. So coming inside and getting his shots away, he was giving them a big problem so it was great to see and for the fans to see. Callum needs to carry on doing that.
“There is the other side of the game, off the ball. He knows that he can get better at that, and he will do. There are glimpses today of some of the special stuff he has got.”
