Willian and Pedro have extended their contracts with Chelsea beyond the June 30 expiry of their original contracts.

There were initial fears at Stamford Bridge that the two players were not interested in signing new short-term contracts at the London clubs, especially the Spaniard, who is reported to have agreed terms with AS Roma.

Premier League clubs had voted to be allowed to temporarily extend the contracts of players by June 23 [today], so long as the deal is agreed by both the club and the player.

Having agreed with the London club, the two players will see out the remainder of the season at Stamford Bridge.

A statement from Chelsea read: “As a result of the global pandemic and the subsequent delayed conclusion to the campaign, Premier League clubs unanimously agreed to be allowed to enter into short-term contract extensions with players whose deals were due to expire at the end of this month.

“Willian and Pedro were among those affected, and they and the club have now mutually agreed to extend contracts until the finale of the current season.

“It means they will be available for our remaining Premier League fixtures in 2019/20, as well as any future involvement in the FA Cup and Champions League.”

There are reports Manchester City are leading the race to sign Man Utd and Chelsea target Kalidou Koulibaly.

Pep Guardiola has identified the Senegal international to partner Aymeric Laporte at centre-back as the the Etihad club lack quality in that area of their team.

Frank Lampard and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer are equally looking to sign the Napoli defence strongman to their team.

Duncan Castles said: “Gattuso has been told Koulibaly WILL be sold this summer.

“Koulibaly himself is open to that and is ready for a change of environment. He’s keen to move to the Premier League.

“Talk from Napoli is they could be looking at around £70m now for Koulibaly.

“The word from people close to Koulibaly is he thinks there’s a strong chance he will end up at Man City.

“They’re short on quality at centre-back and the only option Pep Guardiola trusts is Aymeric Laporte.

“In Koulibaly’s mind, it’s his more likely destination this summer.”

Paris Saint-Germain have reportedly offered a new contract to Layvin Kurzawa amid scramble for defence ace among Europe’s top club gathers mpmentum.

Chelsea, Barcelona, Arsenal and Atletico Madrid are said to be angling for the France international.

According to El Mundo Deportivo, the French champions have offered him a contract despite the fact that the full-back’s contract in Paris expires this month.

Los Rojiblancos are considering recalling left-back Caio Henrique from his loan spell at Gremio should a deal for Kurzawa not come to fruition, the report adds.

Football Espana report that Kurzawa, capped 13 times by the France national team, is an experienced full-back who would present an affordable option for any top club seeking to bolster their options at left-back.

The 27-year-old joined the Parisians in a €25m deal from Monaco in the summer of 2016 and has made 123 appearances for the club since, winning 13 domestic trophies including three Ligue 1 titles in a row.

Reports in England claim Chelsea must agree contract extensions with both Willian and Pedro by the end of today to ensure that the duo remain at Stamford Bridge for the rest of the season.

The duo are out-of-contract at Stamford Bridge on June 30 and are poised to leave the Blues to explore fresh challenges.

However, the impact the coronavirus pandemic has had on the Premier League season, which saw it suspended for over three months, means that the season will still be in motion towards the end of July.

Amongst all of the planning that was made during the Project Restart campaign to get the season moving again, Premier League clubs, according to football.london, voted to be allowed to temporarily extend the contracts of players by June 23 [today], so long as the deal is agreed by both the club and the player.

Both Willian and Pedro had been offered new deals by Chelsea, but Willian was unhappy with the fact that he had only been offered a two-year extension, as he was on the hunt for a new three-year deal.

Pedro, meanwhile, is, according to reports, concerned that playing well into July could present the risk of picking up an injury and impacting his chances of finding a new club ahead of the 2020/21 campaign.

Chelsea defender Antonio Rudiger has revealed his discussions with Timo Werner during the lockdown with the intention to make the striker sign for the Blues.

The German striker, who has scored 26 goals in 33 Bundesliga appearances this season, will move to Stamford Bridge at the end of the month after the west London club activated his £47.5million release clause.

Werner had been heavily linked to a move to Liverpool with Jurgen Klopp barely hiding his desire to bring the striker to Anfield from RB Leipzig.

But Reds were unable to pull through a deal for Werner because of the financial implications invloved in the move as a result of the adverse effects of coronavirus pandemic.

And, now Rudiger has come out to with the background information as to how he influenced Werner move to Stamford Bridge.

Rudiger told Chelsea’s website that: “Like everyone, I’m very excited that he’s chosen Chelsea and I’m looking forward to working with him.

“I’ve known him since he was 17 and he did very good in the past few years. He can be very important for us.

“I did speak to him before because we have known each other for a long time.

“We spoke a lot during the lockdown and he told me he was interested in coming to England. Of course then I did my bit, what I had to do.

“I would say he’s a quiet, humble guy, always ready to do better,’ Rudiger added of Werner’s personality off the pitch.

“I hope he adapts very quickly when he comes because as we all know this competition is different than others.”

Ruud Gullit has taken a swipe at David Luiz, branding the error-ridden Arsenal defender “an overrated player”.

Luiz endured a nightmare return to action last Wednesday as he was sent off against Manchester City.

He is out of contract at Arsenal this summer but could well sign a new deal – something Gullit says would be a mistake.

The Dutchman told: Ziggo Sport: “David is not doing well. I think he’s an overrated player, really.

“When he played in midfield I thought he was reasonable, but then there was already discussion about what he actually is as a player.

“But he preferred to play as a defender… well, we all remember the match between Brazil and Germany (7-1 at the 2014 World Cup). I just can’t understand it!

“Most clubs have done away with him, but he keeps coming back somewhere.”