Chelsea fans in meltdown as two Blues stars return to training at Cobham

Chelsea fans were thrown into frenzy on twitter when the news broke that Thiago Silva and Kai Havertz have returned to Blues training on Thursday afternoon.

The two players joined their teammates just two days ahead of Chelsea’s next Premier League match against Southampton on Saturday.

Both have been out injured for a few weeks now, and both will be a welcome return to the squad.

Whether they will come right back into the line up on Saturday or not remains to be seen, but it is a huge boost all the same.

Photo Credit: ChelseaFC/Twitter

Another free-scoring striker recommended to Chelsea board if Erling Haaland move fails

Chelsea have been told to consider red-hot former Blues striker Romelu Lukaku who is currently plying his trade at Inter Milan.

The Belgian marksman was sold to Everton after a loan stint at West Bromwich Albion, and was expected to return to Chelsea until Manchester United hijacked the move.

Duncan Castles, speaking on ‘The Transfer Window‘ podcast, then claimed that Lukaku actually split with agent Mino Raiola over his failure to agree a move back to Chelsea for him.

And, now The Telegraph’s Matt Law, one of the most reliable reporters when it comes to Chelsea news, has floated the idea of Lukaku returning to the club.

He believes that Chelsea should be trying to bring him back to the club, since they want to sign a new forward, and Lukaku ticks all the boxes.

Law was speaking on The London is Blue Podcast yesterday and tipped Lukaku as an option they need to be looking at as well as Erling Haaland.

The 27-year old turned into a real beast of a striker when he left Chelsea in 2014, and he is now a top world striker doing bits at Inter Milan.

Victor Osimhen absolved of allegation of bringing new COVID variant to Italy from Nigeria

An official statement from the Hospital Federico II in Naples has denied Napoli striker Victor Osimhen brought a new COVID variant to Italy upon his return from Africa.

Osimhen tested positive for COVID at the beginning of January, upon his return to Naples from Nigeria where he had attended a birthday party without wearing a protective mask.

Regione Campania, according to Football Italia, claimed earlier this week a new COVID variant had been detected in a “professional returning from Africa.”

“A professional returning from a trip to Africa tested positive for COVID19 and thanks to the collaboration between the laboratories of Federico II and the Hospital Pascale, Giuseppe Portella of Federico II identified a highly suspicious case and in a very short time the team of Nicola Normanno discovered a COVID variant never detected in Italy so far,” the statement read.

According to Il Napolista, the professional mentioned in the statement is Victor Osimhen, but the Federico II has denied the report.

“We categorically deny the news that Napoli player Victor Osimhen is the professional from Africa that would have allowed to isolate the variant Covid B.1.525.

“There are no players of SSC Calcio Napoli involved in this. All health data are always strictly processed in full respect of the protection of privacy.”

A Napoli spokesman has told ANSA “every Napoli player underwent swab tests after Osimhen had tested positive, verifying that no other player had been infected. The club is waiting for official news from health authorities on the fact that Osimhen may have had the variant.”

Mbappe-Kean, Lukaku-Martinez are in Europe’s best attacking pairs (Check Top 10 strike partners & goals in Europe HERE)

Inter Milan duo Romelu Lukaku and Lautaro Martinez are the second-best attacking pair in Europe’s top five Leagues.

The two Nerazzurri forwards have a combined return of 27 goals so far in 2020-21, only beaten by Bayern Munich pair Robert Lewandowski and Thomas Muller.

Lukaku scored twice and set up Lautaro Martinez for the third when Inter leapfrogged Milan in Serie A with a 3-1 win against Lazio on Sunday.

The three goals lifted the duo above Kylian Mbappé and Moise Kean from Paris Saint-Germain and Tottenham stars Harry Kane and Heung-min Son

Top 10 strike partners in Europe

  1. Lewandowski and Muller (Bayern Munich) – 35 goals (25+10)
  2. Lukaku and Martinez (Inter) – 27 (16+11)
  3. Mbappe and Kean (PSG) – 26 (16+10)
  4. Kane and Son (Tottenham) – 26 (13+13)
  5. Ben Yedder and Volland (Monaco) – 25 (13+12)
  6. Salah and Mané (Liverpool) – 24 (17+7)
  7. Depay and Ekambi (Lyon) – 24 (13+11)
  8. Rashford and Fernandes (Manchester United) – 22 (8+14)
  9. Suarez and Joao Felix (Atletico Madrid) – 22 (16+6)
  10. Andre Silva and Jovic (Eintracht Frankfurt) – 21 (18+3)
  11. Messi and Griezmann (Barcelona) – 21 (15+6)
  12. Muriel and Zapata (Atalanta) – 21 (13+8)

Bayern Munich star hands Chelsea transfer boost with latest comments

Bayern Munich star David Alaba has confirmed his decision to leave the Bundesliga giants in the summer.

There had been reports that utility defence ace had reached an agreement with Real Madrid for summer move

Alaba has however denied the reports, saying that he’s not yet decided on the club he’s going to join when his contract with the German giants comes to an end this summer.

He told a press conference, as per El Mundo Deportivo as cited by Football Espana: “I have made a personal decision to leave Bayern to try something new after this season. It was not an easy decision; I have been here for 13 years and the club means a lot to me.

“I have not yet made the decision about my next destination. We will see. It is no secret that my agents are in contact with the clubs. There are a lot of rumours, but I prefer to focus on Bayern. I am in contact with my representatives, the rest remains to be seen.

“My managers are in contact with everyone. They will inform me of everything and I will not go crazy when deciding.

“Everyone, really everyone has fought for me to stay. And I am very, very grateful to the club for that and for that it has been a very difficult decision. I can say that Bayern are my family.

“This is not for financial reasons. I have five, six or seven years of football left and I just wondered what to do.”

The Austrian is highly sought after due to his versatility in between defence and midfield, with Bayern deploying him at left back and central midfield in recent times.

Born in Vienna to a Nigerian father and a mother from the Philippines, Alaba came through the youth system at Bayern after being poached