Daniel James has come clean to deny he was a Liverpool fan as a child… but admits he supported Chelsea.

The Manchester United winger idolised Blues’ legends Eden Hazard and Didier Drogba, plus Juan Mata, who has since swapped Chelsea for the Red Devils.

James, 23, told United’s website: “When I signed for United, I can’t remember who it was, one of the Sky Sports (pundits) said: ‘he supports Liverpool’.

“I was thinking I don’t support Liverpool, but I never wanted to come out and say I supported Chelsea as a youngster.

“When I started playing for Swansea it [Chelsea] was the team I followed, but you don’t end up supporting them really.

I used to look at their players when I was younger – Hazard, Mata and Drogba – and they were players that I loved. You kind of grow out of that.”

Blues midfielder Kai Havertz has opened up on his ‘tough’ first season at Chelsea.

And the £71million man admits ‘things have not gone smoothly’ following his move from Bayer Leverkusen last summer.

Havertz, 21, has struggled to adapt to life in England, bagging seven assists and five goals in 32 Chelsea games.

He’s netted just once in the Premier League and is yet to open his Champions League account.

Havertz’s failure to settle has seen him deployed in numerous positions, from central midfielder to right winger and most recently as a striker.

A strong bout of coronavirus also set him back earlier this term.

However, time is very much firmly on Havertz’s side.

New boss Thomas Tuchel appears to be getting the best out of him, playing Havertz as close to goal as possible.

And although things haven’t gone to plan in London so far, Havertz is refusing to ‘overthink’ the situation, adding he is confident he can end his debut English campaign on a high.

Chelsea midfielder Kai Havertz said: “It’s been a tough season, I know things haven’t been going smoothly.

“But that’s normal when you first go abroad, it takes half a year or longer to adjust.

“Things are going well right now so I don’t want to overthink those negative impressions from the past.

“I am positive and hope the next weeks will be every bit as good.”

Marcus Rashford picked Sadio Mane over Mo Salah as the best African talent in the Premier League.

England ace Rashford was asked who is the greatest African player he has faced since debuting in 2015.

And the 23-year-old plumped for Senegalese sensation Mane over Liverpool team-mate and ‘Egyptian King’ Salah.

Rashford said: “I think there’s some great African talent in [the] league at [the] moment. Mane particularly.”

Super-agent Mino Raiola has stirred it up with neighbours Manchester United and City, revealing his long-term feuds with Sir Alex Ferguson andPep Guardiola.

The 53-year-old claimed it would not bother him if he never moved a client to either club again, which could be good news for Chelsea.

One of Raiola’s most famous clients is young star Erling Haaland who is reportedly on the Blues’ radar for a summer transfer.

Haaland is wanted by Manchester United as well and the Norweigan striker is also a key target for Guardiola’s team as City prepare for life without Sergio Aguero next season.

He told the Athletic: “With Mr. Ferguson or [Pep] Guardiola, I have this problem — and I think that it is changing now — that (they believe) we should submit to them because ‘otherwise, tomorrow, you don’t do a player with Manchester United’.

““I don’t give a f**k if I never do another player with Man Utd. I’m not in their hands. I’m independent. We have only one party that we take care of: our players. And as long as our players like us, you do what you have to do.”

“Guardiola? I’ve closed the book a long time ago. Everybody knows what I think of him personally; he can say what he thinks for me personally.”

Raiola also represents Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, a player reportedly on the radar of both Chelsea and Manchester United. Any rift between the powers at Old Trafford and Raiola could play into Chelsea’s hands were they to make a move for the 22-year-old.