Chelsea striker Olivier Giroud has praised the character of manager Frank Lampard, who has yet to taste success as the Blues head coach. The west London giants have started the season with successive losses to Manchester United and Liverpool in the Premier League and UEFA Super Cup respectively but they were somewhat unfortunate to come up with nothing in the latter of those games.
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Chelsea boffins are already thinking about the next season and there is a strong likelihood that Maurizio Sarri may not be in charge of the team for the 2019-20 campaign. After a disappointing set of results throughout the campaign, Chelsea find themselves once again in a top four race and not in the title race. Sarri may have started out extremely well but he has been hit by a number of critics in the last few months. The Italian’s stubbornness to stick with the same starting lineup and tactics have been a major disappointment in a division where managers are tactically astute.
The Blues had a strong look at Zinedine Zidane and the likelihood of signing the Frenchman as the next Chelsea manager. This would have been a great move for the club, who are fighting to keep Eden Hazard from the sight of Real Madrid. However,Zidane’s decision to join Real Madrid is a major blow for the team. Now, Chelsea are looking at two major candidates who can potentially lead the club back to successful days – Frank Lampard and Nuno Espiritu Santo. The former is a fan’s favourite and will command a huge deal of respect, while the latter has been able to make a strong impression in the Premier league with Wolves.
Both managers lack a significant amount of experience at the top level. Lampard has just begun his managerial career with Derby County, while Nuno is experiencing a taste in the Premier League only for the first time. Sarri appears to have fallen out with most of the players with striker Olivier Giroud claiming that the favouritism in the squad is starting to affect him. Chelsea are no stranger to changing managers, but it remains to be seen if Roman Abramovich will sanction a move for two inexperienced managers.
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Tags: Frank Lampard, olivier giroud, Sarri
Chelsea have confirmed their first signing of the winter transfer window with Christian Pulisic arriving from Borussia Dortmund for a reported fee of £58m. The United States international has, however, rejoined the Bundesliga club on a temporary basis for the season before reporting for pre-season duty with the Blues next summer.
Pulisic’s future had been a regular discussion topic over the past few months with Chelsea and Liverpool among those linked with his signature. However, it is the former, who have managed to prise him away from the Bundesliga leaders and Pulisic has revealed his privilege after signing for the west London giants.
“In summer of 2019, I move on to Chelsea and a new competition, the English Premier League. It’s a privilege to have signed for such a legendary club and I look forward to working hard towards being a contributor to their team of world class players. Looking forward to working with Maurizio Sarri and his technical team,” the 20-year-old told the club’s official website.
Chelsea have been hampered with injuries to Pedro and Olivier Giroud over the past few games and based on that, the manager would have preferred having Pulisic on board for the second half of the campaign. However, Dortmund were seemingly reluctant to part ways with the attacker at the midway stage and the proposal of loaning him back has helped the Blues secure the transfer agreement nonetheless.
The Blues are currently just two points ahead of Arsenal for the final Champions League qualification spot but they could extend the gap further with the additional game on hand against Southampton on Wednesday night. The west London side have been largely dependent on Eden Hazard to produce the goods of late but the Belgian may need additional help from others, if the Blues are to eventually finish in the top four this season.
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Tags: Christian Pulisic, Liverpool, olivier giroud
Valencia head coach Marcelino has admitted that Michy Batshuayi could return to Chelsea at the turn of the year after a rather unsuccessful loan spell with the Spanish club this term. The Belgium international was loaned out by the Blues during the summer transfer window after new manager Maurizio Sarri preferred to stick with Olivier Giroud and Alvaro Morata as the preferred options upfront.
However, the move has not proved beneficial for Batshuayi, who has managed just four starts from his 17 appearances for Valencia and Marcelino has now acknowledged that the Blues could recall him during the winter transfer window, he said: “At the right time will analyse the final situation and we will decide [what to do with Batshuayi]. There is a transfer [clause], I do not know what the situation is contractually, but for all parties who want to leave, we will look for what is best for Valencia and thus the appropriate decisions will be made.”
Batshuayi joined the Blues from Marseille during the summer of 2016 with the view to competing for the striker’s position alongside Diego Costa. However, the marksman struggled to find success during his maiden season with the club and the same has remained the case thereafter despite the unceremonious departure of Costa from the west London giants.
At present, Morata and Giroud remain the go-to men when it comes to the centre-forward duties but there has been the speculation that Sarri may prefer recruiting another top-class marksman when the transfer window reopens. As such, Batshuayi’s future with the Blues appears bleak regardless of the potential recall and he may have to pursue another temporary challenge elsewhere to enhance his prospects of regular gametime during the second half of the season. Chelsea are currently third in the Premier League table with 34 points after the opening 16 matches.
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Chelsea boss Antonio Conte had admitted that he is a bit of a disaster when it comes to persuading his club’s hierarchy to spend on top quality recruits. The Blues had been linked with a couple of high-profile signings during the winter transfer window, but Conte ultimately had to contend with the arrivals of Ross Barkley, Emerson Palmieri, and Olivier Giroud.
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Tags: antonio conte, emerson palmieri, olivier giroud, Ross Barkley
