The English Premier League has housed some of football world’s most famous, tenacious, dangerous, prolific, and potent strikers in the past years, plenty of whom have hung their boots and called time on their playing careers.
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Posted in News
Tagged Wayne Rooney
Manchester United are closing in on a deal for out-of-favour Chelsea midfielder Juan Mata, but are not willing to include Wayne Rooney in any deal, according to the Independent.
Both players have been linked with the switch for some time, with Mata who seemingly closer to the exit door.
It is understood that the two-time Blues Player of the Season will be allowed to leave, should be ask manager Jose Mourinho personally, while Rooney remains very much part of David Moyes plans as United try to reduce a deficit of fourteen points between themselves and league leaders Arsenal.
Meanwhile, ESPN understands that Atletico Madrid goalkeeper Diego Simeone is keen on securing a permanent deal for goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, who is currently enjoying a third season with the La Liga club on loan from Chelsea.
The Belgium international has enjoyed success during his time in Spain, winning the Copa del Rey, Europa League and the UEFA Super Cup, where he faced Chelsea in the final in Monaco in August 2012.
Elsewhere, Schalke general manager Horst Heldt has dismissed reports suggesting that Julian Draxler is set for a move to the Premier League as wild speculation, the Daily Star understands.
The Germany midfielder, who has been linked with Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester United, is currently one of the hottest properties in European football following his superb form for both club and country.
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Posted in Chelsea News
Tagged Arsenal, Atletico Madrid, Juan Mata, Julian Draxler, Manchester United, Schalke, Thibaut Courtois, Wayne Rooney
Chelsea briefly moved to the top of the table after beating Hull City 2-0 at the KC Stadium in Saturday’s early kick off in the Premier League.
Second half goals from top scorer Eden Hazard and Fernando Torres secured victory for Jose Mourinho’s men, who have now slipped to second place following Manchester City’s 2-0 win over Newcastle United yesterday afternoon.
Petr Cech’s clean sheet was his 209th for the club, breaking the previous record set by club legend Peter Bonetti, while the Czech Republic international has now kept out the opposition in 150 Premier League matches, moving him to within nineteen of former England international David James.
Arsenal have the chance to reclaim top spot if they win at Aston Villa this evening, while the Blues will now turn their attention to their home match against champions Manchester United on Sunday afternoon.
Meanwhile, Manchester United have again been linked with a move for Juan Mata, according to the Daily Star.
Chelsea are reluctant to sell the Spain international to one of their Premier League rivals, but could be tempted to use him as a makeweight in a deal for Wayne Rooney, who himself remains a target of Jose Mourinho.
Comments Off on Hazard and Torres goals see Blues beat Hull
Posted in Chelsea News
Tagged Eden Hazard, Fernando Torres, Juan Mata, Manchester United, Peter Bonetti, Petr Cech, Wayne Rooney
Chelsea are planning to make a £30m bid for Wayne Rooney if he fails to sign a new deal with Manchester United, according to the Mail Online.
The Blues made two bids for the England international during the summer, but were rebuffed on both occasions.
However, despite being a rare star performer in David Moyes’ stuttering side, the 28 year old is stalling over a new contract, something which has alerted Jose Mourinho.
Meanwhile, Liverpool are set to fail in their pursuit of Ryan Bertrand due to the lack of game-time Victor Moses has had since moving to Anfiled on loan in the summer, the Mirror understands.
The full-back is likely to secure a temporary move away from Stamford Bridge this month, with Fulham also reportedly interested in securing his services.
The England international, who is currently struggling with a knee injury, has made just one Premier League appearance under Jose Mourinho.
Elsewhere, Crystal Palace are the latest side to be linked with a loan move for out-of-favour striker Demba Ba, according to the Mirror.
Eagles boss Tony Pulis is keen on adding more firepower to his squad, as he looks to guide the side to Premier League survival.
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Posted in Chelsea News
Tagged Chelsea, Crystal Palace, Demba Ba, Fulham, Liverpool, Manchester United, Ryan Bertrand, Victor Moses, Wayne Rooney
Chelsea will be without Gary Cahill for tomorrow afternoon’s match against Crystal Palace.
The defender has a thigh problem and will not be risked against the Eagles, who have been somewhat resurgent under new manager Tony Pulis.
Cesar Apilicueta will regain his spot at left back despite Ashley Cole making his first appearance in thirty-nine days in the 1-0 win over Steaua Bucharest in midweek.
The Blues will hope to close the gap between themselves and leaders Arsenal who travel Manchester City earlier in the day.
Jose Mourinho’s men then face Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium on Monday week.
Meanwhile, the Blues’ boss has refused to commit on whether he will again move for Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney when the transfer window opens next month, ESPN understands.
The England international, who was the subject of interest from Chelsea during the summer, has been one of a small number of star performers for the Champions since David Moyes became their manager.
Rooney is entering the final eighteen months of his contract with United and the situation is likely to be monitored closely by Mourinho, who recently told reporters that he has faith in his current selection of misfiring forwards.
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Posted in Chelsea News
Tagged Ashley Cole, Cesar Azpilicueta, Crystal Palace, Gary Cahill, Manchester United, Wayne Rooney
Samuel Eto’o could be set for a move to the MLS at the end of the season, according to the Mirror.
The Cameroon international moved to Stamford Bridge on a one year deal last summer after Jose Mourinho failed in his pursuit of Manchester United’s Wayne Rooney.
Eto’o has found the net just four times in his fifteen appearances for the Blues so far, but appears to lack the pace to remain at the level he has been playing for the majority of his career.
A host of clubs in the Major Soccer League are thought to have already expressed an interest in signing the 32 year old including LA Galaxy, DC United and Toronto FC.
Eto’o could open pre-contract talks next month with a view to make the switch next summer.
Elsewhere, David Luiz and Oscar have handed the club a boost ahead of tomorrow evening’s Champions League clash with Steaua Bucharest, the Express understands.
The Brazilian duo are both in contention to feature against the Romanian champions after recovering from their respective injuries.
Meanwhile, Jose Mourinho has confirmed that Ashley Cole will return to the Blues’ starting line-up for tomorrow’s match at Stamford Bridge.
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Posted in Chelsea News
Tagged Ashley Cole, David Luiz, DC United, LA Galaxy, Oscar, Samuel Eto'o, Steaua Bucharest, Toronto FC, Wayne Rooney
Chelsea forward Andre Schurrle has said that he and his Germany side won’t take England lightly in tomorrow evening’s friendly international at Wembley, Sky Sports understands.
The 23 year old name-checked club teammates Ashley Cole, Gary Cahill and Frank Lampard, Arsenal’s Jack Wilshere and Wayne Rooney of Manchester United as just some of the good players manager Roy Hodgson has at his disposal, whilst adding that Joachim Low’s side have much respect for their opposition.
Having gave three players their Three Lions’ debut in the 2-0 defeat to Chile on Friday evening, Hodgson is set name his strongest side tomorrow, with Blues defender Ashley Cole one of the seasoned internationals likely to return.
If selected, Cole will become the nation’s sixth most capped international outright and former England striker Stan Collymore believes that he will get the nod ahead of Everton’s Leighton Baines as the first choice left back in Brazil next summer.
Elsewhere, Patrick Bamford has been called into the England U21 squad for tomorrow’s game against San Marino, according to Sky Sports.
The as yet uncapped 20 year old, who moved to Stamford Bridge from Nottingham Forest last January has been in great goal-scoring form since moving to MK Dons on loan twelve months ago.
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Posted in Chelsea News
Tagged Andre Schurrle, Arseanl, Ashley Cole, Frank Lampard, Gary Cahill, Jack Wilshere, Manchester United, MK Dons, Nottingham Forest, Patrick Bamford, Wayne Rooney
Frank Lampard will captain England against Chile at Wembley this evening, on a night where he will receive his Golden Cap.
He will be handed the honour, which is given to any England player who reaches over 100 international appearances, by two men who have been heavily involved in his career – father Frank Snr and Sir Geoff Hurst.
Should he play both tonight and against Germany on Tuesday, Lampard will move to within one cap of Billy Wright, while his Blues teammate Ashley Cole is also currently on 105 caps, and will hope to add to that tally over the next few days.
However, the former Arsenal man is facing still competition from Leighton Baines for a starting place both this weekend and at next summer’s World Cup finals in Brazil.
Manager Roy Hodgson has expressed his joy at his wealth of options in the left-back position with Arsenal’s Kieron Gibbs and Southampton’s Luke Shaw pushing both Cole and Baines in the hope of game time.
Elsewhere, Manchester United are set to offer Wayne Rooney a contract worth around £52m in a hope to bury any interest Chelsea have in signing him.
The forward has been in fine form this season having been strongly linked with a move to Stamford Bridge during the summer.
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Posted in Chelsea News
Tagged Ashley Cole, Frank Lampard, Kieron Gibbs, Leighton Baines, Luke Shaw, Wayne Rooney
A last minute winner from Fernando Torres secured a 2-1 victory for Chelsea against Manchester City at Stamford Bridge yesterday afternoon.
Andre Schurrle opened the scoring on thirty-three minutes with his first goal for the club, only for Sergio Aguero to pull the visitors level four minutes into the second half.
The game looked to heading for a draw before Fernando Torres capitalised on a defensive mix up to steal in and grab the winner on ninety minutes to hand all three points to Jose Mourinho’s men, and keep the pressure on leaders Arsenal who beat lowly Crystal Palace on Saturday.
The Blues will reclaim top spot if they beat Newcastle United on Saturday lunchtime, with Arsenal hosting Liverpool in the day’s late kick off.
However, they will first turn their attention to the League Cup fourth round tie with the Gunners at the Emirates tomorrow evening.
Meanwhile, the Blues will reignite their interest in Manchester United’s Wayne Rooney when the transfer window reopens in January, according to the Mirror.
Mourinho failed in his attempts to take the England international, who’s current deal at United expires at the end of next season, to Stamford Bridge in the summer.
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Posted in Chelsea News
Tagged Andre Schurrle, Arsenal, Fernando Torres, Manchester City, Manchester United, Sergio Aguero, Wayne Rooney
Chelsea have been alerted to the news that Robert Lewandowski could be interested in securing a move to a club other than Bayern Munich when his contract expires next summer.
The Poland international looked set to move to the European Champions at the end of last season, but decided to see his contract out at the Westfalenstadion.
A host of other European clubs had registered an interest in the player, though it seemed he was only interested in moving to Dortmund’s great league rivals.
However, according to reports in the Express, the striker’s agent has revealed that he has had contact with Napoli.
The Serie A side, who are currently managed by former Blues interim manager Rafael Benitez, parted company with star striker Edinson Cavani in July, and would see Lewandowski as an ideal replacement, though they have also brought in Gonzalo Higuain and Jose Callejon.
Jose Mourinho brought in Samuel Eto’o towards the end of the recent transfer window after failing to secure a deal for Manchester United’s Wayne Rooney, and would welcome the chance to further strengthen his attacking options.
Lewandowski has scored four goals in five Bundesliga appearances so far this season, including a brace in Saturday’s 6-2 win over Hamburg.
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Posted in Chelsea News
Tagged Arsenal, Edinson Cavani, Manchester United, Napoli, Robert Lewandowski, Samuel Eto'o, Wayne Rooney