Here are your Chelsea morning headlines for Thursday, 10 September.
Defensive stability key, says Burley
Chelsea’s net transfer spend has been at least twice as large as every other club’s in the Premier League so far this summer.
The majority of it has gone on attacking players, with Hakim Ziyech, Timo Werner and Kai Havertz all moving to west London.
There have been some additions at the back, though, with Ben Chilwell and Thiago Silva signed with the aim of improving the defence. Last season the Blues conceded the most league goals they have allowed since 1996/97.
And this is where Frank Lampard needs to focus, at least according to former Chelsea player Craig Burley.
“I think the most important thing is to get a back four, to stick with it, and work with it, to get a solid base for those guys to operate,” he said.
Talks with Rennes confirmed
It’s no secret that Chelsea are looking for a new goalkeeper. Kepa Arrizabalaga struggled for much of the 2019/20 campaign, with veteran back-up Willy Caballero eventually replacing the young Spaniard in the team.
While there was rumoured interest in Jan Oblak and Dean Henderson, Edouard Mendy of Rennes now appears to be the Blues’ primary target. The French club’s executive director Nicolas Holveck has confirmed that talks are ongoing.
However, Chelsea’s bid of £18million is a long way short of Rennes’ £30m valuation of the 28-year-old.
The clubs are expected to compromise somewhere in the middle, with a £25m deal on the cards.
Lampard highlights Havertz’ key quality
With all the impressive signings Chelsea have made this summer, Lampard faces the challenge of accommodating them all in his new look Blues team.
There are certainly worse problems for a manager to have. And one of the new signings, Kai Havertz, is going to make things easier for the Chelsea boss thanks to his ability and willingness to play multiple roles for the team.
"It is refreshing as a manager when you have a player come in who can play in different positions and also wants to play in different positions,” Lampard told the Chelsea website.
Havertz scored 12 league goals and assisted a further six for Bayer Leverkusen last season.
