Here are the latest Chelsea headlines from the Premier League's fixture release day.
Chelsea's fixtures released
Chelsea's fixtures for the 2020/21 Premier League season have been confirmed this morning.
The Blues will start the new campaign with a clash against Brighton & Hove Albion at the Amex Stadium on Monday, September 14, with an 8:00pm kick-off.
The clash on the South Coast will represent a favourable start for the Blues as they look to build on last season's fourth-place finish.
After facing Graham Potter's Seagulls, Chelsea will welcome reigning champions Liverpool to Stamford Bridge on Saturday, September 19, with the kick-off time currently pencilled in for 3:00pm, though that is likely to change.
Injury latest
Chelsea players are gearing up for a return to pre-season training but there is mixed news on the injury front with just over three weeks to go before the 2020/21 Premier League season gets underway.
Captain Cesar Azpilicueta has said that he expects to be fit for the resumption of training after coming off in the first half of the FA Cup final defeat to Arsenal with a hamstring strain but United States attacker Christian Pulisic may miss the opening week of the campaign as he continues to recover from a more serious hamstring injury also sustained at Wembley.
Afterwards Frank Lampard said that Azpilicueta would be sidelined for three weeks and Pulisic twice that length. Both are tracking along that timeline.
“I am hoping to be fit for the start of pre-season," Azpilicueta told the club's in-house media earlier this week. "I’ve been lucky enough not to have had many injuries in my career but unfortunately it happened against Arsenal."
Havertz deal close
Chelsea have already bolstered their attacking ranks this summer with the additions of Ajax midfielder Hakim Ziyech and RB Leipzig striker Timo Werner - and now they want to add yet another string to their bow.
Bayer Leverkusen midfielder Kai Havertz is the man in question, with the Germany international being heavily linked with a summer switch to Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea have been locked in lengthy discussions with Leverkusen for several weeks in the hope of getting a deal over the line, but the transfer-fee remains the sticking point between the two clubs.
Leverkusen value Havertz at around £90million whilst the Blues are looking to thrash out a deal for considerably less.
Negotiations between the two clubs are ongoing, but Havertz wants the transfer finalised so he can link-up with Frank Lampard and his new teammates at Stamford Bridge.
With that in mind, here is a round-up of everything we know so far about Chelsea's interest in the midfielder and what the latest developments are in the Blues' hope of signing him. Full story here
