Here are the Chelsea evening headlines on Tuesday, May 26.
Caballero send Kante message of support over training fears
Willy Caballero has insisted the entire Chelsea squad respects N’Golo Kante’s decision to not return to training.
The midfielder has agreed with Chelsea boss Frank Lampard that he will stay away from training amid health concerns, after suffering health problems in the past, including collapsing in the club’s dressing room two years ago.
Considering such circumstances, Caballero has outlined that he backs Kante’s decision to refrain from training and believes his fellow teammates are also behind him.
"It's very understandable," the 38-year-old told TNT Sports in an Instagram Live interview.
"He tested negative for Covid-19 but he had a bad time of it during quarantine with symptoms of the virus that gave him that fear.
"We respect him and we'll wait until he feels comfortable because the truth is that to do what we're doing you have to feel okay and feel confidence and after we start again, we have to all go forward together.
"N'Golo is a very humble and hard-working person who is always smiling and he must have his reasons to lift up his hand and say what he's said."
Chelsea identify Sancho transfer alternative
Chelsea are reportedly tracking Porto winger Jesus Corona as an alternative option to first-choice target Jadon Sancho.
With Manchester United the current favourites to sign the Borussia Dortmund star, the Blues could be forced to look elsewhere and Corona is believed to be a target.
The 27-year-old has played a total of 41 games for Porto this season and registered 19 goal contributions in the process. Inter Milan and Sevilla are said to be two other clubs interested in him, according to reports in the Daily Star.
Pedro and Willian are both expected to leave Stamford Bridge at the end of the season which makes finding wingers in the upcoming transfer market all the more important.
Corona is expected to be worth around £26m and, therefore, stands as a far more affordable option should they miss out on Sancho.
Hasselbaink explains truth behind Ranieri’s Chelsea reign
Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink believes that Claudio Ranieri’s tactical approach denied him the Premier League title during his time at Stamford Bridge.
The former Chelsea boss had been in charge of the club at a time when Roman Abramovich took over in 2003 and provided significant investment for the Italian. However, a league-best finish of second in the 2003/04 season meant that he ultimately failed in his task of providing a Premier League title.
However, Hasselbaink believes that the constantly changing approach to the team meant that Ranieri wasn’t able to secure a title at Stamford Bridge, despite doing so later in his career with Leicester City.
In an interview with FourFourTwo, Hasselbaink said: "I couldn’t believe my luck [when Ranieri came in from Atletico].
"Back then I was in his good books because I was scoring lots of goals and he didn’t have the money to replace me.
"Those four years under him were difficult. We had a better team than the table showed and should have finished higher. He’s a good man and I don’t think anyone disliked him as a person – he just had some ideas that didn’t work.
"We never knew which system we were playing. Even if we trained on the Friday using one system, the next morning he might have changed it to something else.
"He believed that everyone should be able to adapt, and that it’s a weapon to switch formation. But he’d do it four or five times in a game and it confused us."
