Here are your Chelsea headlines for Tuesday, February 16th.
David Alaba issues update
Bayern Munich ace David Alaba has confirmed he will be leaving the club at the end of the season, amid links to Chelsea and Real Madrid.
While the Austria international stated he has not yet decided on his destination when he leaves Bavaria, the comments hand a boost to the Blues.
"I have personally made the decision to try something new after this season and to leave the club. It wasn't an easy decision, I've been here for 13 years and the club is very important to me.
"I am looking for a new challenge. It wasn't a financial decision. I still have six to seven years to play football and now I wanted to try something new."
Tuchel discovers surprise undroppable
Chelsea rose into the top-four of the Premier League following a 2-0 victory over Newcastle United on Monday.
While Timo Werner's performance, which included a long-awaited goal in the Premier League, gathered the most attention, the display of Mateo Kovacic was also significant.
As per Squawka Football, the midfielder had 108 touches of the ball, a 96 per cent passing accuracy, won 11 duels, six ball recoveries and had two shots on goal.
The former Real Madrid man has started each of Chelsea's five Premier League matches following Thomas Tuchel's appointment and that seems unlikely to change anytime soon.
Gerrard makes Torres admission
Former Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard has admitted that he was left heartbroken by Fernando Torres' move from Anfield to join Chelsea.
The Spaniard joined the Blues from Liverpool for a £50m fee in 2011 and Gerrard told the Robbie Fowler podcast that Torres was his favourite strike-partner that he played with.
“I didn’t play with Torres long enough because he went to Chelsea and broke my heart. If you asked me who was the best player on a daily basis consistently, Suarez was an animal but my best years were alongside Torres in terms of how I felt," Gerrard said.
“I was really, really gutted (when Torres left). We’re working so hard at this point to try and get as close as we can to close the gap and challenge."
