Here are the Chelsea evening headlines on Wednesday, May 27.
Chelsea eye ‘Algerian Messi’
Per La Gazzette du Fennec via The Daily Mail, Chelsea are eyeing Brentford winger, Said Benrahma, who has been dubbed the ‘Algerian Messi’ thanks to his speed and dribbling skills.
Benrahma, 24, has ten goals and has featured in 34 of Brentford’s 37 league matches this season. He also has three international caps and is viewed as a potential replacement for both Willian and Pedro who could leave Stamford Bridge in the summer.
Willian and Pedro’s contracts expire this summer and negotiations regarding extensions have stalled. That leaves just Christian Pulisic, Callum Hudson-Odoi and the incoming Hakim Ziyech as options in the wide positions for Frank Lampard.
Benrahma would certainly bolster the wide positions, though his reported £31 million transfer fee is a problem in the current climate.
Deschamps offers Kante support
Amid N’Golo Kante’s decision to step away from Chelsea’s return to training due to health concerns, France manager Didier Deschamps has come out in support of the World Cup-winning midfielder.
“Not only do I understand it, but I find the case of (N’Golo Kante) exemplary,” Deschamps told Le Parisien. “N’Golo is whole, natural. He always has a smile. He has expressed his feelings. I told him: ‘respect’.”
Deschamps also praised Chelsea for granting Kante permission to not attend training.
“It is good that his club heard him and granted him his wish,” he continued. “You have to take into account the feelings of the players. Football is their job and their passion. They have ‘ants on their legs’ but they cannot live the current situation in a carefree manner, without being worried.
“If the club, which is the employer, demands that they come to train, it is complicated for them not to perform.”
Drinkwater does not regret Chelsea move
After helping Leicester City to their remarkable Premier League title in 2015/16, Chelsea signed midfielder Danny Drinkwater in a £35 million deal in 2017.
Since then, however, Drinkwater’s career has stalled substantially, making just 23 appearances for the club and enduring difficult loan spells at both Burnley and Aston Villa.
Now 30, Drinkwater enters the back-end of his prime, but he says that he does not regret the Stamford Bridge move despite the limited opportunity to play.
“Again, no regrets,” he said on Instagram when asked about the decision to leave Leicester. “But I have learned and know and understand a lot more. Letting how important match fitness can affect players.
“I try not to regret things, but learn. Things haven't gone as good as I hoped after I left Leicester because of one thing or another, but I had to give it a chance.”
