Good evening, Chelsea fans. Here are your evening headlines for Wednesday, July 29.
Canizares gives Lampard advice on Kepa
Santiago Canizares believes Chelsea would be making a mistake if they sell Kepa Arrizabalaga.
Kepa, 25, joined the Blues from Athletic Bilbao in 2018 but has struggled between the sticks for the Blues.
That has seen his future come under scrutiny, with Frank Lampard said to be entertaining a sale this summer.
That, in the eyes of Canizares, would be an error.
“Kepa is a great keeper but it appears that he has not won the confidence of Lampard, which is a problem for them both,” he told Tribalfootball.com. “It’s difficult to find a better keeper in the market than Kepa, and it is also difficult for Kepa to find another club like Chelsea.
“It’s a disagreement that I do not understand because I believe that it is really convenient that both the club and the keeper work in the same direction and I hope that the problem will be solved soon.
“Yes, it would be a mistake for Chelsea to sell Kepa this summer. Given the current situation, this is not a summer of big transfers. They should be trying to give Kepa more confidence, not trying to sell him.”
The Spaniard has been linked with a return to La Liga, with Valencia, Atletico Madrid and Sevilla touted as interested parties, and Canizares would be keen to see his former club acquire the goalkeeper.
He added: “Of course, I would like to see Kepa at Valencia but with his high salary it is not an option at the moment. Valencia just cannot sign players with huge transfer fees.”
Havertz could be given favourite squad number
The prospect of Kai Havertz joining Chelsea has got supporters excited, and the thought of seeing that first Blues shirt bearing his name will only intensify that.
The German international is edging closer to Stamford Bridge, and football.london understands that the only thing remaining is for Chelsea to negotiate a fee with Bayer Leverkusen.
Once that stage is complete, the fun can begin, and speculation over Havertz’s shirt number at Stamford Bridge brings into focus the future of an academy graduate.
Havertz wears number 29 for Leverkusen, and if he was eager for continuity in West London, he would need to have a polite conversation with Fikayo Tomori, unless, of course, he takes a different squad number this summer.
The defender has fallen out of favour of late but is one of Lampard’s young charges that was integrated into the first-team picture after excelling in the Championship.
Ginter on Chelsea’s radar
Matthias Ginter is attracting interest from Chelsea along with Inter Milan and Atletico Madrid, according to Kicker.
Ginter, 26, joined current club Borussia Monchengladbach from Borussia Dortmund in 2017 and has now received attention from the Blues according to the German outlet.
It would seem a deal is unlikely, however, with Gladbach’s manager Max Eberl revealing the club are unwilling to sell any of their key players this summer.
