Good evening, Chelsea fans. Here are your evening headlines for Thursday, September 10.
Lampard remains guarded on goalkeeper situation
Chelsea boss Frank Lampard has refused to be drawn in on any speculation surrounding a move for Rennes goalkeeper Edouard Mendy.
Football.london understands that a bid of around £18 million was rejected by the Ligue 1 club this week as they are holding out for an offer closer to the £30m mark.
Mendy would become the Blues' seventh summer signing if he were to arrive at Stamford Bridge, but when asked at his pre-match press conference today over the status of the deal, Lampard remained coy over the situation.
He said: "Mendy is a Rennes player, so it is a nonstarter for me to talk about at the minute.”
Injury update issued as new signings set to miss out and Pulisic in contention
New Chelsea signings Hakim Ziyech and Ben Chilwell will miss the Blues' Premier League opener against Brighton due to injury, while Thiago Silva is not fit to feature against the Seagulls.
Ziyech suffered a knee injury in the pre-season friendly against Brighton last weekend, while Chilwell been working his way back to fitness after arriving from Leicester City with a heel issue.
"Hakim Ziyech took an injury to a knee against Brighton so won't be fit. Hope it's a matter of weeks, a couple of weeks but we have to see.," Lampard said in his pre-match press conference on Thursday
"Ben Chilwell is working towards fitness and improved this week, going in the right direction but won't be ready for Brighton.
"Thiago is in London but not training with us until the weekend, so not in contention for Brighton game."
In better news, the Chelsea manager confirmed that Christian Pulisic is available for selection after recovering from the hamstring injury suffered the FA Cup final loss to Arsenal.
Drinkwater opens up on relationship with Sarri
Chelsea midfielder Danny Drinkwater has opened up on the contrasting relationship he had with former Blues boss Maurizio Sarri.
In an open and honest interview about his struggles since moving to Stamford Bridge in the summer of 2016, the midfielder explained how his career took an immediate down-turn when the Italian took charge of the Blues.
He said: “We had a meeting on the last day of the summer transfer window, one hour before it closed.
“It was Sarri and Gianfranco Zola translating. They told me I could go on loan and I was like ‘what the ****? You’ve given me one hour to get a move’.
"I didn’t even call anyone because I was so angry and there was no chance I was going to get a move in an hour. Giving me an hour was a joke.
“He said I would get frustrated. That would have been fine, me battling behind three or four players is frustration. Me not being involved in any matchday squads, that’s just crazy.
"Weirdly, me and Sarri got along off the pitch, but on the pitch it was totally different.”
