Here are your Chelsea morning headlines for Saturday June 20.
Lampard gives N’Golo Kante fitness update
Frank Lampard has spoken about N’Golo Kante’s future at the club after a season which has been badly disrupted by injuries.
“He’s fit and he’s been training,” he said. “He trained for a period with the small sessions, socially distanced-type training, but he’s been training with us as a group for a while now.
“He’s fit as anyone else in the team and he’s naturally fit anyway.
“Was it a difficult situation? Yes, because I was very sympathetic as I think the reaction was everywhere.
“But I obviously have to deal with it at close quarters, with N’Golo and his feelings. It was very genuine. He wanted to be clear with how it was going to work around the training ground. As I say, that’s been sorted out in the short term. He’s training and he’s happy.
“In terms of N’Golo, I’ve seen some talk and reports about him and his future at the club. I’ve said it a lot of times about N’Golo – [he’s] one of the best midfield players in the world. I would have loved to be able to play with him. The type of player he is, he has everything.
“Coming back to Chelsea and getting the opportunity to manage this club and having N’Golo Kante is something I really want to appreciate and work with.
“This season, unfortunately, because of injuries, it’s been tough for N’Golo. It’s nice to see him a little bit fresh.
“One of the silver linings with [the season being suspended] is we’ve managed to get a few players fitter and fresher. N’Golo is so important to us as a team going forward. We need him regularly and hopefully we’ll have that now.”
Liverpool’s loss could be Chelsea’s gain with four transfers
Chelsea could be the main beneficiaries from Liverpool’s cautious stance in the transfer market this summer, writes Adam Newson .
With Timo Werner heavily linked with a move to Anfield earlier in the season only to be diverted towards Stamford Bridge, Chelsea have already pinched one transfer target from the Reds. Having seen their finances hit hard by the season hiatus, Liverpool are unlikely to make any big signings over the coming months and that could well be to Chelsea’s gain.
Kai Havertz, Jadon Sancho, Ferran Torres and Dominik Szoboszlai have all been linked with the champions elect, but those transfers are unlikely to materialise any time soon. That gives Chelsea a window of opportunity and, judging by their transfer business so far, Marina Granovskaia could well decide to make a move.
Chelsea in talks to sign Chilwell
On top of all their other spending, Chelsea are now reported to be pursuing a mega deal for Ben Chilwell.
According to The Daily Express , talks are underway and Chelsea are willing to offload players to increase their transfer funds if needs be.
Leicester value Chilwell at £80million, however, so he won’t come cheap.
Having held out for hefty transfer fees in recent years, not least when moving on Riyad Mahrez and Harry Maguire for £60m and £80m respectively, Leicester are in a strong position financially and Chelsea may have to steel themselves for another massive outlay.
