Here are your Chelsea morning headlines for Friday, 16 October.
Chelsea chase Juve ace
According to Italian outlet TuttoMercatoWeb, Chelsea are exploring the possibility of signing Argentine forward Paulo Dybala.
The Juventus attacker has fallen out of favour with new head coach Andrea Pirlo, and with two years remaining on his contract, could be shown the exit door. Dybala has had a torrid time in 2020, testing positive for coronavirus earlier this year and struggling with various fitness problems in the interim.
He is yet to make an appearance for Juventus this season, and could continue to find himself sidelined even with a return to fitness due to the presence of new signing Alvaro Morata.
This would work in Chelsea’s favour. The Blues, despite adding £250million worth of talent this summer, are reportedly still in the market for a forward, and Dybala could fit the bill.
Journalists choose their Saturday selections
Football.London’s Chelsea staff have weighed in with their thoughts and opinions as to who should feature for the Blues this weekend.
Both Alan Smith and Oliver Harbord have backed United States international Christian Pulisic to return to the fold with a start against Southampton.
The 22-year-old finished last season in sparkling form and will hope to continue in such a vein this season after he was kept out of the first few matches due to injury.
A front three of Havertz, Pulisic and Werner all interchanging roles and positions is thought to be Chelsea’s strongest attacking trio this season, but with Hakim Ziyech set to return to full fitness shortly, Frank Lampard could have a selection headache on his hands.
The ex-England international’s reluctance to drop Mason Mount could also be a factor in deciding who starts at Stamford Bridge on Saturday afternoon.
Blues defender turned down Hammers loan
Chelsea centre-back Fikayo Tomori has revealed he rejected the chance to join West Ham United on loan on deadline day, describing it as the “best decision” of his career.
Speaking to the Chelsea Mike’d Up podcast, Tomori spoke of his plans for the season ahead, with the youngster aiming to challenge for a starting spot at the heart of Frank Lampard’s defence.
“I made the decision in the end to stay and to improve more and try to get into the team, play some games, gain some more experience and try to get back to levels I was at last season,” the defender said.
"We know it’s a big squad, a more competitive squad than last year. We have brought in some amazing players.”
