Here are your Chelsea morning headlines for Monday, 12 October.
Left-back faces race to be fit
Gareth Southgate has revealed England left-back Ben Chilwell did not feature in the 2-1 UEFA Nations League win over Belgium at the weekend, as he had been unable to train with the group throughout the week.
The 23-year-old had been feeling ill, and trained on his own, but his absence is not believed to be linked to coronavirus. Nevertheless, Chelsea host Southampton this weekend and Frank Lampard will be relying on a fully fit Chilwell to feature in his back-line.
Chelsea’s back-up left-back Marcos Alonso has not featured since a changing room spat with Lampard at half-time in their 3-3 draw with West Bromwich Albion last month.
Alonso and Emerson Palmieri continue to be linked with moves away from the club, but may require to be called upon one final time if Chilwell does not recover in time for the visit of the Saints.
Midfielder compared to Belgium great
Chelsea’s Mason Mount has drawn comparisons from Sky Sports pundit Jamie Redknapp to Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne.
Redknapp’s comments came after England’s 2-1 win over Belgium in which both Mount and De Bruyne played. The former Spurs and Liverpool midfielder did note that Mount was not at the level of De Bruyne just yet, but that he could become a similar creative player by doing similar things.
“Wherever the ball is, he’ll [De Bruyne] find it. Mason is that player who can do it for us, you don’t have to just stay on the right side, come inside,” said Redknapp.
“For the goal, that’s where he gets that fortune, which he deserved because he came inside and scored the goal.”
The pundit urged Mount to seek out those opportunities more often, where he could find himself getting on the ball in dangerous areas, finding space to create with threaded through balls or fashioning an angle for a shot.
Giroud plans for life after Chelsea
French international forward Olivier Giroud has revealed he is actively planning his next career move after falling down the pecking order at Stamford Bridge.
The 34-year-old recently made his 100th cap for France and moved into second place in the rankings behind Thierry Henry as the country’s record international goalscorer.
Giroud has stated he was close to a Serie A switch over summer, but a move fell through. He envisages being able to make an impact in top level European football for another two seasons, before eyeing a move to the United States.
“I’d like to play at the highest level in Europe for another two or three years, then maybe I’ll go to the United States,” Giroud said to the Daily Express.
He did state that any likelihood of a Ligue 1 return seemed improbable, but that he refused to rule anything out. Giroud’s contract expires at the end of this season, which would cap a three-year stay at Stamford Bridge.
