Here are your Chelsea morning headlines for Sunday, 9 August.
Blues in for Stones
Chelsea are willing to offer Manchester City £20million for out-of-favour central defender John Stones.
The details are outlined in a report in the Daily Mail, via the Mirror, which claims the opening offer will be less than half of the £47million City paid for the England international back in 2016.
It is claimed that officials at the Etihad Stadium are willing to take a hit in order to shift the central defender, although it is unclear if they would accept such a miserly offer.
A move could suit all parties as Chelsea need to bolster their defensive ranks this summer, while Stones has fallen from prominence at City, who have already signed Nathan Ake from Bournemouth this summer.
Aware of his lack of first-team opportunities at City, the former Everton star could be open to a move to Stamford Bridge.
Lampard on lessons from Bayern defeat
Frank Lampard admits heavy defeat by Bayern Munich is tough to take but believes there are lessons to be learned for his side’s loss.
Chelsea slumped to a 4-1 reverse in Munich and a 7-1 aggregate defeat in their Champions League last-16 tie against the German champions.
“Without a doubt,” Lampard replied when asked if he had learned from the defeat, in quotes carried by football.london.
“A game against this high-level opponent will stretch you and strain you. It will be an experience for Reece, Callum, Tammy and Mason.
“I saw young players staying in the game, showing their qualities and fighting to the end. N'Golo Kante played 50% of our games this year, we missed him badly and he showed why he is the player that he is with his level of performance in the game - especially in the second half.
“The result isn't nice. Probably most people expected us to lose anyway but we went in with the right intentions and we competed against them.
“We are never going to be happy with a defeat but when you match up the two teams and think about where we want to get to, it will take time. It is not going to be overnight and we know the position we are in.
“To be congratulated a lot on the outside for getting into the top four shows the position we are in as Chelsea, I suppose. We'll take a rest we richly deserve, and we'll look forward and want to improve.”
Leicester move for Chilwell replacement?
Ben Chilwell has been on Chelsea’s transfer radar for a while but any prospects of that transfer happening have stalled in recent times.
However, a report in the Daily Mail, via football.london, states Leicester are now hopeful over a deal to land Olympiacos full-back Kostas Tsimikas.
Tsimikas’ arrival at the King Power Stadium could pave the way for Chilwell’s departure, allowing the club to make a significant transfer profit in the process.
And that would be good news for Lampard, who has identified the England international as a long-term option at left-back.
