Here are your Chelsea morning headlines for Sunday, November 8.
Souness impressed by James
Chelsea defender Reece James will continue to ‘get better and better’, according to Sky Sports pundit Graeme Souness.
James enjoyed another impressive evening at right-back as the Blues eased to a 4-1 win over Sheffield United yesterday.
And while £50million left-back Ben Chilwell grabbed some of the headlines with a goal, Souness lauded the man on the opposite flank.
"When you buy a player for a lot of money, all the focus is on him," Souness said on Sky Sports. "Ben Chilwell, they spent £50million quid on a full-back and all the focus is on him.
"In Reece James, he's a top player. Given his age, he's going to get better and better.
"I've not talked about his strength, his pace, his delivery, and in terms of defending he looks like he's got that already.
"So you can only see him getting better and better.”
Lampard delighted with Kante progress
Chelsea boss Frank Lampard has heaped praise on fit-again N’Golo Kante after revealing the efforts to manage the Frenchman’s fitness.
Kante has started all eight league games this term having endured an injury-hit 2019/20 campaign which restricted him to 22 appearances.
And Lampard is pleased with the 29-year-old’s contributions after the former Leicester City midfielder’s assist for Timo Werner’s goal against the Blades.
“He played about 50 per cent of the games last year and that is a big loss for half the season, a player of his level," said Lampard.
"So I made a big, big step to try to manage his training and games and make sure that we attempt to have him fit and ready for as many games as we can.
"The last couple of games we have played is N’Golo Kante. His attributes are incredible, he can play in many positions in the midfield.
"The energy and ability to win the ball back, but also his ability on the ball, which is sometimes underrated, is amazing. He can play in different roles.
"People always want to talk about that he’s the best defensive midfielder and should be in a deeper role. But he can play in lots of different roles to massive effect and I am pleased he is fit now.
Werner best deployed centrally - Wright & Hasselbaink
Lampard will get the most out of Werner if he plays the German striker through the middle of Chelsea’s attack.
That is the view of Ian Wright and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, who praised the 24-year-old following his goal against Chris Wilder’s side yesterday evening - his eighth strike in all competitions this season.
“He knows where the back of the net is,” Hasselbaink told Premier League Productions.
“I like him in the centre of the pitch. In the centre, that’s where he’s lethal.
“When he’s coming from the left, he doesn’t have that technique of beating players and being clever.
“When he plays on that shoulder, he’s lethal.’
Wright concurred with the former Chelsea striker, saying: “I totally agree with that simply because if he was to stay there in the width of the 18 yard box – when you’ve got [Hakim] Ziyech and Kai Havertz and Mason Mount, you’ve got all these players, you don’t need to do too much in and around those other places."
