Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong has made his feelings perfectly clear about a potential summer move to Chelsea.
The Dutch midfielder has been embroiled in a transfer saga with Manchester United all summer, although fresh reports suggest Chelsea could be about to gazump the Old Trafford side to his signature. And it appears that De Jong may prefer making the move to Stamford Bridge over signing for United.
It comes as Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel has been left baffled by Timo Werner's claims he could leave in search of regular first-team football ahead of the World Cup. And the German has accused his Chelsea players of lacking effort, courage and cutting edge during their penalty shoot-out loss to Charlotte FC during their pre-season tour.
Here are Mirror Football's latest Chelsea headlines.
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De Jong's transfer stance
Frenkie de Jong is open to joining Thomas Tuchel's Chelsea side this summer and could snub interest from Premier League rivals Manchester United to do so.
New Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag has made De Jong his number one transfer target this summer as he kicks off his Old Trafford revolution, with the Red Devils agreeing a fee of around £70 million having been agreed with his club. But reports in recent days have claimed Chelsea are preparing to make a bid of their own for the player, who may prefer to join the Blues.
Reports coming out of Spain suggest Chelsea have the major advantage of having qualified for the Champions League, while De Jong is also thought to prefer the idea of living in London over a move to Manchester.
Tuchel baffled by Werner comments
Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel has been left baffled by Timo Werner's recent comments hinting that he could leave the club.
The German forward recently said he "wants to play more and I should play more to first be in good shape for the World Cup". But Tuchel claims he does "not understand" Werner ’s comments, insisting he would be "one of the happiest people on the planet" if he had a contract to play for Chelsea.
And he's laid down a challenge to his striker to "show quality, take your place and defend your place".
Chelsea players slammed
Thomas Tuchel was left furious with his Chelsea players following their penalty shootout loss to Charlotte FC as part of their pre-season tour of the US.
The match went to penalties after finishing 1-1 with Christian Pulisic putting the Blues in the lead in the first half before Daniel Rios equalised. Conor Gallagher missed the deciding penalty in the shootout and Tuchel was not happy following the defeat.
He accused his players of lacking effort, courage and cutting edge, insisting that if his side does not improve in those key areas "it will not be the first time that we get punished".
