Here's all the news from around Stamford Bridge over the past 24 hours.
Lampard hails Silva influence
Chelsea boss Frank Lampard has hailed the influence of Thiago Silva, who scored his first goal for the club in yesterday’s 4-1 victory over Sheffield United.
The 36-year-old Brazilian, who has won seven Ligue 1 titles with PSG and Serie A with AC Milan, is yet to lose in a Blues shirt.
He made an inauspicious debut as he made a costly error in a 3-3 draw with West Bromwich Albion, but Chelsea have gone unbeaten in six matches with Silva in the backline since then, conceding just two goals.
"I knew the player that he was when he came here because of the career he had,” Lampard said.
“He played in the Champions League final a few weeks before coming here, but his level of performance since he’s been here, without much of a pre-season, the influence, individual performance, the way he is between games, he attacks training so diligently.
"He looks at opposition when we are having meetings, he wants to know. So I have a lot of conversations with him. He has been brilliant, I can’t say enough about him. Then he gets the goal today, a very good goal. He has made a big impact.”
Here’s everything Lampard said.
Havertz sends Chelsea fans message from self-isolation
Kai Havertz has given his first update since testing positive for coronavirus and entering self-isolation.
"I've spoken to Kai a couple of times, he's very disappointed because he just wants to play. His symptoms escalated slightly today but he's fine, and just disappointed to be out,” Lampard explained earlier this week.
The 21-year-old Germany international was unavailable for Chelsea’s midweek Champions League victory over Rennes and yesterday’s victory over Sheffield United.
He’s set to miss the upcoming international break but could potentially be in line to return for the Blues against Newcastle United in a fortnight’s time.
“Thank you for all the messages,” Havertz tweeted yesterday. "Time to focus on recovery and getting back on the pitch soon.”
Souness heaps praise of Chelsea academy graduate
Sky Sports pundit Graeme Souness singled out Reece James for praise after yesterday’s win over Sheffield United.
The 20-year-old right-back, who has earned regular England call-ups this season, impressed once again in the comfortable victory over Chris Wilder’s Blades, showing some impressive link-up play with Hakim Ziyech on the right flank.
"When you buy a player for a lot of money, all the focus is on him," Souness said in his post-match analysis. "Ben Chilwell they spent £50m 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.”
