Here is the Chelsea morning digest for Monday, May 18.
Unsettled Chelsea ‘target’ misses return to action
The Bundesliga may have returned but Philippe Coutinho had to make do with watching from the sidelines after being left out of the Bayern Munich squad.
Brazilian Coutinho, reportedly a transfer target for Chelsea, missed out on the German champions’ 2-0 win at Union Berlin as he recovers from an ankle injury.
The Barcelona forward, currently on loan at Bayern, is expected to leave the Catalan club again this summer with a temporary switch to Stamford Bridge mooted.
Coutinho has failed to settle in Spain following his £142m move from Liverpool in January 2018.
Abramovich slips in rich list ranking
Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich’s personal wealth has dropped by £1.07billion to £10.16billion, according to the latest Sunday Times Rich List.
As a result, the Russian businessman has seen his position slip from 9th to 12th in the high profile list of Britain's most wealthy individuals.
Abramovich bought the Blues in 2003 and bankrolled unprecedented success at the club including five Premier League titles and the Champions League in 2012.
However, with the hit to his bank balance and the current uncertainty over the financial landscape in football, the big money moves may be scaled back for the time being.
Pundit believes Chelsea youngster’s path to first team is blocked
Conor Gallagher is unlikely to make the breakthrough at Stamford Bridge anytime soon, according to Sky pundits Keith Andrews and Andy Hinchcliffe.
Gallagher has impressed on loan in the Championship this season first at Charlton Athletic and then at Swansea City.
However, Andrews believes another loan move could be on the cards next year due to competition for places.
"He is still very, very young. I don’t see him going back there next season.” Andrews told Sky Sports. “I see him going back on loan because of his age."
Hinchcliffe goes a step further and suggests a permanent move could be on the cards.
"So he might end up, if he wants to play in the Premier League, having to leave Chelsea to go elsewhere to play regular first team football," he said.
