Here are your Chelsea evening headlines for Friday, January 29.
Blues can repeat Ziyech transfer trick
With the transfer window drawing to a close, it is highly unlikely that Chelsea will add any new faces to their squad before the bell, despite having recently installed Thomas Tuchel as their new head coach.
The Blues spent more than £220million during the summer window, meaning it was always unlikely that they would add any fresh reinforcements to the squad this month.
Although any new arrivals are unlikely before Monday’s deadline, Tuchel already has his sights set on bolstering his defensive options, with RB Leipzig ace Dayot Upamecano amongst his targets.
Although he will not leave Leipzig before the window closes, Chelsea may wish to try and strike a deal with the German club ahead of the summer, allowing them to secure Upamecano’s services ahead of his official arrival at the club, just as they did with Hakim Ziyech a year ago.
Tuchel makes decision on Chelsea’s youngsters
New boss Tuchel has no plans to forget about Chelsea’s youngsters following his arrival at Stamford Bridge.
Tuchel’s predecessor, Frank Lampard, was a big believer of promoting from within, with the likes of Reece James, Fikayo Tomori, Mason Mount, Billy Gilmour and Tammy Abraham all having been given fair cracks of the whip under his stewardship.
Although Tuchel will look to implement his own plans and philosophy in west London, he is refusing to abandon the club’s youngsters.
The German said: ”Maybe it is that people can rely on how I love to work with young guys and guys from the academy and we have a lot of Chelsea boys here in this squad.
“We will push them to the limit.”.
Cole slams Lampard sacking
Former Blues midfielder Joe Cole has heavily criticised Roman Abramovich’s decision to sack Lampard, describing it as the “harshest” of all the Chelsea managers to have been axed by the club in recent years.
After a run of five defeats in their last eight Premier League matches, Lampard was relieved of his duties on Monday morning before being replaced just over 24 hours later by Tuchel.
Speaking to the All to Play For podcast, Cole explained: “The sacking of Frank is the harshest of all the Chelsea managers which have been dismissed.
“He has not had a bad spell in 18 months. I think it’s a mistake letting him go. Time will tell if I am right though.
“I was at Chelsea for seven years and that seems to be the culture of the club. They have gone through managers very quickly.
“Roman and his team will argue that since he took ownership, no club has won more trophies than Chelsea, and he is right there.
“Logic tells you that you need stability. I thought Frank had that from the outside.”
Follow our socials Whatsapp, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Google News.
