The Chelsea Chronicle - Chelsea FC News

Chelsea are expected to sign a new striker this summer, and it looks like Ipswich Town’s Liam Delap could be their man.

Before the Blues head to the Club World Cup, a deal for Delap could be wrapped up. Enzo Maresca, though, will wish he had his former player right now.

The Chelsea manager is currently without a recognised centre-forward following injuries to Nicolas Jackson and Marc Guiu.

Chelsea reportedly scouted Delap over the weekend, and the 22-year-old would have convinced them with his performance.

Chelsea sent scouts to Ipswich Town’s 4-1 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur

Chelsea scouts were seemingly busy during the previous round of Premier League fixtures.

According to TBR Football, the club sent scouts to Ipswich Town’s 4-1 loss against Tottenham Hotspur to watch Delap.

The same outlet claims that a few German outfits also had their people at the game, so Chelsea are likely to face competition for Delap’s signature in the summer.

The Blues will probably have to go head-to-head with some English clubs as well if their plan is to sign the Englishman when the transfer window reopens.

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Rivals Manchester United are keen on Delap, too, with Ruben Amorim’s squad needing a bit of a revamp.

Things are not going to plan in the Premier League for the Portuguese, who finds his side 15th in the table. They are 13 points behind Chelsea despite Maresca’s men not being in great form lately.

Liam Delap was a real handful in Tottenham defeat

While Ipswich went on to lose against Chelsea’s fierce London rivals and Delap failed to score against them, the England U21 international still played quite well.

He had five shots in total and even hit the woodwork. Delap finished the game with an xG of 0.33, so he was not exactly getting a plethora of really good goalscoring opportunities. The former Manchester City player did well, then, to come close to scoring.

Delap also won two out of the three aerial duels he competed in, continuing to use that big and strong body of his.

It is fair to say that not too many Chelsea fans were against the decision to relieve Mauricio Pochettino of his duties at the end of last season.

The Argentine had only been in charge for one campaign, and got his side to Wembley twice despite not ending up with any silverware.

A prolonged recruitment period saw the owners decide on Enzo Maresca to lead the project forwards. Despite a run of defeats recently, the Blues are still on far more points this season than they were at the same stage under Pochettino.

The current United States manager was always going to be up against it with some sections of the fanbase following his extensive spell as boss of arch-rivals Tottenham.

Those Chelsea fans will have only been further infuriated by Pochettino’s recent comments regarding his former club, with him still clearly holding fond memories of his time in the north of London at Tottenham.

He said to SportBible: “The love is there. After six years working in Tottenham, that relationship is always going to be there. We still feel good things between the fans and us.

“It’s difficult to judge from outside, I try not to put myself in positions that it I cannot talk on there. There are always some periods that are up and down, but for sure Tottenham have a great squad and have good players, great fans, club is amazing, and for sure they will change the feelings they have now.”

Chelsea legend Eden Hazard seemed to also not be a big fan of Pochettino’s time in charge either, with Reece James agreeing with him that things were better under the new manager.

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Pochettino’s record for Chelsea vs record for Spurs

Two of Chelsea’s biggest wins last season came against their arch-rivals, with the first a 4-1 win away against an unbeaten Spurs side at the time.

Pochettino won 27 of his 51 games in charge of the Blues, however his points per game sits higher from his time in charge at Spurs.

The Argentine is currently preparing for a home World Cup in charge of the United States national team, where he is working closely with former Chelsea man Christian Pulisic.

Chelsea loaned Axel Disasi to Aston Villa at the end of the last transfer window.

However, Aston Villa were not the only Premier League club who were interested in Axel Disasi, with Tottenham Hotspur having also been keen on the central defender.

In the end, it was the Villans who won the race for Disasi, but Spurs tried their hardest to sign him by the looks of things.

It was claimed that Disasi only had interest in joining Villa despite being a target for several teams.

How Tottenham tried to pressure Axel Disasi into signing for them

Evidently, Disasi was never keen on signing for Tottenham, though that did not stop them from trying to recruit the 26-year-old.

According to TEAMtalk, the north London club even pulled out of talks for Disasi temporarily to try and pressure the Frenchman into joining them, knowing that Villa had made no progress to sign him at one stage on deadline day.

Disasi was desperate to leave Chelsea after making just four Premier League starts under Enzo Maresca.

However, it does not look like he was desperate enough to join any club, as the France international patiently waited for Villa to agree a deal with Chelsea. While Chelsea fans have not always appreciated him, Villa supporters were happy to see Disasi arrive.

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Why was Axel Disasi so against a move to Tottenham?

The whole reason why Disasi wanted to leave Chelsea was because of his lack of game time this season.

At Tottenham, he would get that now because of all of the injuries that Ange Postecoglou currently has in defence.

However, TEAMtalk’s report claims that Disasi feared his playing time would diminish again once Spurs’ absentees returned, explaining why he did not fancy a move to north London.

It remains to be seen whether Villa decide to sign Disasi permanently, but his time at Stamford Bridge appears to be over.

Chelsea are confident about winning the race for one of their transfer targets this summer.

The next transfer window could be a very busy one for Chelsea after a quiet January.

There were several exits at Stamford Bridge, with the likes of Joao Felix, Axel Disasi, Ben Chilwell and Renato Veiga all leaving the club.

Chelsea signed Felix to help them against low blocks, but Enzo Maresca rarely looked to him before his move to AC Milan.

Chelsea confident Marc Guehi will pick them over Tottenham

Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur were both interested in Crystal Palace defender Marc Guehi during the January transfer window.

However, it was Tottenham who made an official bid for the centre-back, with Chelsea deciding not to follow up their interest with an offer.

It shows how serious Spurs were about signing Guehi, but it looks like they could still end up missing out on him to their London rivals in the summer.

According to GiveMeSport, Chelsea believe Guehi is keen to return to Stamford Bridge and are confident that he would choose them over Tottenham.

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Chelsea wanted Guehi to push for a move last month, but in the end the 24-year-old opted to remain at Palace.

Marc Guehi could get better contract than Cole Palmer

If Guehi does return to Chelsea this summer, then the England international could earn some serious money.

It has been claimed that Guehi wants a £170,000-a-week contract at his next club. With Cole Palmer earning a base salary of £130,000 a week, his Three Lions teammate could pocket more cash than him should a transfer to Chelsea go through.

It is a lot of money, but Guehi is in demand and is now one of the best centre-halves in the Premier League.

“I thought he was exceptional,” Joe Hart said on the Football Daily podcast (via BBC Sport) when discussing one of Guehi’s performances for England at Euro 2024.

Approaching the final year of his contract, Guehi will definitely be a name to keep an eye on in the next transfer window.

Tottenham Hotspur are interested in signing Axel Disasi from Chelsea before the transfer window closes on Monday.

Tottenham Hotspur have just loaned Kevin Danso from RC Lens, beating Wolverhampton Wanderers to his signature, but the London club still appear to be keen on Axel Disasi.

It comes amid a season where Ange Postecoglou has had to deal with multiple injuries in defence.

However, it looks like he could struggle to convince Disasi to switch west London for north London, which could have ramifications for another Chelsea player. Disasi is a positive influence in the Chelsea dressing room, but that may not stop the club from offloading him today or tomorrow.

Axel Disasi wants to join Aston Villa over Tottenham

Some Chelsea fans will be happy to see Disasi go, as the central defender has just not convinced since arriving at the club from AS Monaco in 2023.

At the same time, though, given their rivalry with Spurs, some supporters will be disappointed if he ends up there.

But if Disasi gets his way, that will not happen. According to TBR Football, the 26-year-old has decided he wants to join Aston Villa over Tottenham.

Before Tottenham registered their interest, it was reported that Disasi only wanted to join Villa.

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Aaron Anselmino could stay at Chelsea

Aaron Anselmino returned to Chelsea from his loan at Boca Juniors at the start of January.

The 19-year-old has not played any minutes for Enzo Maresca‘s side, but that could change if Disasi joins Villa or Tottenham.

According to journalist Eduardo Burgos, should Disasi depart Stamford Bridge, then Anselmino will stay and vice versa.

Burgos has also claimed that Maresca has been delighted with him in training at Cobham.

When the £15m signing returned from Boca, Maresca told Chelsea’s official website: “He’s another talent, another good player.”

Chelsea fans have not got to see that yet. But if Disasi leaves, which is more than possible, then that could change.

While Chelsea’s thrilling 4-3 win over Tottenham showed their class in front of goal, their task of coming back could have been made impossible before half-time.

Moises Caicedo’s heavy challenge just before the break was eventually waved away by officials, however some were convinced he should have seen red.

Chelsea will argue that Dejan Kulusevski should also have been dismissed for an elbow on Romeo Lavia in the first-half too.

The Belgian midfielder was cut on the head, and forced to come off at half-time and was replaced by Malo Gusto.

The change saw Caicedo move into midfield again after starting in right-back, and it is fair to say was back to the ability that he has been showing for the majority of the summer.

He remained on the pitch, and the audio from VAR hinted that there was not excessive force that would have warranted the red card.

They said: “Comes into the tackle. Catches him at a glancing blow and then down onto the floor. So he catches him and then goes down onto the floor.

“I don’t think that’s serious foul play. I don’t think that there’s any evidence for serious foul play. I don’t think he goes through him with excessive force.”

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What Dermot Gallagher said about Caicedo challenge

Given the fact the Blues won by just a goal, Spurs fans will point to the Ecuadorian’s strong-natured tackle as a real turning point in the game.

Former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher believed a yellow card was required, something which was not given to the player.

He said: “I think it’s a yellow card. I can understand why Jamie Carragher thinks it’s a red. I think he goes down, puts his foot into the ground and doesn’t go through it — that’s what saves him. If he catches him half-way up the shin, he’s going to get a red card.

“What everybody’s looking for now is intensity. Has he got it, has he got the momentum, has he gone through it? His boot comes down on the pitch, rather than his shin. That’s what saves him.”

Caicedo avoided a red card and is therefore available for selection when the Blues are back in Premier League action against Brentford.

Chelsea produced a fantastic comeback win away at Tottenham last weekend, with Cole Palmer central to his team’s success a few days ago.

The Blues recorded a dramatic 4-3 victory away to Spurs in the Premier League. As a result, Enzo Maresca’s side are up to second in the division table.

Cole Palmer, 22, stole the headlines with yet another super performance to underline his importance to the Chelsea squad.

The attacking playmaker tormented the Spurs defence whenever he drifted into pockets of space, plus he scored two spot-kicks. In particular, his second penalty was a Panenka that he dinked straight down the middle of the goal. Maresca even described Palmer’s Chelsea penalty as “cold”.

Axel Disasi predicted Cole Palmer Panenka

Chelsea defender Axel Disasi, who was an unused substitute during the Spurs win, has shared that he predicted Palmer’s chipped penalty just moments before his cheeky finish.

“To be honest, I knew that he would do this Panenka. I was on the bench with Kiernan [Dewsbury-Hall] and I told him he would do this. I remember last year he did the same,” Disasi said via Chelsea’s official YouTube channel.

“Since one year and a half you know the quality of Cole. At this kind of moment, he’s a very chill guy. For you, for the fans, it’s a good feeling to see a player perform like this. A lot of quality and skills. We are all happy with his performances here. We hope he will continue like this.”

Frank Lampard praised Palmer’s Chelsea performance versus Spurs, where he turned on the style in a big London derby. It helped to silence the critics that suggest he goes quiet in the important fixtures.

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He looks so nonchalant when he’s on the football pitch, so his composure from 12 yards with any penalty should come as no surprise to anybody.

Cole Palmer perfect from the penalty spot

It’s now 12 successful penalties out of 12 for Palmer as a Chelsea player in the Premier League. Remarkably, he’s now taken the most penalties in the division’s history without missing.

Chelsea had one of the top penalty takers around for so long in Lampard’s era as a player. Now, Palmer is the current guy that looks unstoppable from 12 yards.

Palmer is now up to 11 goals in 15 top-flight games this campaign, so he’s on track to smash the 20-goal barrier for a second consecutive year. Even without the penalty kicks, he’s a superstar for the Blues that contributes so much in the final third.

Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has been discussing whether Cole Palmer is the best player in the Premier League.

Cole Palmer has been one of the top performers in England this season and helped Chelsea to beat Tottenham Hotspur 4-3 last weekend.

The attacking midfielder scored two goals, both from the penalty spot, while it was his deflected ball that reached Enzo Fernandez’s left foot before the Argentine put the Blues 3-2 up in north London.

Following that performance, former Manchester City defender Micah Richards has claimed Palmer is better than Phil Foden.

Enzo Maresca weighs in on Cole Palmer debate

After Palmer’s exploits at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, there has been a lot of debating about who the best player in the Premier League is.

Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah, Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka and City’s Erling Haaland have all been mentioned, for example, and Maresca says Palmer is definitely up there with the elite of the division.

In fact, Maresca thinks that the 22-year-old could actually be the best of the bunch at this moment in time.

When asked whether Palmer is the best player in the Premier League ahead of his side’s tie against Astana in the Conference League, the Chelsea boss said: “Could be but for sure you are lucky to have many great players in England.”

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Enzo Maresca on where Cole Palmer can improve

Palmer’s striking technique looks perfect. When the Englishman is in front of goal, he often hits the ball accurately and with enough power.

It is no surprise that he has scored 11 goals this season and bagged 27 in the previous campaign.

For Maresca, though, Palmer still needs to learn how to get the better of his man-marker, who was Yves Bissouma last time out.

Jadon Sancho put in what was arguably his best performance in a Chelsea shirt so far against Tottenham Hotspur last Sunday.

Jadon Sancho scored in an incredible London derby between Chelsea and Tottenham, helping his side to win 4-3.

Jody Morris was impressed with Sancho’s defensive contribution, but he really shone in attack.

Not only did the winger manage to score, but he was constantly getting on the ball and in dangerous areas.

Jadon Sancho Chelsea’s most threatening player against Tottenham

Cole Palmer scored two penalties for Chelsea in their 4-3 victory over Tottenham, but Sancho was arguably the Blues’ biggest threat.

Spurs could just not live with him on the left flank and the half space next to it. They also failed to stop him from entering their box.

According to WhoScored, Sancho touched the ball more times in the box than any other Premier League player during gameweek 15. In total, he had 12 touches.

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After the match, Ian Wright told Sancho he was back to his best again, which will delight Chelsea supporters.

Jadon Sancho’s total number of touches in Tottenham game

Again, Sancho was heavily involved in Sunday’s London derby. And had it not been for him, then the Blues probably would have either drawn or lost that game.

It was his goal that sparked Chelsea’s comeback and got them into half-time with just a one-goal deficit to overturn.

It could have been so much worse after Dejan Kulusevski put Tottenham 2-0 up before the 15th minute.

Sancho finished the game having had 66 touches in total, which was more than any Tottenham player and the sixth most in Chelsea’s team.

The England international will now be expected to start Chelsea’s next London derby against Brentford on Sunday.

Rio Ferdinand thinks one Tottenham Hotspur player had a game to forget against Chelsea after taking on Cole Palmer.

Cole Palmer put in another excellent display for Chelsea after scoring two goals in their 4-3 win over the weekend.

The attacking midfielder also did most of the work for Enzo Fernandez’s goal, dancing past Tottenham’s backline before his deflected pass reached his teammate’s left boot.

Palmer’s dribbling was almost Messi-like, according to former England striker Gary Lineker.

Cole Palmer destroys Destiny Udogie

It was Destiny Udogie who tried to stop Palmer cutting in from the right-hand side. However, the left-back failed miserably.

The 22-year-old evaded Udogie and the other Spurs players surrounding him and made it look extremely easy.

On Palmer and his battle with Udogie at that stage of the match, Ferdinand said on his podcast: “You can’t stand off him because if you stand off him, he’s one of the best passers in the league. So you think, ‘I’m not going to go too close because he could drop a skill on me, so I stand off’, and he slips it by you from 30, 40 yards. From any distance, he’s got precision.

“But also, if you do go out like Udogie did the other day against Spurs, the left-back goes out there, quicker, stronger and more aggressive than Cole, he couldn’t even lay a glove on him! Twined him inside out, destroyed him.”

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Palmer has also impressed Jody Morris this season, with the former Chelsea assistant manager and player praising his first touch.

Cole Palmer’s dribbling numbers against Tottenham

Tottenham found it hard to contain Palmer, who really came to life in the second half of that London derby.

In total, the Englishman attempted five dribbles and managed to complete four of them, which is really impressive.

Palmer also registered four key passes, so he really did put in a great attacking display.

The England international is now on 17 goal contributions for the season. A couple of goals and one assist against Brentford on Sunday, for example, would take him to 20 before the end of December. That would be some feat and you would not put it past him.

Jamie Carragher thinks Palmer is already on Eden Hazard’s level, a Chelsea legend, and with the form that he is in, it is not a far-fetched claim.

If Palmer can cause Brentford’s defence the same kind of trouble he caused Tottenham’s, then Chelsea have a great chance of winning that match and keeping the pressure on Liverpool.