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Tag: Enzo Fernandez

Enzo Fernandez Chelsea absence explained as Mauricio Pochettino’s pre-season team confirmed

Enzo Fernandez has been included in Chelsea’s 29-man squad that fly to the United State this week for their pre-season tour

Chelsea star Enzo Fernandez was absent from photos of the squad flying to the United States despite being included in Mauricio Pochettino’s 29-man squad for their pre-season tour. The Blues play matches against Wrexham, Brighton, Fulham and Borussia Dortmund during their stay across the Atlantic.

Enzo was a standout player for Chelsea after moving to Stamford Bridge for £106m in January. The Argentine World Cup winner hopes to continue next season and shine in a more solid squad under Pochettino.

Pochettino is currently looking for midfield reinforcements for next season and Chelsea are in talks with Brighton over a move for Moises Caicedo, Football.london understands. Mateo Kovacic, Mason Mount and Ruben Loftus-Cheek have already left the club, along with N’Golo Kante, who left on a free transfer.

The likes of Mykhailo Mudryk, Levi Colwill, Angelo Gabriel, Diego Moreira and Christopher Nkunku were all in the Chelsea team group photo on the plane before flying to America. However, Enzo was not seen in the group.

According to ESPN Argentina, Enzo will join his teammates in America this week and fly from his home country. Reece James will also join the squad at a later date after falling ill before Chelsea flew to the United States.

Wesley Fofana has suffered a knee injury and is currently under investigation which means he has been dropped from the squad. Benoit Badiashile is out with a hamstring injury he picked up towards the end of last season.

football.london understands that Badiashile aims to launch the new campaign when he returns to action, while continuing to train behind the scenes at Cobham to ensure this. Romelu Lukaku, Hakim Ziyech, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang have all been left out of the squad as they look to leave Chelsea permanently this summer.

More news………

Chelsea dream team against Liverpool if Mauricio Pochettino completes three transfers

football.london take a look at what Mauricio Pochettino’s dream squad for Chelsea could look like when they host Liverpool at Stamford Bridge for the opening weekend of the 2023/24 season

Chelsea meet Liverpool at the opening weekend of the 2023/24 Premier League season. Mauricio Pochettino will face Jurgen Klopp in his first competitive game as Blues head coach in less than a month.

The Reds present a tough opening test for Pochettino, but one the Argentine will surely relish as he looks to score the rest of the Premier League on his return to England. Until Chelsea and Liverpool kick off on August 13, both clubs’ squads could look very different to what they are now.

Before that, however, we still have around four weeks of transfer window and Chelsea’s squad could look very different to what they are now when Liverpool come to town. That said, football.london takes a look at what Chelsea’s dream team could look like opening weekend with Liverpool in west London.

Goalkeepers: Giorgi Mamardashvili, Kepa Arrizabalaga

Chelsea watched Valencia goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili towards the end of last season and were impressed by what he saw from the Georgia international, Football.london understands. The Blues are looking for a new goalkeeper and if he gets one they are willing to sell Kepa Arrizabalaga.

Defenders: Thiago Silva, Wesley Fofana, Reece James, Ben Chilwell, Malo Gusto, Levi Colwill, Trevoh Chalobah

Chelsea have so many defenders and while they shouldn’t be making defensive signings, there will be a new face in Malo Gusto with the right-back arriving after being signed in the January transfer window. Hopefully Gusto will be able to provide support and competition for Reece James given the England international’s continued injury woes in recent seasons. Benoît Badiashile is out with a long-term injury and while football.london understands the Frenchman is aiming for a pre-season return, the game against Liverpool may be too soon.

However, Chelsea are well equipped defensively with Levi Colwill, Thiago Silva, Wesley Fofana and Ben Chilwell giving Pochettino a choice.

Midfielders: Enzo Fernandez, Carney Chukwuemeka, Rayan Cherki, Moises Caicedo, Conor Gallagher

So far this summer, Chelsea have sold N’Golo Kante, Mateo Kovacic, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Mason Mount. The pursuit of Moises Caicedo’s club continues.

Chelsea and Brighton are in talks over a potential deal for the Ecuador international. football.london understands Chelsea believe they can seal a deal for less than £100m but no breakthrough has been made with the Seagulls so far.

Forwards: Christopher Nkunku, Raheem Sterling, Noni Madueke, Mykhailo Mudryk, Armando Broja, Nicolas Jackson

Chelsea have signed Nicolas Jackson and Christopher Nkunku so far this summer. It remains to be seen what role Jackson will play in the team and it is equally fascinating in which position Nkunku will be deployed in view of his versatility in attack.

Hakim Ziyech and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang are both expected to complete permanent transfers, while Armando Broja is eyeing a return from a serious knee injury in pre-season.

July 18, 2023
Three “big” Chelsea stars are about to break out in Mauricio Pochettino’s inaugural season.

After Mauricio Pochettino was appointed manager, Frank Lampard predicted that three Chelsea players in particular would have a “big” future with the team.

Following his disastrous second stint as manager of the west London club, Frank Lampard believes there is plenty to be excited about for Chelsea supporters.

Beginning in early April, the 45-year-old replaced Graham Potter in that position temporarily. When Lampard returned to the Blues for the remainder of the season, he was only able to win one of his 11 games across all competitions.

Although Chelsea’s team was talented, he was unable to bring out their best qualities because they had a season to forget and were an extremely insecure group of players. To try and turn things around at Stamford Bridge, the club has now turned to Mauricio Pochettino, who was hired on a two-year initial contract with a one-year extension option.

Pochettino will spend a significant amount of time getting to know all of his new players, including those who struggled last season, during a busy preseason. The Blues have sold 11 players so far during the summer transfer window in an effort to trim down their bloated squad in time for Pochettino’s first season in charge.

Many of the players still on the Stamford Bridge roster have a lot to live up to. Enzo Fernandez, Mykhailo Mudryk, and Noni Madueke are just a few of the players who will start their first full season as Chelsea players after being signed during the January transfer window.

Fernandez had a fantastic debut for Chelsea. The Argentine World Cup champion played for the Blues 22 times in the second half of the season, starting each and every game. When Chelsea paid £106 million to purchase Fernandez from Benfica, there were some concerns about whether Chelsea had paid too much. However, based on early signs, Fernandez appears to be the real deal and then some.

For Madueke and Mudryk, things were a little bit different. Due to Chelsea’s absurdly large pool of available players, the former, Madueke, was not selected for the UEFA Champions League squad. From January on, the 21-year-old winger made 12 Premier League appearances.

The former Tottenham academy star was looking to establish himself at Stamford Bridge when seven of those 12 games were started from the beginning. Although Madueke displayed flashes of his undeniable talent, he only scored once in those 12 games.

At the moment, Madueke’s game has a raw quality to it. There are few players better than the England Under-21 international in one-on-one situations. He makes overcoming defenders appear simple, but his finished product requires improvement. However, Madueke is an extremely promising young footballer with a very bright future in west London.

Compared to the other two, Mudryk’s life at Stamford Bridge got off to a slower start. The 22-year-old, who was acquired from Shakhtar Donetsk in January, played 17 times for Chelsea last season but frequently fell short of expectations.

However, Blues fans are genuinely optimistic that Mudryk will excel in his first full season with the team. Lampard appears to concur with this as well.

On the Diary of a CEO podcast, Lampard said, “I think as a Chelsea fan, you look at it and go, ‘OK, that is positive, there is talent there’.”. The team is being reduced.

“I can say from the bottom of my heart that the owners had good intentions when they made those purchases and wanted the club to succeed. If their plan to deal with the problem moving forward includes doing so.

“However, I do believe that Enzo Fernandez and other young players like Madueke and Mudryk will mature and become important players. Moving forward, you must establish the proper structure and strategy. “.

All three of these players are scheduled to travel to the United States with the rest of the Chelsea team during the upcoming preseason. In order to start their preseason schedule, the Blues play Wrexham in North Carolina on Wednesday.

July 14, 2023
Chelsea find Enzo Fernandez’s dream partner in $101m transfer as Man United wreck ‘perfect’ deal

Chelsea transfer news: Latest Blues media brief with reactions to stories about Moises Caicedo, Romeo Lavia and Man United move to Andre Onana

Double deal emerges

Chelsea are expected to finalize a move for Brighton & Hove Albion midfielder Moises Caicedo. The Blues have followed Ecuador since the January transfer window and have already seen a £60m ($76m) offer rejected this summer.

Sky Sports now say there is growing confidence Caicedo would be open to a move to Stamford Bridge, with personal terms not expected to be an issue.

Caicedo’s deal isn’t the only one on Todd Boehly’s midfield radar. The same report suggests that Romeo Lavia remains of interest between Arsenal and Liverpool. Brighton’s £80m ($101m) price tag for Caicedo means Boehly will have to pull out his checkbook again.

Add in the £40m ($51m) needed to sign Lavia and alongside Enzo Fernandez, Chelsea could have a dream partner for the Argentine with one of the Premier’s best midfield trios. League.

Signing a new midfielder is a top priority for Pochettino, especially after Mateo Kovacic and Mason Mount left the club. However, with clubs interested in both Caicedo and Lavia, no one is sure Chelsea will win the race to sign them.

Man United’s Scupper goalkeeper plan

Manchester United have made their first move by signing Inter Milan goalkeeper and Chelsea target Andre Onana. The Cameroon international has long been linked with a move to the Premier League following his impressive performances last season.

United’s first move shot-stopper is said to be worth £39m ($50m), including add-ons. The move was prompted by Erik ten Hag due to their relationship with Ajax, although there is a gap in United’s appreciation of the player with Inter Milan.

The Italian giants want £51.4m ($65m) or their number one. At the moment it is unknown if Chelsea will try to make an offer close to that.

football.london says: The rivalry between Manchester United and Chelsea in the transfer market looks set to continue.

After Mount completes his move to Old Trafford on Wednesday, the aim appears to be to replace David De Gea.
Like Chelsea, United are desperate for a new goalkeeper.

Their opening bid is in danger of being rejected, giving the Blues a huge chance to sign Pochettino’s perfect goalkeeper themselves. Luckily the relationship between Inter and Chelsea is fine after the talks about Romelu Lukaku.

But if Chelsea are to beat their Premier League rivals for Onana, they will need to take the first step towards Inter’s appreciation for him.

It would be a disaster to lose their priority target after learning so early in the window with Manchester United how much they will have to pay to ruin a ‘perfect’ deal.

More news…….

Chelsea have every incentive to sign the “next Zinedine Zidane,” With the initial $65 million offer being rejected.

Mauricio Pochettino’s ideal lineup for Liverpool, Rayan Cherki, and Dusan Vlahovic are discussed in the most recent Chelsea transfer news, which is covered by the Blues media.

According to reports, Juventus has turned down Chelsea’s offer for Dusan Vlahovic worth €60 million ($65 million). Following Kai Havertz’s transfer to Arsenal, the Blues are reportedly looking for a new number nine this summer.

Italian reports claim that Juventus swiftly rejected Chelsea’s initial offer for the Serbian striker. It is believed that the Italian powerhouses won’t sell until they are paid at least as much as they did for him from Fiorentina, which was £66.86 million ($84.86 million).

Despite this, the same report indicates that the Old Lady are considering a move for Atalanta striker Rasmus Hojlund to replace Vlahovic.

The next player on Mauricio Pochettino’s list this summer appears to be Vlahovic, according to football.london. The Argentine’s frontline will undoubtedly improve with the addition of Nicolas Jackson, but the Argentine will undoubtedly prioritize a strong presence before the start of the season with Liverpool, just like the Serbian did.

Despite the number of departures that have been confirmed in the last ten days, Chelsea doesn’t lack for cash. Unfortunately for Todd Boehly, the club cannot make the same mistakes it did in the previous season or it will face another sale bonanza the following summer.

If Pochettino prefers Vlahovic as his preferred striker, the next offer must be more enticing for Juventus to accept in order to avoid engaging in yet another bidding war.

On the radar is a playmaker similar to Zidane.

Rayan Cherki, a playmaker for France’s Under-21 team and Lyon, is reportedly a player Chelsea are “exploring” the signing of.

Following his performances at the Under-21s European Championship this summer, Cherki won over a number of teams in Europe. The 19-year-old is a candidate for the Mason Mount spot at Chelsea, along with Gabri Veiga of Celta Vigo and Florian Wirtz of Bayer Leverkusen.

Zinedine Zidane and Kylian Mbappe have previously given the Lyon player glowing recommendations. Cherki has even drawn comparisons to Zidane due to his attacking style and goal-scoring prowess in France.

It is reasonable to conclude that Chelsea’s plan to replace Mason Mount is a youthful one, according to football.London. At such a young age, Wirtz, Veiga, and Cherki have all advanced to senior status at their respective clubs, making them ideal candidates for years to come.

Todd Boehly may have made a wise business decision by signing Cherki. The midfielder, who can also play out wide at age 19, has the talent and versatility to elevate Pochettino’s squad for the upcoming campaign. Everything depends on the cost.

Similar to Chelsea, Lyon is not playing in Europe this year despite having a very bad season under Laurent Blanc. One potential way to reinvest in the playing group is by selling one of their best players.

More news………

‘On Monday,’ according to Fabrizio Romano, a Chelsea player is getting his medical clearance to leave today.

According to Fabrizio Romano, Mason Mount, a midfielder for Chelsea, will have his medical at Manchester United today.

He announced on Twitter that the deal had reached the last hurdle before both parties could declare it final.

With him personally pushing for a move away from Stamford Bridge, the past week or so has been crucial for the Mount deal.

This is in spite of rumors that the England international has been the subject of a more than competitive salary offer for some time.

The Blues initially turned down three offers from United because they still thought highly of him.

However, he only has a year left on his contract with West London, and the fact that he is unwilling to leave suggests that they may have been planning to get rid of him for nothing.

Mount medical today

After some negotiation, the two parties settled on a deal, and according to Romano, the player who had been called “unbelievable” is now scheduled to have a medical with his prospective new team.

Mason Mount will have medical tests on Monday, after which he will finally sign a five-year contract to become a new Manchester United player, the speaker stated.

“Contract through June 2028 with a June 2029 extension option.
“To Chelsea, $55 million plus.
statement made this week.
”.

The news will undoubtedly divide the fan base, with some looking to blame the new ownership structure at Stamford Bridge.

Some people, however, may not be happy to see the player return to the team next season because of his lack of loyalty.

July 6, 2023
How the new UEFA rules will impact Chelsea’s contracting strategy

Chelsea took advantage of accounting principles by giving new signees long contracts

UEFA responded by closing the loophole

Todd Boehly likes to portray himself as the archdestroyer, “creating value where there are value gaps” and “always on the lookout for structural advantages”.

When he became chairman of Chelsea in the wake of the £4.25bn takeover of BlueCo a year ago, Boehly quickly exploited a loophole in the murky world of football finance.

By handing out unusually long contracts to his band of new recruits, the venture capitalist had found a way to spend more than £500m over two transfer windows, whilst staying within the confines of Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules.

However, UEFA, European football’s governing body, has closed the gap in its financial framework with the latest rule change. Here’s how it will affect Chelsea and other experienced operators in Europe. How did Chelsea use the old contract rules?

Chelsea have taken the annual depreciation accounting technique to breaking point under the old regulations. Depreciation is simply the practice of distributing a player’s transfer fee evenly over the life of a contract.

For example, Wesley Fofana signed a seven-year contract when he joined Chelsea from Leicester last summer for an initial £70m fee.

That gigantic sum would cost just £10m a year to the club’s accounts (70 divided by seven). If Fofana had signed a four-year contract, Chelsea’s books would show a loss of £17.5million each year (70 divided by four).

The write-off only affects the accounts of each club and does not determine how the fees are actually transferred to the selling team.

Players like Enzo Fernandez, Mykhailo Mudryk and Benoit Badiashile have dedicated their futures to Chelsea for over half a decade.

Nicolas Jackson signed an eight-year contract this summer. However, the new UEFA regulations have caught up with Chelsea’s accounting wrangles.

What are the new UEFA contract rules?
UEFA cannot forcibly limit the length of a contract a club is willing to offer a player: as long as the FA has no objection, Chelsea can continue to offer long-term deals.

However, new UEFA rules stipulate that clubs can only cancel a player’s transfer fee for up to five years. Although Jackson has signed an eight-year contract, his £32m fee can only be divided into annual losses of £6.4m (32 divided by five).

Under the previous rules, Chelsea could only have lost four million pounds a year (32 divided by eight). Clubs can still spread the cost over several years by extending a player’s contract. But again, depreciation can only be spread over up to five years.

The executive committee approved these changes in the hope that they will “ensure equal treatment for all clubs and improve financial viability”.

Chelsea weren’t the only disruptive factor UEFA had in mind when making the annual changes.

Juventus were granted a 10-point deduction in Serie A last season – which cost the club a Champions League position – as punishment for financial irregularities.

One of the main offenses Juve were accused of was artificially inflating player values in swap deals.

Under the latest rules, UEFA tried to deny clubs any possibility of profiting from these deals.

According to the international accounting standard, to which rights swaps must now be subject, no profit can be recognized on the sale if the fair value of a player cannot be determined.

Given the difficulty of determining true value in a market as volatile as football transfers, this rule change could cause plenty of problems for creative accountants across Europe.

When will the new regulations come into effect? The 2022/23 season will go down in history as the first and last season in which Chelsea were able to take full advantage of this gap.

From 1 July 2023, the start of the new financial year for football clubs, the UEFA changes will come into effect.

Will the rule be backdated?
UEFA may be bitter about Boehly’s cheeky tactics, but they cannot retroactively penalize the cheeky American for exploiting the system.

The rule will not be backdated, ensuring that Chelsea’s 2022/23 tally continues to look far more flattering than their extravagant spending would suggest.

The club have also launched an early bailout and, as of June 30, have racked up over £130m in player sales, which will also count towards last season’s accounts.

July 1, 2023
Mike Maignan starts, Moses Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez: Chelsea’s dream eleven against Liverpool

The 2023/24 Premier League season is around a month and a half to go, with Chelsea starting the season at home to Liverpool on Sunday 13 August.

The Blues take on the Reds in what will be the first competitive match of Mauricio Pochettino’s reign at Stamford Bridge.

The Argentine, who officially begins his new role on July 1, has a full pre-season campaign to get used to his new squad and identify who is in his plans and who will move.

Chelsea have already taken the initiative in this regard. The Blues have been working tirelessly behind the scenes to try and fire those unwanted players and shorten the roster for when Pochettino gets his job.

So far, the club have sacked four players in N’Golo Kante, Kalidou Koulibaly, Mateo Kovacic and Edouard Mendy. While the former joined on a free transfer, Chelsea received well over £50million for Koulibaly, Kovacic and Mendy. Many more are expected to follow suit.

Ruben Loftus-Cheek has agreed a move to AC Milan and Chelsea have agreed an £18million transfer fee for the 27-year-old. football.london understands that Loftus-Cheek is due in Milan this week to complete his medical and make an official move to San Siro.

Kai Havertz completed a £65million move to Arsenal on Wednesday night. Meanwhile, Hakim Ziyech, like his former teammates Koulibaly and Kante, is on his way to Saudi Arabia.

In addition to selling a certain number of players, the club is looking to strengthen its selection. Moises Caicedo remains Chelsea’s main focus in midfield, with the club also eyeing Southampton’s Romeo Lavia, football.london knows.
Chelsea are still looking for a new first choice goalkeeper.

Mike Maignan and Andre Onana emerged as the two favorites in that particular position. For the first, on the other hand, the negotiation is seen as very complicated, given that Milan tries to reject any interest with a very high appreciation of the goalkeeper’s price.

Nicolas Jackson is almost done. Chelsea have activated the Villarreal striker’s £30m release clause and the Senegalese international is expected to be announced shortly.

That said, football.london Chelsea writers Bobby Vincent and Scott Trotter have given their verdict on what Pochettino’s ‘dream’ XI could look like in the opening weekend against Liverpool. Let us know if you agree in the comments below…

Bob Vincent

It may seem unrealistic at the moment, but if Chelsea can find their way to Milan with a deal to sign Maignan – who is currently one of the best goalkeepers in world football – then that would be Pochettino’s dream in goal. Kepa Arrizabalaga had a decent 2022/23 season but didn’t do enough to convince him that he should be first choice for next semester.

Levi Colwill returns to the club and despite interest from Brighton, football.london have been told there is no chance Chelsea will allow him to leave the club this summer. He is expected to join the squad alongside the experienced and brilliant Thiago Silva.

As mentioned above, Lavia and Caicedo are key players, so if Chelsea somehow manage to sign these two, the trio in midfield would have a great balance. At their side, of course, Enzo Fernandez, with the Argentine destined to do even better in his first full season in England.

It remains to be seen what plans Chelsea have for Jackson in his debut season in England. But £30m suggests he could be a key player and with the departure of Havertz he could be the man to start number 9 going into the opening weekend of the season.

Scott Trotter

Even if it were an initial priority, the arrival of a first choice goalkeeper would still be important for Chelsea, even if it seems unlikely at this stage.

Andre Onana showed some things he can be happy about in the Champions League final and could be a fun addition to move Chelsea from the back and feature in any of Romelu Lukaku’s transfer deals with Inter.

Reece James and Ben Chilwell are easy picks provided they are fit. Chelsea’s partnership at centre-back will spark a lot of debate as the season progresses.

With Trevoh Chalobah eyeing a move to Serie A and Benoit Badiashile recovering from injury, the only remaining rivals are Thiago Silva, Wesley Fofana and Levi Colwill.

With the latter still at the European Under-21 Championship, the extended time he has spent with Mauricio Pochettino could give the former duo an edge going into the opening matchday of the season.

Enzo Fernandez is also among the first names in the squad and can form a central midfield base alongside Moises Caicedo.

Newcomer Christopher Nkunku could be the man for them and provide support for whoever is leading the way, while Raheem Sterling can provide some breadth after being given a chance to freshen up ahead of the pre-season season.

Noni Madueke has demonstrated more than Mykhailo Mudryk can so far operate with discipline at the back wing in terms of keeping the Chelsea forward in the air. Nicolas Jackson will arrive in the next few days and will face Armando Broja.

However, could the Blues still pull a rabbit out of a hat and land Lautaro Martinez? At the moment it would be a dream for Broja to return from injury and ignite the squad to remind everyone of his qualities.

June 30, 2023