Chelsea FC News

Former Barcelona manager Luis Enrique is quite the wanted man, if recent reports are to be believed.

The Spaniard, who led the Catalan outfit to two league titles, three Copas del Rey and a Champions League trophy, is now understood to be Chelsea’s chief managerial target for next season, following the tension between the board and Antonio Conte.

The Italian won the Premier League title with the Blues on the first time of asking, but in his second season in charge, he has been made to clash with persons within the club’s hierarchy on numerous occasions over transfer business.

Results haven’t been all that good either, with the Londoners in danger of missing out on Champions League qualification. But they recorded a win in their last Premier League match, also claiming an impressive draw after playing Barcelona on Tuesday night.

Conte has repeatedly stressed his desire to see out his contract, which expires next year. Yet Roman Abramovic will have no qualms swinging the axe if results don’t go his way.

The Blues are still alive in the Champions League and FA Cup, and could possibly finish second in the top flight. However, only time will tell.

According to ?Sport, they now have added competition in their chase for Conte’s replacement. Enrique has become a target for French giants Paris Saint-Germain as well, with the Ligue 1 side looking to get rid of Unai Emery following the disastrous performance against Real Madrid which leaves them in a precarious position in the Champions League.

After doing some serious team building in the summer, PSG are on the verge of exiting the Champions League in the first phase of the knockout round.

They are now seriously considering sacking Emery, and the former Barca boss supposedly being spotted on a Qatar Airways flight to Doha, where PSG chief Nasser Al-Khelaifi resides, has certainly set tongues wagging.

” data-viewability=”https://www.riddle.com/a/142907″>

?Chelsea are reportedly interested in acquiring the services of Newcastle skipper Jamaal Lascelles at the end of the season, as they look to bolster their options in the centre of defence. Any potential move however, may depend on the future of Magpies’ boss Rafa Benitez. 

According to the ??Evening Standard, the 24-year-old has emerged as a target for Blues’ boss Antonio Conte as a result of Gary Cahill and David Luiz’s indifferent form for the majority of the current campaign. The club were also said to looking to secure a younger option given the aforementioned duo’s increasing age. 

Lascelles – formerly of Nottingham Forest – only recently signed a new six-year contract at St James’ Park worth in the region of £50k per week, a figure that Chelsea would most certainly be expected to better should they be allowed to negotiate with the 24-year-old. 

Benitez himself is reportedly unhappy at Newcastle as a result of Mike Ashley’s stranglehold on transfer dealings, as well as a lack of budget afforded to him in recent windows. 

If the Spaniard decides to walk at the end of the season, Lascelles may jump ship as well; especially if the newly promoted side fail to survive their first season back in the top flight. 

” data-viewability=”https://www.riddle.com/a/142907″>

?Chelsea youngster Andreas Christensen has spoken defiantly on his mistake in his side’s 1-1 draw with Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League; a mistake that handed the visitors an away goal to take back to the Nou Camp.

The Blues produced a solid performance, with Antonio Conte getting his tactics spot on against Spain’s best team, but they were undone by a Lionel Messi equaliser after Christensen overhit a pass across his own box, ?and came away with a slightly disappointing 1-1 draw.

Cesar Azpilicueta then misjudged the ensuing 50-50 with Andres Iniesta, who subsequently squared the ball back for the Argentine superstar to convert.

It was a real shame for the home side, who were defensively solid up until that point, and now Christensen has addressed his error.

He told TV3 Sport, as quoted by the ?Metro: “I had done all the hard work and kept the ball in play, but then I made a very bad decision, I should have kicked it out.

“As a centre-back, you get punished by your mistakes, however, it’s the position that I’ve chosen to play, so I won’t be dwelling too much on it and let it get to me.

“I know I made a mistake, but there is not much else to do than to learn from it and make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

The Denmark international has seldom put a foot wrong this season since coming into the team at the expense of David Luiz, and he certainly hasn’t been short of support on social media platforms after his rare error on Tuesday.

” data-viewability=”https://www.riddle.com/a/142907″ contenteditable=”false”>