All posts by h79snht.top

In what is the very latest in a string of recent comments from Diego Costa, the Chelsea striker has revealed that he wants to return to Atletico Madrid this summer, according to Sky Sports.

This news will come as no surprise to fans at Stamford Bridge, as Costa hasn’t been shy in expressing his desire to leave the club.

Earlier this summer, it was revealed that Chelsea boss Antonio Conte told Costa that he would not be needed at the club any longer, via text message. This was seemingly the final nail in the coffin for Costa’s Chelsea career and he is now looking to head back to the club that he left three years ago.

However, Atletico Madrid’s recent transfer ban means that if the 28-year-old does head back to the Spanish capital, he will be ineligible to play for them until January 2018.

Following Costa’s revelation that he wishes to return to Atletico, Chelsea fans took to Twitter to have their say…

Manchester United have agreed a £35m fee with Monaco for Chelsea target Tiemoue Bakayoko, according to the Daily Star.

What’s the story?

The 22-year-old has been heavily linked with a switch to the Premier League champions.

Only a matter of days ago, The Telegraph reported that a deal to sign Bakayoko was edging closer to completion.

However, the Daily Star suggests that the transfer has been scuppered by United, who have already snatched Romelu Lukaku from the Blues’ clutches.

The British publication has claimed that the Red Devils have agreed a price with Monaco after Chelsea blocked Nemanja Matic’s move to Old Trafford.

It is believed that manager Antonio Conte decided against allowing the midfielder to join the Red Devils because of the Lukaku fiasco.

Is Chelsea’s Bakayoko pursuit over?

It doesn’t have to be. If it is true that United have agreed a figure with Monaco, then they have obviously edged in front of the race to sign Bakayoko.

However, Chelsea can either match it or better it, which would put them back in the driving seat.

Should Monaco be open to both offers, then it will be up to the midfielder to decide where he wants to play his football.

What’s happening at Chelsea?

It is safe to say that this transfer window has not gone completely as planned for the English champions.

There have been rumblings that Conte is frustrated with the club because of the lack of activity, but there is no real indication that he plans to quit his job.

After missing out on Lukaku, there was some positive news for the Blues when they completed the capture of defender Antonio Rudiger from Roma for an initial fee of £29m, which could rise to £33.3m with add-ons, according to BBC Sport.

Chelsea’s only other first-team signing so far is goalkeeper Willy Caballero, who will become second choice after joining on a free transfer from Manchester City.

WATCH THE LATEST 442OONS VIDEO BELOW…

According to reports in The Sun, Arsenal are confident that contract rebel Mesut Ozil will finally sign a new £280,000-a-week deal before the start of the new Premier League season next month.

The Germany international has just one year remaining on his current contract with the Gunners and The Sun says that talks between the two parties have been taking place throughout the summer and during their pre-season tour of Australia.

The reports adds that the 28-year-old was hoping to get a deal worth £350,000-a-week, but he will settle for the lower figure as it will still make him the highest paid player at the club.

Arsenal supporters were quick to have their say on the potential new deal via social media, and they were largely divided with their opinions.

While some believe Ozil is “worth every penny” of the £280,000-a-week deal, others say it is a “crazy” figure for a player that sometimes flatters to deceive.

Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction…

If you ever needed an example of how far removed the transfer market now is from reality, Tottenham debutant Kyle Walker-Peters provided it perfectly on Sunday as the visitors beat Newcastle United 2-0 on Tyneside.

Just a matter of weeks ago, Manchester City splashed out a staggering £50million on the 20-year-old’s namesake Kyle Walker and although he impressed on his Premier League debut for the Citizens as well, contributing effectively in a 2-0 win over Brighton, the ease in which KWP stepped into the England international’s shoes was the top flight’s real right-back story of the weekend.

St. James’ Park has proved too intimidating an environment for countless Premier League players before, but Walker-Peters produced a performance of maturity, energy and quality on the right of defence, finishing the first half with the most touches of the ball of any Tottenham player.

By the final whistle, the youngster had racked up the most tackles of any Spurs player, alongside three clearances, five crosses, one dribble and a 91% passing accuracy – incredibly impressive considering it was his first Premier League outing and that he continually looked to venture forward as much as possible rather than simply shifting the ball sideways.

No doubt, Walker is a fantastic talent, but Spurs fans will have already forgotten about the City signing after Walker-Peters’ fine display against the Magpies. It’s also quashed calls for Mauricio Pochettino to sign another right-back who can compete with Kieran Trippier before the summer window slams shut, with the youngster seemingly up to the challenge.

In Walker-Peters, Tottenham have managed to fill the void of a £50million player without spending a penny.That might just convince some of the Premier League’s clubs to temper their frankly irresponsible spending.

England came from behind to beat Slovakia 2-1 in their latest 2018 World Cup qualifier at Wembley on Monday night, and it seems as though Chelsea fans were keeping a particularly close eye on the performance of former target Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.The Blues had agreed a £35m fee with Arsenal to sign the 23-year-old just a week ago, but he rejected a move to Stamford Bridge to instead seal a move to Liverpool before the transfer window slammed shut.The midfielder started in the win against Slovakia, but his end product in the final third was disappointing and the BBC’s chief football writer Phil McNulty only awarded him a 4/10 rating for his below-par showing.Chelsea supporters were quick to have their say on Oxlade-Chamberlain’s performance via social media, with the majority believing that they have “dodged a bullet” by not signing the Three Lions man.Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction…

It looked for so long like Chelsea were in the perfect position this summer.They started the transfer window as champions, but more importantly, they knew exactly what they had to do in order to strengthen their squad. They knew that Diego Costa and Nemanja Matic could have been upgraded upon, and they knew that Victor Moses wasn’t the perfect first-choice right-back. And so straight off the bat they had the chance to inject a title-winning squad with fresh impetus and extra quality – something that would have seen them look like the first team since Manchester United under Alex Ferguson to retain the title.But their performance in the transfer market didn’t really live up to expectations. Instead of upgrading the squad, Chelsea simply replaced like-for-like players, ending up starting the season amid suggestions that their squad simply wasn’t big enough to cope with the demands of a whole season at the top, especially not when you add Champions League football, something that didn’t bother the Blues last season.But although Antonio Conte dealt with those issues by showing off his coaching prowess to keep the wheels on the Chelsea wagon – something that didn’t happen at the start of Jose Mourinho’s final season in charge at Stamford Bridge – things started to fall apart in the transfer market.Despite reported interest in Romelu Lukaku, Manchester United swooped in at pace to steal the Belgian forward away and bring him to Old Trafford. And since then, it’s looked like the same story repeated more than once, as top six rivals beat Conte’s side to the punch.It’s been reported, with only a few hours to go before the deadline, that Fernando Llorente looks close to joining Tottenham Hotspur over Chelsea. And whilst that may not represent the worst transfer defeat in history – Llorente would hardly be first choice at the Bridge, nor would he provide anything different to Morata apart from slightly better aerial prowess – it does show that Chelsea aren’t as dominant off the pitch as they were on it last season. Llorente would be a quality signing in the sense that Conte knows and trusts him, and if Diego Costa is leaving for Atletico Madrid – or just sitting in his underwear in Brazil – then another striker in the ranks is no bad thing.But even if you do consider Llorente to Spurs rumours a kick in the teeth for Chelsea, the news that Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has indeed signed for Liverpool is much worse.

The reason it looks bad for Chelsea isn’t so much that Chamberlain is a fabulous player they’re missing out on. It’s more that the rumours were genuinely convincing that he’d sign for the west London club over a move far away from the city he’s called home since his move from Southampton to Arsenal back in 2011. And it seemed as though Chelsea themselves were convinced that the deal was going to happen.

Perhaps, as may be the case with Llorente too, Chamberlain was simply promised a better role in the squad at Liverpool than he was at Chelsea. Perhaps Llorente saw himself as second choice to Harry Kane at Spurs with the possibility of getting onto the pitch more often as a sort of Pochettino plan B, whereas at Chelsea, he’d be stuck behind Morata and Michy Batshuayi.

It could be a similar story with Chamberlain, who may have been promised the central midfield role he wanted at Liverpool, whereas Chelsea may have wanted to use him more as a wing-back.

Neither of these things represents as big a transfer snub as they might have seemed at first glance. But they should still be worrying.

If Chelsea want players in before the deadline, both to bolster the thin squad and to strengthen a winning side, they’ve left it very late. Too late, in fact, if they’re going to start losing out to other clubs.

It looked as though Chelsea were in a commanding position this summer, to strengthen a side who swept away all before them last season. Most of that team will still take to the starting XI most weeks this year, too, of course. But it’s clear that Conte’s side aren’t as strong after their summer business as they could have been.

And even though it’s certainly not yet a crisis, it’s starting to look like a missed opportunity.

Tottenham Hotspur new boy Serge Aurier made his debut for the club in their 3-1 win against Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League on Wednesday night, and Spurs fans were full of praise for his performance.

The north London outfit signed the right-back in a £23m deal on transfer deadline day, but because the move was held up by work permit complications and the fact he was away on international duty with the Ivory Coast, he only trained with his new teammates for the first time late last week.

Nevertheless, he was handed a spot in the starting line-up for the visit of Dortmund to Wembley on Wednesday and he impressed with his abilities at both ends of the pitch as a wing-back, including a brilliant dummy in his own penalty area.

Tottenham supporters were quick to have his say on the 24-year-old’s showing via social media, and while some gave him a “10/10” rating, others say he ‘has to be starting every week’.

Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction…

West Ham United manager Slaven Bilic will need to guide his team to victory this weekend in order to keep his job, reports The Telegraph.

What’s the word?

The Croatian’s position at the Premier League club has been under scrutiny for the better part of a year.

Following a disappointing first season at the London Stadium, questions were raised over the longevity of Bilic’s career at the club.

In the end, the owners opted against sacking him in the summer, but the rumours resurfaced following three straight defeats at the start of the season.

Bilic seemed to bide some time with a 2-0 triumph over Huddersfield Town, but after losing 3-2 to Tottenham Hotspur at the weekend, The Telegraph claims that the Hammers need to beat Swansea City prior to the international break to make sure that the 49-year-old keeps his job.

What should West Ham do?

Football management is a results business and we have seen over the years that club owners do not wait long before making changes.

A perfect example of this would be Crystal Palace’s sacking of Frank de Boer, who was in charge for just 77 days before he was dismissed earlier this month.

In West Ham’s case, given that Bilic comes to the end of his contract in the summer, it makes sense for the manager to run it down and then the club can reassess when the season comes to a close.

However, if the club find themselves in a relegation battle, the owners may be forced into making a change, but doing that brings with it a big risk.

As it stands, the Hammers sit 18th in the table after picking up four points from six matches.

According to Sky Sports, West Ham United striker Javier Hernandez could be a doubt for the clash against Brighton and Hove Albion at the London Stadium on Friday night after pulling up in training on Tuesday.

Sky Sports says that the Mexico international has undergone a scan on the issue but the Irons are yet to discover the full extent of the injury and if the summer signing will be available for the game against the Seagulls.

Considering Slaven Bilic will already be missing Andy Carroll through suspension after the striker was sent off against Burnley last weekend, the absence of Hernandez would be another huge blow considering he is their top marksman in the Premier League this season with three goals.

If the worst does happen, Diafra Sakho will be the only recognised centre-forward available, unless Bilic is willing to welcome Toni Martinez into the first-team reckoning following some impressive goalscoring form for the U23s – he has netted 23 goals in 26 appearances for them in total.

The Croatian boss would likely need to move away from the 4-4-2 formation he has used in recent weeks, with a front three of Sakho, Marko Arnautovic and Michail Antonio more likely against Chris Hughton’s men.

The hosts know they can move up to 10th position in the table with victory, and that will be a huge boost considering they have lost four of their eight Premier League matches this term.

There’s once again talk of Chelsea being in crisis but it’s no secret where their biggest and most fundamental problems are – in defence.

Cesar Azpilicueta, David Luiz and Antonio Rudiger all ball-chasing to close down the same attacker against Roma was a telling moment, one that highlighted exactly why the Blues, who looked so imperious at the back last season, have conceded 13 times during their last seven games.

[ad_pod ]

That’s a rather staggering statistic and one of the biggest causes has been the constant rotation of Chelsea’s defensive options due to injuries. Gary Cahill, Luiz and Azpilicueta have hardly started together this season despite the relationship they kindled last term.

That being said, the England international has certainly looked a little suspect at times while Azpilicueta, may be needed at right wing-back in such a big game. Accordingly, Antonio Conte could turn to 11-cap Dane Andreas Christensen or summer signing Antonio Rudiger instead.

But which three defenders would you start at centre-back against United this Sunday? Let us know by voting below, giving the players you would start a thumbs up and those you wouldn’t a thumbs down…