Chelsea Team Report: Goalkeepers

Ever since Petr Cech was entrusted to man the posts, there has never been a doubt about who the first choice goalkeeper would be. However, the same cannot be said of the team’s back-up goalkeepers.

Whilst Cech provides stability on the forefront, the few times he gets excluded from the starting line-up due to injury and suspension, the big question of a replacement crops up.

End of the road for Moses?

After just a season at the Bridge, it seems Victor Moses could well be on his way to Everton, to link up with former boss, Roberto Martinez.

It took us five bids to prise him away from Wigan’s grasp last summer, and despite 34 appearances in all competitions last season, he failed to make a large impact on the side, and with Arouna Kone leaving Wigan for Everton already this summer, they would be keen to add another forward to their books.

Is Benteke the man to fill in at the Bridge?

Christian Benteke has shocked Paul Lambert and fans of Aston Villa by slapping in a transfer request on Monday,The Mirror reports.

The Belgian managed a fantastic debut season in the Premier League, scoring 40% of Villa’s league goals, as they avoided relegation to the Championship by just five points.

Despite rumours the Midlands club were set to double his salary to upwards of £40,000 per week, the 22 year old has expressed his desire to leave the club, with Chelsea leading the line ready to pounce.  

Why van Ginkel signing is a masterpiece by Mourinho

It was clear as soon as we stepped up the chance for Marco van Ginkel, that he was going to want first-team action should he join, his agent telling press that he certainly wouldn’t be transferring anywhere without a guarantee of first-team action next season.

Understandably so too, the 20 year old has a fantastic chance of his opening World Cup campaign, and Louis van Gaal has expressed his wish for players to be playing consistently in the run up, or they simply won’t be picked.

Chelsea’s attacking threat. Where do they fit in?

With the confirmed signing of Andre Schurrle from Bayer Leverkusen for £18m, how will Jose Mourinho balance all the attacking talent at his disposal and who will be left out of his plans?

Fernando Torres has not had the best of times since arriving at Stamford Bridge but could his recent form for the Spanish national team continue at club level? 

Thursday Transfer Time

The summer transfer window is also known as ‘silly season’ by some, and a few of the rumours being banded about certainly make that phrase seem spot on.

Firstly, Andre Schurrle’s signature was finally tied up, in a deal that most of us probably already thought was completed. The 22-year-old has signed up on a five year deal that saw £18m head to Bayer Leverkusen in exchange for him.

One outgoing was also confirmed today, as the young Dutch defender Jeffrey Bruma returned to Holland, to join up with PSV on a four-year deal. He had spent the last three seasons on loan, at Leicester City and Hamberg, and with just nine appearances in six seasons for us, it made sense to let him go.

5 Chelsea players who deserve a recall

Even after Mourinho departed the club in 2007, it’s fair to say that the opportunities given to our talented youth players in the Chelsea squad have been rather limited.
The likes of Josh McEachran, Romelu Lukaku, Lucaz Piazon, Jeffrey Bruma, Patrick Van Aanholt, Gael Kakuta, Sam Hutchinson are just a handful of the players who had stints of games at first team action before they were loaned out. In spite of the rare chance given these players, we have not stepped back in the pursuit of young talented players.

Down memory lane… ‘The billion pound goal’

It was dubbed as the ‘£20 million’ match before kickoff. The winner would be rewarded with Champions League football, and more importantly for Chelsea, some much needed finance; A far cry from the free-spending ways of today.  

Despite the squad being littered with stars such as Gianfranco Zola, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, and the then baby faced Frank Lampard, it was Jesper Grønkjær that stole the show as we faced Liverpool.