Chelsea open negotiations with Philippe Coutinho

Chelsea have taken the first step in an attempt to sign Brazilian playmaker Philippe Coutinho. According to reports in Spain (h/t Mirror), the Blues have already entered negotiations with the midfielder’s camp over the possibility of a summer transfer.

Coutinho moved to Barcelona in January 2018 from Liverpool. But the 27-year-old has endured a difficult time at Camp Nou. Having failed to make the desired impact, he was shipped off on loan to Bayern Munich last summer.

Bayern Munich have no intention of signing Coutinho on a permanent basis. And Barcelona, too, are keen on offloading him, as they look to generate funds to sign Lautaro Martinez and Neymar in the summer (h/t Mirror).

This has sparked a lot of interest among the Premier League clubs, with Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal all interested in signing Coutinho (h/t Mirror).

The report claims that our club has already made the initial move to try and sign the 27-year-old, by opening negotiations with his agent, Kia Joorabchian.

It is believed that Chelsea have a good relationship with Coutinho’s agent, which is likely to give us the edge in the race to sign the Brazilian (h/t Mirror).

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Our first season under Frank Lampard has been a solid one, considering that there was no investment made over the last two transfer windows. We are currently fourth in the Premier League table.

But for us to take the next step and bridge the gap on the likes of Liverpool, new players need to be brought in.

Coutinho, despite his malaise at Barcelona, remains a quality player with a proven track record in the Premier League. It remains to be seen if we are able to get our hands on the Brazilian though.

Chelsea have had a disastrous start to 2019 in the Premier League with just 2 wins in 6 games since the turn of the year. The Blues have failed to score an away goal this year and have had a couple of humiliating away days in the past month. Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri is under pressure and the results have to quickly. Chelsea would be making a massive mistake if they let go of the Italian.

Maurizio Sarri took over the reign from compatriot Antonio Conte in the summer and started his Premier League career by going on a 12-game unbeaten streak. His first loss came at the hands of Tottenham at Wembley as they conceded 2 goals in the first 16 minutes of the game.

The game ended 3-1 with Olivier Giroud scoring a consolation goal late in the match. Chelsea’s home form has been great this campaign as they’ve lost just one game in 13, including wins against Arsenal and defending champions Manchester City.

Chelsea players have had to undergo a huge change in their style of play with Sarri’s football being very different from Conte’s. Sarri’s high-pressing game takes a lot out of players and is something that cannot be mastered overnight. The fundamental style of Sarri’s build-up play involves possession of the ball between the centre-backs and the defensive midfielder.

The defensive midfielder, in this case, Jorginho, started the season off brilliantly but has been found out in recent games, especially against Arsenal when he was man-marked by Aaron Ramsey. Jorginho’s poor form continued in the drubbings against Bournemouth and Manchester City where they lost 4-0 and 6-0 respectively.

Although Chelsea currently sit 5th in the table, they are just a point off 4th-placed Manchester United. The Blues are also one of the favourites to win the Europa League as they take on Malmo this week. Their domestic cup pursuits are also going on as Sarri’s men take on Manchester City again in the final of the EFL Cup. The Blues also face Manchester United in the FA Cup on Monday.

Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich has the history of sacking managers but the Russian needs to give Sarri at least another season before making a call. Sarri, with a good transfer window in the summer, and with time to make the players play to his needs, will make Chelsea title contenders again. With the Blues still in the run for three trophies and Champions League qualification, sacking him would be a terrible decision by the club and will take them a few steps backwards.

Check out all the Football TV Listings to catch the Premier League clubs in action.

Chelsea should not hesitate to sign Roberto Pereyra in January

According to The Sun, Chelsea are interested in signing Watford’s Roberto Pereyra should Eden Hazard leave the club next summer.

The 27-year-old Belgian maestro is contracted to Chelsea till the summer of 2020 but he is yet to commit his long-term future to the club. There has been a lot of speculation in recent times and if you are one of the daredevils to palce a bet based on rumours, betyetu coupon code offers you a fair price to have a dig at the transfer market odds with regards to a move to Real Madrid.

Roberto Pereyra made his move to Vicarage Road back in 2016 from Serie A giants Juventus and has established as one of the star players at the club. He wasn’t a regular starter in his first two seasons in England but the 27-year-old has started all of Watford’s eleven games so far this term in the Premier League. The Argentine international has been one of the cornerstones of the Hornets’ early-season success, scoring five goals and providing a couple of assists.

Javi Gracia has brought the best out of him by deploying him in his favourite wide left position in the final third, allowing the Argentine to inject that much-needed creativity into Watford’s attack.

Chelsea have made a bright start to the season under new manager Maurizio Sarri. The Blues sit second in the Premier League standings, ahead of Liverpool on goal difference and just a couple of points behind league leaders Manchester City. The Blues are the only team in the top flight to remain unbeaten across all competitions, proving that they are very much in the title race this season.

Eden Hazard has been the star performer for the Blues this season, scoring seven goals and setting up another four. Maurizio Sarri’s free-flowing possession-based football has brought the best out of the Belgian and undoubtedly, he is Chelsea’s indispensable weapon in the final third and the heartbeat of the forward line. He is Chelsea’s go-to man and a virtually irreplaceable component of the team.

As for Roberto Pereyra, he is a very talented attacking midfielder but the Argentine cannot be an ideal replacement for Eden Hazard, at least, at least not in terms of impact. Irrespective of what the future holds for Hazard at Stamford Bridge, Pereyra would definitely be a fine addition to Chelsea’s midfield and a perfect fit for Maurizio Sarri’s tactical game.

Chelsea need another creative midfielder in their ranks for the No.10 role as N’Golo Kante has proved that he is not a good fit for a central attacking midfielder. Cesc Fabregas has been short of playtime this season and the Spaniard is likely to depart the club when his contract expires next summer. Mateo Kovacic has done a good job in a box-to-box role but his loan deal does not include an option to buy and he is likely to return to Real Madrid at the end of the season.

Hence, Chelsea will need to bolster their midfield options in January or next summer and Roberto Pereyra would be a good choice. A technically-gifted and tactically versatile attacking midfielder, the Argentine is capable of playing on either side of the attack and also through the centre as a supporting striker. He has exceptional close control and uses his remarkable vision to set his teammates into free spaces with incisive passes. He is not someone who contributes greatly with goals and assists but he is the sort of player who likes to build up the play, work the channels in the final third and get into good positions. In other words, his tactical awareness and intelligence combined with his technical abilities make him a valuable asset to the team.

Apart from that, Pereyra is a fleet-footed player who likes to use his dribbling skills to take on defenders in one-on-one situations. Deployed in a wide position, he has the ability to cut inside or link-up the play with short quick passes.

That said, Pereyra might not be a good replacement for Eden Hazard but he has all the attributes to fit into Chelsea’s first-team.

Everton kick-started their pre-season preparations in emphatic fashion with an invigorating 22-0 win over Austrian fifth division outfit ATV Irdning in Marco Silva’s first game in charge of the Merseyside club. The gulf in class between both sides were pretty evident right from the beginning and the Toffees piled up a whopping 10-0 lead by the end of the first half. Hat-tricks from Cenk Tosun (4), Ademola Lookman (3), Kevin Mirallas (5) and Oumar Niasse (4) were more than enough for Silva’s men to romp home to a stunning win but the fact that they piled on the goals against the amateurs would have certainly taken the glitter away from the result. If this continues for Everton, betsters are likely to get cracking and once they have experienced the thrill of winning a bundle on a big match, there will be little need to convince them to try out an accumulator bet bonus, as they offer some of the best bets in the market.

However, the breath of fresh air surrounding the appointment of Silva is quite positive and his first game in charge couldn’t have taken off on a better note after what has been a turbulent 12 months at Goodison Park. Despite spending about £200m last summer, Everton uncharacteristically struggled under Ronald Koeman and were fighting to stay up in the Premier League before the Dutchman was sacked in October following a 5-2 loss against Arsenal at home.

Silva, who was in charge of Watford at that time, emerged as the prime candidate to take over at Merseyside but the Hornets were reluctant to let go off their manager and Everton shifted their attention to Sam Allardyce, who took over and helped them to a commendable 8^th placed finish by the end of the season.

A lot of credit has to go the business Everton mustered in the January transfer window under Allardyce and with the signing of Cenk Tosun arrived goals in abundance that the likes of Wayne Rooney and Sandro Ramirez failed to offer. However, the departure of Ross Barkley and their lack of depth in that particular department was left unaddressed at that time and will surely be Silva’s priority this summer.

Abdoulaye Doucoure and Richarlison, two of Watford’s best performers under Silva last season, have been linked with a move to Everton in a bid to try and rekindle the magic the duo showcased under their former manager at his former club. The disappointment that came along with the signings of Davy Klaassen and Gylfi Sigurddson certainly calls for more attention and Idrissa Gueye’s injury last season exploited the Toffees’ lack of depth in the department. Doucoure, who scored 7 goals and registered 3 assists in the Premier League last season, will be the ideal candidate to play alongside Gueye in the heart of Everton’s midfield and the nature of the two players will certainly complement each other well on the pitch.

Gueye will be happy in sitting back and shielding the back-four while Doucoure is expected to see a lot of the ball and also push forward to try and take the game to the opposition. The midfielder, who was also voted as Watford’s player of the season by the fans, will prove to be a wealthy addition to Everton’s ranks considering the fact that it only boasts of a depleted Morgan Schneiderlin as of now.

Richarlison  arrived in England as a relatively unknown quantity and took the Premier League by storm with his performances under Silva, to earn himself the reputation of a tricky and goal-scoring winger who is well and truly capable of operating from a variety of roles. The Brazilian snapped up 5 goals and made 4 assists last season, adding a lot of flair and creativity to the football on offer at Vicarage Road.

Often deployed as an attacking midfielder, Richarlison’s versatile nature has also seen him play on either flanks or even as a striker at times thanks to his electric pace and trickery that can outmatch any defender on his day. Everton had tried to address their problems while going forward by roping in both Tosun and Walcott but the latter is yet to stamp his identity in Merseyside.

Add that to the uncertainty surrounding the future of Kevin Mirallas, the incompetency of Oumar Niasse to nail down a regular first team role and Wayne Rooney’s departure to the MLS, it is quite evident that Silva will certainly have to be on the lookout for a player of Richarlison’s profile to boost Everton’s credentials for the upcoming season.

However, it is believed that Watford will decide to pay hardball with Everton over the signing of two of their most impressive employees and it remains to be seen whether Silva can convince the duo to sign for Everton. Recent developments have suggested that the Toffees are closing in on a deal worth around £50m (inclusive of add-ons) for Richarlison while there hasn’t been any official approach for Doucoure up until this point.