Chelsea Transfer News: Aston Villa interested in Tammy Abraham

According to transfer news from Mirror, Chelsea star Tammy Abraham is the subject of interest for Aston Villa. The academy graduate is said to be considering his options and an exit could just be on the cards with Villa, Leicester and West Ham after him.

The striker was again absent as the Blues managed to only get a draw against Brighton. It has become an all too familiar sight to see the academy graduate on the bench or absent from the squad in recent weeks. The last game was no different as Tammy could not even find himself in the matchday squad.

Abraham broke into the first-team last season under Frank Lampard and was a vital part of the side that finished fourth. With a transfer ban last season, Abraham made full use of the opportunities handed to him and went on to score 15 goals.

Villa, of course, are no strangers to Tammy Abraham. The Chelsea academy graduate spent the 2018-19 season at Villa Park and propelled the then Championship side to the Premier League with his goal-scoring exploits. It was that season at Villa that pushed him into the fray for a starting spot at Chelsea for the following season.

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There is obviously no shortage of suitors for the English striker as Aston Villa, Leicester City and West Ham have shown interest. All three clubs are looking to add a forward to their ranks. Tuchel has often cited his ankle injury as the reason for not playing but with the striker being on the bench on several occasions and not being used, it does look like Tammy will have to consider his future at the club.

Transfer News: Thomas Tuchel instructs Chelsea to get Raphael Varane

According to transfer news from Mirror, Thomas Tuchel has instructed Chelsea to sign Raphael Varane. The Blues have become the latest club to register their interest in the Real Madrid star. Rivals Manchester United are also said to be in the running for him.

Varane has been a stalwart at the back for Real Madrid for almost a decade now and has won loads of trophies during his time at the club. However, the Frenchman is entering the final year of his contract with Los Blancos and wants a new challenge in his career.

The Blues have shown massive improvement in defence since Thomas Tuchel took over the reins. However, Chelsea are looking at defensive options, with some players like Silva and Azpilicueta at the wrong end of their careers. Varane is among the names being considered by the Blues and Tuchel. Adding a new defender became of priority with Tuchel switching to a back three.

Thomas Tuchel is said to have specifically asked the officials at the club to sign the Real Madrid centre-back. At 27 years of age, Varane fits the category of a prime world-class defender. He is not only young for a centre-back but also comes with an elite winning mentality.

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Chelsea should get a closer look at their transfer target, Varane when the Blues face off against Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League semi-finals. Manchester United’s presence in the race to sign him from Madrid does complicate matters for the Blues. It now remains to be seen if there is any move made to seal the transfer of Varane as requested by Tuchel.

Thomas Tuchel defends Chelsea owners on their European Super League plans

According to Metro, Thomas Tuchel has defended Chelsea owners over their European Super League plans. He insisted that the people in charge of the club don’t care about the spirit of the competition at all.

It took 48 hours for the ESL to be unfurled and packed back in. On Sunday night, it was announced that 12 of Europe’s top clubs would create a closed competition, i.e. the ESL, in order to generate more money and recoup losses made during the pandemic.

However, the football fraternity came together in protest of this idea given how it went against the whole principles of competitive football. By Wednesday, the whole idea was sent packing after all the Premier League clubs, Atletico Madrid and Barcelona pulled out.

With most of the club officials unsurprisingly unavailable during the chaos, managers such as Tuchel were left to face the media. After Chelsea officially pulled out of the ESL, Tuchel spoke about the owners and somewhat defended them as expected.

‘I cannot think anything else other than they love competitions because they like to win big trophies and they have a passion for football. Look at the owners here in your league, the Premier League, what they invest, what teams they built, what clubs they built – this is the most competitive league in the world and this is also because of the owners to build such strong clubs and strong teams, so don’t forget it.’

Tuchel also reiterated that he was not the correct person to ask these things as he is not involved in the boardroom discussions. But he believed that the owners want competition in the league.

‘I did not have any details and that clearly does not feel good as a coach when you are asked all the time about it. That’s why I can only repeat that I am not the right person to talk about it because I have not read one page of this idea. But I believes strongly and I trust my club of course and I believe strongly that the owners are about competition because they built a very competitive league and very competitive clubs here.’

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Amidst all the hullabaloo of the ESL and its fallout, Chelsea were in action against Brighton. A 0-0 draw was all they could manage but that was enough to push them into fourth place. Chelsea will next face West Ham in a crucial clash as both teams are tied on points.

Eden Hazard to not feature against Chelsea, Real Madrid confirm

According to Football.london, Eden Hazard could miss out on facing Chelsea as Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane confirmed. In an earlier interview, Zidane was hopeful that he would have Hazard back from injury for the Champions League semi-finals against Chelsea.

Hazard lit up Stamford Bridge during his 7-year stay at the club since he joined from Lille in 2012. And he got his dream move to Real Madrid in the summer of 2019 for an eye-watering £89m. But that has not worked out for him so far. The Belgian winger was troubled by a serious ankle injury in his first season and fitness issues have continued to haunt him during this campaign as well.

Injuries have restricted him to just 14 appearances in all competitions this season. Zidane has been without Hazard for just over a month now, with Los Blancos inching closer to La Liga and UEFA Champions League glory in that time.

Speaking ahead of Real Madrid’s game against Cadiz, Zidane had some bad news for Chelsea as well as Real Madrid fans.

“Hazard will not be there and Toni Kroos will not be there. If Hazard is not there, it is because he is not one hundred percent. The important thing is that when he returns he is one hundred percent. Eden’s feeling is not the same and you have to be very attentive. I just said it, it’s a different case. Your feeling is the most important.”

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Hazard has been out of action since a 15-minute cameo against Elche in mid-March. While Real haven’t felt his absence due to the likes of Vinicius Jr. stepping up, it would have been handy to have him back for such a crucial tie. Even Chelsea fans would be disappointed now with this news as they would have been hoping to see their former talisman play against them.