Mauricio Pochettino has just over a week on the training pitches at Cobham to conjure up a plan which sees Chelsea extend their winning streak against Arsenal after the international break. When the Blues boss isn’t hard at work he’ll be hiding behind his sofa hoping Mykhailo Mudryk return to west London unscathed!
Chelsea have enjoyed a decent vein of form lately, picking up wins over Brighton, Fulham and Aston Villa. Cole Palmer, Raheem Sterling and Moises Caicedo have been standout performers, but Pochettino will need all of his players to be switched on just to stand a chance of beating the Gunners.
In other news, the summer transfer window may be shut but there’s still plenty of life left in the rumour mill. Ivan Toney and Victor Osimhen continue to be heavily linked with moves to Chelsea, meanwhile Kepa Arrizabalaga seems set on staying at Real Madrid.
Chelsea star Christopher Nkunku is still yet to play a game for the club, can he really be considered a star? The Blues remain without their £52million signing from RB Leipzig after his meniscus injury in pre-season.
It has so far meant that Nkunku has spent his opening months at the club preparing for a campaign he is only likely to play half of, at best. Having arrived to much fanfare, sparking newfound optimism within the fanbase, the wait for a competitive debut goes on.
Hazard return?
Kevin Nolan has revealed he would be keen on signing Eden Hazard with West Ham.
“I’d have the Hazard of Chelsea at West Ham,’ he told talkSPORT. “I’m sure if he wanted to come and trial we’d, I mean, I’d certainly be willing to. I don’t know about the gaffer [David Moyes]. But I’d certainly want to trial him!
“Some of the best years in the Premier League, he’s been part of and some of the best goals. It’s sad that at 32 he’s decided to bow out in all honesty because I believe someone of his calibre of play could play at the top level for plenty more years.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if we got a little bit of a reverse on that in the next six months to a year. I just think at 32, he’s just put out that he’s retired. There’s been so many times, I remember when [Paul] Scholes done it. Then he got a phone call from Sir Alex [Ferguson] and he was like “oh yeah, I will come back”.
“I just think something like that could happen with Hazard because someone is probably willing to give him the opportunity to say “go on, come in and play for us for six months.”
