Graham Potter is facing a critical period in his Chelsea career following his side's 2-0 defeat at Tottenham on Sunday.
Goals from Oliver Skipp and Harry Kane ensured Potter's side stretched their winless run to five Premier League matches and therefore remain 10th in the table. It was a result that put even more pressure on Potter, who has been criticised for the nature of his side's losses and poor performances.
However, the Blues will be looking to bounce back when they take on Leeds this weekend - a game that Chelsea surely must win if they want to qualify for the Champions League next season. In the process, one player was left shocked after being left out against Tottenham, while Romelu Lukaku is set to return at the end of the season.
Here is all the latest news coming out of Stamford Bridge.
Lukaku future claim made
Inter Milan chief Beppe Marotta has confirmed that Romelu Lukaku will return to Chelsea this summer, although the Belgian does want to make his loan move permanent.
The 29-year-old joined the Serie A side on loan for the season last summer but missed a large proportion of the first-half of the campaign through injury. Lukaku picked up a hamstring injury in August and played just once before the World Cup break, before returning to full fitness at the tournament.
"Lukaku to stay also next year? It's too early to decide, he will return to Chelsea and we will see what's next," Marotta told Sky. "Lukaku wants to stay at Inter, for sure - we know Romelu's intention and so we will see if we can negotiate his return here."
Lukaku has scored just four goals in 15 matches this season, but did net the winner in the Champions League first-leg tie against Porto last Wednesday.
Potter potential pay-out
Chelsea’s patience with Graham Potter has not yet run out, with chairman Todd Boehly eager to give the embattled head coach more time to turn things around.
But if results do not improve soon and a decision is made to cut ties with the 47-year-old it will cost Chelsea an estimated £50m - a record payout for a managerial dismissal.
That is on top of the £22m in compensation they paid Brighton to release him and a five-man backroom team from their contracts in September. That was also a world record fee. Potter, whose team has won two of their past 15 games in all competitions, signed an unprecedented five-year deal at Stamford Bridge worth about £60m.
Chelsea became used to making significant payouts to sacked head coaches during Roman Abramovich’s tenure - topped by the £26.6m to Antonio Conte and his staff in 2018. But Potter’s compensation would be almost double that should he end up having his contract terminated.
Chelsea player 'shocked'
Chelsea players were left in shock after failing to make the bench for the Blues' defeat at Tottenham on Sunday.
Goals from Oliver Skipp and Harry Kane ensured Graham Potter's side stretched their winless run to five Premier League matches and therefore remain 10th in the table. It was a result that put even more pressure on Potter, who has been criticised for the nature of his side's losses but he has had some difficult decisions to make.
Due to the nature of Chelsea's now-bloated squad, Potter was forced leave several senior players out of the fold for the trip to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. The ex-Brighton boss said that Trevoh Chalobah, Marc Cucurella, Carney Chukwuemeka and David Datro Fofana were "unfortunate" to be left out.
But according to the Telegraph, more than one of those players was 'shocked' to find out they would not even be on the substitutes' bench. Chelsea made eight new signings in January, which has forced Potter into a selection dilemma, both for his first XI and the bench, given only Jorginho was allowed to leave.
It has meant he has had to leave some big-name stars out of the matchday squad completely, with Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang amongst those to be snubbed in recent weeks. Meanwhile, Potter could be in for an even bigger decision when a handful of his unavailable crew return to action.
