Here are your latest Chelsea stories on football.london on Sunday, March 20.
Premier League interest in Antonio Rudiger
Manchester United and Newcastle United are both looking to take advantage of Antonio Rudiger’s contract situation to sign the defender in the summer, reports the Daily Mail. The 29-year-old is set to be a free agent at the end of the season, with a contract renewal at Stamford Bridge seeming less likely as the days pass.
The Germany international is one of three Chelsea defenders set to be a free agent, with Andreas Christensen and Cesar Azpilicueta’s contracts also expiring. While the Red Devils and Magpies are linked, they are not the only ones as a number of top European clubs are said to be monitoring the situation.
Five bids confirmed for Chelsea takeover
The Friday deadline for final bids to buy Chelsea Football Club has been and gone, with a decision to be made in due course. Following that deadline, five bids are said to have been confirmed ahead of the choice of preferred bidder.
Bids from consortiums headed by Nick Candy, Sir Martin Broughton, Todd Boehly, the Ricketts family and Aethel Partners are said to have been placed, though there could be others that may be confirmed later down the line. The Raine bank, a US banking firm, are overseeing the process of the takeover and are set to make a decision in the future.
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Thomas Tuchel sets Chelsea advisor Petr Cech big Reece James task ahead of England fixtures
Thomas Tuchel has set Chelsea's performance and technical advisor Petr Cech the task of having a conversation with the England set-up to ensure that Reece James can recovery from injury correctly. The England international has missed Chelsea's last four matches after suffering from muscular issues and re-injury in recent weeks.
James had enjoyed a successful return to the Blues side after returning from his hamstring issue that kept him out for three months of the season. The wing-back wasted little time grabbing a goal and assist against Burnley on his Premier League return, but was barely returned to training in the aftermath of his set-back. The 22-year-old required late tests to see if he could participate in full team training ahead of the trip to Middlesbrough.
Tuchel is clear that he does not believe that James should join up with the England squad having been surprisingly called up on Thursday afternoon by Gareth Southgate. It won't be him having the chat with the Three Lions boss, however.
"Petr Cech will have this chat because, of course, the recommendation is that he does not go," said the Blues boss. "He is still in individual training, otherwise, we would have brought him to Lille and we would have brought him here for sure.
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