Tag: Chelsea

Jorrel Hato’s biggest problem is the easiest to fix
5Mar By Joe SorianoNo Comments
Analysis

Jorrel Hato’s biggest problem is the easiest to fix

Chelsea slapped around Aston Villa 4-1 in a key victory in the battle for Champions League places in the Premier League, and while the stars of the night were attackers Joao Pedro and Alejandro Garnacho, Jorrel Hato had a great day at the office. Regular starting left back and European Championship hero Marc Cucurella should be able to return soon from a minor injury, but in his absence, former Ajax captain Hato has shown that he has the makings of a star at the back end of a Blues defense that could use young stars like him. The only defensive upgrade Chelsea made in the summer transfer window, Hato had a solid weekend against the rivals that recruited him, Arsenal, but something was lacking in terms of his quality on the ball despite a decent defensive performance. Against Aston...
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Alejandro Garnacho finally did what Chelsea brought him to do
4Mar By Joe SorianoNo Comments
Analysis

Alejandro Garnacho finally did what Chelsea brought him to do

Alejandro Garnacho has not enjoyed an ideal start to life at Chelsea after a blockbuster transfer from Manchester United this past summer transfer window, but he shone brightly in the Blues 4-1 demolition of fellow top five contenders Aston Villa in his latest Premier League outing. For the most part, Garnacho has only been standing out positively in the smaller cup games, as he has been such a passenger in the Premier League that there are already Chelsea fans who want him sold after just one season. But Garnacho provided clear evidence that he deserves more time and may have the upside the Blues are looking for in the attack with a real playmaker's performance vs. Villa. Yes, Joao Pedro was obviously the best player on the pitch with a hat trick and another assist for good measu...
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Liam Rosenior provides positive Marc Cucurella injury news
2Mar By Joe SorianoNo Comments
Injury News

Liam Rosenior provides positive Marc Cucurella injury news

Chelsea star left back Marc Cucurella has missed the last two matches with a hamstring injury, but it sounds like the Spanish international will be returning back to the Blues shortly. Ahead of Wednesday night's next big game for Chelsea against top five contenders Aston Villa, Blues manager Liam Rosenior stated that the club aim on having Cucurella back on Saturday in the Fifth Round FA Cup clash against the fabled Wrexham, via Absolute Chelsea: "Cucu is looking really good, hopefully we can get him involved for Saturday [if he isn't available for Aston Villa]. Estevao is back on the pitch running, which is great." Jorrel Hato was fantastic at left back against Arsenal for Cucurella, recording three tackles and three interceptiosn while playing decent enough on the ball, focusing...
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Liam Rosenior delivers major Cole Palmer injury news before Chelsea vs. Aston Villa
2Mar By Joe SorianoNo Comments
Injury News

Liam Rosenior delivers major Cole Palmer injury news before Chelsea vs. Aston Villa

Chelsea were unable to take a point off a stingy Arsenal side in a hard fought rivalry matchup in their last Premier League weekend, and they now face another stiff challenge in another top four hopeful in Aston Villa on Wednesday night. There were initially fears that Cole Palmer, who has been held back by a number of injuries this season, had suffered another injury in the loss to Arsenal, but Chelsea manager Liam Rosenior confirmed that this is not the case. Speaking at a press conference ahead of the next big game for the Blues, via Fabrizio Romano, Rosenior had this to say about the status of his team's best player: “Cole Palmer is absolutely fine to start the game on Wednesday”. “He took a knock. He was absolutely fine. He is looking really good”. That is exactly the inju...
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Chelsea have to take advantage of Joao Pedro’s elite trait
2Mar By Joe SorianoNo Comments
Analysis

Chelsea have to take advantage of Joao Pedro’s elite trait

Chelsea made a number of splash signings in the summer 2025 transfer window, but the only new attacking star who has worked out is center forward Joao Pedro. While he may not be the goal-scoring maven Blues fans dreamed of, his elite hold-up play is something this club needs to start taking advantage of. And honestly, Chelsea could be doing a better job of taking advantage of Pedro's ability to maintain possession, draw out defenders, draw in defenders, and run the channels. The players who can create havoc and bring others into the game are able to define offenses, and we are seeing more top clubs like Manchester City, Real Madrid, Barcelona, and PSG competing at the highest level of the Champions League value these players. What Pedro is missing is another striker or a left wing...
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Pedro Neto’s fatal flaw will lead him out of Chelsea for good
1Mar By Joe SorianoNo Comments
Analysis

Pedro Neto’s fatal flaw will lead him out of Chelsea for good

Chelsea were unable to prevail against Premier League leaders Arsenal in another derby slugfest on Sunday, and they were once again destroyed by a foolish red card, with Pedro Neto earning walking papers in the match to doom the Gunners and remind Chelsea fans that his future at Stamford Bridge is equally bleak. When Neto arrived to Chelsea in 2024, he did so as one of the most dynamic right wingers in the Premier League, recording nine assists in the previous season as the clear star player for Wolves and one of the best creative wide midfielders in the Premier League. Although Neto had some bright moments for Chelsea, the 2025/26 season has clearly exposed to Blues fans that he is not at the level required to start as a winger for a team with Premier League title aspirations. Es...
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Chelsea are already considering selling one of their new stars
27Feb By Joe SorianoNo Comments
Transfer News

Chelsea are already considering selling one of their new stars

Chelsea surprised everyone when they pushed hard to sign former Manchester United top prospect Alejandro Garnacho, but he's been just as frustrating at Stamford Bridge as he was at Old Trafford last season. Per a report from Football.London, Chelsea are already so underwhelmed by Garnacho's performances this season that they are contemplating selling him in the summer 2026 transfer window if his displays do not improve before the 2025/26 Premier League season ends. In 16 league appearances this season, Garnacho, despite being a regular starter on the left wing, has just one goal with three assists. He is averaging 1.1 key passes and 1.0 fouls drawn per game. Those are decent numbers in terms of his creativity and one-on-one output, but they are honestly below average for a startin...
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Nicolas Jackson is destroying his own transfer value
25Feb By Joe SorianoNo Comments
Transfer News

Nicolas Jackson is destroying his own transfer value

Chelsea loaned striker Nicolas Jackson to Bayern Munich with the intention of eventually making a permanent sale, but they are going to find it difficult to get much out of the No. 9 as he's been cutting a frustrated figure on the Bayern bench. According to a report from Sport Bild in Germany, via iMiaSanMia, out of all the big name backups in Bavaria, it is Jackson who is the most disgruntled. He is so visibly upset by his lack of playing time that it is reportedly apparent to others at Bayern, whereas the likes of Tom Bischof and Kim Min-jae are accepting limited roles. Therefore, Bild state that Jackson will be leaving Bayern back for Chelsea this summer at the end of his loan, confirming that the Bavarians have no intention of paying a whopping 65 million euros to make his transf...
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Ranking Chelsea’s 5 best players of the 2025/26 Premier League season so far
24Feb By Joe SorianoNo Comments
Rankings

Ranking Chelsea’s 5 best players of the 2025/26 Premier League season so far

Chelsea are still in the hunt for Champions League places and having a positive season overall, even if they haven't quite shown the same growth in 2025/26 and even had to fire Enzo Maresca after his promising start to the campaign. But if new manager Liam Rosenior can continue to get the best out of Premier League Player of the Season caliber playmaker Cole Palmer, the Blues should be able to soak up more Champions League football and maybe even tease title contention at the end of the campaign. Here is a ranking of the five best Chelsea players of the Premier League season so far, using analytics from WhoScored, SofaScore, and FBRef.com. 5. CB Wesley Fofana Estevao Willian and even fellow center back Trevoh Chalobah were tough snubs, but Estevao is still a way's away from being a...
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Chelsea have found an obvious first-choice winger transfer target in summer 2026
23Feb By Joe SorianoNo Comments
Transfer News

Chelsea have found an obvious first-choice winger transfer target in summer 2026

Chelsea already added Joao Pedro and Estevao Willian to their attack this past summer transfer window, as well as young wingers Jamie Bynoe-Gittens and Alejandro Garnacho, but Iliman Ndiaye may be the wide man they were looking for. Liam Rosenior is coaxing the best football out of Cole Palmer again, and when he, Pedro, and Estevao are all healthy, they form one of the best attacking trios in European football. The thing is, Chelsea need one more winger to complete the group, and their preference should be an out-and-out player who can consistently beat Premier League-level defenders with pace, trickery, creativity, and intelligence. On Monday night football, Ndiaye and Everton may have lost 1-0 to a Benjamin Sesko-led Manchester United, but even in getting shutout, Ndiaye impress...
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