Antonio Conte ready to shock fans by signing £49m English forward

According to the reports, Chelsea will challenge Arsenal in the race to sign Manchester City winger Raheem Sterling, with many of the Premier League’s biggest clubs of the belief that the England international is up for sale.

The Gunners are believed to have requested that the speedy attacker be included in a player-plus-cash swap deal for Alexis Sanchez, though Pep Guardiola’s side refused and the deadline day deal collapsed.

But, as per the Telegraph, both Chelsea and Arsenal are convinced that Manchester City are preparing the way for Sterling to leave and will make a move for him.

It is likely to be a two-horse race between the London rivals, with Man City unwilling to sell to rivals Man United, Tottenham Hotspur unable to afford his wages and Sterling unwilling to return to Liverpool.

With Bernardo Silva’s arrival likely to impede Sterling’s game time, and the Citizens set to try again for Sanchez in January, Sterling could soon find himself struggling to make the bench.

However, the 22-year-old star is currently an important first-team player, and was voted the club’s player of the month after netting decisive late goals against Bournemouth and Everton.

Almost Done: Chelsea could finalise transfer of 28-year-old star this week

According to the latest transfer news, Chelsea could reach an agreement with La Liga giants Atletico Madrid over the potential move for wantaway striker Diego Costa this week.

The controversial Spain international has so far refused to return to the Stamford Bridge having spent the entire summer in his homeland of Brazil.

In a series of media interviews, the former Atletico Madrid star slammed Chelsea head coach Antonio Conte for dropping him from his plans and accused the club of treating him like a criminal.

As per the Spanish publication Marca, the Premier League reigning champions have so far been refusing to sanction Diego Costa’s desired return to Atletico Madrid as they want him to come back to the UK to train with the reserves.

However, the same sources also claim that the Blues have now softened their stance and are prepared to discuss a deal with the Diego Simeone’s side, who are banned from registering new players until January.

It is understood that the fee for the 28-year-old scandalous striker could be around €60m (£54m), which would break Atletico’s transfer record.

Didier Drogba happy with Chelsea’s one of big-money summer signings

The legendary Chelsea striker Didier Drogba has praised the impressive start made by the club’s new boy Alvaro Morata following his big-money summer move from Real Madrid.

The Spanish forward has joined the Stamford Bridge side in a club-record £65m deal following a frustrating, but overwhelmingly successful, second stint at the Santiago Bernabeu.

The 24-year-old Morata scored the breakthrough goal for Chelsea last Saturday as they battled to a 2-1 victory over Leicester City, taking his tally to three goals and two assists in his first four Premier League matches, which Drogba hopes is the start of a special relationship.

During his interview with the Sky Sports News, the legendary Ivorian said: “He is scoring goals that are winning games so I am really happy for him and for the club as well. It is very important to score. As a striker, when you start with a new team, people have high expectations.

“When you match those expectations, you are just happy and the goals continue to come. I hope he will have a great season because we need that.”

Chelsea also still have fellow Spain international Diego Costa on their books, though the striker is out of favour under manager Antonio Conte and has not featured this season.

The latest rumours circulating about a young Chelsea player do not deal with transfers or loans but with national team allegiance. If Nigeria are truly chasing Tammy Abraham, both England and Chelsea should be furious.

Tammy Abraham's decision to play for either England or Nigeria matters deeply not only to the country he chooses, but to Chelsea FC as well. Whether you approach the question from logic or emotion, you reach the same very certain and very firm conclusion: Tammy Abraham should turn down every single advance from Nigeria and stick with England.

The first and most obvious point is that Tammy Abraham – though of Nigerian heritage – was born in Camberwell, London. He was born and raised and reared in the United Kingdom.  Yes, his parents are of Nigerian heritage. But at what point does that stop mattering? Every person in the world can trace their bloodline back to some far-flung destination, yet that does not determine their nationality.

Abraham was born in London. He has been at Chelsea since he was eight years old. He did not move to England as a young boy. Tammy Abraham was born the second of October 1997 in perfect damn London, England.  He is a wonderful young footballer and a funny, charming young man. He does not need to be peddled by some older, cynical managers and footballing bureaucrats in a strategic chess game of prospect-catching.

Must Read: Chelsea's 3-4-3 alternatives: Is 3-1-4-2 the future for Antonio Conte's Blues?

The fact that Nigeria are even considering this is exactly what is wrong with international football in the first place. International football is not there to strategically pick your way to progress professionally, and it should not be about cynical attempts to further a brand. It is about pride in the country of your birth. Abraham is from England. Let him be from England.

It was wrong when Victor Moses changed nationalities, and when Diego Costa did it as well. This sort of behavior is to the detriment of the wonderful patriotic moments that make international football great.

If not simply for national pride, Chelsea should hope that Tammy Abraham plays for England for one simple reason: the African Cup of Nations. AFCON takes place in the middle of the Premier League season. If Tammy Abraham is going to be as good as people suspect he will be, then Chelsea need to keep him around.

Related Story: Chelsea's Tammy Abraham must weigh depth, potential in Nigeria offer

Abraham draws comparisons to Ian Wright, and in younger age group trials outshone Kylian Mbappe. Abraham will make Harry Kane look like an incomplete and poor striker in a few years' time, while taking a legitimate shot at Chelsea's all-time goals record. The last thing Chelsea need is Abraham gone for a month and a half during a key part of the season.

AFCON is a wonderful footballing tournament played at a hysterically terrible time of year. In many ways it devalues some of the footballers in it, and makes it harder for some clubs to invest in them. Having Abraham play for Nigeria simply lowers his value for Chelsea FC. They will not have him around as often while he increases his risk of injury by playing in a full international tournament in less-than-spectacular conditions in the middle of a Premier League and Champions League season.

Next: Chelsea should start Tiemoue Bakayoko against Leicester as prep for Champions League

This move would not benefit anybody except the Nigerian Football Federation. Abraham is a phenomenal young player. He should be setting his sights high on success with the England national team – the country of his birth – not strategically trying to win caps playing for a country he has at most visited on emotional vacations.

ChelseaFC News

In the depths of a summer full of transfer confusion for Chelsea fans, it seemed at one point that Tiemoué Bakayoko might follow the footsteps of Romelu Lukaku and break blue hearts by moving to Manchester United. 

A month long transfer saga had been held up by the world’s longest medical; Bakayoko had been recovering from a minor knee injury he had at the end of last season. Tweets had been posted with the location showing Manchester, while the man himself had been running a troll campaign to throw fans off his scent.

The story so far

Though it turns out Bakayoko never had the intention of becoming anything but a blue boy, his tomfoolery gave an insight into the sort of person he is. While enjoying his football, he is also one to keep outside interests; sometimes to the detriment of the former. 

When arriving at Monaco after a transfer from Rennes, he wasn’t wholly concentrated on his football. However, it was a Chelsea legend in Claude Makelele who got him on the right track when he was brought into the Monaco set up as technical director.

From there he continued the promising development he had shown as a junior, becoming an essential part of the Monaco side that made the Champions League Semi-Finals. Unfortunately for Monaconians, from there he’s joined the mass exodus that’s seen other key pieces of their team move away.

Already showing his blue blood

A childhood Chelsea fan, it’s fitting that Makelele was one of the men to get him on the straight and narrow. It also meant that he understood the gravity of some advice he received from another club legend. With the crucial clash against Tottenham looming and the Chelsea squad thin on numbers, Bakayoko hadn’t fully recovered from his knee surgery yet, having only just begun full training. 

Chelsea blog We Ain’t Got No History reported that Bakayoko had spoken to Didier Drogba about the upcoming clash when Drogba told him how important the game was for the club. With that in mind he informed Antonio Conte that against medical advice he would be able to play on Sunday “if you need me, I will run for 90 minutes and worry about it later”.

Any Chelsea fans worried about Bakayoko need only that knowledge to be absolved of all concerns for their new midfield man’s commitment to his new home. There has been a lot made about Matic’s sale to Manchester United, and while it’s unadvisable to strengthen a rival, Sunday’s performance gave cause to believe that there will be an upgrade through the middle of the park this year.

A solid start

Bakayoko is a raw prospect, and his discipline gave some reason for concern. We should expect a few cards this year shown to the number 14 jersey, and it’s worth noting the free kick he gave away at the end of the box did result in a Tottenham goal (even if it was a Blue shirt that dealt the strike that directed it towards goal).

However, if that was the level of performance, we can expect from Bakayoko after a week’s training in a new system and with one leg, expect great things to be coming from the man by December. He brings to the team a physicality that Chelsea haven’t seen from one of their own for years, and will only grow into the midfield role.

While he wasn’t spectacularly creative in the weekend, the Chelsea squad seen on the weekend wasn’t geared towards offence, nor did they see much of the ball. In a more free-flowing contest expect that to change, though in a tough contest he can come into his element.

Powering to the title?

It’s now created a midfield wall that looks set to be the basis of Chelsea’s title charge. Conte won’t always employ his ultra defensive catenacciosystem, but with reigning PFA player of the year N’Golo Kante’s nuance in tackling and the raw physicality of Bakayoko, they have a barrier in the middle of the pitch to be reckoned with. 

It will allow the defence to play in a freer fashion, while also acting as a failsafe should the attack minded players on the squad such as Hazard, Morata or Fabregas to go to work.

Yes, Matic has been in superb form for two games with Manchester United, but it’s causing many fans to look back on his days at Chelsea with rose-tinted glasses. Bakayoko isn’t only an upgrade, but with time to grow in the Conte System and as a footballer, there’s no boundary on what he can grow into.

1. Will Tiemoué Bakayoko prove to be a success at Chelsea?

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The post Chelsea: How Tiemoué Bakayoko showed that he can replace Nemanja Matic appeared first on RealSport.