Chelsea transfer news LIVE: Alaba LATEST, Rudiger denies Lampard betrayal, Barnsley build-up

AL OR NOTHING

Chelsea have reportedly pulled out of the race to sign David Alaba on a free transfer.

The Austrian defender, 28, is out of contract at Bayern Munich in the summer and looks set to leave for nothing.

But according to ESPN, his £400,000-a-week wage demands are simply too much for the Blues to pursue a deal any further.

Real Madrid look set to secure his services from the summer with a four-year contract understood to be agreed.

SILVA LINING

Chelsea star Thiago Silva has revealed his three favourite shows on Netflix.

Speaking about Prison Break, he said: ";I really enjoyed this!"

But his favourite show is a political thriller drama called Designated Survivor.

He added: "This would be my number one."

Last but not least, he picked popular series The Walking Dead.

HAA LA LAND

Chelsea and Manchester City are reportedly set to battle it out for Erling Haaland.

According to Eurosport, both of the Premier League giants are interested in the 20-year-old.

The source states that 'Chelsea intend to challenge them [City] for Haaland's signature'.

Haaland has attracted a wide range of interest since he joined Borussia Dortmund.

Since his arrival, he has scored an incredible 38 goals in just 40 games for the club.

MORNING BLUES FANS

Thiago Silva is reportedly willing to extend his Chelsea deal – but David Alaba’s wages are a problem for the Blues.

Fabrizio Romano reports that Silva is keen on signing a contract to stay at Stamford Bridge beyond the end of the season.

But the Blues face a massive hurdle in their bid to lure Alaba from Bayern Munich.

The 28-year-old is in the final year of his contract with the German giants and set for a free transfer this summer, but his £400,000-a-week wage demands are a problem for Chelsea, the Telegraph reports.

In other news, Eden Hazard has risked falling out with Chelsea fans by revealing his admiration for Arsenal.

He told On The Front Foot magazine: “When I was little the team I watched the most was the French national team

“For me, the players I looked up to were Zinedine Zidane and Thierry Henry, and it’s difficult for me to admit because of my relationship with Chelsea, but I really liked the Arsenal team at the time.

“They had players like Robert Pires, [Sylvain] Wiltord and [Patrick] Vieira, so it was mainly French players that I followed growing up.”

Meanwhile, Chelsea have already held talks over a potential summer deal to land Dayot Upamecano, according to Bild.

Tuchel has made the player top of his priority list and is keen to bolster his defensive ranks at the end of the season.

Upamecano is eyed as a long-term successor to Thiago Silva who turns 37 later this year.

And finally, Chelsea’s Champions League Round of 16 first-leg clash against Atletico Madrid is set to be switched to either Bucharest or Warsaw.

Spanish government restriction on travel from the UK means the Madrid outfit cannot host the match.

WELL GOOD

Ben Chilwell has spoken of how his loan spell at Huddersfield at the start of his career proved key in his development as a professional.

He told Chelsea's website: "At 18 years old it was pretty daunting. I was going into a first-team dressing room for the first time because at Leicester I was still in the Under-23s dressing room.

"I remember going to the training ground on my first day and David Wagner, who was the manager at the time, called me into his office.

"He was a great manager, I loved working for him, and we had a chat for about half an hour about the way he wanted us to play, how it was going to suit me, and that put me at ease a little bit.

"Then he walked me into the dressing room and that was my first experience of being in a dressing room with senior players where everything is about winning.

"Huddersfield was a very big step in my career in going from Under-23s football, where it’s all about improving as a player, to going into a men’s dressing room where it’s all about winning and you’re seeing that it’s not just for fun. It’s people’s livelihoods at the end of the day and seeing that side of it was a big part of my growth in my career."

DIDI TEAM

Didier Drogba’s son Isaac has signed for Italian Serie D side Folgore Caratese.

A striker like his old man, the younger Drogba is looking to take his first steps into a senior football.

At age 20, he has already racked up plenty of experience at youth level.

Like his dad, he donned the blue of Chelsea while making his way in the game.

And he also followed in Didier’s footsteps in 2018, by signing for Guingamp.

Drogba, 42, scored 23 goals in 49 games for the French side between 2002 and 2003.

REECE LIGHTNING

Rio Ferdinand believes Reece Jamies is one of the best right-back's in the Premier League.

The BT Sport pundit said: "He’s a top player. I was surprised he didn’t start as soon as Tuchel came in.

"If he’s watching the videos, this kid is up there with the best right-backs in the league.

"He’s got work to do, defensively he can improve but he’s a young player. He needs that time and that tutoring which I’m sure he’ll get now get from this manager.

"He’s a young kid, got a great attitude and his delivery of the ball is phenomenal and as an all-round package as a right-back, he’s got the lot."

FEELING BLUE

Arsenal fan and YouTuber Chunkz did a Fifa forfeit match with Chelsea and Mason Mount.

And it didn't go well for the Gunners supporter...

Take a look at what happened below.

AL'S NOT WELL

Thiago Silva is reportedly willing to extend his Chelsea deal - but David Alaba's wages are a problem for the Blues.

The 36-year-old centre-back Silva has impressed after joining on a free from PSG in the summer.

New Blues boss Thomas Tuchel is a fan of his experience and leadership.

And Fabrizio Romano reports that Silva is keen on signing a contract to stay at Stamford Bridge beyond the end of the season.

But the Blues face a massive hurdle in their bid to lure Alaba from Bayern Munich.

The 28-year-old is in the final year of his contract with the German giants and set for a free transfer this summer.

But his £400,000-a-week wage demands are a problem for Chelsea, the Telegraph reports.

HAK’D OFF

Hakim Ziyech has opened his heart on his struggles at Stamford Bridge.

The Morocco international, signed from Ajax last summer for £38m, has been plagued with injuries.

He told Dutch broadcaster Ziggo Sport: “It has been a difficult first six months for me at Chelsea.

“I began with an injury, came back and then got injured again. Things have not gone as I had hoped.

“The pace of the game over here is much quicker than it was at Ajax.

“I picked that up straight away, and then I got injured in my first training game. That sets you back completely, and then it happens again. It was bloody annoying.”

YOU BLUE IT

Up to 100,000 colour blind fans were left furious on Sunday after Chelsea wore their light blue away kit at Sheffield United, making the match almost impossible to watch.

For the fifth time this season, colour blind Premier League supporters were barely able to distinguish between the sides due to the bizarre choice of jersey.

The Colour Blind Awareness charity predicted around 100,000 viewers for the game - a 2-1 win for Chelsea - would have suffered from colour blindness.

And fans took to Twitter in their droves to complain.

One wrote: "I turned it on, saw 20 matching shirts and simply turned it off again.

"I wonder where I could inquire to get some refunds for streaming expenses, since they are actively making it impossible to watch what I pay for."

Another said: "Someone with a bigger brain has got to explain how this is easier to see than Chelsea playing in their home BLUE kit?"

UEFA SHAKE-UP

Uefa is increasingly confident its planned Champions League revamp will be agreed by next month - despite opposition from leagues.

A virtual meeting over the proposals with the 55 Uefa member associations found no significant issues.

Uefa wants to replace the current group stage of the Champions League with a 36-team single table.

Each side will play 10 opponents of varying strengths under the so-called “Swiss system”, with the top eight automatically qualifying for the knock-out stage and the teams between ninth and 24th playing off to join them.

SunSport revealed in December the most controversial aspect of the proposals, with three of the four extra places being awarded via Uefa’s “coefficient” of previous European results.

That could see up to six Prem sides in the competition when the restructure - due from 2024-25 - comes into effect.

JUAN CHANCE

Former Chelsea flop Juan Sebastian Veron has revealed he regrets signing for the club from Man Utd.

He told FourFourTwo: "I felt that going to Chelsea could have been a good chance for me to get a longer sequence of matches, but I shouldn’t have gone there.

“I don’t say that because of Chelsea, though. It’s nice to have a club wanting to sign you, excited that you can do something for them. To make an investment like that, the club has to believe in you and trust you.

“I actually found it tougher to live in London than Manchester because I’m from La Plata, which is quite a small city.

“I wish I could have stayed at United longer, as I believe I could have done things differently.

";If I’d stayed in Manchester, I think I would have had more continuity on the pitch.”

CECH MATE

Petr Cech agreed his first Chelsea contract on this day 17 years ago.

Take a look at some of his best saved below.

EUR JOKING

Chelsea’s Champions League Round of 16 first leg clash against Atletico Madrid is set to be switched to either Bucharest or Warsaw.

Spanish government restriction on travel from the UK mean the Madrid outfit cannot host the match.

Meanwhile, Uefa have confirmed Man United’s Europa League tie with Real Sociedad next week will be played in Turin.

It will instead be played at the Juventus Stadium on Thursday February 18, kicking off at 5.55pm.

United will still be able to play the second leg at Old Trafford a week later.

Euro chiefs are also expected to confirm both legs of Arsenal’s Europa League tie with Portuguese giants Benfica will be played in Rome’s Stadio Olimpico.

TIME AT THE BAR

Ben Chilwell has promised to buy the player he 'skinned' a pint after it led to his release from his football club.

Back in 2013 Reece Lucas was playing for Rotherham's youth team when he came up against Chilwell who was with Leicester.

It proved to be a game to forget for Lucas, with the Millers' tweeting at the time: "Ben Chilwell skins Reece Lucas before smashing a shot low into the bottom corner."

Lucas decided to retweet this bad memory tagging in his former nemesis.

He wrote: "Cheers @BenChilwell got released after this up at 5:30 for work tomorrow… how you getting on?"

Lucas now works as a mechanical engineer doing 6am-2pm shifts after his football dream ended.

Chilwell, 24, replied back to Lucas, tweeting: "I think maybe i owe u a pint when things are back open."

Lucas replied: "I’ll hold you to that mate."

DAY AND NIGHT

Chelsea have already held talks over a potential summer deal to land Dayot Upamecano, according to reports.

Thomas Tuchel's side are in a transfer tug-of-war alongside Man Utd, Liverpool and Bayern Munich for the defender's signature.

Upamecano, 22, is hot property with the centre-back set to leave RB Leipzig for a bargain £38million this summer.

Tuchel has made the player top of his priority list and is keen to bolster his defensive ranks at the end of the season.

Upamecano is eyed as a long-term successor to Thiago Silva who turns 37 later this year.

According to Bild, Chelsea have already opened talks with the player's agent to start laying the groundwork over a summer switch.

TOO SOUN?

Timo Werner’s performance against Sheffield United had more than a fair share of luck.

That is according to Graeme Souness, who felt the striker was fortunate to set up Mason Mount for the opener.

He told Sky Sports: “At no time does he look, so he doesn’t know Mason Mount is coming, so he gets lucky there.

“If you watch him at no time does he look to see Mason Mount coming into the middle, he’s just played it into an area.

“I think he’ll find our football difficult – he is finding it difficult. I think the aggression and intensity, I think he’s a little bit timid for our football.

“If he’s going to be success in our football that has to come. It’s alright saying, ‘he keeps missing chances, he’s getting there’. I look at him and I’m yet to be convinced.”

SILVA FOX

Thiago Silva is breathing new life into his war-weary body to keep him playing until 40.

Chelsea’s vastly experienced Brazilian defender even shelled out almost £17,000 on a hi-tech oxygen chamber to help recover from injuries.

Silva told Four Four Two magazine: “I do a daily two-hour session of hyperbaric oxygen therapy to speed up my recovery.

"I have a special chamber set up at home, where I breathe pure oxygen at high pressure – that helps to increase levels in the blood.

“I started doing it seven years ago in Paris, when I was struggling to fully recover from an injury.”

GONE WEST

Marcos Alonso was a target for West Brom last month.

According to The Athletic, a potential move for Kieran Gibbs led to the Baggies eyeing Alonso as a replacement.

Frank Lampard was not a fan of the Spaniard and his Chelsea career looked over before Thomas Tuchel returned him to the side.

BREAK THE BANK

Manchester neighbours City and United have lost the most money in the last 10 transfer windows ahead of the likes of Paris Saint-Germain.

In ninh overall, Chelsea have spent the third highest fee on players having spent £848m.

Frank Lampard forked out around £200m last summer landing the likes of Kai Havertz, Timo Werner, Ben Chilwell and Hakim Ziyech.

But they have also spent big money on Kepa Arrizabalaga (£72m) and Alvaro Morata (£59m).

Their deficit is the ninth highest totalling £270m after flogging £578m worth of talent.

WAY BACK WERN

Timo Werner has hailed Thomas Tuchel’s arrival as Chelsea coach.

The striker had arguably his best game in a Blues shirt in the weekend win at Sheffield United.

And he told the club media that the new manager is giving the team confidence of a top-four finish.

Werner explained: “If we go back three or four matches, when the manager was not yet here, we were nine or ten points behind the top four.

"We watched the table and were like, ‘oh, it might not be so good at the end of the season’.

"Now we are really good, back in shape, and I think if we keep going like this we can put more pressure on the other teams."

TUCH OF CLASS

Former Chelsea star Alan Hudson has revealed how quickly he has taken to Thomas Tuchel.

The German is off to a flying start in the Stamford Bridge dugout, winning 10 points from 12.

Hudson told CaughtOffside: ““I know a few Chelsea fans and although they loved Frank as a player and a person they are happy with Tuchel, what’s not to like?

“I think he is looking at the individual more than the team in this initial ‘test’, with not just their ability to play, but their response on being left out or taken off – a clever ploy.

“I liked him from Day 1 and unlike a certain Jose ‘Special One’ Mourinho he looks to be more interested in the job than his self importance, which I like.”

QUARTER-FINAL DRAW

Chelsea will find out their potential FA Cup sixth-round opponents BEFORE their game with Barnsley.

Karen Carney is set to draw the balls at 7.45pm on Thursday night, minutes before the Blues kick off at Oakwell.

The winner of that tie will be No5, with Manchester United or West Ham No2 and Spurs or Everton No6.

ON THE MARC

Marcos Alonso has won Chelsea’s goal of the month competition.

The left-back’s revival under Thomas Tuchel was embodied with a stunning volley against Burnley that has won the fan vote.