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

NEV-ER KNOW

The mayhem of this Premier League campaign shows no sign of letting up - which could play into Chelsea’s favour.

Thomas Tuchel’s revival has put the Blues within touching distance of a top-four finish, with Pat Nevin believing there to be plenty to be optimistic about.

The ex-Chelsea star told the club website: “It is still an odd season and that could change, and almost certainly will, over the next few weeks and months. 

“The fact there are still more away wins than home wins this season in the entirety of the Premier League tells you this is still weird. 

“We all watched Leicester City looking brilliant against us recently, but I was at their game against Wolves at the weekend and they looked much more like a decidedly mid-table outfit. 

“As an old mate used to say, rather floridly, ‘One minute you’re a peacock then next you’re a feather duster’. That is what to keep in mind at the moment, everything can change almost in an instant.”

WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

Jody Morris was just 17 years and 43 days old when he became Chelsea’s youngest Premier League player in 1996.

Here, SunSport looks back at his debut and where each side’s record-holder is at now.

WOMEN REPRESENTED

Chelsea's women's team will send three representatives to the upcoming England meet-up.

Millie Bright, Beth England and Fran Kirby feature in the 20-player squad selected for this month's training camp by interim coach Hege Riise.

Full England squad:

Goalkeepers: Hannah Hampton (Birmingham City), Sandy MacIver (Everton), Ellie Roebuck (Manchester City),

Defenders: Millie Bright (Chelsea), Lucy Bronze (Manchester City), Rachel Daly (Houston Dash), Alex Greenwood (Manchester City), Steph Houghton (Manchester City), Chloe Kelly (Manchester City), Leah Williamson (Arsenal), Lotte Wubben-Moy (Arsenal)

Midfielders: Jordan Nobbs (Arsenal), Jill Scott (Everton, loan from Manchester City), Georgia Stanway (Manchester City), Ella Toone (Manchester United), Keira Walsh (Manchester City)

Forwards: Bethany England (Chelsea), Lauren Hemp (Manchester City), Fran Kirby (Chelsea), Ellen White (Manchester City)

HAVING A LAB

Chelsea will not sign David Alaba due to his mega wage demands, it has been claimed.

The Telegraph report on the Austrian wanting around £400,000-a-week.

Real Madrid and Manchester United have also been linked with the Bayern Munich defender ahead of his contract expiring in the summer.

SILVA LINING

Thiago Silva is reportedly willing to extend his Chelsea deal.

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.

RAPH RACE

Chelsea and Manchester United are reportedly in the market for Raphael Varane.

The Real Madrid defender’s contract expires in 2022 and, if he decides not to renew, a summer exit could be on the cards.

According to Marca, United and Paris Saint-Germain are the most interested in the Frenchman.

Chelsea and Juventus are also in the mix, it is said, with Varane potentially set to be replaced by David Alaba.

JAMES SUPPORT

Reece James’ father has called for social media companies to do more to stamp out online racism.

The Chelsea defender was subjected to sick taunts recently and dad Nigel hopes something can be done.

He told talkSPORT: “These companies should be fined a percentage of their profits if there are continued abusive messages arising on their platform.

“Board members of these companies should face negligence charges if the abuse continues, while guilty parties should face either being automatically sent to youth offender centres or prison for a short period [of time] and be issued with fines/have their salaries deducted.”

WHERE'S YOUR ED AT

Eden Hazard has revealed his admiration... for Arsenal.

The former Chelsea ace, now of Real Madrid, could not help but be attracted to the French connection in North London.

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."

KON AND GET HIM

Manchester United and Chelsea are reportedly in a transfer battle for Ibrahima Konate.

The RB Leipzig defender, 21, has attracted plenty of attention after impressing alongside Dayot Upamecano in Julian Nagelsmann's back line.

According to The Independent, Liverpool also want to try and sign Konate this summer.

KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR THIS...

COUNTDOWN TO KICK-OFF

It is a day off for Chelsea fans today with the team not in action until Thursday night.

Barnsley are next up in an FA Cup fifth-round trip to Oakwell, kicking off at 8pm.

MORNING CHELSEA FANS

Chelsea are set to play their Champions League last 16 first-leg tie with Atletico Madrid in ROMANIA.

LaLiga leaders Atletico are desperate to play the February 23 game on home soil in the Wanda Metropolitano.

But Spanish government restrictions on travel from the UK have still to be lifted.

They are expected to be extended beyond the current deadline of February 16, meaning the Spanish side will have to find an alternative location.

And the preferred option is understood to be Bucharest’s Arena Nationala, the venue where Diego Simeone’s side beat Marcelo Bielsa’s Athletic Bilbao to win the Europa League in 2012.

It means that all three English sides are now likely to play their Champions League last 16 away ties on neutral soil while retaining home advantage for the second leg.

Elsewhere, police have raided an address in Nottinghamshire to arrest a 21-year-old man over allegations of sending online abuse to Chelsea.

The Prem giants alerted Metropolitan Police officers to the incidents during 2020.

And working alongside Nottinghamshire Police’s football unit, the Met arrested the man in Retford.

Confirming the arrest, the Met said officers were investigating ‘a number of hate crime messages over a number of months’ dating back to last year.

The man was interviewed under caution and released pending further investigations.

A Chelsea spokesman said: “We welcome today’s arrest which shows that hateful messages shared on social media do have consequences.

“We continue to work closely with the police to support their investigations on this important issue.”

Christian Pulisic missed Chelsea’s win over Sheffield United due to ‘family issues’, new Blues boss Thomas Tuchel has revealed.

The USA international was surprisingly omitted from the matchday squad for the West Londoners’ visit to Bramall Lane.

Pulisic’s absence sparked fears he’d picked up another injury, concerns Tuchel dismissed after the Blues’ 2-1 win in Yorkshire.

The German said: “He has some family issues to solve. Family is always first.”

And finally, the Premier League has announced the latest round of Covid-19 testing yielded just TWO positives results – despite nearly 3,000 tests administered.

A whopping 2,930 tests were administered to players and staff members from all 20 clubs in the week of Monday, February 1 to Sunday, February 7.

And stunningly, only two positive tests were returned.

An official statement read: “The Premier League can today confirm that between Monday 1 February and Sunday 7 February, across two rounds of testing, 2,970 players and club staff were tested for COVID-19.

“Of these, there were two new positive tests. Players or club staff who have tested positive will self-isolate for a period of 10 days.

“The Premier League is providing this aggregated information for the purposes of competition integrity and transparency. No specific details as to clubs or individuals will be provided by the League and results will be made public on a weekly basis.”

'DISGUSTING' - EXCLUSIVE

Ex-Fifa referee Mark Halsey fears horrific social media abuse will drive Mike Dean and other officials out of football.

Dean has notified Merseyside Police after he and his family were subjected to death threats. The 52-year-old has since asked not to be involved in a Premier League game this weekend.

SunSport’s ref expert Halsey revealed vile abuse contributed to his retirement in 2013 and he fears Dean and more top-flight refs could now follow.

Halsey said: “Many officials past and present, including myself, have suffered from horrific social media abuse. It’s disgusting. In fact, the abuse I received was one of the factors in my decision to quit.

“It affects not just officials, it also hurts their families as well – and the likes of Mike and others may think, ‘Is this worth it?’ Social media platforms should be protecting people.

“Twitter, Instagram and Facebook must do more to police what is allowed to be aired publicly. I don’t think they are doing enough.”

MONU-MOUNT-AL

Chelsea's Twitter admin apparently could not stop watching his skill from their win at Sheffield United at the weekend.

The midfielder popped the ball over John Lundstram's head, collected it the other side and sprayed it out wide.

Bravo Mason.

IN A HARRY

Harry Redknapp is ready to miss part of his Soccer Saturday debut this weekend - so he can watch his horse run in a £125,000 race.

Redknapp's first appearance on the Sky Sports show clashes with Shakem Up'Arry's contest at Newbury.

Matches will be just past the half-hour mark when Redknapp, 73, says he will nip off to cheer on his horse in the Betfair Hurdle at 3.35.

Racing fanatic Redknapp said: "They asked me about six weeks ago with Jeff Stelling and Paul Merson and the gang, and I said I'd do it.

"But I didn't know the horse was running.

"I'll have to find a way [to get out] for five minutes and make sure they're showing a film of something else so I can watch the race, because I'm not missing it."

AEME HIGHER

Graeme Souness took aim at Timo Werner and claimed Frank Lampard would still be Chelsea manager if the striker had ‘done the business’ for him.

The German striker arrived in a big-money £54million move from RB Leipzig last summer but has struggled to find his form at Stamford Bridge.

He has failed to score in 14 Premier League matches – a miserable return that contributed to Lampard’s sacking last month.

Despite his lack of goals, Werner did grab two assists for Chelsea last night as they defeated Sheffield United 2-1 for a third straight win under new boss Thomas Tuchel.

Souness told Sky Sports: “I’m yet to be convinced. Chelsea are a team that’s full of really good players with big technique. 

“They get into the last third time and time again and they will wonder what he is doing. They need more from him. Put it this way, if he had done the business, Frank would still be in a job.”

PEACEFUL REECE

Reece James took to Twitter to celebrate two of Chelsea's finest academy graduates.

The right-back uploaded a shot of him and Mason Mount and tagged the image: "Made in Cobham."

FAMILY AFFAIR

Christian Pulisic missed Chelsea’s win over Sheffield United due to ‘family issues’, new Blues boss Thomas Tuchel has revealed.

The USA international was surprisingly omitted from the matchday squad for the West Londoners’ visit to Bramall Lane.

Pulisic’s absence sparked fears he’d picked up another injury, concerns Tuchel dismissed after the Blues’ 2-1 win in Yorkshire.

The German said: “He has some family issues to solve. Family is always first.”

BLUE-KING GOOD

Chelsea fans have the chance to vote for the club's goal of the month for January.

Cesar Azpilicueta's rocket against Burnley as well as a selection of efforts from the club's women's team made the shortlist.

LOWEST RETURN

The Premier League has announced the latest round of Covid-19 testing yielded just TWO positives results – despite nearly 3,000 tests administered.

A whopping 2,930 tests were administered to players and staff members from all 20 clubs in the week of Monday, February 1 to Sunday, February 7.

And stunningly, only two positive tests were returned.

An official statement read: “The Premier League can today confirm that between Monday 1 February and Sunday 7 February, across two rounds of testing, 2,970 players and club staff were tested for COVID-19.

“Of these, there were two new positive tests. Players or club staff who have tested positive will self-isolate for a period of 10 days.

“The Premier League is providing this aggregated information for the purposes of competition integrity and transparency. No specific details as to clubs or individuals will be provided by the League and results will be made public on a weekly basis.”

RACISM ARREST

Police have raided an address in Nottinghamshire to arrest a 21-year-old man over allegations of sending online abuse to Chelsea.

The Prem giants alerted Metropolitan Police officers to the incidents during 2020.

And working alongside Nottinghamshire Police’s football unit, the Met arrested the man in Retford. Confirming the arrest, the Met said officers were investigating ‘a number of hate crime messages over a number of months’ dating back to last year.

The man was interviewed under caution and released pending further investigations.

A Chelsea spokesman said: “We welcome today’s arrest which shows that hateful messages shared on social media do have consequences.

“We continue to work closely with the police to support their investigations on this important issue.”

MORNING STROLL

Frank Lampard took a walk in chilly West London on Monday with his family.

Joining him on the morning stroll was wife Christine Lampard and a baby, believed to be their daughter, Patricia.

Dressed in a thick brown cat, woolie hat and gloves, the former Chelsea manager held the lead of dog Minnie.

The pooch was fitted with her own blue winter coat in the snowy conditions.

TV presenter Christine – pregnant with the couple’s second child – wore a hooded blue coat as she tended to Patricia’s pram.

Lampard, 42, has been out of work since leaving Chelsea in late January.

RIP TONY

Tony Collins, English football’s first black manager and compiler of Don Revie’s infamous England 'dossiers' has died at the age of 94.

Former Sheffield Wednesday, Watford, Norwich and Crystal Palace winger took over at his final league club, Rochdale, in 1960.

Collins spent seven years in charge at Spotland, including taking his side to the first League Cup Final, against Norwich, in 1962.

After leaving Rochdale, Londoner Collins worked as chief scout at Bristol City before he joined Revie's backroom team at Leeds.

When Revie was appointed as the full-time successor to Sir Alf Ramsey, Collins went with him to England where he put together the lengthy briefing notes on opponents and Three Lions players.

Collins had subsequent spells as assistant and briefly caretaker manager back at Ashton Gate plus scouting roles for Manchester United, QPR, Newcastle, Millwall and Derby.

HAVE SOME OF STAT

Check out Chelsea's updated stats for the Premier League season so far.

BLUE LIGHTS

Police have raided an address in Nottinghamshire to arrest a 21-year-old man over allegations of sending online abuse to Chelsea.

The Prem giants alerted Metropolitan Police officers to the incidents during 2020.

And working alongside Nottinghamshire Police’s football unit, the Met arrested the man in Retford.

Confirming the arrest, the Met said officers were investigating  “a number of hate crime messages over a number of months” dating back to last year.

The man was interviewed under caution  and released pending further investigations.

A Chelsea spokesman said: “We welcome today’s arrest which shows that hateful messages shared on social media do have consequences. 

“We continue to work closely with the police to support their investigations on this important issue.”