CHELSEA will be without Hakim Ziyech and Ben Chilwell when they kick-off their new season against Brighton on Monday night.
The club are still in talks with Rennes over a deal for stopper Edouard Mendy, while Michy Batshuayi has completed a loan move to Crystal Palace.
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Get all the latest transfer gossip and updates from Stamford Bridge…
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GOOD MORNING BLUES FANS
Frank Lampard admits he must do better with Chelsea this season after a summer of spending.
He said: “I didn't come into this job to fight for fourth place, although I know last year that it was an achievement and one of our goals that we set out to.
“I didn't come in to just bring academy players into the first-team and say I made debuts for this many players, I came here to win.
“Any club at our level has to try and tick the major boxes and recruitment is a huge part of that.
“The pressure on me to do better than last season should be standard, regardless of anything. And that comes with the territory of this job.
Meanwhile, Chelsea have rejected a player-plus-cash bid from Inter Milan for N’Golo Kante.
The Telegraph claims ex-Blues boss Antonio Conte offered cash plus Marcelo Brozovic for the two-time Premier League winner.
But Lampard has no interest in losing Kante, despite also being told Christian Eriksen is available too.
Finally, Michy Batshuayi has rejoined Crystal Palace on loan after signing a one-year extension to his Chelsea deal.
The Belgium international spent the second half of the 2018/19 campaign at Selhurst Park, scoring seven times in just 13 games.
Batshuayi became Chelsea's FOURTH striker in Lampard's pecking order this summer following the big-money arrival of Timo Werner.
And the Blues can now cash in on Batshuayi next summer after his deal was extended to 2022.
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FRANKLY SPEAKING
Frank Lampard admits he must do better with Chelsea this season after a summer of spending.
He said: “I didn't come into this job to fight for fourth place, although I know last year that it was an achievement and one of our goals that we set out to.
“I didn't come in to just bring academy players into the first-team and say I made debuts for this many players, I came here to win.
“Any club at our level has to try and tick the major boxes and recruitment is a huge part of that.
“The pressure on me to do better than last season should be standard, regardless of anything. And that comes with the territory of this job.
“I don't want to talk about us making a statement, I understand the players brought in will obviously get a lot of talk about us.
“Last year we were very happy to achieve a finish in the Champions League positions.”
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GONZ WITH THE WIND
Chelsea flop Gonzalo Higuain is ready to rubber stamp a move to David Beckham's Inter Miami.
The Argentina international is due in the United States imminently and will have to quarantine before being able to join up with Beckham's squad.
The former Real Madrid striker isn't needed by new Juventus boss Andrea Pirlo, who wants Barcelona's Luis Suarez up-front for the Serie A champs.
And with Beckham's team in desperate need of a world-class frontman to boost a shot shy side who've won just twice in their debut MLS season, Higuain's arrival is a massive boost.
Following hot on the heels of former Juve team-mate Blaise Matuidi, Higuain will take up one of the club's designated player spots in South Florida.
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KANTE BELIEVE IT
Chelsea have rejected a player-plus-cash bid from Inter Milan for N’Golo Kante.
The Telegraph claims ex-Blues boss Antonio Conte offered cash plus Marcelo Brozovic for the two-time Premier League winner.
But Frank Lampard has no interest in losing Kante, despite also being told Christian Eriksen is available too.
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GETTING SHIRTY
Billy Gilmour has been handed Michy Batshuayi's No23 shirt after the striker joined Crystal Palace on loan.
Chelsea announced earlier today that Gilmour would continue wearing his No47 jersey from last season.
But the midfielder will instead rock a new number thanks to Batshuayi's Eagles switch.
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NEW RED DEVIL
John Barnes reckons Gareth Bale should join Man United this summer despite links with Chelsea, Liverpool and Spurs.
Barnes told BonusCodeBets: “If Gareth Bale was to come to the Premier League, I couldn’t imagine Liverpool or Chelsea wanting to sign him, especially from a financial point of view.
“In terms of the way he plays, Manchester City would be best suited for him, but they aren’t going to want to sign him.
'Tottenham Hotspur is a club who he has played for before but is he the type of player that Jose Mourinho wants, I don’t think so.
“Manchester United is probably the best club for him, but it is whether they want him despite considering his age and the salary he comes with.”
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NO FREE RIDE
The Premier League have launched a crackdown on illegal streaming services and IPTV ahead of the new season.
England's top flight aims to put a stop to ALL illegal online match viewing in a bitter blow to freeloading armchair fans everywhere.
The Prem have thrown money at the problem in a bid to finally quash the money sapping issue.
And Scottish tech firm Visualworks have developed cutting edge software to help them in their fight, according to the Daily Record.
The tool will warn users of the dangers of signing up to free or low price IPTV (Internet Protocol Television) services.
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MOR PLEASE
Atletico Madrid have rejected a £48million bid from Juventus for Chelsea flop Alvaro Morata.
The Mail claims Andrea Pirlo is keen on bringing the Spanish striker back to Turin this summer.
However, Atletico have only just made his loan from the Blues permanent for a whopping £58m.
And Juventus will have to offer at least that to get their hands on Morata.
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BRAN BACK
Branislav Ivanovic is in talks with West Brom over a stunning Premier League return.
The Chelsea icon has left Zenit St Petersburg and is now a free agent.
The Telegraph claims he is in talks with West Brom over a one-year deal.
It comes after Ivanovic revealed last month he was close to joining Everton, but the move appears to have collapsed.
Ivanovic said: “I will probably continue my career at Everton. I received a good offer from them.
“I will see how things will turn out.”
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FROM SUNSPORT'S MARTIN LIPTON
Prem players have agreed to dump the Black Lives Matter slogan in favour of a new anti-racism message.
The 20 club skippers confirmed SunSport’s report that the Black Lives Matters logo worn during last season’s restarted campaign will be replaced by the sleeve badge declaring “No Room For Racism”.
The badge will feature on all player and officials’ shirts throughout the season to “act as a constant reminder of the commitment by the Premier League, its clubs, players and PGMOL to eradicate racism”.
Players will continue to “take a knee” in support of the anti-racism movement, a gesture inspired by the death of American George Floyd at the hands of police in Minnesota earlier this summer.
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OH DANNY BOY
Danny Drinkwater has opened up over his infamous headbutt on Jota while on loan at Aston Villa.
The Chelsea flop told the Telegraph: “I got some stick from the fans and I woke up and I was raging.
“After training I planned to go and speak to Dean Smith about things, but then I went and headbutted Jota.
“We were on the same team, that’s how stupid it was. I’ve never done that, I’ve never laid someone out before. It was ridiculous. I apologised straight away and I had to go home.
“I texted him straight after to apologise and take full responsibility. I Google translated it into Spanish as well to make sure he’d understand.”
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BATS AWAY
Michy Batshuayi has rejoined Crystal Palace on loan after signing a one-year extension to his Chelsea deal.
The Belgium international spent the second half of the 2018/19 campaign at Selhurst Park, scoring seven times in just 13 games.
Batshuayi became Chelsea's FOURTH striker in Frank Lampard's pecking order this summer following the big-money arrival of Timo Werner.
And the Blues can now cash in on Batshuayi next summer after his deal was extended to 2022.
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TOMORI LATEST
Lampard has also confirmed Fikayo Tomori's loan move to Everton is not going ahead, because he's in contention to face Brighton.
The Blues boss added: “Fikayo trained with us today and is in contention for the Brighton game so that's where we're at.”
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INJURY NEWS
Frank Lampard has confirmed the extent of Chelsea's injury problems, confirming Hakim Ziyech, Ben Chilwell, Thiago Silva and Billy Gilmour are all out for at least this weekend.
Lampard said: “Hakim Ziyech took an injury to his knee against Brighton in the friendly game, so he won’t be fit for Brighton.
“We hope it’s a couple of weeks, but we’ll have to see on that one a little bit.
“Ben Chilwell is working towards fitness, he won’t be fit for Brighton but has developed and improved this week and his heading in the right direction, so that’s good news for us.
“Thiago Silva is now in London but is not training with us until the weekend, so I doubt very much he’ll be in contention for the Brighton game.
“Billy Gilmour is a longer-term injury he’ll be out for a couple of months with the operation he had.”
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GO FIGURE
The Blues have confirmed their squad numbers for the Premier League season.
Here are those numbers…
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CHELSEA FIXTURES
Here are the Blues' opening games of the season.
And their clashes against fellow 'Big Six' opponents.
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DELIGHTED
Frank Lampard is still pleased as punch to have Kai Havertz on board.
The Blues boss told Chelseafc.com: “He is a player I have been aware of for a long time and as a fellow attacking midfield player, I have paid particular attention to those type of players for some time.
“I was aware of his talent and in conjunction with the club.
“We know how we want to go forward and look to improve in the right areas, and for players who are going to be here hopefully to improve and mature, but are already at a very high level.
“He absolutely fitted the bill for us, so I am delighted to have him.”
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KANTE BELIEVE IT
Manchester United are plotting a shock transfer swoop for N'Golo Kante, according to sensational reports.
The French midfielder's future is still unclear with the Blues thought to be open to the idea of moving him on to raise funds.
Roman Abramovich has splashed out £230million this summer to bring in Timo Werner, Hakim Ziyech, Kai Havertz and Ben Chilwell.
And the sale of Kante would help reduce the deficit.
Now according to Tuttosport in Italy, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is ready to make an ambitious bid to land the star.
United already have Paul Pogba, Bruno Fernandes, Scott McTominay, Nemanja Matic and Fred at their disposal in midfield – plus summer-signing Donny van de Beek from Ajax.
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ETHAN: LIFE'S A PITCH
Ethan Ampadu has told Sheffield United boss Chris Wilder he’ll be fighting tooth and nail for game time at Bramall Lane.
The Chelsea loanee, 19, said: “[I want] game time. That’s first and foremost but along with that comes developing as a player and developing as a person.
“I had been in touch the last couple of weeks with my agent speaking about options this year and when this loan came about my first instinct was very positive because they did well last year and everyone had positive things to say about the place.
“The gaffer, also the way he could develop me as a player.
“I had good opinions about this place, that got finalised once I spoke to him he plays with freedom and high intensity – that suits me.
“The expectations of wanting to win and everything just suited me.”
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IT'S NOT ABOUT THE MONEY
Blues midfielder Danny Drinkwater has reminded fans he is not a mercenary after an awful few years at Chelsea.
The midfielder, 30, played just six first-team games on loan at Burnley and Aston Villa last season.
He told the Telegraph: “Look, I know my Chelsea move hasn’t worked out how anybody would have wanted and I’ve made mistakes, but it’s not as simple as me just not playing football or picking up a wage.
“Money doesn’t solve anything. The pay cheque doesn’t really help at all, you don’t even think about money.
“There have been things that come above football that have not been as simple as I’d like. I’m not looking for sympathy, f*** me.
“I don’t want that, but I suppose I’d just like people to understand it’s not all gravy when you earn so much money and that I do care.”
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BAT FLIES WITH EAGLES
Michy Batshuayi has passed his medical at Crystal Palace ahead of his return to Selhurst Park on loan.
The Belgian striker, 26, arrives fresh off a two-goal haul for his country against Iceland.
According to Belgian publication Het Nieuwsblad, he has passed his tests and will be unveiled as a Palace player soon.
Batshuayi signed a contract extension at Chelsea recently, with the club hoping to make money out of selling him eventually.
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WE'RE NOT LIKE YOU GUYS
Jurgen Klopp has told Chelsea that Liverpool won’t even try and match their spending power.
The Premier League-winning gaffer said: “For some clubs it seems less important how uncertain the future is. Owned by countries, owned by oligarchs, that's the truth. We are a different kind of club.'
“We got to the Champions League final two years ago, we won it last year.
“We became Premier League champions last season by being the club we are.
“We cannot change it overnight and say ‘now we want to behave like Chelsea.’
“They are signing a lot of players. That can be an advantage, but that means they have to fit together.”
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FAN PLAN IN BALANCE
Prem boss Richard Masters has admitted he is in the dark over when fans will be allowed back into grounds, reports MARTIN LIPTON.
League chiefs had hoped to open all turnstiles from October 1 with a staged return of supporters for the first time since March.
Clubs including Spurs and Manchester United were keen to run trials of selected fans at their opening home game of the campaign this month.
But with the Government having banned “social” gatherings of more than six people and Doncaster races putting the final three days of the St Leger meeting behind closed doors, Masters was unable to say how it will affect Prem plans.
He said: “We are always subject to a government decision and they haven't made that decision yet.
“All I can say is that the Premier League and the Premier League clubs stand ready willing and able to continue with our test events and test proposals and open our turnstiles from October 1 if we are given permission to do so.”
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