Today brought some huge Chelsea news ahead of the blockbuster clash in the Premier League weekend tomorrow. The Blues will head to Wembley Stadium to face Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday in what is the weekend’s headliner fixture.
Friday brought the announcement of midfielder and 2017 PFA Player of the Year N’Golo Kante tying down his long term future to the club. Kante signed a new five year deal worth £290,000-a-week until 2023. He is now the team’s best paid player. While this is extremely important for the west London side, it also naturally raises questions about Eden Hazard, the team’s best player.
Friday also brought the weekly news conference of Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri, and with it a question about his optimism for a Hazard extension getting done.
“I hope so. I hope so. I don’t know the evolution of the new contract, but I think we can do (it),” Sarri responded.
Hazard, highly sought after by Real Madrid, will see his current deal expire at the end of next season. Getting back to Kante though, Sarri expounded more about the newly signed, sealed and delivered transaction.
“I don’t know the evolution of the deal, for the new contract, but he’s very well. Fortunately, he played the last match with the national team on Sunday, so he was here on Tuesday. For us, that’s very important,” he added.
“N’Golo, for us, is not just an important player. He’s a ‘determining’ player for us. So I’m really happy with the new contract. Clearly very pleased for him. And it’s a very important news, I think.”
Tottenham Hotspur vs Chelsea FC FYIs
Kickoff: 530 pm local, Wembley Stadium, Saturday Nov 24
Odds via Oddschecker: Tottenham 9/5, Draw 5/2, Chelsea 17/10
Starting XI Predictions, Match Preview: go to this link
Injury Report for both teams: go to this link
Mauricio Pochettino Press Conference Videos and Quotes: coming shortly
Injury Report: go to this link
Score Prediction: Chelsea 1, Tottenham 1
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, regularly appears as a guest pundit on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
He also contributes sociopolitical essays to Lineups.com and Chicago Now. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram. The content of his cat’s Instagram account is unquestionably superior to his.