Chelsea FC, along with the rest of most global football, are off indefinitely, but there are multiple reports indicating that the Premier League could return to action in June, playing all matches behind closed doors.
That is of course contingent on how well England and Europe do in regards to containment and mitigation of the coronavirus of course. Everything hinges on the guidelines and regulations put in place by the top health officials in the government. That said, we still have plenty of Blues news items and transfer rumors to cover.
We start with 21-year-old winger Christian Pulisic, who has drawn a lot of high praise for his dribbling skills, and comparisons to United States Men’s National Team legend Landon Donovan.
Said his national teammate Aaron Long via ESPN:
“His acceleration, and it’s not just his top speed, it’s quickness and top speed mixed. The way he can dribble around defenders and make it look effortless is crazy. It’s something I’ve never seen before.”
Pulisic, out injured since New Year’s Day with an adductor injury, has utilized the extra recovery and rehabilitation time afforded from the suspension of play. He’s been very active on Instagram on TikTok during the lockdown, and looks to be feeling fine right now.
Elsewhere, Frank Lampard aspires to bring Chelsea up to the level of Liverpool and Manchester City, but he will not be copying those teams in order to get there. No, it will have to be done the unique, Chelsea way.
“I don’t want to jump the gun because what Liverpool and Manchester City have done has been clear; I’d be a fool to suggest we can bridge that gap quickly because there has been a lot of hard work at those clubs in terms of recruitment of top players, of great coaches,” Lampard said on The Football Show (transcript Sky Sports).
“We have to be part of that process. We have to do it our way, we can’t try to copy. We have had experienced players around this year to help the youngsters but we know there are little areas within the squad… some of that’s what we have on the ground here already, some of that is how we might look to recruit.”
Moving on, it’s time for a check in on Willian.
The Brazilian winger is out of contract at the end of this season, but he famously made the remark a few weeks ago that he would play for free, if needs be, in order to get the season completed.
Regarding his potential next destination, Willian prefers to stay in the Premier League. If he really had his choice in the matter, he’d stay in London. The 31-year-old has been linked with a move to Arsenal, and a reunion with Jose Mourinho at Tottenham Hotspur.
In terms of teams abroad, Don Balon says FC Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain are keen as well.
Elsewhere Inter Milan striker Lautaro Martinez is on a lot of team’s wish lists, including Chelsea. Barca, Real Madrid and Manchester City are in the running as well.
Martinez, 22, has a £97.5 million release clause, as he’s in year three of a five-year deal that he signed when he moved over for £20m from Racing Club in 2018.
His teammate, former Chelsea, Everton and Manchester United man Romelu Lukaku, definitely understands why. The big Belgian had high praise for Martinez.
“Amazing, the guy is really a beast,” Lukaku responded when asked about Martinez on Instagram Live.
“He is doing so well, he keeps improving, I love him.”
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” regularly appears on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
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