🔵View from the Bridge - All eyes on Stamford Bridge tonight
The nightmare before the season.
👋Good morning Blues. Chelsea’s men are back in action tonight and there’s lots of transfer drama unfolding. With injuries, announcements, awards, and friendlies, this is an unmissable edition.
📰 Headlines
The biggest (mostly non-transfer) Chelsea news.
🔵Chelsea are in action tonight (Friday, August 8th) in a first friendly against Bayer Leverkusen. I will be there with live updates and full coverage for football.london.
🔵Levi Colwill has suffered an ACL injury and will miss most of the season - Nizaar Kinsella, BBC Sport.
He has undergone surgery after an incident in training on Monday, the first day back for pre-season.
Colwill went for a scan on Wednesday and the injury was not caused by a tackle - Kieran Gill, Daily Mail.
Gill adds that CFC could turn to the market for a new centre-back in order to cover for Colwill.
🔵Trevoh Chalobah and Marc Cucurella are among those to wish him well in his recovery via Instagram.
Chalobah: "We are all behind you bro. You will be back stronger. 💙”
Cucurella: "Speedy recovery! Come back stronger amigo. 💙”
Romeo Lavia: “we’re ALL with you bro 💙”
🔵Enzo Maresca spoke to the media on Thursday morning and addressed Nicolas Jackson’s future (among other things):
"Nico is okay. When the window is open, anything can happen. This involves Nico's situation. At the moment, the two strikers have arrived. So we will see."
On Estevao Willian: “For me, the biggest mistake we can do with him is to put him under pressure. He is very young and needs to adapt. He's a fantastic player, he is very young. He's a happy boy."
🔵More on Estevao as Chelsea announced he will wear the No.41 shirt for the new season - Tashan Deniran-Alleyne, London Evening Standard.
Jorrel Hato takes the No.21, leaving Ben Chilwell without a designated number as he looks for a transfer.
Jamie Gittens embraces history with the No.11. No pressure, kid.
🔵Chelsea are well represented in the Ballon d’Or lists with Cole Palmer up for the men’s award, Estevao nominated for the Kopa Trophy, Maresca in the mix for men’s coach of the year, and the men’s team competing for Club of the Year - Mark Brus, CaughtOffside.
The Women have even more to shout about as Weike Kapetein goes for the women’s Kopa Trophy, Hannah Hampton for the women’s Yashin Trophy, Sonia Bompastor as women’s Coach of the Year, and CFCW as women’s Club of the Year.
Sandy Baltimore, Lucy Bronze, Hampton (the only goalkeeper on the list), and Johanna Rytting Kaneyrd are up for the main women’s award.
Last result: Chelsea 3-0 PSG (Palmer 22’, 30’, Pedro 43’) - FIFA Club World Cup Final. MetLife Stadium, New Jersey.
Next fixture: Bayer Leverkusen (Friendly) - Friday, August 8th. Stamford Bridge. 7pm.
💸Transfer talk
Cutting to the chase with the gossip you actually need to know, rather than sheer speculation.
🚨Since Tuesday, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall (Everton), Marc Guiu (Sunderland, loan), and Lesley Ugochukwu (Burnley) have all had their transfers completed and made official.
🚨Talks with Manchester United have opened for Alejandro Garnacho - Alex Crook, talkSPORT.
United want over £40million but that could drop after a deal was struck to sign Benjamin Sesko from RB Leipzig - Ben Jacobs.
🚨Meanwhile, Chelsea themselves are hopeful of getting Xavi Simons for less than £50million but no bid has yet been made - Kaveh Solhekol, Sky Sports.
🚨Talks continue with Leipzig over Simons despite a delay in agreeing a fee - Bobby Vincent, football.london.
🚨Jackson is valued at around £80million with Newcastle United considering an offer after missing out on other targets - Mark Douglas, iNews.
The striker is increasingly likely to leave - David Ornstein, The Athletic.
🚨For the latest transfer news over the weekend, the London is Blue Podcast had Ben Jacobs on to discuss all things relating to the summer window.
That will keep you going whilst Si Phillips continues to provide breaking news and analysis, including a fun look at the leaked third kit, if you’re bored of ITK stuff.
⚽Cobham to Kingsmeadow
Catching up with the women’s and academy sides.
👋Vera Jones and Lola Brown have both left CFCW on loan - Chelsea FC.
Jones will spend the year at Bristol City with Brown going to Crystal Palace.
📆Premier League 2 fixtures have been released, pitting the Under-21s/Development Squad against Manchester City on the opening day at Kingsmeadow.
It will be played on Monday, August 18 at 7pm with a visit to Newcastle four days later - Full list.
✅A mixed-age Chelsea team beat Stoke City Under-21s at Cobham on Tuesday.
Chizzy Ezenwata scored twice in a 2-1 win with a rotated team not including those who started last weekend against Preston North End - Parth Gupta.
A match for the bomb/loan squad had been planned for Saturday but has now been cancelled with the Under-21s playing on Sunday.
👀Chelsea have been drawn into Group D of the Under-17 PL Cup - YouthHawk.
They will play home games against Charlton Athletic and Brighton, going away to Southampton - Chelsea Youth.
The club won the competition two years ago and are deemed one of the favourites - The Chelsea Spot.
⛔Donnell McNeilly and Alfie Gilchrist will leave the club this window - Kieran Gill, Daily Mail.
McNeilly has rejected contract offers and Gilchrist has plenty of interest from the Championship with at least four admirers.
👀Inside SW6
A look at what has been going on at the club and a noticeboard for events and other tidbits.
⭐Estevao’s arrival in England has been one of the go-to pieces of content supporters are waiting for and Chelsea delivered, publishing an interview with him and some behind-the-scenes footage of his first few days.
"I am very happy, it feels very rewarding to represent Chelsea, one of the biggest clubs in the world,” he said. “I am very happy and I hope to help the team in the best way possible."
🙌On Wednesday night, Chelsea celebrated their Club World Cup triumph and unbeaten domestic season for the women with a trophy presentation at Stamford Bridge - Liam Twomey, The Athletic.
The players, new signings, and staff all paraded the many pieces of silverware in front of a paying audience.
Speaking at the event, men’s captain Reece James said: “It means a lot to me personally. I’ve been here in difficult times and had struggles myself, so to win this trophy at the end of a tough season means a lot.”
⮑On Maresca, James added: "What he achieved for the club speaks for itself. When he arrived, we were in a difficult period of falling short and this season we have taken a big leap in the right direction.
“This is where Chelsea should be year in, year out. We have an amazing group who deserve to play in the best competitions."
💪Yet more from Kieran Gill, this time in his profile of Willie Isa, who joined Chelsea as a ‘cultural architect’ earlier this year.
His fascinating insight into the former rugby league pro is full of brilliant anecdotes, including how Isa ‘marries his schedule’ to the players’, being there for ‘every session, every journey, every game.’
Last month he intervened in Miami when a stranger ‘accosted’ a group of Chelsea’s Spanish speakers in a shopping mall.
Really, just check that piece out, there’s too much that could be included here.
💰A multi-year sponsorship deal with Champions Travel and Travel Connection has been announced as the club’s first hospitality travel partner - Chelsea FC.
Both companies have worked closely with the club before but this goes to ‘strengthen the relationship.’
📆On this day…
A look back in club history to something memorable.
😭So many sad throwbacks recently, and the trend continues.
In 2020, Chelsea lost 4-1 to Bayern Munich in the delayed Champions League last-16 knockout second leg.
It capped off a disastrous 7-1 aggregate defeat and a nightmare two games which were played six months apart.
Anyhow, 10 months later they were lifting the trophy in Porto. Swings and roundabouts.
😬To show just how warped the schedule became at that time, in 2015 Chelsea lost 2-1 to Swansea City on the opening day of the season, sparking Jose Mourinho’s horrendous third year in charge.
It is maybe best remembered as the day Eva Carneiro angered Mourinho for jumping off the bench late on to treat an injury…
It started a controversial process in which she left and Mourinho was in a lot of hot water over his conduct.
In 2014, an earlier version of Mourinho’s Chelsea beat Fenerbahce 2-0 in a friendly. Pretty uneventful, really.
2004 saw Chelsea win 3-0 over Real Zaragoza at Stamford Bridge in another friendly, this one also managed by Mourinho. It was a tribute match for Gianfranco Zola with Didier Drogba scoring.
In 2006, finally, Chelsea beat Feyenoord 1-0. Frank Lampard scored for…you guessed it, Mourinho’s team.
🏆In 2010, Chelsea lost the Community Shield to Manchester United, going down 3-1. Javier ‘Chicharito’ Hernandez scored a goal by kicking the ball into his own face, which probably sums that one up.
📝Last year Chelsea signed Aaron Anselmino from Boca Juniors. He hasn’t made much of an impact yet and nobody seems to know what the plan for him in the final few weeks of the window is either.
👏Supporters’ Trust
A noticeboard dedicated to you, the fans. This is your community area and your space, so please do get in touch to be featured.
📌⮑To have your own say, offer feedback, or promote a Chelsea-related event, please get in touch using this form - it’s the only way of definitely having something featured in this newsletter!
🎟A decision has been made to make transferring away tickets possible for 2025/26, reversing the initial policy - Chelsea Supporters’ Trust.
On that note, tickets for West Ham (A) have been on sale and will only be available in digital form - Full details.
From 10am this morning, season ticket holders with 103 loyalty points can get them.
🖥Talk from the terraces
This is the part where we show you what is being said about Chelsea by other fans, pundits, or analysts.
🤑It’s the Kieran Gill show today, but he has written about Jackson, one of the players of the moment.
His account of why a price tag of £80million is fair reflects insider knowledge of scouting and data that the eye test does not do justice.
“They believe Jackson deserves to sit somewhere in the middle of that sliding scale – worth more than [Hugo] Ekitike and Sesko but less than [Alexander] Isak,” he writes.
“Despite intermediaries appearing to offer him around in private, Jackson has not thrown his toys out of the pram in public…
“He is a 24-year-old striker who holds defences to account with his sheer willingness to sprint in behind, and is likewise good at holding up the ball when receiving passes from the back line to bring others into play.”
🔍 If it’s tactics you’re after, Kieran Doyle-Davis has gotten into great detail on how Chelsea could defend next season.
Kieran has also got the great out-of-possession expert, The Athletic’s Jon Mackenzie, on his YouTube channel. The pair break down Chelsea’s pressing and organisational structures, and discuss what could come next. It may be nerdy, but they leave no stone unturned.
Also available in podcast form.
😏In terms of getting value for money, Nizaar Kinsella (BBC Sport) has focused on Chelsea nearly turning a profit on Dewsbury-Hall despite such a lack of Premier League football over his 12 month stay.
“The sale of Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall is particularly important as Uefa's recent punishment for financial control violations suggests Chelsea must sell players from their last Conference League squad to ensure a ‘positive transfer balance’ this summer,” he reports.
“If not, they can't register new signings like Joao Pedro, Jamie Gittens and Liam Delap for the Champions League by September.”
💭View from the Bridge says
Our take on the latest Chelsea news.
This is more like it, a really busy few days of transfers, players training, celebrations, and now some actual football to get into.
It’s a massive shame that Colwill is going to be out, probably for a while. He has had such a good few months and made himself instrumental to the team.
What happens at centre-back will be interesting to see, and I’ll have a front row seat tonight as it happens.
With two games to cover and much more to follow, Tuesday’s edition will include a special recap of the friendlies from the press box.
📸Picture of the week
A standout snap from the world of Chelsea.
Boyhood dream comes true.
🗣Who am I? I’m Tom Coley, a senior football writer for football.london and a Chelsea nut. I’ve been writing about the club for more than eight years now and have followed them for almost two decades.
I’m chronically online, scouring the news for Chelsea stories, so I’ve taken it upon myself to do the hard yards and compile it all into one place for you. Coming in twice a week, I’ll have all the latest Chelsea news and analysis right to your inbox.
Edition number: 15
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Agreed, Ron. Colwill had a brilliant end to the season and really started to establish himself. He will be hard to replace but Chelsea do have plenty of centre-back options...
Levi Colwell will be a big miss he was finding his feet in a settled defence not just any injury an ACL hopefully we can find another settled defence starting tonight.