Chelsea loanee Victor Moses has reportedly been ruled out for five weeks after suffering a muscle tear while playing for the Turkish club Fenerbahce.
Victor has been at Fenerbahce since the winter transfer market on an 18-month loan deal from the west London heavyweights and has been playing regular football in Turkey.
He netted and assisted in Fenerbahce’s 5-0 win against Gazisehir in their opening league match, but left the pitch hobbling after 77 minutes because of an injury.
Fener have carried out checks to determine the area of his injury and he has torn a muscle.
And according to a Turkish daily Star, he’s set miss the next five weeks of action as the wing-back recovers on the sidelines.
Victor will be undergoing rehabilitation in Turkey as the star looks to recover from the injury as soon as possible and return to the action.
The Blues’ medical team are likely to monitor his recovery as well and coordinate with their counterparts at Super Lig giants.
The 28-year-old versatile player still has a contract until the summer of 2021 with the Stamford Bridge outfit.
In other news, Chelsea U23s picked up a convincing 3-0 win against Liverpool Under-23s on Monday evening, largely thanks to extremely impressive performances from both Michy Batshuayi and Antonio Rudiger.
the German had been sidelined since the 1-1 draw with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s Manchester United in April, in which the defender picked up a nasty knee injury which required surgery.
However, the former Roma player made his long-awaited return to action at Chelsea, playing the full 90 minutes versus Liverpool and forming a stunning partnership with young Marc Guehi in defence.
Chelsea turned down an enquiry from the Premier League side West Ham United for highly-rated full-back Reece James before the transfer market slammed shut almost two weeks ago, according to a report from a British daily newspaper the Telegraph.
It’s no secret that Reece, like the striker Tammy Abraham, midfielder Mason Mount and defenderFikayo Tomori, has a big part to play in a new-look Blues side now coached by club legend and former midfielder Frank Lampard.
The 19-year-old ace was outstanding during a loan stint at Wigan Athletic last campaign with EFL Championship survival and a place in the Team of the Season just rewards for a star who looked a cut above in the second division.
In any other era, Reece might have been forced out on loan once again but Frank is determined to give youth a chance and this bodes well for a muscle-bound youngster who has won two EPL 2 titles with the Blues.
The Telegraph reports that West Ham were keen on signing James this summer, potentially to replace Ryan Fredericks and the ageing Argentine star Pablo Zabaleta on the right-flank side of Manuel Pellegrini’s defence.
But the club never had a chance to secure the services of the promising Englishman and bring him to London Stadium this summer.
Chelsea turned down as much as £25 million from another Premier League club Crystal Palace, according to the Independent and they’ll even loan Davide Zappacosta, an experienced Italy international, to AS Roma in order to make room for Reece in West London.
Callum Hudson-Odoi is reportedly set to sign a fresh contract with Chelsea worth £200,000 per week, according to the latest reports.
The 18-year-old forward has less than a year remaining on his existing deal and could leave for a nominal compensation sum next summer if an agreement is not sealed.
Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich have already had multiple bids rejected for Hudson-Odoi, while the attacker wanted to leave in January because of his lack of first-team opportunities under the Italian manager Maurizio Sarri.
But according to MailOnline, the Blues are in ‘advanced talks’ with Callum and are now finalising a new five-year deal worth £200,000 a week. The report states that only ‘small details’ have prevented the deal from being agreed.
Callum returned to main team training this week after recovering from the Achilles injury the star suffered in April.
He has made 28 first-team matches for Chelsea and was rewarded for his form last campaign with his first senior England call-up in March.
Callum is not expected to make his first appearance under new head coach Frank Lampard until after the international break.
But Frank, who is still searching for his first win as the Blues manager, has made it clear Hudson-Odoi is a vital part of his plans this season.
Meantime, Davide Zappacosta is close to joining AS Roma on a season-long loan from the Blues as the full-back lands in the Italian capital.
He has long been expected to return to his homeland this summer, having been restricted to just 13 EPL starts since being signed from Torino two seasons ago.
Chelsea star Michy Batshuayi plans to stay at the club and fight for his place ins pite of being overlooked by manager Frank Lampard so far this campaign.
The striker is yet to make a matchday roster for the first-team under Frank, despite Blues struggling to hit the target upfront in their first two matches.
Lampard’s men are still searching for their first win this term, while Michy has been downgraded to playing with the development team.
The snub from Lampard hasn’t deterred Batshuayi though, and the 25-year-old star is set to reject a move and remain at Chelsea, according to the Evening Standard.
Italian giants AS Roma were reportedly one of the clubs interested in taking the forward on loan.
Michy sent a message to Frank on Monday with two goals versus Liverpool and believes he can still change the Engish boss’ mind about his inclusion in the senior-team.
Lampard watched from the stands as the club’s development squad beat Liverpool 3-0 and will have been impressed with the Belgian’s finishing.
Chelsea paid £33 million to lure him from Marseille back in 2016, but the centre-forward has struggled to become a regular first-team striker at Stamford Bridge.
Tammy Abraham and Olivier Giroud are currently ahead of him in the striking pecking order at Stamford Bridge.
Batshuayi was Antonio Conte’s first acquisition but has consistently been shipped out on loan since his arrival.
While a short stint with Borussia Dortmund was a big success, Batshuayi found life at Valencia last campaign difficult and swapped Spain for Crystal Palace in January.
Tiemoue Bakayoko’s return to AS Monaco is on hold after Chelsea director Marina Granovskaia blocked a loan switch to the Ligue 1 side.
The Blues are looking to get the French defensive midfielder off the books but are prepared to loan him out again this campaign.
The long-term plan, however, is to recoup the major part of the £40 million they spent on the 25-year-old star and Granovskaia is concerned that Les Monegsaques aren’t a big enough team to showcase his value, according to the latest report from a French TV channel RMC Sport.
Bakayoko enjoyed a decent stint away from Stamford Bridge at AC Milan last campaign but a falling out with former manager Gennaro Gattuso ensured he wouldn’t return to the San Siro.
AS Monaco – who are also in the race to land Southampton midfielder Mario Lemina – remain hopeful they can secure the services of Bakayoko, whose entourage are unhappy with the decision taken by Marina.
They feel Chelsea should give the transfer the green light as Bakayoko does not feature in Frank Lampard’s plans and he’s desperate for playing time.
A deal could be resurrected if no other buyers are found, but Chelsea are holding out for a more high-profile club to move for him.
Meanwhile, Callum Hudson-Odoi took part in his side’s training on Tuesday as the Englishman edges closer to full fitness.
The Blues talent suffered a ruptured Achilles versus Burnley in April, and there were fears Callum could miss up to nine months of action.
However, the forward now looks set to return by the end of August, providing head coach Frank Lampard with a timely boost.
Chelsea defender Davide Zappacosta is nearing a loan transfer away from Stamford Bridge, with the Italian star set to travel to AS Roma for a medical.
Davide has struggled to make an impression in England since his move from the Serie A side Torino in 2017, with Spain international Cesar Azpilicueta being the go-to at right-back for Chelsea.
With promising youngster Reece James expected to feature once he returns from an ankle injury, senior-team opportunities look incredibly hard to come by for Davide. As a result, Fabrizio Romano states AS Roma have agreed on a loan deal for the 27-year-old star.
Zappacosta is set for a medical in the coming days and, if all goes well, he’ll spend the next campaign on loan with the Serie A side.
There is no mention of whether Giallorossi will have an option to land him permanently, but it is likely that the Blues will look to include such a clause in the newly-sealed deal.
Since joining Chelsea, Davide has managed just 13 starts in the EPL, and he hasn’t even made the bench for either of Frank Lampard’s league matches in charge, even with Cesar struggling.
Frank has persisted with the Spanish star, and many supporters are hoping that it will be Reece who manages to make the position his own this term.
19-year-old Reece is closing in on his return to action and, speaking after the 4-0 defeat to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s Manchester United, Frank revealed just how much he was looking forward to welcoming Reece back to the team.
He enjoyed a fantastic campaign on loan with Wigan Athletic the previous season, and has apparently done enough to move ahead of Davide in the pecking order at Stamford Bridge.
Since completing a €39 million transfer from Ligue 1 club Marseille in 2016, Michy Batshuayi has gone out on loan three times to Crystal Palace, Borussia Dortmund and Valencia.
The 25-year-old star has only played one full campaign, in fact, at Chelsea during the 2016/17 term. He did not do badly either, with nine goals to his name in 28 matches to help the club win the EPL.
Since then, however, Michy has struggled to earn minutes at Stamford Bridge. Therefore, he has spent the past two campaigns going out on loan to gain valuable playing time.
Although there have been talks going about claiming that Serie A giants AS Roma were plotting a permanent transfer. Apparently, he is done with loan stints and could depart permanently if things don’t change at Chelsea.
Not helping matters for the Belgian forward is that he’s yet to make a competitive match under Lampard.
The new Chelsea manager left him out of the squad for the Premier League match against Leicester City.
But it appears fears over Michy are unfounded as Frank has plans for the Belgium international.
“Michy’s here as one of our three strikers,” said Frank, according to Football London.
“He’s very much in our plans and competing with Tammy [Abraham] and Olivier [Giroud] for that space.”
Batshuayi has netted 19 goals and provided four assists in 53 games for Chelsea across all competitions.
Meantime, As Sky Sports Italia’s Fabrizio Romano reports, AS Roma and Chelsea have agreed on a season-long loan for the 27-year-old Davide Zappacosta, and he’s set for his medical in the coming days.
Chelsea winger Christian Pulisic rejected the opportunity to join Manchester United because his father disliked the Portuguese manager Jose Mourinho, according to his former manager.
The 20-year-old star agreed to join the west Londoners in a £58.7 million deal from the German club Borussia Dortmund in January transfer window, with Chelsea beating several sides to his signature.
Many regard Christian as Chelsea’s long-term replacement for Belgium international Eden Hazard, who left to sign for Real Madrid in July.
But the highly-rated American sensation could have swapped Dortmund for Manchester as his former coach at Brackley Town, Robin Walker, claimed the Red Devils were interested in signing the youngster.
Robin revealed that Jose’s tendency to not field youngsters prevented any possible deal from happening.
“He wouldn’t go to Manchester United because of Jose Mourinho,” he told a British outlet The Telegraph.
“His father couldn’t stand Mourinho, because he didn’t promote young players. It was at that point I asked: ‘What about London? That’s where it’s at.’
“I was trying to sell the city. His agent agreed, saying: ‘When you make these decisions, it’s all about investment and property.’ I was delighted that he did sign [for Chelsea].”
Jose, who won three league titles at Stamford Bridge, was eventually sacked by Manchester United in December and replaced by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
Pulisic has featured in all three of his side’s games this season, coming off the bench versus United and starting both UEFA Super Cup tie with Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool and Frank Lampard’s first home match as a head coach against Leicester City.