It is the Mourinho who spent an age talking to another long-term Chelsea employee Thresa Conneely on Monday, the one who chatted to his former player Joe Cole after arriving 90 minutes before kick-off, relaxed with his arm draped on the one-time England star’s shoulder as he engaged in easy conversation. The one who stopped and signed a young Chelsea fan’s shirt before he headed to the dressing room for his pre-match team talk.
“Of course I thank them,” said Mourinho, when asked of the supporter reaction.
“I did it on the pitch. I live around here. I talk with them every day on the street.
“I hope to come back here [Stamford Bridge] in 20 years with my grandkids.
“They [Chelsea] belong to my history and I belong to theirs.”
Yet Mourinho wants to win. You could tell that as he challenged decisions and demanded more from his players, patrolling the touchline as he has always done.
It seemed odd to hear him talk about how well his team had played in defeat, even if the odds were stacked against them by the huge gap in income between England’s Champions League contenders and those from Portugal.
He sat in the same dugout as when he was manager, though it does make you wonder why the club waited for Mauricio Pochettino to change them given what is now the home dugout straddles the halfway line.
It did mean he was nearer the Benfica fans though, as he produced another classic Mourinho moment in the second half.
Chelsea might have paid the Lisbon club a British record £107m to sign Argentina midfielder Enzo Fernandez two years ago, but the money clearly has no bearing on how his old club’s supporters think about him.
As he went to take a corner, Fernandez was bombarded by missiles from the upper and lower sections of the stands around him.
Mourinho saw what was happening, bounced out of his seat and took off down the touchline – a reminder of when he was Porto manager at Old Trafford and celebrated knocking Manchester United out of the Champions League in 2004.
The knee slide is beyond him now. Instead, he kept himself to angry waves, telling those supporters to stop.
They might not all have acted as he wished but the bombardment at least reduced long enough for Fernandez to take the corner.
Jose the peacemaker. Jose the friend.
Benfica didn’t win – and Chelsea weren’t that good – but Mourinho’s return was memorable all the same.
ATLETICO MADRID boss Diego Simeone has escaped with a one-match ban for his Anfield Champions League red card.
Argentine Simeone was dismissed in the aftermath of Virgil van Dijk‘s stoppage time winner for Liverpool, when he became embroiled in a row with home fans.
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Diego Simeone has been handed a one-match ban for his clash with a fan at Atletico Madrid’s Champions League clash at LiverpoolCredit: Getty
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The Argentine is banned for the match with BenficaCredit: Getty
A huge skirmish boiled over when a member of the Atletico staff was accused of spitting and squirting water at Liverpool fans.
But after studying the referee’s and match delegate’s report and video images, Simeone was handed a single game ban for “unsporting conduct”.
It means the former midfielder has been banished from the dressing room and touchline for tonight’s home game with Eintracht Frankfurt.
No action has been taken against the member of the coaching staff, with Uefa seemingly keen to put the matter to bed, although Liverpool were fined £3,500 for fans throwing objects onto the pitch during the game.
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But it’s not really a surprise, as back in the Seventies Chelsea’s players, including Alan Hudson and Peter Osgood, were known as the kings of the King’s Road for their fashionable sense of style.
And the club’s 21st-century fans have maintained the tradition, according to research by betting site freebet.com, with 16 per cent getting suited and booted for a big night.
While fans of Newcastle, Burnley and Wolves were in the relegation zone with just one per cent being bothered to look smart.
The table shows there’s a clear North/South divide when it comes to off-the-pitch style.
The top seven spots are filled by teams from London and the south, with Man City and Leeds sharing eighth place with Brentford and West Ham with five per cent.
Spokesman Tim Agnew said: “Our research shows Chelsea fans are the best dressed fans in the Premier League.
“They already had a reputation for wearing Gucci and Prada and our research confirms Chelsea fans like to look sharp.”
Chelsea plunged into crisis at BOTH ends ahead of huge Liverpool clash
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Actor Phil Daniels supports the West London clubCredit: Getty – Contributor
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Celeb chef Gordon Ramsey is also a fanCredit: Getty
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Chelsea footballers John Hollins, Terry Venables, Ron Harris, George Graham and Eddie McCreadieCredit: Getty
Hayden, 30, was not in Eddie Howe’s plans but his circumstances were slightly different.
He told SunSport: “I have sympathy because footballers want to play — but everyone’s got different reasons as to why they find themselves in a so-called ‘bomb squad’.
“It happened to me because I couldn’t find a solution during that summer window which fitted in with what Newcastle also wanted.
“But I had constant contact with Eddie and was given nothing but support.”
Hayden made 187 appearances for Newcastle, won the Championship title in 2017 and had five seasons playing in the Premier League.
But a knee injury in December 2021 sidelined him for 5½ months and Howe later told him he was surplus to requirements.
“And the team had been transformed from one fighting relegation to having top-six form.
“Eddie was honest and said he had five players in front of me. You think to yourself, ‘I know where I stand’. I’d rather that than the manager not talking to me.
“You hear people talk about bomb squads where they isolate you, and that’s horrible — but Eddie and Newcastle didn’t do that.
“We had the conversation as to why he couldn’t name me in the 25-man squad.
“And it’s not as simple as, ‘Why not let him train with the first team?’. If you’re doing an 11 v 11 game and everyone’s fit, you’re not going to be able to train with the group because there are too many players.
So Eddie’s solution for me to train with the Under-23s was better. It meant I could train normally every day — and not by myself.”
Hayden actually embraced that period and even did some coaching.
He said: “The bottom line is you’re getting paid good money by the club as a professional footballer. So you give 100 per cent to them in whatever role you’re in.”
After spending the second half of last season on loan with Portsmouth, Hayden joined QPR permanently in the summer.
And now he is hoping to play for Jamaica at next summer’s World Cup.
He said: “One of the huge blessings to come out of that period was I was able to go to Jamaica for a few days to sort my passport out so I could play for them.
“Had I been playing first-team football every week I’d have not been able to.
“Now I have a chance of making the World Cup. It goes to show you can make everything work out in the end.”
While in the Europa League, Nottingham Forest subbed out injured Ola Aina for Oleksandr Zinchenko.
Uefa stunned clubs with a surprise announcement this month, revealing it had agreed an “amendment” to registry regulations.
New Liverpool hero signs shirts as he returns to football after 102 days out
The governing body announced clubs will be allowed the “temporary” replacement of one outfield player “with a long-term injury or illness.”
Uefa added: “The reasoning for the adaptation is to ensure that squad lists are not unfairly reduced and players are safeguarded from additional workload pressure.”
It remains to be seen whether Slot decides to recall Chiesa though.
Young centre-back Rhys Williams was also left out of Liverpool’s Champions League squad.
And he could get the nod if Slot feels his squad is light on defenders.
Chelsea academy graduates usually have a couple of well-trodden pathways – breakthrough, loan, first team. Or breakthrough, loan, sale.
The Blues have moved on more than 40 homegrown players in the past decade, and made £315m from selling academy-developed talent in the last four seasons alone – £100m more than Manchester City.
But their latest high-profile prospect George has bucked that trend so far and can look at how Levi Colwill, Trevoh Chalobah and Reece James have progressed to first-team success.
George’s strike against Fulham on 20 April, aged 19 years and 75 days, saw him become the club’s youngest scorer in the Premier League since Callum Hudson-Odoi netted against Burnley in January 2020.
The winger’s breakthrough season included Carabao Cup games against Barrow and Morecambe, substitute league appearances against Arsenal and Brighton, and more than 750 minutes in 12 Conference League games, including a goal in the quarter-final first-leg win at Legia Warsaw.
George, who turned 19 in February, is disrupting the ‘Chelsea’ narrative thanks to a level of dedication unusual even in this era of youth development.
The last Chelsea player to come through the youth system into the first team without a loan was one of his idols, Hudson-Odoi in January 2018.
A source told BBC Sport that in his early years at Chelsea, George was a ‘middling’ player in his age group until around the age of 10.
It was at that point his dad hired a goalkeeper as well as a personal coach, David ‘Guru’ Sobers, to raise his game.
In midweek, George would train with Chelsea, and then from the age of 13 on Fridays, he would play against men in nine-a-side matches at either Vauxhall or Nine Elms Power League in South London.
On Saturdays, he would train again and go through post-match analysis with Sobers from his Power League matches the previous evening, before going back to Chelsea on Sunday to play.
“I used to spend hours travelling on public transport to do two-hour sessions, or longer, with Tyrique as I thought I could help him,” Sobers told BBC Sport.
“We would spend hours doing one-versus-one, technical work, shooting drills, and I enjoyed the fact that he would push himself so much.
“I’d be a ‘bad’ referee when he played against 18-year-olds, so he would get kicked – but have to get up and win the ball back.
“We did tactics on his Friday session during these matches. I think it helped our young players, we also had guys now at Manchester City, West Ham and Reading, become fearless, especially when coming back to their own age group.”
CHELSEA forward Marc Guiu has been named as eligible for the EFL Cup thanks to a little-known rule change.
The teenager spent a short-lived spell with Sunderland on loan earlier this season but was recalled before the transfer deadline.
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Enzo Maresca did not include Marc Guiu in his EFL Cup squadCredit: Reuters
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The Spaniard is eligible to play thanks to a little-known rule changeCredit: Getty
He scored for the Black Cats in their EFL Cup exit to Huddersfield while with the club, an appearance that was believed to have made him ineligible for future EFL cup games this season.
However, a rule change for the 2025/26 season changed the laws to allow a player to turn out for two different clubs in the same campaign.
But Chelsea themselves were reportedly not aware that the Spaniard was able to play in their cup match with Lincoln City on Tuesday, and he has been left out of the squad.
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Sanchez took out Mbeumo just four minutes and one second into the match to receive Chelsea’s earliest red card in the Premier League.
“It was rough… the red card [would be] difficult not only for Chelsea, it [would be] difficult for any club,” said Maresca.
“After the red card, all the planning and everything doesn’t exist any more.”
Maresca said afterwards he would have preferred to go a goal down than lose his goalkeeper.
“It’s the best solution, because we are still 95 minutes to play,” he said.
“I think even Robert is aware of that, but also it’s difficult because he has to take a decision in one second or two seconds.”
The Italian manager took off two attackers in Pedro Neto and Estevao Willian for replacement goalkeeper Filip Jorgensen and defender Tosin Adarabioyo after Sanchez was sent off.
The change effectively left Chelsea with a back five, three midfielders and just Joao Pedro in attack.
Maresca explained why he had made such a defensive reaction to the dismissal, saying: “We needed to defend with five players – we can defend with four when we are 11 v 11.”
However, that decision looked like a mistake when Fernandes opened the scoring and Palmer then went off injured.
When Andrey Santos replaced the England playmaker 21 minutes into the match it was the earliest any team in Premier League history had made their first three substitutions.
Chelsea failed to register a shot on target in the first half as Casemiro put United 2-0 up.
However, the Brazil midfielder’s ill-timed lunge just before the break left both sides down to 10 men.
Chalobah managed to pull a goal back in the 80th minute but it only proved to be a consolation for the Blues, who suffered a second successive defeat in what has been a tough week of away fixtures.
They drew at Brentford last weekend before losing to Bayern Munich in their Champions League opener on Wednesday.
“When it went to 10 a piece I felt no urgency from Chelsea to try to get back into it,” said former England striker Wayne Rooney on Match of the Day.
“They were slow, side to side. If you’re a Chelsea fan you’d want to see a lot more urgency.”
Saturday’s loss at Old Trafford leaves Chelsea sixth in the top-flight table, and they will hope to avoid a prolonged absence for star man Palmer.
Manchester United beat Chelsea in a wild match at Old Trafford, with both sides down to 10 men by half-time.
Manchester United breathed life into their stuttering Premier League season when goals from Bruno Fernandes and Casemiro earned them a thrilling 2-1 home victory over Chelsea.
A frantic first half got off to the worst possible start for Chelsea on Saturday when goalkeeper Robert Sanchez was sent off in the fifth minute for a flying lunge at Bryan Mbeumo, upending the United forward as he was through on goal.
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The hosts, with just one victory to their name previously this campaign, made their numerical advantage count, with Fernandes and Casemiro putting United 2-0 in front inside 37 minutes.
Casemiro’s needless dismissal just before halftime evened up the numbers and gave Chelsea a way back into the contest, but Trevoh Chalobah’s late header was all the visitors could muster as a nervy United held on for a vital three points.
The pressure has been mounting on United coach Ruben Amorim after defeat in the Manchester derby last weekend left the Portuguese with a win record of just eight from 31 league games since taking charge last November.
The visit of Chelsea offered Amorim the opportunity to start rectifying that meagre return, with the Blues winless at Old Trafford since 2013. Sanchez’s rash tackle significantly aided the beleaguered United manager’s cause.
Along with the added setback of Cole Palmer being withdrawn through injury, Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca was forced into an early reshuffle, making three substitutions in the first 21 minutes, the earliest a side has ever done that in a Premier League game.
It was not long before Fernandes added to Old Trafford’s euphoria in the driving Manchester rain, the skipper nudging home his 100th goal for United in all competitions.
Casemiro then seemingly put United in an unassailable position after determined work from Luke Shaw to keep alive the attack, the veteran Brazilian heading in his first goal of the season.
A second booking soon turned Casemiro from hero to villain as he became the first player to score and be sent off in the first half of a Premier League match since Emmanuel Adebayor for Spurs against Arsenal in November 2012.
Even when chasing the game, Chelsea offered very little attacking threat until Chalobah’s header 10 minutes from time. United looked ragged from there on in, but Altay Bayindir remained largely untroubled in the home goal as the hosts held on.
Amorim praised United’s aggression and urgency in a post-match interview, although he wishes his side could have been more clinical to put the game out of sight.
“I have nothing to say to the critics, and most of the time they are right. Today, we won and it is a good day for us,” he told Sky Sports.
“We can lose against Grimsby, [but] we can beat any team. I’m just thinking about the next one. It is really good to win. We need the urgency to win again, that is really important for us.”
Maresca, meanwhile, lamented Sanchez’s early red card.
“We need to start the game better. We cannot concede a red card at Old Trafford after three minutes,” he said.
Elsewhere in the Premier League on Saturday, Liverpool maintained a perfect start in their campaign after Ryan Gravenberch scored and assisted in a 2-1 win over Everton at Anfield.
In another bad day for West Ham coach Graham Potter, his team lost for the fourth time in five games, going down at home to Crystal Palace 2-1.
Wolves lost at home to Leeds 3-1, leaving Vitor Pereira’s team bottom of the table and still looking for their first points after five games.
Trailing 2-0 at Brighton, Tottenham came back to salvage a 2-2 draw.
And former Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou got his first point as Nottingham Forest coach in a 1-1 draw at Burnley.
CHELSEA have made a last-ditch change to their UEFA squad ahead of their game against Bayern Munich tomorrow.
With a long-term injury to Dario Essugo, who is out for a minimum of 12 weeks with a thigh injury, the Blues have taken him down from their UEFA squad list on the UCL website.
The £18.5million midfielder had surgery after tearing a thigh muscle on international duty, in a major blow for Chelsea, who have now been left with a lack of cover for Moises Caicedo with Romeo Lavia also often injured.
Essugo has been replaced by loan signing Facundo Buonanotte in the UEFA list on the official site, who started the 2-2 draw away at Brentford on Saturday night, impressing Enzo Maresca on his debut.
Previously, they wouldn’t have been able to make the change, but can do so thanks to a new UEFA rule which was brought into action last week.
Buonanotte said when he signed: “It’s a great step in my career. I’ll get the opportunity to play in the Champions League for the first time, which will be a great challenge.”
So it was a shock when he was left off the UEFA A and B lists for Chelsea’s league phase fixtures, which begin in Bavaria on Wednesday, where they will face off against former striker Nicolas Jackson.
In a shock move, Uefa’s ruling executive committee announced it had agreed an “amendment” to regulations for the three club competitions.
Under the new rules, clubs are now allowed to make a “temporary” replacement of one outfield player with a long-term injury or illness” up until the sixth competition match day in December – when the Conference League initial phase will end.
Uefa said: “The reasoning for the adaptation is to ensure that squad lists are not unfairly reduced and players are safeguarded from additional workload pressure.”
Chelsea have become the first team to take advantage of the rule, while Federico Chiesa and Mathys Tel of Liverpool and Spurs remain out of their respective squad lists.
With a growing list of injured players at Stamford Bridge, which has already included Levi Colwill, Liam Delap and Cole Palmer this season, the Blues will be grateful to be able to call upon the likes of Facundo Buonanotte in the Champions League this season.
Fabio Carvalho scored a late equaliser for Brentford against Chelsea from a long throwCredit: Getty
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There have been 130 long throw-ins so far in the Premier League so far this seasonCredit: Getty
And the statistics show that the Bees are not the exponents of old-fashioned Pulis-ball.
In the 40 Prem games so far this season, there have been 130 long throws, at an average of 3.3 per match.
That compares to last season’s average, over the 380 games, of 1.5 per match – a doubling of the frequency.
And senior figures believe the return of the long throw has been a factor in a significant shortage of actual playing time.
Figures provided by Stats Perform show that across the 40 top flight games the ball has only been in play for an average of 54 minutes and 21 seconds, down 133 seconds from last season’s average.
The analysis by Prem insiders suggests that one major reason is that the extra number of long throws has seen more teams sending their centre-backs up into the opposition box.
A similar amount of positioning, by both attacking and defending sides, at corner kicks, has also been noticed, with many sides now having specialist set-piece coaching teams.
And with goalkeepers unable to hold onto the ball for more than eight seconds under the new Laws, also taking longer at goal kicks when the ball goes out of play, fans are getting less value for their ticket prices.
ENZO MARESCA has a wealth of talent at his disposal at Stamford Bridge, with three Cobham starlets already working their way towards first-team involvement.
After starring during the international break for England‘s youth teams, 16-year-old Ryan Kavuma-McQueen and 17-year-old Shim Mheuka are two attackers the Italian boss is keen to have available for selection going forward.
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Enzo Maresca beamed as he discussed Chelsea’s young talentCredit: Getty
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Shim Mheuka debuted for the Blues’ first team last seasonCredit: Getty
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Ryan Kavuma-McQueen was recently in stunning form on international dutyCredit: Getty
Mheuka, who made his Premier League and European debuts for the senior team last season, scored five goals in three games for the Young Lions, while winger Kavuma-McQueen made headlines with a four-goal haul against Germany‘s under-17s.
With Cole Palmer and Liam Delap both injured, there may be a spot for these youngsters sooner than anticipated, especially when the Blues travel to Lincoln in the Carabao Cup on 24th September, with Marc Guiu cup-tied for that game.
Maresca opened up in his Friday press conference on the impressive pair: “They are both in my plans, for sure. Shimmy was already with us and played some games for us last year. Ryan is more of a winger.
“I was watching when Ryan scored four goals against Germany, so I was very impressed, but I already knew him. One of my staff is always watching the youth team; they told me he was very good.
I’ve always said with young players, you have to be calm because they can change every day. For sure, though, he is one of the players we are looking at.”
Kavuma-McQueen is incredibly highly rated by those involved in the Chelsea youth system, and the Blues are keen for him not to become the next Rio Ngumoha, who joined Liverpool in pursuit of first-team opportunities he has now been granted.
That’s why, after fighting off interest from Liverpool and Barcelona for his signature, they will be thrilled that he is set to sign his first professional contract with the club when he turns 17 on New Year’s Day 2026.
While Maresca was left impressed by the two goal-scoring Brits at his disposal, he admitted he has a favourite when it comes to Blues’ youngsters.
Rio Ngumoha dramatically burst onto the scene against NewcastleCredit: Shutterstock Editorial
The Chelsea boss isn’t necessarily known for his enthusiasm in press conferences, but when asked about youngster Reggie Walsh, he was warmth personified with a smile plastered across his face.
Walsh, 16, has been training with the first team and was one of a record-breaking eight youngsters to be given a first team shot last season, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him get more chances this year with the Blues already facing injuries to some of their key midfielders.
Liam Delap ruled out for three months as Enzo Maresca gives major injury update on Chelsea striker
Maresca added: “I like all the academy guys, but Reggie is the one I like more than the rest, he’s my favourite.
“He’s very good, but because they are from the academy, we need to protect them.
“We already have the youngest squad in Premier League history, and last year we gave so many debuts to academy players. But Reggie is doing things that I demand of other players, and does them without me asking him to. That’s why I love Reggie.”
While Brentford may come too soon for the Cobham trio, they are all likely to feature when the Chelsea U21’s take on Ipswich next Saturday at Kingsmeadow.
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Reggie Walsh has hugely impressed MarescaCredit: Shutterstock Editorial
Abramovich was sanctioned by the UK Government in March 2022 over alleged links to Russian president Vladimir Putin – something he has denied.
He was granted a special licence to sell Chelsea following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, providing he could prove he would not benefit from the sale.
The 58-year-old said funds from the sale would be donated via a foundation “for the benefit of all victims of the war in Ukraine”, which would include those in Russia.
The £2.5bn in proceeds have been frozen in a UK bank account since the sale – Abramovich does not have access to the money but it still legally belongs to him.
In 2023, the BBC reported that leaked documents revealed a money trail linking Abramovich to two men dubbed “wallets” of Putin.
BBC Newsnight, BBC Verify and Panorama partnered with the Bureau of Investigative Journalism to uncover the revelations as part of Cyprus Confidential – a global investigation led by reporters at the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) and Paper Trail Media.
Abramovich has previously denied any financial relationship with the Russian leader.
In June, the Government threatened to sue Abramovich to make sure the money from the Chelsea sale goes to Ukrainian humanitarian aid – rather than “all victims of the war in Ukraine” as Abramovich had said.
Two months before selling Chelsea in May 2022, Abramovich was said to have suffered from suspected poisoning at peace talks on the Ukraine-Belarus border.
The Russian billionaire, who made his fortune in oil and gas, was reported to have a role as a broker in talks between Ukraine and Russia.
The English Football Association charges Premier League club Chelsea with 74 breaches of payment rules between 2009-2022.
Published On 11 Sep 202511 Sep 2025
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England’s Football Association has brought 74 charges against Premier League club Chelsea, alleging breaches of its football agents’ regulations, its regulations on working with intermediaries and third-party investment in players’ regulations.
“The conduct that is the subject of the charges ranges from 2009 to 2022 and primarily relates to events which occurred between the 2010-11 to 2015-16 playing seasons,” the FA said in a statement.
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The FA did not elaborate on the charges but Chelsea said the matters were “self-reported” by the club after the change in ownership in May 2022.
At the time, the London club was owned by Roman Abramovich, but the Russian billionaire put Chelsea up for sale in 2022 following sanctions after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
He completed the sale to an investment group led by Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital.
“During a thorough due diligence process prior to completion of the purchase, the ownership group became aware of potentially incomplete financial reporting concerning historical transactions and other potential breaches of FA rules,” Chelsea said in a statement.
“Immediately upon the completion of the purchase, the club self-reported these matters to all relevant regulators, including the FA.
“The club has demonstrated unprecedented transparency during this process, including by giving comprehensive access to the club’s files and historical data.
“We will continue working collaboratively with the FA to conclude this matter as swiftly as possible.”
CLUB football is back for the Premier League this weekend after the international break.
After the last round of fixtures, a chaotic transfer deadline day followed as clubs splashed out £375million on new talent to take the overall spending for the window to over £3BILLION.
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Alexander Isak is in line to make his Liverpool debut at the weekendCredit: Reuters
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Nick Woltemade, Newcastle’s record signing, will have big boots to fillCredit: Getty
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Alejandro Garnacho could play for Chelsea this weekendCredit: Getty
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Harvey Elliott completed a move to Aston Villa from LiverpoolCredit: Getty
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While Jadon Sancho was a deadline-day loan arrivalCredit: Instagram @avfcofficial
And with that wave of new arrivals, including emergency loans, the conclusions of blockbuster sagas and shrewd deals, there will be several new faces for fans to watch.
SunSport has taken a look at stars who could make their debuts this weekend, including two club-record signings.
Kicking off the team in goal is new Manchester City star Gianluigi Donnarumma, who arrived on deadline day from Paris Saint-Germain for £26million.
New £18m Manchester United star Senne Lammens could have been selected just as easily, but they can let their goalkeeping do the talking during the Manchester Derby on Sunday.
Alejandro Garnacho, a £40m sale from Man Utd to Chelsea, was not a deadline day switch but was only announced after the Blues’ most recent game at Stamford Bridge – meaning he will be in line for his debut this weekend.
The 23-year-old German looked impressive during the Under-21 Euros this summer, while he scored 17 for Stuttgart last season.
But he – alongside fellow new Toon ace Yoane Wissa – will have big boots to fill following Alexander Isak‘s record-breaking £130m departure to Liverpool.
Isak’s saga dragged on all summer and was on and off and then on and off again, before possibly the move of the summer was finally put to bed on deadline day.
Elsewhere, there are the likes of Kevin, Fulham‘s own £35m record-breaking arrival from Shakhtar Donetsk, Jaydee Canvot at Crystal Palace and Brian Brobbey at Sunderland who could also make first appearances for their new clubs at the weekend.
CHELSEA travel up the road where they will face rivals Brentford in what is already their fourth London derby of the season – and SunSport can point fans in the right direction of where to tune in.
Joao Pedro’s header and Enzo Fernandez’s penalty helped the Blues overcome a furious Fulham side before the international break.
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Joao Pedro scored a controversial headerCredit: AP
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Brentford threw away three points against SunderlandCredit: Shutterstock Editorial
And Pedro’s opening strike was a major talking point with it coming in the NINTH minute of stoppage time despite only eight minutes being added.
Elsewhere, Brentford had drama of their own as they most recently lost to newly-promoted Sunderland courtesy of a 90+6 stoppage time Wilson Isidor penalty after leading the game up until the 77th minute.
So they’ll be itching to get back on track with a win and hand one of the only remaining undefeated sides a loss at the Gtech.
Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca initially thought his £30million transfer from Ipswich would miss six to eight weeks.
But it is now clear he will miss significantly more than that.
The Athletic report Delap will not return to training until November.
Dario Essugo, Romeo Lavia and Benoit Badiashile are all set to the miss the London derby.
As for Blues talisman Cole Palmer, it is still unclear whether he’ll return after missing both the clash against West Ham and Fulham as well as pulling out of the England side.
It was a moment that should have been celebrated on both sides of the Atlantic. What could prove to be the most expensive transfer in women’s soccer history — and already is the largest outgoing transfer in NWSL history — had sent Alyssa Thompson from Angel City and the NWSL to Chelsea of England’s Women’s Super League.
It was a monumental deal, one that could come to define Thompson’s career and help repair Angel City’s brand as a rich club that has mostly bumbled its way through its first four seasons.
It was a massive win for the player and both clubs.
Yet before the ink on the agreement had dried Angel City was already tarnishing what it should have been cheering. Coach Alexander Straus refused to even say Thompson’s name, opening a conference call with reporters Thursday by insisting he would not answer questions about “a certain player” or “a certain transfer.”
It was the second time in four days Straus refused to acknowledge his team’s best player.
Thompson, of course, has never been “a certain player” or “a certain transfer.” She’s a player Angel City moved heaven and earth to draft and sign in 2023, giving her a contract worth an estimated $1 million, then one of the richest in the NWSL. She’s a player who went on to become the club’s all-time leader in goals and rank sixth in appearances.
The least the coach could do is say her name.
Then three hours after that conference call, and about an hour after Thompson’s transfer became official, the club muddled things even further by reaching out to anyone who would listen to say it had done everything it could to keep Thompson, who had professed her desire to stay with Angel City when she signed a long-term contract extension just nine months earlier.
Thompson has the right to change her mind when a better opportunity comes along, of course, and Chelsea offered exactly that. Just 20, Thompson has already proven to be one of the most dynamic players in the world but she hasn’t come close to realizing her full potential and it’s unlikely she would have stayed in the NWSL.
The transfer was necessary for Thompson to find out how good she can be. And just as important is the fact that Thompson, who lived with her parents for the first year of her professional career, will now be on her own for the first time. How she adapts will no doubt have a major influence on her career as well.
But the club’s admission it did everything it could to keep her — a message aimed at fans angry at seeing the team’s best player go — simply confirmed what many in Thompson’s camp had thought since Chelsea first approached Angel City with a transfer offer last month: the club was more interested in blocking the deal than facilitating it.
“She wants to go to Chelsea and made it very clear,” a Thompson confidant said late in the process. “ACFC has to respect her.”
Angel City forward Alyssa Thompson competes against the San Diego Wave on March 16.
(Kyusung Gong / Associated Press)
For the club to suggest it had tried to hold up the transfer was the exact wrong message to send and one that — along with Straus’ lack of respect — won’t soon be forgotten by ambitious young players Angel City may approach in the future.
Thompson was one of eight players on the Angel City roster aged 20 or younger. Many, if not all, of those young women must be confident the club won’t stand in their way if they have a chance to move on and develop their talent on a bigger stage.
That’s the way soccer works. It’s why clubs allow players to leave in the middle of a season to play for their national teams despite the risk of injury. It’s unfortunate the transfer happened now, hampering Angel City’s final push for a playoff berth. But as long as the NWSL plays on a different calendar from the rest of the world, the transfer windows will always be awkward.
Yes, Angel City should — and it did — fight hard for every last penny in the transfer talks. The team recruited Thompson, signed her, paid her good money and gave her an opportunity and a platform to play both professionally and in a World Cup.
By all accounts, the team was masterful in its negotiations with Chelsea and it was rewarded with a record-breaking transfer fee. They deserve a huge pat on the back for that.
Just which records the deal broke depends on how you look at it. Multiple sources involved in the talks confirmed the transfer’s value at $1.65 million, which would make it the most expensive transfer in women’s soccer history.
Yet that’s not what Angel City deposited in the bank last week. Whether Chelsea will pay the full amount will be determined by non-disclosed escalators, mainly based on Thompson’s performance, that were included in the deal. For the time being, however, Angel City will have to get by with about half a million less, putting the initial value of the transfer somewhere between the nearly $1.1 million Chelsea paid the San Diego Wave last January for defender Naomi Girma and the $1.5 million the Orlando Pride paid Mexico’s Tigres for Lizbeth Ovalle last month.
Either way it’s the largest fee for an outgoing player in NWSL history and probably enough for Angel City to keep the lights on. So on Friday morning the club sent out a tepid three-paragraph statement announcing a transfer everyone else knew was done.
“We thank Alyssa for her contributions to Angel City and are grateful for the mark she has left on our team and the city of Los Angeles,” it read.
At least they said her name.
⚽ You have read the latest installment of On Soccer with Kevin Baxter. The weekly column takes you behind the scenes and shines a spotlight on unique stories. Listen to Baxter on this week’s episode of the “Corner of the Galaxy” podcast.
