Chelsea have some positives from the latest international break, but it’s also brought some negatives as it so often does.
Graham Potter and the club would have been hoping for all their Chelsea players to return injury-free after having had some good minutes in the tank and some good performances. So far, players like Ben Chilwell, Noni Madueke, Andrey Santos, Joao Felix, and Levi Colwill have all been playing well or having positive experiences, but unfortunately, Chelsea are not injury-free after these latest set of internationals.
Chelsea injury news latest
Kai Havertz joined Reece James in pulling from his international camp on Sunday after being struck down with a flu-like illness.
I understand that James himself made the decision to pull out of the England camp after feeling some discomfort in his hamstring, but at this moment it is not looking like a serious injury and only something minor. Chelsea will assess him this week back at Cobham and decide on the best course of action for an injury that has been niggling away for a little while. But the decision for James to withdraw from the England squad has been described to me as precautionary only.
James’ injury history is bound to be a concern for many at the club, and it’s perhaps one of the many reasons Chelsea went in to land Malo Gusto from Lyon, who is a more than capable player to offer real competition to James.
Nagelsmann to Chelsea possible?
Meanwhile, manager rumours and debates continue to ring around the Chelsea rumour mills this week after Julian Nagelsmann was sacked as Bayern Munich boss to be replaced by former Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel. And another former Chelsea manager Antonio Conte, has also been sacked from his role at Tottenham. This could all start interlinking and drawing Chelsea into many stories.
Tottenham had Tuchel on their list of potential options to replace Conte, but Bayern moved fast to get him in, knowing about Tottenham’s interest. But another manager on their list is Nagelsmann himself, but if they go for him, it’s not expected to be until the end of this season now.
Cristian Stellini will be in charge until the end of the season at Tottenham and the board will look for new manager for the start of next season.
Nagelsmann will have his pick of clubs, but will one of them be Chelsea?
As of right now, no. I’m told the Chelsea board continue to back Graham Potter and they are determined to stick with him.
As always, things can change fast, and Chelsea will certainly keep an eye on the Nagelsmann situation purely because he is a manager they have always appreciated anyway. But right now, they are only planning with Potter.
Before the last four games there was absolutely pressure, and if that continued then the club would have reacted. But the ship has been steadied for now. Of course, another bad run of form and performances could change that – so it will be interesting to see how quick Nagelsmann moves into another job. But right now, Chelsea have not made any moves for him.
The bottom line is that Chelsea are determined for it to work under Potter and pulling the plug is a very last resort, but it’s also not something that you can still rule out 100%.
But they have a belief in their decision to hire him and are adamant they want to give him time. They’ve also been pleased with the improvements showed by the team on the whole in the last four matches.
Having said all the above, I think it will be very interesting to see the situation at the end of the season if Nagelsmann has not gone into another job, and Chelsea’s league finish is not much higher than where they are right now, and also if they don’t qualify for the Champions League.
Could Tuchel raid Chelsea after being appointed at Bayern?
The other two situtations that Chelsea and Tuchel could still be involved in is players and staff, with Tuchel keen on Chelsea coach Anthony Barry.
The official word from Chelsea is that they have now received an official approach from Bayern for Barry, but they were frustrated that Tuchel went public with his desire to bring Barry in. I can see this going through to be honest, but Chelsea are seeking decent compensation to let Barry go.
There are bound to be some players that Tuchel might be keen on taking with him as well, and we are told to keep an eye on the Kai Havertz situation this summer, with Bayern being keen on him last summer. I’m not sure how many other players Tuchel might try and bring across, but Havertz is the most obvious one he might try and bring in.
