Gael Kakuta has told French paper l’Equipe of his desire to leave Chelsea at this important stage of his career. The highly-spoken potential of Kakuta has failed to materialise at Chelsea and the Frenchman is now seeking a return to France to reinvigorate his career where he impressed with Dijon last season. Marseille are believed to be interested and the player could still be part of a deal for Cesar Azpilicueta.
Branislav Ivanovic’s dismissal in the Community Shield game highlighted the apparent need for additional protection at right-back and has incited an urgency in Roberto Di Matteo to find his full-back before the start of the new season. Ivanovic will not be suspended for the sending off but his potentiality for dismissal will worry the Chelsea manager and the possible eventuality of no established right-back has prompted Chelsea to step up their ongoing pursuit. Ivanovic himself is keen to return to playing in central defence rather than the right-back position he has occupied in recent years.
Chelsea reportedly held talks with Marseille’s and Cesar Azpilicueta’s representatives on Monday to negotiate a £6m deal for the 22-year-old Spaniard before the start of the season this weekend. Chelsea have already had a £5m bid rejected and should another offer be rebuffed, they will turn their interest to 28-year-old Juve full-back Stephan Lichsteiner.
Concurrently, Caught Offside are reporting that Chelsea are readying a £10m bid for Lille’s right-back Mathieu Debuchy. Newcastle have been chasing the Frenchman, who impressed during Euro 2012, throughout the summer window but have yet to arrive at an agreement. Chelsea have previously been linked with the 27-year-old and the 27-year-old recently reiterated his desire to leave Lille.
Petr Cech has revealed that he does not expect fundamental changes in the way Chelsea plays this season. The goalkeeper spoke after the Community Shield match and told how the team’s emphasis will certainly be on trophies and wins before aesthetics.
Brazil legend Pele believes Chelsea new-arrival Oscar will be a success at Stamford Bridge. Pele was in London for the handover to Rio de Janeiro during the Closing Ceremony and was of the opinion that the midfielder’s contribution to collective team play will render him a success at Chelsea. Pele described Oscar, who will join up with the Chelsea squad after international duty with Brazil this week, as ‘excellent’.
John Terry’s FA charge for the incident with Anton Ferdinand will not take place until after 15 September when Chelsea and QPR meet in the Premier League in a repeat of last season’s match where the incident happened. That game in question ended in a 1-0 win QPR on 23 October 2011 and the FA are keen to delay any hearing until after this fixture in efforts to not further fuel the lengthy affair.
Young Chelsea goalkeeper Sam Walker has joined League Two side Bristol Rovers on loan until January. The 20-year-old has yet to make an appearance for Chelsea but could make his Rovers debut tonight in the Capital One Cup match against Ipswich Town.
image: © Ben Sutherland
Tomo Taka
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Tomo Taka is a young writer who seeks out insightful stories from the world of sport. He looks to analyse and speculate on relevant sporting topics and in doing so capture the story from a unique angle. Tomo's main interests are football, NFL and Formula One and he has a firm grasp of all other sports. As he makes his first forays into writing, he hopes he can entertain and interest the site's readership and offer a captivating view of the day's sporting stories.
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