Chelsea

Chelsea are considering a move for Barcelona and United States full-back Sergino Dest, 21, as an alternative to Lucas Digne. (Daily Star), external

Want more transfer news? Read Thursday's full gossip column

The Premier League match between Brighton and Chelsea has been rearranged due to Chelsea's involvement in the Club World Cup.

Image source, EPA

Chelsea were "utterly dominant" against Tottenham in Wednesday's Carabao Cup semi-final first leg, but former winger Karen Carney says Antonio Conte's side are still in it.

Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live's Football Daily, Carney said with Chelsea's 64% possession and 19 shots compared to five for Spurs, the tie should have been put to bed.

"Chelsea were back to their best I would say. With two tactical managers Thomas Tuchel had the upper hand in the first half where the game was won.

"The tactics changed in the second half but realistically it was utter control and dominance from Chelsea. I was disappointed with Spurs but still at 2-0 it’s only relatively half-time for them going into the second leg.

"They’re at home and there needs to be significant improvement but they are still in it. Chelsea were the better team and deservedly came away with the win.

"But with the amount of chances they had and how poor Spurs were, I think they should have really gone for it and gone for them and said we're going to shift it to third, fourth, fifth gear and just really put this whole semi-final to bed."

Hear more reaction to Chelsea's win over Spurs on BBC Sounds

Kai Havertz was your man of the match in our Player Rater as Chelsea produced a dominant 2-0 win over Tottenham in the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final.

The Germany forward scored the opening goal after just five minutes with a deflected shot but he broke his finger in the process and was replaced by Timo Werner at half-time.

Read the match report and see how all the players rated

Former Chelsea winger Karen Carney: Chelsea controlled everything. They were back to their usual Chelsea self. It was a really good performance.

Thomas Tuchel will be happy with the clean sheet and win but when he reflects on it he'll think 'we've still left them in the tie'. It should have been done and dusted.

With how poor Spurs were, they should have really gone for them. They should have put the whole semi-final to bed.

Ex-Republic of Ireland striker Clinton Morrison: Spurs aren't out of it but it was comfortable for Chelsea. They were in second gear. It didn't look like a semi-final for Spurs.

It looked like they were going through the motions. They're still in it if they can get the first goal next week.

It was a flat performance. Who really thinks this is a big cup competition to win? Harry Kane was chasing things down but I didn't see many others. You want to get to a final and lift some silverware.

If Chelsea wanted to go to that next level, they could have. There was a lot left in the tank. 2-0 flattered Spurs.

Emlyn Begley, BBC Sport

Tottenham have looked much improved since former Chelsea boss Antonio Conte replaced Nuno Espirito Santo, only losing once in 11 games before this.

But the wait for a first trophy since the 2008 League Cup will surely go on - with many problems of their own making at Stamford Bridge.

Most of the pre-match chat had been about Romelu Lukaku, who has apologised for an interview which saw him dropped for Chelsea's draw with Liverpool.

He was involved on plenty of occasions, with several shots. Encouraging too was the return of Timo Werner after injury, although he replaced Kai Havertz, who broke his finger while scoring the opening goal, at half-time.

The only real downside for Thomas Tuchel's side, who played 4-4-2 because of a lack of defensive options, is that they did not score with more of their 19 efforts to wrap up the tie.

Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel to Sky Sports: "Good, absolutely happy, I was pretty sure he was not affected. Even the last days he seemed relaxed, fine with the situation and mentally moved on.

"Romelu can handle pressure and adversity, it was a good performance, he contrinbued a lot to our defensive set up and had chances."

Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel, speaking to Sky Sports: “It seems like a deserved win, an excellent result because it reflects the game, we could have scored more but it is hard to score against Tottenham.

"We did create a lot, some huge chances, it could hve been possible to score more, the up side is everybody knows it is going to be a tough match, it is not decided yet.

“It was impressive, it is easy to say fresh legs but if you have not played a lot it is sometimes unfair to put them in a big match like this and demand to see fresh legs.

"We never lost the foucs, never lost the commitment. The guys who did not play in the past few weeks were strong.

“We played 4-4-2 when we had the ball, because there was no one left to play with a back five. We took some minutes on the training pitch to talk through the princioples, I found the team very focused to do it right.

"We had some moments in defending where we created a back five, the team was very focused, very open minded."

Six changes for Chelsea, including the end of Romelu Lukaku's one-game exile.

Lukaku, Kepa, Malang Sarr, Jorginho, Saul and Hakim Ziyech are in.

Afcon-bound Edouard Mendy, the injured Trevoh Chalobah, wondergoal scorer Mateo Kovacic, Thiago Silva, Ngolo Kante and Christian Pulisic drop out.

Timo Werner is on the bench after recovering from injury.

Chelsea: Kepa, Azpilicueta, Sarr, Rudiger, Alonso, Jorginho, Mount, Saul, Havertz, Ziyech, Lukaku. Subs: Bettinelli, Kovacic, Loftus-Cheek, Barkley, Pulisic, Werner, Hudson-Odoi, Vale, Hall.

Tottenham make two changes from their 1-0 win at Watford.

Japhet Tanganga and Matt Doherty replace Sergio Reguilon and Eric Dier, who is not in the squad at all.

Spurs: Lloris, Emerson, Tanganga, Sanchez, Davies, Doherty, Hojbjerg, Skipp, Moura, Son, Kane. Subs: Gollini, Austin, Rodon, Reguilon, Winks, Alli, Lo Celson, Ndombele, Gil.

We're already five days into the January transfer window, so here's a brief round-up of the best Newcastle transfer gossip to drop so far:

• Real Madrid don't plan to make a formal offer for defender Antonio Rudiger, despite being one of the clubs to express interest in the 28-year-old, along with Paris St-Germain, Juventus and Bayern Munich. Rudiger has made it known that he feels underpaid at Stamford Bridge and would only stay for more money. (Marca), external

• Meanwhile, the Blues' contract extension talks with defender Andreas Christensen have stalled again, with Barcelona interested in a January move for the Denmark defender, who is out of contract in the summer. (Gianluca di Marzio - in Italian), external

• The upset around Belgium striker Romelu Lukaku continues after he informed Thomas Tuchel that he has no plans to leave Chelsea despite saying he was "not happy" at the club in an interview with Sky Italia.(Times - subscription required), external

Catch up with all the latest transfer news by tuning into BBC Radio 5 Live's Transfer Gossip Daily podcast on BBC Sounds.

You can also get all the best transfer chat via our gossip column here and track every done deal throughout January here.

Spurs have fresh Covid-19 concerns, but Antonio Conte, who was waiting for the results of some of his players' tests, did not say who could miss out.

Cristian Romero, Ryan Sessegnon (both hamstring) and Steven Bergwijn (calf) are all injured.

Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku could return, after apologising for an interview saying he was not happy at the club.

He was dropped for Sunday's 2-2 Premier League draw with Liverpool but returned to training after talks with boss Thomas Tuchel.

Trevoh Chalobah is out injured and fellow-centre back Andreas Christensen is a doubt, but striker Timo Werner could feature after a few weeks out.

Would you put Lukaku back in your side? Pick your Chelsea XI here

Who makes your Tottenham starting XI?

Ross Mooring, Chelsea Fancast, external

The Blues host Tottenham tonight in the Carabao Cup to the backdrop of a myriad of storylines - the main one the fallout from Romelu Lukaku's headscratcher of an interview with Italian media and subsequent apology to the club and fans.

To add a further twist, the Belgian comes face-to-face with Antonio Conte, the former Chelsea manager and Lukaku's boss at Inter who he credits as taking his game to the next level. Whatever happens, there's a media storyline to be had here. Oddly, the possibility of a return to Wembley is nowhere near the top of the agenda.

On the pitch, the team need to continue the spirit and energy of Sunday's draw against Liverpool, a candidate for game of the season and goal of the season with Mateo Kovacic's volley that sparked the comeback. It was also the first match in English football with permitted 'safe standing' and supporters in attendance spoke positively about it and noted an increase in volume.

Unfortunately, Chelsea are now without first-choice wingbacks Ben Chilwell and Reece James, key components in Thomas Tuchel's 3-4-3 system, which will stretch the squad further with two games a week for most of the remainder of the season. Furthermore, with Edouard Mendy off to Afcon for up to a month should Senegal do well, the revived form of Kepa Arrizabalaga is back under the microscope.

Transfer-wise, the club is looking at Everton's out-of-favour full-back Lucas Digne or recalling Emerson from Lyon, while the futures of Antonio Rudiger, Andreas Christensen and club captain Cesar Azpilicueta remain up in the air.

Positively, the ageless and universally adored Thiago Silva has signed up for another year at Stamford Bridge. The club has been continually linked with Monaco midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni for more than a year now and there's an argument to be made for bringing forward this deal as quickly as possible if Chelsea are to contend on all fronts.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Andy Hall: A new contract for Toni Rudiger, a wing-back who can come into the starting XI such as Digne or Maehle, an extra midfielder - personally a big fan of Ruben Neves.

Solomon Brown, Epsom: Chelsea need a quality prolific backup striker - since recalling Broja seems out of the question, Luis Muriel at Atalanta seems a great buy. Elsewhere Neves and Digne would be ridiculously good cover that has already been linked. However, the most important thing is sorting out the contracts of Antonio Rudiger and Cesar Azpilicueta - they must stay. Silva's extension was a brilliant start but keeping Rudi especially will make it a successful window.

Arunit Chatterjee, India: Exchange Lukaku with one of the Inter defenders (Skriniar/Bastoni/De Vrij). Then buy Haaland.

Kevin Jones, Norfolk: Bring back Eden Hazard. Chelsea need the composure in front of goal that he would bring. And it would hopefully reinvigorate Romelu Lukaku.

Have your say on Chelsea's transfer window here

Image source, Reuters

Former Everton and Scotland midfielder Don Hutchison believes Wednesday's Carabao Cup semi-final between Chelsea and Tottenham is "tailormade" for Romelu Lukaku.

The Belgium forward apologised for comments made to Italian media suggesting he was unhappy at the club and Hutchison thinks boss Thomas Tuchel has handled the situation perfectly.

"Tuchel has done absolutely the right thing," he told BBC Radio 5 Live's Football Daily podcast after Lukaku was dropped for the Premier League match with Liverpool.

"He had to show power and now Lukaku has apologised, that's the fuel he will need going into the Spurs game.

"I'd be stunned if Lukaku doesn't start and, against his former manager at Inter, it's a perfect game for him to prove how sorry he is."

The Athletic journalist Adam Crafton agreed, saying it's up to Lukaku how the club moves forward from this situation.

"If he produces five or six lacklustre performances, fans will find it hard to forgive him, but if he gets on with scoring goals, they will quickly move on," he said.

Listen to the full discussion on Lukaku and comments from Tuchel from 5'42 on BBC Sounds

Everton are said to want about £30m for Chelsea target Lucas Digne, who has also been linked with Newcastle and West Ham. Italian club Napoli are keen on taking the 28-year-old France international on loan with an option to buy, but such an arrangement would not suit the Toffees. (Sky Sports), external

Meanwhile, Real Madrid have cooled their interest in Antonio Rudiger after having discussions with the Germany international's representatives. Juventus, Paris St-Germain and Bayern Munich are said to still remain in the hunt for the player, who could leave Stamford Bridge on a free transfer in the summer. (Marca), external

Want more transfer news? Read Wednesday's full gossip column

The transfer window opened on Saturday and will remain open for business until 31 January at 23:00 GMT.

But who do you want to see Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel bring in to the club this month? Where does the squad need strengthening?

And are there any players who need to move on?

Have your say on the Blues' ins and outs here

Image source, EPA

Thomas Tuchel has praised "the Benjamin Button of football" after 37-year-old centre-back Thiago Silva signed a contract extension at Chelsea.

Silva joined the Blues on a free transfer from Paris St-Germain in August 2020 and has made 22 appearances this season.

"I know how much work and professional attitude is behind his performances," Tuchel said. "What he's done is a miracle in a way - he's Thiago Button."

Silva started the Champions League final for Chelsea in May 2021 and won his 100th cap for Brazil in October.

"The effort he puts in to stay fit, recover, sleep and manage his nutrition is outstanding," Tuchel added. "This new contract is only possible because of that.

"It's also good because this new contract makes him calm and it's important for us that Thiago is calm.

"He is an emotional and sensitive person who is so precious in our dressing room."

Thomas Tuchel has been speaking to the media before the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final against Tottenham on Wednesday.

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Tuchel said his meeting with Romelu Lukaku helped "clear the air" after the striker's comments last week: "We took the time it needed to look and talk calmly about it. He apologised and is back in the squad for tomorrow."

• Asked about Lukaku's commitment to the team, Tuchel said: "He has a long-term contract. He is fully committed to this huge club that means a lot to him. Was there any intention from him to create trouble or to leave the club? Absolutely not."

• On Thiago Silva signing a new contract at Chelsea: "He is the Benjamin Button of football. His approach to his fitness is outstanding and he is so precious in our dressing room."

• Tuchel said he does not know the future for Antonio Rudiger, with reports suggesting the defender has opened pre-contract talks with a host of top European clubs: "I cannot predict the future. He has not yet signed the contract we have offered, but we are in communications with him. His level is still outstanding."

• Trevoh Chalobah is out of the Carabao Cup match because of injury, while fellow defender Andreas Christensen is doubtful. Timo Werner is back in training and Tuchel is hopeful of giving him some playing time against Spurs.