West Ham determined to keep Rice published at 11:56
11:56
Image source, Getty Images
Simon Stone, BBC Sport
Chelsea have stepped up their pursuit of Raheem Sterling, and with owner Todd Boehly now getting involved in negotiations, it will be interesting to see what deals he can do.
One of the players they are linked with most often is West Ham's England midfielder Declan Rice, who used to be in Chelsea's academy before he was released.
However, Rice still has two years left on his contract and the Hammers have the option to extend that for an additional season.
The word from the Hammers camp is unequivocal. Rice is going nowhere.
Chilwell and Hudson-Odoi return to training earlypublished at 11:23
11:23
Image source, Getty Images
Ben Chilwell and Callum Hudson-Odoi have returned to training ahead of schedule to step up their preparations for next season.
The duo, who both missed large parts of 2021-22 because of injury, have been working hard at Cobham before the rest of the squad arrive for pre-season training.
Thomas Tuchel's side travel to the United States for their pre-season tour in July.
Should Tuchel have paid for Lukaku struggles?published at 09:35
09:35
Image source, Getty Images
Romelu Lukaku's disappointing return to Chelsea could have cost Thomas Tuchel his job if the club's takeover wasn't going on in the background, according to former Premier League defender Stephen Kelly.
Lukaku, the Blues' record signing a year ago, scored eight times in 26 league games last season and has now agreed to join Inter Milan on loan for 2022-23.
Ex-Republic of Ireland international Kelly told BBC Radio 5 Live's Football Daily: "For one reason or another, it hasn’t worked out here at Chelsea. At [Manchester] United it was a bit stale as well, but he still had a decent goalscoring record.
"He was the missing part of the puzzle and Tuchel used to say Chelsea are good for 70% of the pitch but when we get to the final third we don’t do it.
"It felt like Lukaku going there would be a real problem for [Manchester] City and Liverpool, but it just didn’t work out. He wasn’t the main focal point because they like playing a lot of numbers in those areas.
"Tuchel wasn’t willing to adapt the style to fit Lukaku and Lukaku wasn’t willing to adapt his style for Tuchel. It was a clash. With the squad they had, they should have done better.
"If Abramovich had still been there, Tuchel’s head would have been seriously on the chopping block at the end of the season, because that’s a major investment and it didn’t work. Lampard brought in major investments and he couldn't get his tune out of them, so he got the sack.
"If it wasn’t for what was going on in the background you feel that would have been a bigger issue for Tuchel."
Transfer news: Blues interested in Man City's Sterling and Akepublished at 08:01
08:01
Having opened talks with Manchester City about signing forward Raheem Sterling, Chelsea are also trying to sign defender Nathan Ake from the Premier League champions. (Telegraph - subscription required), external
Meanwhile, Borussia Dortmund midfielder Jude Bellingham, will be Real Madrid's main transfer target next summer, although the Spanish club face competition from Blues and Liverpool.(AS, via Mail), external
Barcelona will not improve their contract offer to forward Ousmane Dembele, whose deal with the La Liga side ends on 30 June. The 25-year-old also has offers from Bayern Munich, Chelsea and PSG.(Marca), external
Dembele is set to make a decision about his future in the next 72 hours. (Mirror), external
'Sterling is a major Chelsea target'published at 18:40 27 June
18:40 27 June
Simon Stone, BBC Sport
Chelsea have made contact with Manchester City about a move for England forward Raheem Sterling.
Sterling, who joined from Liverpool in a £49m deal in 2015 and has scored 131 goals in 339 games, is a major transfer target for new Blues owner Todd Boehly.
It is understood Chelsea are yet to lodge a formal bid for the 27-year-old, but one is expected shortly.
Sterling has a year left on his contract and is understood to be reviewing his options.
It's an odd state of affairs when a newly appointed board of a club is simultaneously trying to sign multiple first-team players while also considering who to appoint as director of football.
Given that we don't know who that is yet - Michael Edwards, Andrea Berta and Paul Mitchell are all reported to be of interest to Todd Boehly and co, while Michael Emenalo and Atlanta's Luca Percassi represent two good ex-Chelsea options - everyone is flying by the seat of their pants at the moment trying to bring in new players in attack and defence.
The currently mooted signings at the back are...
Matthijs de Ligt of Juventus would be a statement signing. Were Chelsea to dangle Jorginho in front of the Italian team as well, things could get really interesting...
The favourite in the clubhouse, Sevilla's Jules Kounde, would not necessarily discount a move for the Netherlands international, because the only centre-backs at Stamford Bridge are Thiago Silva, Trevoh Chalobah, loan returnee Levi Colwill and Malang Sarr.
At right-back, Lens veteran Jonathan Clauss meets a cheap fee criteria. However, another player returning from loan, Cobham graduate Dujon Sterling, arguably represents more upside in Thomas Tuchel's squad. A new left wing-back to pair with Ben Chilwell will probably be targeted at some point too.
In midfield, the tussle with West Ham for Declan Rice could well reignite later in the summer.
Finally, who had Eddie Beach as the first signing under the new ownership group? The 18-year-old Southampton goalkeeper is likely to start off in the development squad. The first signing under Roman Abramovich back in 2003? Another goalkeeper, Jurgen Macho.
A week can be an especially long time in football when you've just bought a club worth billions, appointed yourself chair and then decided to add to your workload by making yourself temporary sporting director at the start of a new transfer window as well.
The man in question, Todd Boehly, has already signed off on letting go of Romelu Lukaku (at a substantial loss), but there is a positive in getting a deal finalised quickly rather than letting it run on all summer.
Right, on to the rumoured business at hand...
Raheem Sterling appears to be the club's first-choice striker to pair with Kai Havertz up front. With Erling Haaland's arrival at Manchester City, the England international would possibly welcome a move. How much City are prepared to play ball with Chelsea is another matter.
One of the alternatives to Sterling is Everton's Richarlison, another talented forward who probably feels it is time to make a change at this stage of his career. However, signing a player who has averaged less than 11 league goals a season over the past four years represents something of a risk if the goal is to, well, score a lot of goals.
In wide areas - where both of the above can also play effectively - the signing of Ousmane Dembele on a free could be nipped in the bud if Barcelona are able to make an improved offer now they have somewhat alleviated their reported cashflow problems. Leeds winger Raphinha, who has repeatedly been linked with Chelsea in the past, could represent a fallback option, while Ajax have also been sounded out about Antony. It seems Brazilians are back in vogue at Stamford Bridge!
Finally, a move for attacker Christopher Nkunku can be crossed off the list, with the Bundesliga player of the year signing a new contract with RB Leipzig.
'There could not be worse timing for all these changes'published at 11:09 24 June
11:09 24 June
Image source, Huw Evans Picture Agency
Marina Granovskaia's departure couldn't have come at a worse time for Chelsea, according to French football expert Julien Laurens.
"There could not be worse timing for all these changes considering the rebuilding job that they have to do for the squad," Laurens told BBC Radio 5 Live's Football Daily podcast.
"They have lost two centre-backs already in Rudiger and Christensen, Azpilicueta I think is on his way out and even if he wasn’t he is getting old and as we saw last season he was not at his best, he was very frustrated and there was a lot of anger about him. Thiago Silva is obviously going to be 39.
"The whole defence has to be worked on, then the midfield as much as I love N’Golo Kante, he misses 50% of matches because of injuries and the lack of fitness. Jorginho is 31 and I’m not sure that Tuchel sees him as important as he was when he arrived at the club.
"And then going forward Lukaku is about to leave and it’s up to you if you replace him or not, but if you don’t then you need to make sure that Kai Havertz and the others can be good enough to score all the goals you need.
"So all that work that you have to do, even if Marina Granovskaia would stay until the end of the summer it is going to feel very, very different. It’s a new owner, we’re not really sure how much money he has and also if you’re the new owner and you see the disaster that was the Lukaku move, surely you are going to be far more cautious to spend a lot of money on players.
"I really don’t know where they are going to go in terms of recruitment now. They are going to start pre-season in two weeks now, so you need bodies, you need players and I think this could be a very, very tricky season.
"I can’t stress enough, it’s such a key time, it’s such a key summer for the club that it is detrimental."
Transfer news: Chelsea interested in De Ligtpublished at 07:54 24 June
07:54 24 June
Chelsea are interested in 22-year-old Juventus and the Netherlands centre-back Matthijs de Ligt. (Sky Italia), external
The Blues will compete with Manchester United for Ajax and Brazil winger Antony after holding talks with the 22-year-old's representatives. (Football365), external
Manchester United, Chelsea and Tottenham are also exploring the prospect of signing Atletico Madrid and Belgium winger Yannick Carrasco, 28, this summer after details of his 60 million euro (£51.5m) release clause emerged. (AS - in Spanish), external
Bergstrom - a 19-year-old Finland Under-21 international - has been at Chelsea for three-and-a-half years and made the bench for last season's opening Champions League game against Zenit.
'Fans want action now' - Your hopes for Chelsea's transfer windowpublished at 14:54 23 June
14:54 23 June
Image source, Getty Images
We asked what business you'd like to see Chelsea do in the summer transfer window.
Here are some of your thoughts:
Marc: Buy Sterling now I say. Put a bid in ASAP before some other team snatch him away. I think our new owner is being to cautious in his thinking... All the other top teams have got new players now but Chelsea are just looking... The fans want action now...
Simon: Out: Alonso, Pulisic, Lukaku, Jorginho. Thomas Tuchel's job: Integrate Gallagher, Gilmour and Colwill. Get the best out of the talented Loftus-Cheek and Werner (killer instinct?), Barkley (tackle rate), Chalobah (caught in possession). Buy one centre back from Seville and a goalscorer from Everton. Play less sideways football. Easy!
Rod: Here we go again. Why buy a player that’s past his best and is not first-team selection anymore? Namely Sterling, Richarlison. What about Lamptey/Tomori/Colwill/Gallagher/Broja? I could go on forever.
Nkunku extends deal at RB Leipzigpublished at 14:16 23 June
14:16 23 June
Image source, Reuters
Chelsea and Manchester United's hopes of signing RB Leipzig striker Christopher Nkunku are over after the 24-year-old signed a contract extension in Germany.
Nkunku scored 20 goals in the Bundesliga last season and had been heavily linked with a move to the Premier League.
Sterling would not be a like-for-like replacement for the Belgian, but he was used as a false nine on occasions by Pep Guardiola and Thomas Tuchel evidently prefers a more fluid attack than one with a battering ram at its head.
For Chelsea, however, there has to be a question mark until the new ownership works out its business model and what kind of transfer strategy it will employ, given it almost certainly will not involve losing £1.5bn as Roman Abramovich famously did.
Draw made for Papa John's Trophy group stagepublished at 12:55 23 June
12:55 23 June
Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,
Rotherham won last season's Papa John's Trophy
The draw has been made for the group stage of this season's Papa John's Trophy, with teams split into northern and southern groups and 16 Premier League under-21 sides again involved.
In the southern section, Brighton have been drawn in Group A alongside Charlton Athletic, Colchester United and Gillingham, while in Group B Aston Villa join AFC Wimbledon, Crawley and Portsmouth.
West Ham are in Group C with Cheltenham Town, MK Dons and Walsall, while Tottenham are joined in Group D by Stevenage, Peterborough United and Wycombe Wanderers.
Fellow Londoners Crystal Palace are in Group E with Bristol Rovers, Plymouth Argyle and Swindon Town, while Southampton are with Exeter City, Forest Green Rovers and Newport County in Group F.
Group G sees Chelsea take on Oxford United, Leyton Orient and Sutton, while crosstown rivals Arsenal are in Group H with Cambridge United, Ipswich Town and Northampton Town.
Transfer news: Chelsea waiting on Lukaku before Sterling movepublished at 09:28 23 June
09:28 23 June
Chelsea are waiting on Belgium striker Romelu Lukaku, 29, to complete his loan move to Inter Milan before acting on their interest in Manchester City and England forward Raheem Sterling, 27. (Sky Sports), external
Barcelona manager Xavi is pleading with France winger Ousmane Dembele, 25, to sign a new contract amid interest from the Blues. (Goal), external
Image source, Getty Images
