Sule and Varane news, Macca's inside info, Tuchel speaks ahead of CL, ESL fallout/Chelsea's reaction, Assessing our recent form
#Issue24 of our Chelsea FC Newsletter
Welcome back to my latest Chelsea FC newsletter, and what a damn week it has been.
I’ve been away the weekend just gone, and we were literally staying in a Shepherd’s Hut in the middle of nowhere - no WiFi, no phone signal, no sign of life, no nothing. It was bliss. It’s always good to switch off sometimes and take some time away from it all, so we made the most of the UK opening back up slightly and took a couple days away.
We were near my favourite place in the UK - Lynmouth, in Devon. I highly recommend any of our UK community to head there if you have never been. And our community in countries where Covid seems to be getting more rife, I’m so sorry for you guys and there will soon be light at the end of the tunnel.
Anyways, I digress… This is a Chelsea newsletter not a Devon tourism guide!
Last week I released my newsletter bang in the middle of the European Super League circus. Thankfully, the fiasco lasted shorter than Tottenham’s selling of their Carabao Cup Winners T-Shirts on their online store….
I’ve looked at the fallout from Chelsea joining the Super League, then a day later pulling out of it, the fan reaction, the global meltdowns from celebrities and Prime Ministers alike, and how Chelsea responded.
You can check that out here.
Meanwhile, Chelsea face Real Madrid tonight in the first leg of the Champions League semi final - a HUGE match.
Thomas Tuchel has been speaking about the game in his pre-match press conference, you can recap on a few major points he covered here ahead of the big one tonight.
Timo Werner had a confidence boosting game against West Ham at the weekend, scoring and playing well in general. But will he get the nod to continue against Real Madrid tonight? We will soon find out.
As well as Werner having an inconsistent start to his Chelsea career so far, some our our performances can also be described as little inconsistent, if not on the whole pretty impressive.
But is that really anything to worry about right now when we are producing results, even if it is by just the odd goal?
I pick apart our current form under Thomas Tuchel here.
I’ll finish up with some transfer news, and as I always like to do in this section, I did some research from outside sources reporting Chelsea’s interest in Bayern Munich centre back Niklas Sule, as we conveyed here last week in my last newsletter.
Well, if you dislike Sule and don’t want Chelsea to sign him, I’m afraid you might be disappointed with what I got told on this early this week…. Check that here.
What about Raphael Varane instead then? Better option?
Well, we have some news on him as well here.
MACCA’S INSIDE INFO!
Quickfire roundup from our insider Dan McCarthy…
“I’ve heard Kovacic is close to returning and Chelsea are being extra cautionary with this due to the nature of our final games/Euros.
“I’ve been told any deal for Varane is unlikely and it is Niklas Sule that appears easier, although there is no definitive number one target.
“Finally, nothing solid but I’m hearing rumblings that Chelsea have now met Mino Raiola in person to speak about Erling Haaland. Not 100% confirmed though, just whispers.” - Dan MCarthy.
Thanks as always for reading and please don’t forget….
All our content is FREE, including our latest Podcast with Chelsea’s biggest YouTube content creator George Benson which was released on Friday - you can check that out here, or find it on Spotify, Apple Music etc etc…
Have a blessed week S&DTC family, let’s hope it will be a great week for The Blues!
Simon Phillips (@siphillipsport)
I’m loving the format, and enjoyed the banter with George. Your time out to Devon was much needed I’m sure. Can’t wait til 1pm and the start in Madrid. Go Chelsea💙⚽️
Great mix of tourism & football content in the newsletter this week! Haha, as always - top work from you both.