Chelsea transfer news

KAI HAVERTZ has revealed that he doesn’t embrace a flashy lifestyle like some other footballers.The Chelsea star, 23, believes that some of the players that he has met spend too much of their money while he prefers a simpler way of life.
Kai Havertz doesn’t live a flashy lifestyleCredit: Instagram / @kaihavertz29
His girlfriend Sophia Weber gets him to load the dishwasherCredit: Instagram / @kaihavertz29
He praised international team-mate Toni Kroos for being down to earthCredit: AFP
Havertz told an anecdote of when he was getting carried away when he was 17 and “maybe (acting) a bit too cool”.
He bought a “fancy rucksack” but it did not make him feel comfortable.
The German told The Guardian: “It was white with gold, flash, but I just thought: ‘It’s not me.’ I couldn’t take myself seriously.
“I spoke to my parents about this. If I changed they would say: ‘Kai, it’s not you, just stop it.’”
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He ended up giving his backpack to his sister Lea.
The 2021 Champions League-winning goalscorer also revealed that no matter how well he is playing he still has to do his chores at home.
As his girlfriend, Sophia Weber, will still tell him “to put the plates in the dishwasher.”.
Havertz also admitted his respect for the likes of Toni Kroos and N’Golo Kante as they do not splash out on “fancy” items and are both down to earth.
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He added: “There’s an image of footballers, all fancy and diamonds and this and that.
“I have met players who spend so much on things where you think, ‘Why do you do this?’
“There are players who don’t care but others do. It’s not always about saying: ‘I did this.’
“That’s sometimes a bit fake. I’ve met different characters. Toni Kroos is one, calm, down to earth, doesn’t care about flashy stuff.
The Chelsea star also hailed N’Golo Kante for being a ‘good’ personCredit: Getty
“He knows life is not only football. N’Golo Kante is another.
“He’s had the same phone for ten years, doesn’t care about cars, doesn’t care about clothes.
“You cannot judge people because of [spending]. If that makes them happy, I don’t care.
“Maybe in their heart, they are also good people, they just want to act cool. Sometimes maybe it’s kind of a protection.”
The former Bayer Leverkusen star has also been giving back as he has launched the Kai Havertz Stiftung charity which has the goal of helping people and animals.
He added: “Over the last few years I’ve realised I can give something back. It was clear to me. It should be clear to everyone.
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“That’s more important. Football is a good way to make people happy, give them joy, something to hold on to, to help.
“But there are other ways. And to always look at football 24/7 is not healthy.”
Havertz has started his own charity to help people and animalsCredit: Instagram / @kaihavertz29
The attacker is a big animal loverCredit: Instagram / @kaihavertz29 More

GRAHAM POTTER is feeling the heat again after Chelsea slipped back into their bad old ways.Boss Potter spent part of the recent international break with his missus in Abu Dhabi. 
The pressure on Graham Potter reached boiling point as Chelsea lost at home to VillaCredit: Rex
Ollie Watkins silenced Stamford Bridge with his early openerCredit: Getty
John McGinn then doubled the advantage early in the second halfCredit: Getty
The defeat leaves Chelsea in the bottom half of the table and 11 points off the top fourCredit: Getty
But it was anything but warm memories of his sunshine getaway making his ears burn as the fans turned on him in protest at yet another home defeat.
Chelsea were one nil down and booed off at half time after Marc Cucurella gifted Ollie Watkins his fifth away goal in as many games – a Villa record.
And when captain McGinn made it two with his first goal in 47 games the fans behind a dazed-looking Potter taunted him with cries of ‘you don’t know what you’re doing’.
They also joined in when jubilant Villa supporters sang ‘you’re getting sacked in the morning’. It was the same ill-feeling at full time.
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Results and performances had improved before the Premier League shutdown two weeks ago. Three wins on the spin and even letting the lead slip against Everton was forgivable.
And in Potter’s defence, Chelsea battered the visitors with enough chances to have staged a comeback win with ease.
It was more that Potter’s players shot themselves in the foot and gave three points to Villa on a plate.
The visitors turned up in West London rightly confident. 
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Not only are Chelsea wildly erratic but since Unai Emery took over as manager at Villa Park last October, their away form is only bettered by Manchester City and Arsenal.
Yet it was still Chelsea’s ability to implode spectacularly which provided the opening from which the visitors went ahead. 
Douglas Luiz strolled away from his area with the ball then pumped it hopefully upfield towards Watkins.
The danger looked covered with Kalidou Koulibaly in close attention but Cucurella’s surprising attempt at heading towards neutral ground went disastrously wrong.
Instead of finding no-man’s land, the Spaniard who has only just won back the faith of the Chelsea fans after a torrid start to his time here, presented Watkins with a gilt-edged chance to advance and score.
The Villa striker needed only to take a couple of steps before lifting the ball over stranded Chelsea keeper Kepa from the edge of the box.
Individual mistakes can be costly but are unavoidable. Within the opening 45 minutes, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and the normally reliable Joao Felix gave the ball away cheaply, allowing Villa to put them under the cosh. 
After only 17 minutes, skipper John McGinn pounced from 20 yards out and smacked the Chelsea crossbar.
Potter’s team had more of the ball and more chances but had Villa finished better with the fewer opportunities they got it could have been even more than one at the break.
Watkins should have scored on seven minutes when put through by his captain only to drag his shot wide, hiding his head inside his shirt in shame.

At one point not so long ago, Chelsea went six games without a win with only one goal to their credit.
Despite failing to score this was not as bad as that with Ben Chilwell heading in what he thought was an equaliser only for it to be disallowed for a foul.
Chilwell also hit the post, Mykhailo Mudryk had two shots saved by Emiliano Martinez and Villa’s keeper also blocked a cracking shot on the turn from Kai Havertz.
But Potter knows the game at this club. Results matter above all else and this one nudges them just into the bottom half of the table.
Yet in just 11 days’ time they will face Real Madrid in the quarter finals of the Champions League, such is the lack of consistency of this team in a supposed season of transition.
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Potter is likely to still be around then and one silver lining for him is that he was able to finally get to use midfielder N’Golo Kante, who has been injured since August.
Unfortunately, the dynamic little Frenchman came on immediately after McGinn had rifled in his first goal since November 2021 with a sizzling drive from 25 yards to seal victory for Villa and condemn Chelsea to a tenth Premier League defeat of the campaign. More

GRAHAM POTTER has admitted that Mason Mount’s potential exit from Chelsea is not in his control.The Blues midfielder has been linked with an exit from Stamford Bridge, with former manager Thomas Tuchel keen on a reunion at Bayern Munich.
Graham Potter has said he is not in ‘control’ of Mason Mount’s futureCredit: Getty
The Chelsea star looks likely to leave the club this summerCredit: Getty
Former boss Thomas Tuchel is reportedly keen on a reunion with MountCredit: Reuters
Mount, 24, is entering the final year of his deal with the club and will be able to leave for free after the 2023/24 season.
But Potter has distanced himself from the decision over the player’s future.
He said: “I have nothing but positive things to say about Mason.
“He has been brilliant, supportive, but it’s between him and the club about how they can sort out the situation.
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“It’s about the player, the club… lots of things that I’m not in control of”.
Mount has had a frustrating season for Chelsea, having only scored three times and assisted two goals in the Premier League this season.
Following the decline in his form, the Blues have been reluctant to meet the player’s wage demands that would put him among the squad’s top earners.
According to reports, Chelsea have set a £70million price tag on Mount.
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Tuchel and Mount enjoyed a good working relationship while at Chelsea together.
Liverpool and Manchester United have also been linked with interest in the England international.
After the Blues announced losses of £121m in the latest financial year, a mass clearout is expected, with Mount one player touted to lead the exodus.
This clearout could see the likes of Christian Pulisic, Hakim Ziyech, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Kepa Arrizabalaga and Romelu Lukaku exit the club this summer.
Those six unwanted players’ contracts add up to a staggering £58.5M a year in wages.
Losses of £121m last year make it vital for Todd Boehly to balance the books and keep the Financial Fair Play cops at bay.
The huge wages are referred to as the “Chelsea premium” by club insiders.
Chelsea have run up a bill  that could reach £606m, including add-ons and loan fees, on new players since Boehly led an American takeover last spring. More