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    Chelsea ‘send scouts to watch English youngster’ who quit Wayne Rooney’s Derby to try his hand at European minnows

    CHELSEA are being linked to Genk’s English defender Archie Brown – with Premier League rivals plus Juventus and AC Milan also hovering.The Brummie, 21, has rebuilt his career on the continent after quitting Wayne Rooney’s Derby in 2021 to seek first-team football.Brummie Archie Brown could be returning to England from BelgiumCredit: RexNow Chelsea have reportedly joined the £15million-rated star’s list of admirers – alongside West Ham, Fulham and Brentford.Championship promotion hunters Leeds, as well as French sides Lyon and Nice, have also been mentioned.HITC say Mauricio Pochettino’s Blues have been “scouting” Brown, including a 4-2 Belgium top-flight defeat at Standard Liege last weekend.And his rise over the past three years has been as unusual as it is incredible.READ MORE TOP STORIESHe rejected a new Rams’ contract in an attempt to speed up his progress three years ago – the same summer that Rooney resigned as manager.Brown had been a regular for Derby’s Under 23 side after switching to left-back and central defence following his days as a left-winger for the U18s.He is thought to have then turned down Championship clubs in favour of FC Lausanne-Sport.Brown’s first season there brought just four senior appearances and relegation from the Swiss Super League.Most read in FootballBut he shone in the second tier, helping Lausanne to an instant promotion back to the elite.And Brown’s eye-catching displays sparked a move to Gent last August on a four-year contract.Chelsea’s forgotten wonderkids – Where are they now? (1)Now Chelsea’s desire for left-back cover could boost his chances of a move to Stamford Bridge.Blues’ boss Pochettino is understood to want cover for Ben Chilwell – not least because three other players in that position are tipped for the exit door, led by £62m flop Marc Cucurella.Newcastle could turn Lewis Hall’s loan deal into a permanent move and Ian Maatsen might be sold when his temporary spell at Borussia Dortmund ends. More

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    Man Utd boost in Marc Guehi transfer bid as Crystal Palace draw up shortlist to replace England star

    CRYSTAL PALACE are preparing for Marc Guehi’s potential departure in the summer with Manchester United and other Premier League giants keeping tabs.Guehi, 23, has been among the Prem’s brightest defenders since joining Palace from Chelsea in 2021 following an £18million deal, which led to 108 appearances at Selhurst Park.Crystal Palace have drawn up a shortlist of potential replacements for Marc GuehiCredit: GettyGuehi has been linked with Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal and TottenhamThe centre-back’s performances have sparked immense interest from the likes of United and Liverpool, while Tottenham and Arsenal have also enquired in the past.And according to The Telegraph, the Eagles have compiled a list of potential candidates to replace the England international in a sign that chances of a potential departure have grown significantly.Guehi has only two years left on his Palace contract, which means this summer may be his club’s final chance to sell him for a significant fee.The Chelsea academy graduate is reportedly worth more than the club-record £50million United splashed for Aaron Wan-Bissaka in 2019.Read More on FootballThe Red Devils are expected to seek for defensive reinforcement after their turbulent campaign comes to an end in May.However, a bid for Guehi will largely depend on whether proposed sporting director Dan Ashworth is appointed in time for the summer transfer window.Ashworth’s Newcastle contract doesn’t allow him to start working for another team until his deal runs out in 2026.Therefore, the transfer expert faces an extended gardening leave unless United fork out a staggering £20m as compensation to the Magpies.Most read in FootballNevertheless, the ex-Brighton chief is a big admirer of Guehi and thus much will depend on his status this summer.The Palace star, though, is currently dealing with a knee injury he suffered last month and could be sidelined for another four weeks.Southgate announces Marc Guehi’s addition to the England squadHowever, England manager Gareth Southgate is expected to have him at his disposal for Euro 2024.New Palace manager Oliver Glasner is facing an uphill battle to hold onto Guehi this summer and the same goes for two of his other biggest stars in Eberechi Eze and Michael Olise. More

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    Fans in hysterics as Chelsea striker Nicolas Jackson ‘tackles himself’ after stepover attempt goes badly wrong

    FANS were gobsmacked after Nicolas Jackson managed to “tackle himself” during Chelsea’s 2-2 draw with Brentford.The forward had burst into Brentford’s box before attempting a stepover, which came off the back of his heel.Nicolas Jackson attempted a step overBut the ball ricocheted off his heelThe ball went on to ricochet off a Brentford defender.That was in the 23rd minute of the game, but to Jackson’s credit, he then opened the scoring for Chelsea in the 35th minute.The forward then put his finger to his lips in celebration as he silenced the Brentford fans that had been giving him abuse.But the failed stepover lived long in the memory of fans on X, with one fan writing: “Only Nicolas Jackson can tackle himself.”READ MORE ON CHELSEAA second fan posted: “One and only Jackson, prolly wanted to do a moon walk there 😂😂😂”A third fan said: “Blud thinks he’s Neymar 😂”A fourth fan posted: “Confusion at it’s peak 😭”While a fifth joked: “The next Ronaldo.”Most read in FootballBEST FREE BET SIGN UP OFFERS FOR UK BOOKMAKERSJackson has improved of late after a difficult start to his career in West London, and has 11 goals and three assists in his 30 games so far this season.Chelsea’s draw with Brentford yesterday saw the club’s away support turn on owner Todd Boehly and manager Mauricio Pochettino.’Chelsea are failures, Gary Neville was right’ Crystal Palace Youtuber Dee Kurnaz has his say on The Sun’s Tap InFans sung “Boehly, you’re a c***” and followed that up by singing in favour of previous chief Roman Abramovich.The ire then turned on Pochettino as fans chanted “f*** off Mauricio”. More

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    Chelsea ready to pay massive compensation fee for Brighton scout so he can help struggling Blues this summer

    CHELSEA are ready to pay the compensation for super-scout Sam Jewell and hire him this summer.Jewell, 34, is leaving Brighton and has been put on gardening leave.Sam Jewell will leave Brighton this summerCredit: Photograph: BHAFCTodd Boehly is set to pay a huge fee to bring him to Stamford BridgeCredit: ReutersBut the Blues can buy him out of his contract with a “big six-figure sum”.The fee is much less than Manchester United will have to pay for Newcastle’s Dan Ashworth.It has been reported that it will take £20million to lure him away from St James’ Park.As for Jewell, he has been working in a head of recruitment role at Brighton.READ MORE IN FOOTBALLHe moved up the ranks when the Seagulls lost Ashworth to the Toon at the start of last season.Jewell has been integral to Brighton’s ability to find emerging talents from across the globe.He has been involved in the signings of Moises Caicedo and Alexis Mac Allister, who have both left and generated the club huge profits.Should Jewell join Chelsea, he will be the latest to switch the South Coast for Stamford Bridge.Most read in FootballBEST FREE BET SIGN UP OFFERS FOR UK BOOKMAKERSCaicedo, Marc Cucurella and Robert Sanchez have all made the move on the pitch.Manager Graham Potter and coaches Billy Reid, Bjorn Hamberg, Bruno Saltor and Ben Roberts all changed Brighton for Chelsea before they were sacked by the Blues.’Chelsea are failures, Gary Neville was right’ Crystal Palace Youtuber Dee Kurnaz has his say on The Sun’s Tap InAnd Chelsea’s chief analyst Kyle Macauley and sporting director Paul Winstanley both joined the club from the Amex Stadium. More

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    Chelsea and Man City set to pounce for Bayern golden boy Jamal Musiala with ex-England youth star keen on return to Prem

    MANCHESTER CITY and Chelsea are keeping tabs on Jamal Musiala’s ongoing contract talks at Bayern Munich.And they are ready to go head-to-head for the German golden boy if he fails to agree a new deal with the Bundesliga giants.Jamal Musiala has interest from Premier League clubsCredit: RexMusiala, 21, has two years left on his current terms, and although Bayern want to tie him down to an extension, there is still no sign of an agreement.Sources claim the highly-rated Stuttgart-born midfielder fancies a return to England.He previously spent seven years in Chelsea’s Academy.Musiala lived over here for nearly a decade, after his parents moved from Germany when he was seven, and his old club would love to take him back.READ MORE IN FOOTBALLBut City are equally keen and sent a delegation to watch him in Bayern’s recent 3-0 defeat to leaders Bayer Leverkusen.Talks over a £150,000-a-week new deal have been going on since October.Yet Musiala is aware of the Premier League interest and knows he is in a strong bargaining position.He has scored nine goals and registered four assists in all competitions so far this season.Most read in BundesligaHOW TO GET FREE BETS ON FOOTBALLMusiala netted the title-winning goal for Bayern last season and was their second top scorer.He has also been capped 25 times by Germany after changing his allegiance from England while he was an Under-21 international.Gareth Southgate says he would have liked Jamal Musiala to stay as an England player instead of playing for Germany More

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    Chelsea ratings: Malo Gusto is full of energy but on the other flank Chilwell struggles at both ends of the pitch

    AXEL DISASI spared Mauricio Pochettino’s blushes as his late header rescued a point at Brentford.Chelsea fans had turned on the board and manager after goals from Mads Roerslev and Yoane Wissa had the Bees ahead having recovered from Nicolas Jackson’s header.Axel Disasi saved a precious point for Chelsea against BrentfordCredit: PABrentford almost handed Chelsea another miserable defeatCredit: AlamyMalo Gusto stood out for Chelsea against BrentfordCredit: ReutersBut Disasi rode to the rescue, crashing his header home at the far post to avoid another Chelsea catastrophe.After a couple of first-half howlers, Jackson redeemed himself to bag the opener for the Blues.The striker rose highest to guide a wonderful Malo Gusto cross home with a well-placed header.Chelsea looked to be coasting towards another London derby victory after the goal, but were knocked back early in the second half as Roerslev equalised for the hosts.Read More on FootballThe Blues struggled to regain their hold on the game and collectively switched off to allow Wissa to score his stunner.Levi Colwill did his best to clear Sergio Reguilon’s cross but his headed clearance fell to Frank Onyeka, who flicked it up for Wissa to fire home with a bicycle kick.Chelsea looked to be heading for another disaster as fans turned toxic, but the introduction of Raheem Sterling got the Blues back on the front foot and he won a corner from which Disasi powered home an equaliser.But who stood out and who disappointed? Here’s how SunSport’s Jack Rosser rated each Chelsea star:Most read in FootballDjordje Petrovic – 6Not a lot the keeper could have done to stop either of Brentford’s goals and had little of any difficulty to do beyond that.Will be very frustrated with those ahead of him.Malo Gusto – 7Full off energy down the right flank throughout and not afraid of a tough challenge when they were needed early on.Showed composure and quality to deliver a peach of a cross for Jackson’s header.Still pushed forward in the second half but should have been quicker to close down Reguilon as he crossed in the build-up to Wissa’s acrobatic goal.I broke down in tears in the en-suite’ reveals Steve Sidwell as ex-Chelsea star opens up on way football career endedAxel Disasi – 6The late leveller salvaged what had been a rather tough performance to watch at the back.Disasi was rash at times and often out of position, never looking comfortable on the right of the back three.However, he showed good power and desire to win a vital header and claim a point for Chelsea.Trevoh Chalobah – 6Perhaps could have done more to disrupt Ivan Toney before he hooked the ball into the box for Brentford’s equaliser.However, Chalobah put in a largely assured display at the heart of the back three – especially considering this was his first Premier League start of the season.Levi Colwill – 6Didn’t do much wrong throughout the afternoon but if this game is anything to go by it may be a while before we see Pochettino try a back three again.Ben Chilwell – 5Offered very little going forwards and never looked too solid at the back having to play as a wing-back.The Chelsea man has a chance to cement his place in the England starting XI for the summer after Luke Shaw’s injury but must do better than this to do so.Enzo Fernandez – 5A little slow to start but quickly got up to speed with things and was constantly looking to drive forward from midfield.Took up smart positions on the edge of the box but lacked quality when it really mattered and was hooked when things went south for Chelsea.Moises Caicedo – 5An improvement on some recent performances but still, even alongside his £105million partner Fernandez, struggles to dominate a game from the base of midfield and can look rash with some of his challenges.Conor Gallagher – 5Another all-action energetic performance from the Chelsea academy graduate, though lacked the quality to make a real impact.Gallagher always catches the eye with his fight and will to win the ball back, but struggled to show a composed and clinical side when it mattered.Cole Palmer – 6Some flashes of quality in terms of playmaking but missed a huge chance to put Chelsea ahead again when stealing Gusto’s cross from the toes of Jackson on 60 minutes.Despite a quiet performance he still stepped up to deliver a fine cross for Disasi to slam home the late equaliser.Nicolas Jackson – 6The Senegalese striker transformed a frustrating first half with his fine header to open the scoring.Jackson had made himself look daft with his first two openings. First he accidentally backheeled the ball when trying to do step-overs before managing to hit the only Brentford defender on the line after rounding goalkeeper Mark Flekken.But he put the two errors to bed with an impressive header from Gusto’s cross.Very quiet performance in the second half.READ MORE SUN STORIESSubstitutesMykhailo Mudryk (on for Fernandez, 71’) – 6Sent on to play in behind the front two of Palmer and Jackson and, despite it not being his natural position, combined well with Sterling.Raheem Sterling (on for Colwill, 79’) – 7Added some much-needed threat out wide after being introduced, won the corner from which Chelsea equalised and almost scored a winner himself minutes later.Chelsea ace Ben Chilwell struggled at BrentfordCredit: RexHow Chelsea’s players lined up throughout gameGusto put together an incredible performance down the right flank More

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    Chelsea set for major coaching shake-up with new special role despite Mauricio Pochettino insisting they don’t need it

    CHELSEA are set to sign set-piece specialists despite manager Mauricio Pochettino dismissing their importance.The Blues have lagged this season under Pochettino as they are 11th in the Premier League and lost the Carabao Cup final to Jurgen Klopp’s young Liverpool side – despite splashing £1billion in two years.Chelsea co-owner Todd Boehly is set to sign set-piece specialistsCredit: GettyChelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino insisted there is no need for set-piece specialistsCredit: RexThe West Londoners are also struggling in set-pieces as Pochettino’s men have only scored six times from set plays this term, while other teams are already in double figures.According to The Telegraph, Chelsea’s co-owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali have already sounded out candidates to work within the new department.The set-piece department will operate across the entire club, rather than focusing solely on the senior team.However, there is no indications as to how closely those coaches would work with Pochettino and his staff.Read More on ChelseaThe Argentine tactician insisted he doesn’t need that kind of help by declaring “football belongs to the players, not to the specialists”.Pochettino said last month: “We work a lot on set-pieces. We have specialists. “We are a coaching staff in charge of everything. We have a group of analysts for set-pieces. “After that, it is about the quality of the player. It is about the takers. We don’t have a specialist. Maybe Chilly [Ben Chilwell] is good in the delivery, but we don’t have a specialist after that.Most read in Football“When you have good takers, and of course, Wolves have good takers, and like Manchester City have or other clubs. “It is not down to the work. We work similarly. But the problem is to have good takers.”Jade Lebeouf’s most liked Instagram postsThis turn of events raises questions as to how much influence Pochettino currently has at Chelsea.When asked about Conor Gallagher’s contract, which runs out in 2025, the ex-Tottenham boss suggested this is between the club and the player as he has to stay “in his place”.BEST FREE BET SIGN UP OFFERS FOR UK BOOKMAKERSPochettino said on Friday: “It’s only between the club and Conor that can make the deal. I am the coach that needs to be in my place. I cannot say nothing.”Asked why he would not comment, the ex-Southampton boss said: “Because there is nothing to win for me. What am I going to say? I am the head coach. “My job is to coach the team and to pick the decisions for tomorrow [against Brentford], for the starting 11 and squad, and try to improve the players and try to win games. That is my job.“We have a very good relationship with the owners and sporting directors. “My office is always open and we have a very good relationship and dialogue. We are open to help in the way they think or believe we can help.” More

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    Premier League ‘set to ask Sheffield United to give Chelsea fans their money back’ after moving clash for marathon

    ANGRY Chelsea fans reckon they’ve been given the run-around by a half-marathon.Sheffield United have reportedly been asked to reimburse travelling supporters – after their Premier League home game against the Blues was rearranged TWICE due to a clash with a popular race.Chelsea fans are upset the match has been rearranged twice at short noticeCredit: PASheffield United boss Chris Wilder has enough problems to deal with on the pitch as his side sit bottom of the Prem, well adrift of safetyCredit: RexEven one change of kick-off time for the crucial match on Sunday, April 7 would have been bad enough for fans planning the long trip.But on Tuesday the game was first put back to 1.30pm – then three days later moved forward at the Blades’ request to 5.30pm.It’s all because of the Sheffield Half Marathon – even though that annual event has long been known about.The match date stays the same – but Chelsea Supporters Trust (CST) still rate the saga of the shifting times a “kick in the teeth” and “disrespectful”.READ MORE CHELSEA NEWSNow The Mail say Prem chiefs want the Blades to pay back Blues’ fans, some of whom have already bought train tickets.The CST have reportedly invited those Chelsea supporters affected to write to them with details.It’s thought the Trust will then forward those bills to the Prem, who in turn are tipped to send them onto the bottom-placed Blades.The earlier 1.30pm start time was settled upon by both clubs and announced on Tuesday.Most read in FootballHOW TO GET FREE BETS ON FOOTBALLIt’s believed no objections came from United, police or the local council.But it was then switched to four hours later due to the half-marathon – a particularly confusing situation as the race and resulting road closures have long been trailed.A look at Chelsea’s forgotten wonderkidsThe website for the run calls it “a major event in the UK’s running calendar” and “South Yorkshire’s biggest event of its kind”.The race has added stature as it is gold-graded by UK Athletics.It began as a full marathon in 1929 but has been half that distance since 2003, with a fun run now also included. More