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      Man Utd and Chelsea ‘linked with late transfer swoop for Barcelona flop’ who’s worth a staggering £216m

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      CHELSEA and Manchester United are both keen on signing former Barcelona star Martin Braithwaite.The clubs both need to strengthen their forward lines and are battling it out to bring the Espanyol striker to the Premier League.
      Chelsea and Manchester United are keen to sign Espanyol striker Martin BraithwaiteCredit: Rex
      The January transfer window comes to an end on Thursday at 11pm.
      And Braithwaite – who is also a successful businessman with a £216m empire – could end up being a last-minute signing.
      The 32-year-old is the top scorer in the Spanish second division this season with 11 goals.
      Espanyol sit fifth in the table and are in the fight for an immediate promotion back to La Liga.
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      However, an unusual detail in the striker’s contract means Chelsea and United would prefer to sign him this summer.
      He currently has a £6million release clause in his contract, which expires next summer.
      But should Espanyol get promoted, he will be able to leave for free.
      If the club remains in the second tier the forward will be worth £500,000.
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      Man Utd manager Erik ten Hag needs to add firepower up front, with neither Marcus Rashford or Rasmus Hojlund reaching ten goals yet this season.
      The Blues are still in a transition period, with Mauricio Pochettino’s misfiring side stumbling to a 0-0 draw against Aston Villa on Friday.
      Braithwaite’s hopes of making Denmark’s Euro 2024 squad would be boosted if he can secure top-flight football.
      The Dane was at Barcelona for two-and-a-half years, scoring ten goals in 58 games.
      But he was released by the Catalan giants after he reportedly refused to have his contract mutually terminated, leading to claims he held Barca to “ransom”. More

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      Mauricio Pochettino sneaks up on Sky Sports News reporter while live on air during Chelsea training

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      MAURICIO POCHETTINO was keen to keep track of what reporters were saying about him today.Sky Sports presenter Paul Gilmour posted a picture on X (formerly known as Twitter) of Pochettino standing close to him and listening in to what the reporter was saying to camera.

      He captioned the post: “When you’re live on @SkySportsNews from Chelsea training and the gaffer sneaks up to listen in.
      “Thankfully I was saying nice things.”
      The likelihood of reporters saying nice things about Chelsea has increased after a more positive run of results for the club.
      Chelsea returned from their winter break with a 1-0 victory over local rivals Fulham.
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      They followed that up with a 6-1 thrashing of Middlesbrough in the second leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final.
      They then drew 0-0 with Aston Villa on the weekend to earn an FA Cup replay.
      Sky Sports presenter Dharmesh Sheth responded to the post with: “hahaha brilliant!!”
      A Chelsea fan also responded with a laughing emoji.
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      A third said: “Did you interview him after this?” Alongside three laughing emojis.
      Chelsea have the chance to continue a recent upturn in form when they travel to Liverpool on Wednesday.
      Their reverse fixture at Stamford Bridge ended in a 1-1 draw, which will give Blues fans hope against the league leaders.
      Chelsea’s form in the league generally this season has been less than stellar.
      The club currently sit in ninth place – although they are just one point off a Europa Conference League spot. More

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      Man Utd and Chelsea on transfer red alert with Barcelona ‘enormously concerned’ about Jules Kounde and ‘ready to sell’

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      BARCELONA are open to selling defender Jules Kounde as they look to fall in line with FFP regulations.The defender has been linked with moves to Manchester United and Chelsea in the past, and both could be on alert with the defender on the market in January.
      Kounde is free to leave BarcelonaCredit: Rex
      United have struggled at centre-back this season, with Raphael Varane’s form seeing him drop to fifth choice at times despite being first pick last year.
      Harry Maguire has undergone a career renaissance this season after looking certain to leave last summer – but his future is also unclear.
      Lisandro Martinez has also missed most of the season with injury.
      The extent of United’s injury issues is dominated by the fact that Jonny Evans, 36, has featured 17 times for the club this season.
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      Kounde, 25, joined Barcelona in the summer of 2022 and played an integral part of their title victory last season.
      But he has struggled to replicate that form this season, and was responsible for two of the goals Barca shipped in their 4-2 defeat to Athletic Club in the Copa del Rey.
      United were tentatively linked with the defender last summer amid rumours he was unsettled at the Camp Nou.
      Chelsea were also close to signing Kounde last season, reportedly agreeing a deal to sign the defender last year.
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      Kounde is seen as expendable by BarcelonaCredit: The Sun
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      Ultimately, the player chose Barca, but Chelsea could now make a move for Kounde again.
      According to Spanish outlet Sport, there are “enormous concerns” surrounding Kounde’s form.
      The report also states that the club would be willing to listen to offers for former Chelsea star Andreas Christensen.
      A fee has not been reported but Barcelona signed Kounde for £42.5million and would be looking to recoup as much of that as possible. More

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      Chelsea trio set for exit as three Premier League clubs launch enquiries for Conor Gallagher

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      THREE Chelsea players could still leave before the transfer window slams shut, according to reports.Clubs have just a matter of days to finalise deals before the February 1 deadline.
      Conor Gallagher is no closer to agreeing a new contract at ChelseaCredit: Rex
      Armando Broja is wanted by two Premier League sidesCredit: Alamy
      Trevoh Chalobah has been sidelined with injury all seasonCredit: Getty
      Chelsea are expected to have a busy end to the window with Conor Gallagher, Armando Broja and Trevoh Chalobah all potentially departing.
      Gallagher, 23, sees his contract at Stamford Bridge expire at the end of next season.
      The Athletic report that he is no closer to signing an extension and could be sold this month or in the summer.
      Gallagher has played 28 times this season and captained Chelsea on multiple occasions – but his importance to Mauricio Pochettino will not prevent a sale.
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      There has supposedly been enquiries about him from three teams in the top half of the Premier League.
      Tottenham and West Ham have been heavily linked with the midfielder in the past.

      Meanwhile, Broja, 22, and Chalobah, 24, are both available to leave on a permanent basis or in a loan deal with an obligation to buy.
      The striker faces an uncertain future with Wolves and Fulham interested.
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      Chalobah has not played at all this season due to injury and is looking to get back on the pitch after falling down the pecking order.
      The trio are all up for sale because they are Chelsea academy graduates.
      Selling the stars will help the Blues avoid breaking financial rules as homegrown players count as 100 per cent profit.
      Chelsea also reportedly remain interested in Aston Villa striker Jhon Duran.
      Chiefs view the 20-year-old prospect as a talent for the future.
      Gallagher has impressed in his manager in midfield this season More

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      Chelsea jump into transfer race for Blackburn starlet Adam Wharton after sporting director goes on scouting mission

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      CHELSEA are jumping into the race for Blackburn starlet Adam Wharton and will battle Crystal Palace for the midfielder.Blues’ sporting director Paul Winstanley watched Wharton in action last week after the 19-year-old’s performance against the club in the Carabao Cup earlier this season sparked their interest.
      Chelsea want to sign Adam Wharton from BlackburnCredit: Getty
      Winstanley is in the market for even more talent, despite spending heavily on midfielders and Chelsea may be open to a buy and loan back arrangement.
      Rovers snubbed an £18.5million offer from Palace this week and want up to £25m, although they could take that in a down payment and extras.
      Wharton — who signed a five-year deal at Ewood Park last month — will also want to know his career path, so Chelsea need to be persuasive and any plans to loan him out next season would not appeal.
      Palace are unlikely to go higher than their offer of £15m plus £3.5million in add-ons for Wharton and are already making inquiries about alternatives.
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      They include Birmingham’s Jordan James, 19, who is available at around half the price.
      Serie A side Atalanta have been bidding for James but came up short so Palace could swoop in with an acceptable offer for the Welsh teenager.
      Birmingham want Palace winger Jesurun Rak-Sakyi on loan — and the 21-year-old may yet become part of the deal.
      Blues have made contact about the wideman, who needs to leave Eagles for regular game time and could go if they bring in a new player or two.
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      Rak-Sakyi is back after two months out with a torn hamstring but unable to get into Roy Hodgson’s squad.
      He has been limited to just eight first team appearances this season. More

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      Forgotten Chelsea wonderkid dubbed ‘most gifted player of his generation’ set for transfer move to 14th club

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      FORMER Chelsea wonderkid Gael Kakuta, who was once described as “the most gifted player of his generation,” is set to join the 14th club of his career.Kakuta, 32, is attracting interest from LaLiga side Granada after starring for DR Congo at the Africa Cup of Nations, according to French Football Weekly.
      Gael Kakuta was tipped to be one of the most important players of his generationCredit: Graham Hughes – The Times
      Kakuta is currently starring for DR Congo at AfconCredit: Reuters
      Kakuta signed for Chelsea from Lens as a 16-year-old in 2007 under highly controversial circumstances.
      Chelsea’s scout at the time, Guy Hillion, encouraged Chelsea to sign the youngster after describing him as “the most gifted player of his generation”, and he was drafted into The Blues’ Cobham academy set-up.
      Kakuta starred while in the Chelsea academy, winning Academy Player of The Year in his maiden season at the club.
      He also drew praise from Michael Ballack, who played with Kakuta in Chelsea’s reserves while recovering from an injury.
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      He told journalists at the time: “Go see the French lad, he’s a star”
      But in 2009, when Kakuta was promoted to the Chelsea first team, Fifa investigated the transfer that brought him to West London in 2007.
      It was found that Chelsea had illegally encouraged the youngster to break his contract with Lens and The Blues’ were slapped with a two window transfer ban.
      Kakuta was also banned from football for four months and slapped with a £665,000 fine, hardly an ideal start to his Chelsea career.
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      Kakuta currently plays for Amiens in Ligue 2Credit: AFP or licensors
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      Those prosecutions were eventually overturned after Chelsea appealed the case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
      To make matters worse, Kakuta suffered a double leg break while playing for the Chelsea reserves that year.
      The midfielder would go on to make 16 appearances for The Blues’ first team between 2009 and 2015 but his career at The Bridge was dominated by loan spells.
      Kakuta went on loan six times before eventually leaving for Sevilla in 2015.
      The Congolese midfielder then underwent a journeyman career which saw him play in the doomed Chinese Super League at one point between 2016 and 2018.
      Now in his 30s, the midfielder finally appears to be settled now he’s an established international, and Granada see him as an important signing as they look to stave off LaLiga relegation.
      He switched his allegiance from the French national team to represent DR Congo in 2017 and has represented his country 19 times.
      DR Congo take on Egypt tomorrow at 8pm in the Afcon round of 16. More

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      Man Utd and Chelsea’s horror record for signing strikers on loan as they are linked with Karim Benzema transfer

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      KARIM Benzema’s astonishing wage demands may have been enough to put Manchester United off an attempt to land the former France striker.Even Sir Jim Ratcliffe appears to be unwilling to pay Benzema, 36, the equivalent of the £86m per year he is currently on in Saudi Arabia to bring the ex-Real Madrid man to Old Trafford for just four months.
      Karim Benzema is unsettled at Al-IttihadCredit: Getty
      But perhaps a bigger warning for United – and potential alternative Benzema suitors Chelsea – is the ill-starred record of on-loan strikers at BOTH clubs.
      Over the past two decades, United and Chelsea have made ten striker loan signings between them – although one of them joined BOTH clubs.
      Not that anybody could, in truth, suggest that Radamel Falcao was anything but a flop at either Stamford Bridge or Old Trafford.
      The Colombian, one of the world’s hottest striking properties before his January 2014 ACL injury, arrived at United at the end of the 2014-15 summer window.
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      He left after 26 Prem appearances, 29 in all competitions, brought a paltry four goals. Never close to the player he had been at Atletico Madrid.
      Undeterred, the following summer saw him turn up in SW6, a season-long loan spell with an option for a £38m full transfer.
      It swiftly became evident that option was never going to be taken up, even before the thigh injury that ruled him out of the second half of the season.
      Just 10 Prem appearances, 12 in all competitions, and a single goal – in a shock 2-1 home defeat by Crystal Palace.
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      Radamel Falcao struggled to produce his best level at Man UtdCredit: PA:Empics Sport
      The Colombian didn’t perform any better at ChelseaCredit: PA:Press Association
      And Falcao was not the exception, for either club.
      Even some of those remembered fondly did not necessarily deliver the numbers to justify that status.
      Sweden’s Henrik Larsson left a great impression during his fleeting three month stay in 2007. That, though, added up to a solitary prem goal and three strikes in 13 games in all competitions.
      More recently, in 2020, United brought in Odion Ighalo.
      The former Watford man did not manage a single Prem goal, finding the target three times in the FA Cup and five times in 23 games in total.
      And last term, Dutchman Wout Weghorst, a surprise arrival from Burnley, failed to score in his 17 Premier League outings, claiming just two in 31 matches across the entire campaign.
      Man Utd fans possess fond memories of Henrik Larsson despite a modest goal returnCredit: Getty
      Odion Ighalo had a largely forgettable loan spell at Old TraffordCredit: Getty
      Wout Weghorst’s final game for Man Utd came in last season’s FA Cup finalCredit: Getty
      Not that Chelsea’s loan record is much better.
      After the Falcao flop, there were two other South Americans, the first arriving in 2016.
      Alexandre Pato arrived with memories of his wonderkid status at AC Milan beginning to fade amid a deluge of injuries.
      Struggling with his fitness at Stamford Bridge the Brazilian was unable to make an impression and managed just two appearances, although did score in a 4-0 win at Aston Villa.
      Then in 2019, Maurizio Sarri believed he could get a tune out of his former Napoli charge, Argentina Gonzalo Higuain.
      Maybe it was a gentle refrain, certainly not a belter. Five goals in 14 Prem outings, with five other scoreless matches across three cup competitions.
      And last term, it could be argued Joao Felix’s biggest impression was on the thigh of Fulham’s Kenny Tete when he was sent off an hour into his debut.
      The Portuguese, now at Barcelona, scored four times in 20 appearances, all of them in his 16 top flight games.
      Hardly a ringing endorsement of a track record.
      Alexandre Pato had a blink and you’ll miss it spell at ChelseaCredit: Getty Images – Getty
      Gonzalo Higuain played for Chelsea under Maurizio SarriCredit: Reuters
      Joao Felix played for Chelsea last term as their campaign fell apartCredit: AFP
      There was, of course, one player who does not fit that pattern – and he was always a rebel.
      Carlos Tevez, signed on loan from West Ham in 2007, won two Prem crowns, the Champions League and the League Cup in two seasons at Old Trafford, in which he scored 34 goals in 99 appearances including 19 in the top flight.
      Yet for many, even some die-hard United fans, he was the first signal of the change in the balance of power in the city.
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      The infamous “Welcome to Manchester” posters unveiled when he controversially switched from the red half of Manchester to the sky blue one was a statement of intent, one that has been turned into concrete reality over the past 15 years.
      Maybe that history is a bigger reason for both clubs to think again about Benzema, or any other potential loan recruit. It hasn’t exactly gone too well in the past.

      Carlos Tevez joining Manchester City sent shockwaves through UnitedCredit: PA:Press Association More

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      Frank Lampard reveals brutal Roman Abramovich blast after ex-Chelsea owner threatened to axe first team stars

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      FRANK LAMPARD has revealed the brutal threats Roman Abramovich made to his Chelsea players.The Russian oligarch owned the Blues from 2003 to 2022.
      Roman Abramovich would warn players they would be sold if they didn’t win trophiesCredit: Getty
      Frank Lampard insists the strong core in the Chelsea dressing room meant they could cope with the pressureCredit: PA
      During his nine years in charge of the club, Chelsea won five Premier League titles and two Champions League crowns.
      And, speaking to The Overlap, Lampard explained how Abramovich created a winning culture at Stamford Bridge where coming second was a huge failure.
      The former owner was no stranger to axing players and sacking managers, going through 13 different bosses at Chelsea.
      Lampard revealed when the team were winning, Abramovich would visit the dressing room to congratulate his players.
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      But any defeat frustrated him and one time he brutally threatened to sell his stars if they didn’t win a Champions League game.
      Lampard said: “Roman had a few harsh meetings with us in his first few years when he was more present.
      “One was before we played Manchester United at Old Trafford in the Champions League [in 2011], he would just come in and be really harsh.
      “What he said was always translated, which makes it even harsher.
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      “The Russian while we waited for the translation – it wasn’t going to be good.
      “He was like: ‘Do I think we are going to win this game? No. Will you be here next season if we don’t win this game? A lot of you, no.’
      “This was two hours before the game.”
      Lampard also disclosed that after Chelsea crashed out the Champions League to Jose Mourinho’s Inter Milan in 2010, Abramovich “absolutely went” at both the players and manager.
      The club legend believes his brutality worked due to the strong core in the squad with Petr Cech, John Terry, Didier Drogba and himself all setting high standards and leading by example. More