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      Young Man Utd fan goes viral after offering to swap his own MUM for Marcus Rashford’s shirt

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      A YOUNG Manchester United fan has become an internet sensation after offering to trade his MUM in return for Marcus Rashford’s shirt.Cheeky chappie Zac Finch, who is only seven, shot to stardom after attending last week’s Carabao Cup victory over Charlton Athletic at Old Trafford.
      Seven-year-old Zac went viral after the cameras caught his signCredit: PA:Press Association
      His family are now hoping that Marcus Rashford has seen the sign himselfCredit: Rex
      Sky Sports’ cameras captured the youngster holding a banner up during the game which read: “Rashford can I swap my mum 4 your shirt?”
      Zac’s mother Lois, who was with him at the Theatre of Dreams, has now revealed that she instantly received texts telling her that her son was “all over” the TV.
      And she says that him going viral is a “massive coincidence” to her as her father Dean suffered a cardiac arrest at Zac’s birthday party which led to him being given just a five per cent chance of survival. 
      That made him subsequently write a bucket list, one of which was to take Lois and Zac, who are from Brigg in North Lincolnshire, to see United play at Old Trafford.
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      Speaking to HullLive, Lois said: “My dad had written a list of things he wants to do, and one was to take me and Zac to a Man U game.
      “Zac asked me if he could make a banner for Rashford and I said yes. He said, ‘Can I ask him for his shirt?’ and I said that yes he could, but lots of people ask for his shirt, so what about if he thought of something a bit different?
      “He said, ‘What if I swap you for his shirt?’ And I said that it was actually a really good idea.
      “I mainly did it but he helped me, and he was absolutely buzzing when he got there.
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      “We got in the stadium and Rashford didn’t start, he was on the bench, so Zac was a bit gutted.
      “But at half time we were sat down and he stood up and put his banner up. That was when one of the photographers down at the bottom saw it and took a photo of it, and that’s where it stemmed from.
      “Then I got messages from people saying they’d watched the TV and seen him all over the telly.”
      She said that Zac has been loving the attention since his moment of fame.
      And now she just hopes that the in-form United and England star has seen it himself.
      Lois added: “I just thought it was such a coincidence [that he went viral] – we were only there because my dad wanted to go after what happened to him, so it was just weird.” More

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      Arsenal ‘on brink of Ivan Fresneda transfer after Mikel Arteta persuades Real Valladolid star to snub Newcastle move’

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      ARSENAL are reportedly on the verge of snapping up defender Ivan Fresneda.The Spanish wonderkid has caught the eye of several teams across Europe this season with a string of impressive displays for Real Valladolid.
      Arsenal are reportedly on the verge of signing defender Ivan FresnedaCredit: REX
      The Valladolid ace has impressed a number of teams across Europe this seasonCredit: GETTY
      Arsenal are also on the verge of signing Spezia defender Jakub KiwiorCredit: GETTY
      Champions-League-chasing Newcastle are one of the teams said to be interested in signing the 18-year-old defender.
      But according to reports, Fresneda has opted to join the Gunners.
      That’s according to ElDesmarque, who claim Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has “personally convinced” the teenager to move to London.
      If Arsenal have indeed reached an agreement for Fresneda’s services, they will have not only pipped Newcastle to his signature.
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      Spanish big boys Real Madrid were also interested in signing him this month.
      Manager Carlo Ancelotti was said to have been impressed by Fresneda’s displays in LaLiga this season, so much so he wanted to bolster his options on the right side of defence by signing him.
      Arsenal’s pursuit of Fresneda was given the green light this week when Valladolid chief David Espinar revealed the club would be willing to sell the defender.
      He said: “No firm offer has arrived for Fresneda, but there is a lot of interest.
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      “The club has set a squad cost limit in the summer.
      “We are going to try to reinforce the squad and we are aware that there are players who will leave.
      “We don’t have to sell any player to survive, but, in the football industry, everyone has to do it.
      “It serves to strengthen squads and gives opportunities to people who want to improve or seek another destination.”
      The seemingly imminent signing of Fresenda is the second of two deals the Gunners have reached in the last 24 hours.
      The Premier League leaders are closing in on the signing of Polish defender Jakub Kiwior from Serie A side Spezia.
      The Gunners are set to fork out just shy of £18million to sign the Poland international, who is set to undergo a medical in the coming days.
      Arsenal will be back in action on Sunday afternoon, welcoming Manchester United to the Emirates. More

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      Chelsea facing HUGE Champions League headache as only THREE of six new signings from £188m transfer binge can play

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      CHELSEA’S January spending splurge has left boss Graham Potter facing TWO major selection dilemmas.And even a major squad clear-out in the final days of the winter window will only solve one of them.
      Graham Potter faces two major selection dilemmasCredit: Getty
      Chelsea have made six January signings including Joao FelixCredit: Getty
      Latest signing Noni Madueke could be left out of Chelsea’s Champions League squadCredit: Getty
      The Blues have landed PSV winger Noni Madueke as their SIXTH signing of the mid-season window.
      With the £35million arrival of the English former Spurs trainee, the Chelsea hierarchy will have sanctioned a remarkable £181m transfer outlay since the turn of the year.
      But Champions League rules mean that only THREE of the new recruits can be registered to play in the competition when Chelsea take on Borussia Dortmund in the last 16 next month.
      While Prem rules are different, allowing wholesale squad changes in the mid-season window, Chelsea have to stick to the required eight “home-grown” players and can only register a maximum of 17 overseas stars.
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      That means Potter must confirm a list of exits or have a host of players who are unable to play first-team football for the remainder of the season.
      And the different regulations deployed by Fifa and the Prem will make things even tricker.
      It certainly means hard decisions that will have to be taken when the dust settles on the exact make-up of the Blues squad on February 1.
      Joao Felix, signed on loan from Atletico Madrid, is a certainty to be the first of the chosen trio for Europe.
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      But that would mean Potter having to then add just two from defender Benoit Badiashile, £62m-plus Ukrainian schemer Mykhailo Mudryk, Ivory Coast striker David Datro Fofana, Madueke and £18m Brazilian recruit Andrey Santos, who is more likely to be loaned out for the remainder of the campaign. 
      And even that is not as “simple” as it appears.
      Joao Felix would normally be a straight swap for the stricken Armando Broja, with the Albania striker ruled out for the rest of the campaign.
      But Slough-born Broja, a Chelsea player since joining the club’s set-up as a schoolboy, is on the “B” list of players who were under-21 at the start of the season and, more pertinently, “locally-trained”.
      It could therefore mean he must replace another player – which suggests sales or loans out from the core squad are inevitable.
      Madueke, as an English player, will count as home-grown for the Prem but not for Uefa, which demands at least eight players who spent three years between the ages of 15 and 21 at a club in the same country. He left Spurs for Holland at 16.
      The assumption is that Badiashile will come in for the injury-plagued Wesley Fofana, at least for the Uefa list, as well as Mudryk.
      But that would leave no place for striker Fofana or Madueke, although they have both been signed for the long-term.
      And in the Prem, while under-21 players do not count, Chelsea’s current homegrown list is made up of third-choice keeper Marcus Bettinelli, Reece James, Ben Chilwell, Trevoh Chalabah, Mason Mount, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Conor Gallagher and Raheem Sterling.
      Effectively, none of them can leave the club unless they are replaced by an English-qualified player.
      So far, only three of the new recruits – Joao Felix, Badiashile and Fofana – have made their Chelsea debuts.
      But the new arrivals – and there is continuing talk of a potential seventh signing, possibly Brighton’s Ecuadorean midfielder Moises Caciedo – mean Potter’s squad currently has 28 senior players, three more than the maximum permitted.
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      Prem rules give a hiatus to those regulations during January, allowing them all to be registered and play.
      But that moratorium ends when the window closes, meaning Potter and the Chelsea board have slightly more than a week to get their outgoings sorted and prevent omitted players having the right under Fifa regulations to move for nothing. More

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      Atletico Madrid sign Memphis Depay as ex-Man Utd star completes cut price £2.6m transfer from cash-strapped Barcelona

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      MEMPHIS DEPAY has completed a transfer from Barcelona to Atletico Madrid. The 28-year-old has been picked up by Atletico following Chelsea’s loan transfer of Joao Felix.
      Atletico Madrid have completed the signing of Memphis Depay from BarcelonaCredit: Not known, clear with picture desk
      Depay trained with Atletico Madrid on Thursday before his deal was announcedCredit: EPA
      The fee for the transfer was agreed on Wednesday morning and is understood to be worth £2.6million.
      Barca also say the deal includes a “preferential but not compulsory purchase option” for them to sign Atleti winger Yannick Carrasco.
      Depay was given permission by Barcelona to miss training on Wednesday in order to complete the transfer.
      And the ace was also allowed to join in Atletico’s training session yesterday.
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      He has signed a two and half year deal at the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium.
      The Dutchman joined Barcelona on a free transfer in 2021 after allowing his contract at Ligue 1 side Lyon to expire.
      Despite initially being the club’s starting striker, the acquisitions of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Robert Lewandowski soon saw him fall down the pecking order.
      Following Aubameyang’s transfer to Chelsea on deadline day in the summer window, Depay’s game time has remained limited – partly owing to a thigh issue which saw him miss 12 games.
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      Depay struggled in La Liga for Barcelona this season
      The Dutchman has cost just under £3mCredit: EPA
      But now, with his contract set to expire at the end of the season, Depay has left behind the cash-strapped Camp Nou in a cut-price deal.
      He scored 14 times in 42 appearances for the club.
      There was some reported interest in a transfer from the Premier League, with the likes of Arsenal, Newcastle and former club Manchester United all considering a move.
      However, with Felix’s move away from Madrid, Diego Simeone pressed the club to sign Depay from the La Liga leaders.
      Yannick Carrasco’s agent, Pini Zahavi, revealed there were talks for the Belgian to move in the opposite direction.
      And following Barcelona’s “optional purchase” announcement, it remains to be seen whether the Belgian ends up at the Nou Camp before deadline day. More

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      Figures show Chelsea have overpaid £86.5m for five January transfers and taken huge risk over Mudryk and Badiashile

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      FIGURES show that Chelsea have overpaid by an astounding £86.5million for their five permanent January signings.Blues owner Todd Boehly has already splurged over £400m on transfers since buying the club last year – with £186.5m splashed out in the last three weeks alone.

      Mykhailo Mudryk was unveiled to the Stamford Bridge crowd last weekCredit: Getty
      Chelsea have bolstered their squad with the permanent additions of five exciting young starlets.
      But leading valuation platform Transfermarkt doesn’t think they got good bang for their megabucks.
      They reckon that the only signing they got decent value on was Molde striker David Datro Fofana.
      The Blues paid £10.5m to the Norwegian side for the forward, exactly what he was valued at.
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      Chelsea’s fee for Benoit Badiashile is certainly no disaster, shelling out £35m to Monaco for a promising young defender valued at £33m.
      But the West Londoners’ other three deals are a totally different story.
      Their most dramatic overpay appears to have been for Ukrainian star Mykhailo Mudryk.
      Arsenal had a £62m offer rejected for the winger, when Chelsea blew their bid out of the water by paying the £88m Shakhtar demanded.
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      Benoit Badiashile has already featured for the BluesCredit: Getty
      David Datro Fofana joined Chelsea from MoldeCredit: Getty
      Mudryk, 22, is an exciting talent… but Transfermarkt only lists him at £35m – a staggering £53m below what the Blues paid.
      Chelsea have today completed the signing of former Tottenham trainee Noni Madueke from PSV Eindhoven.
      The talented 20-year-old comes with plenty of pedigree, and cost a whopping £35m.
      Transfermarkt, however, wouldn’t value him at anything over just £13m.
      The Blues also signed Brazilian teenage wonderkid Andrey Santos from Vasco da Gama earlier this month for £18m… despite him being valued at just £8.5m.
      Chelsea’s other January acquisition was the loan signing of Joao Felix.
      Graham Potter’s side have paid £10m merely to borrow him from Atletico Madrid for the rest of the season.
      The deal possesses no option to buy, while Atletico extended his contract to 2027 when sending him out on loan.
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      Should Felix perform well at Stamford Bridge, their may be a bidding war for his signature in the summer.
      But his stint got off a rocky start, when he was red carded on his debut against Fulham last week.
      Wonderkid Andrey Santos has arrived at CobhamCredit: Getty
      Noni Madueke is set to join Chelsea for £35mCredit: Rex More

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      I’m an Arsenal fan and this is the funniest chant I’ve ever heard at a match – and there’s a lot to choose from

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      MY FIRST visit to Highbury was in 1976.And I have been attending Arsenal matches fairly regularly since the early 1980s, when my parents finally allowed me to make trip across to North London on my own.
      Arsenal fan blogger Dave Seager remembers some brilliant chantsCredit: Getty
      It would be fair to say therefore, that I have heard and sunghundreds of fabulous and frankly, ingenious terrace originals.
      So, when tasked with coming up with a list of the funniest Arsenal chants it should have been relatively easy.
      However, many of the songs I may have sung, or perhaps enjoyed in the 1980s, would certainly be deemed unacceptable and in many cases entirely embarrassing today.
      Thankfully we are living in a more enlightenedand inclusive era for the beautiful game and football fans are forever inventive.
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      The source material from our own team’s players – and of course those of the other teams we don’t like – provide us with constant source material and inspiration.
      To aid my worsening memory I appealed to the wider Arsenal fanbase on Twitter to jog my grey cells and not surprisingly I was bombarded with classics, old and new, printable and most definitely not printable.
      So, here are my top 12 funniest Arsenal original terrace chants,in no particular order but I have started with my personal favourite.
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      1. IN BLACK AND WHITE
      It is very hard to beat a timeless classic and particularly when it’s aimed at the old enemy.
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      It is entirely based on the fact offers Spurs no comeback: “You won the league, in black and white, you won the league, in black and white!”
      Simple, funny and true.
      2. EDU
      A beautifully crafted ode to our current Technical Director, an his, shall we say, delayed Highbury arrival: “Arsene Wenger, he went to Brazil.
      “He said he wanted a player with skill. They said to him, we’ve got a player for you.
      “He ain’t got a passport and his name’s Edu Edu, Edu, Edu, Edu.”
      3. MIND THE STEP
      When Tony Adams went up to lift the FA Cup in 1993, shortly after ending up in A&E with 29 stitches in a head wound after falling down some stairs when drunk.
      It goes: “When Tone goes up to lift the FA Cup, mind the steps, mind the steps.”
      Edu is in the Gooners’ good books with his stellar signings as technical directorCredit: Getty – Contributor
      4. HERB
      It was a one-off occasion in May 2018 when travelling Arsenal fans, myself among them, made the trip to Huddersfield for Arsene Wenger’s last match as manager.
      To mark the historic moment the away support, with a nod to both clubs’ heritage, fabulously conjured this one up: “Herbert Chapman, he left cos you’re s**t!”
      5. PORN FLICK
      Fan favourites tend to get their own chant fairly swiftly, but few are as good as this one for Manu Petit.
      It goes: “He’s blonde, he’s quick, his name’s a porno flick, Emmanuel, Emmanuel!”
      6. SECOND-HAND SIERRA
      Before Vieira’s Senegal chant, currently being replicated for Fabio, Petit’s midfield partner had this classic, to the Macarena tune.
      We sing: “My old man bought a second-hand Sierra. (Who from?) Ooooooh Patrick Vieira.”
      7. STUCK IN THE MIDDLE
      The nearly team of 2012/13 had a frontline supported wonderfully by Santi Cazorla at 10.
      That front three merited this ingenious collective ode: “Podolski to the left of me, Walcott to the right, here I am, stuck in the middle Giroud!”
      One of Arsenal’s greatest ever captains, Vieira, has his own chantCredit: Getty
      8. SO BOULD
      A stalwart in the famous back four that won two titles in 1989 and 1991.
      Steve Bould arrived from Stoke with hair but as his success for the Arsenal grew his hair fell out: “Stevie Bould, Stevie Bould, Stevie Stevie Bould.
      “He’s got no hair, but we don’t care Stevie Stevie Bould!”
      9. ‘HE’S S**T’
      I feel somewhat harsh including this next one, as the player in question is in fact, an Invincible.
      But it goes: “He’s bald, he’s s**t, he gets a game when no one’s fit, Pascal Cygan, Pascal Cygan.”
      10. LASAGNE
      I sense I have gone too long without a Spurs inspired number.
      And their capitulation in the last match of the season to open the door for Arsenal to secure Champion’s League football in 2006 deserves inclusion: “Lasagne, whoah Lasagne.
      “We laughed ourselves to bits, when Tottenham got the s**ts, whoah lasagne!”
      Lasagne-gate saw Tottenham miss out on a Champions League spotCredit: Getty
      11. SILENCE OF THE FANS
      The atmosphere and the inventiveness is superb at the Emirates this season.
      But even we Gooners can admit there have been periods since 2006 and indeed even at Highbury when we lost our collective voices.
      However, I was reminded that between 2003 and late 2004, in the Invincible campaign and longer unbeaten run, whenopposition fans had the cheek to sing about the Highbury Library.
      We had a swift and clever retort: “We only sing when we’re losing.”
      12. ONE SONG
      I think I will round off with a song, that whilst effectively presented to us on a plate, still makes me smile.
      Ah dear old Alex Song: “We’ve only got one Song!”
      I know this is far from exhaustive.
      But I hope you enjoyed the memories, and the last title leads me neatly to an excellent book on the history of Arsenal terrace chants, “We’ve only got one Song”.
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      I will leave you with another personal favourite that made the pubs pre-matches but never truly caught on in the stadiums, despite the subject’s heroics at Old Trafford.
      To the tune of Carly Simon’s You’re so Vain, for Sylvain Wiltord: “You’re Sylvain, It bet you think this song is about you, don’t you, don’t you!”
      Wiltord’s chant is a favourite in the pubs pre-matchCredit: News Group Newspapers Ltd More

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      Arsenal ‘on verge of shock Jakub Kiwior transfer from Spezia with £17.5m deal for centre-back in advanced stages’

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      ARSENAL are reportedly on the brink of signing Polish defender Jakub Kiwior.Gunners boss Mikel Arteta is desperate to bolster the Premier League leaders’ title charge with new additions this month.
      Arsenal are on the verge of signing Polish defender Jakub KiwiorCredit: Getty
      And they are still willing to splash out on new signings this month despite being on the verge of landing Leandro Trossard from Brighton.
      Now transfer guru Fabrizio Romano has claimed that Arsenal are about to add the 22-year-old Poland international to their ranks in a £17.5million move.
      He tweeted: “Arsenal are closing in on deal to sign Polish centre back Jakub Kiwior from Spezia, here we go soon!
      “Fee in excess of €20m, medical tests could take place this week.”
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      He added that the deal is already “very advanced” and “all parties hope to get it sealed soon”.
      Kiwior, who was part of Poland’s World Cup 2022 squad, has nine caps for his country.
      He came through the youth ranks at Slovakian side FK Zeleziarne Podbrezova before switching to their rivals Zilina in 2019.
      His displays there then caught the eye of Italian team Spezia, and the Serie A club snapped him up in 2021 on a four-year deal.
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      He has shone in Italy, featuring 37 times in the top-flight, which has led to Arsenal monitoring his progress.
      Now it appears that Arteta has decided to swoop now as he attempts to guide the Gunners to a first title triumph since 2004.
      They are currently five points clear of second-placed Manchester City ahead of this Sunday’s bumper showdown at home to Man United. More

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      Chelsea’s Noni Madueke transfer CONFIRMED by PSV Eindhoven chief Ruud van Nistelrooy after accepting ‘solid’ offer

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      RUUD VAN NISTELROOY has confirmed Noni Madueke is joining Chelsea.That’s after admitting PSV Eindhoven had no choice but to accept the Blues’ “solid” offer.
      Noni Madueke is on his way to Chelsea after PSV Eindhoven confirmed a dealCredit: Getty
      Madueke, 20, is set to become Chelsea’s SIXTH signing of the January window after flying to London for a medical yesterday.
      The exciting winger is set to cost £30million, just days after the Blues signed Mykhailo Mudryk for £88m from Shakhtar Donetsk.
      And like the Ukrainian, Madueke will also sign a long-term deal, this time worth seven-and-a-half years with the option for another season.
      Confirming the transfer, PSV boss Van Nistelrooy admitted while he’s sad to see Madueke go, Chelsea’s offer ultimately made sense for all parties.
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      The ex-Manchester United striker said: “It’s a mix of emotions.
      “We are losing a good player because of his departure. There was no turning back and there was solid financial compensation.
      “I can empathise with the importance of the club. Given the circumstances, with the financial compensation, we have decided to sell.”
      Madueke is the second star to leave PSV for England this month, with fellow forward Cody Gakpo joining Liverpool for £37m.
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      The ex-Crystal Palace and Tottenham starlet had been with the Dutch giants since 2019 after snubbing a move to Manchester United.
      And it’s reckoned Madueke’s desire to return to London played a huge role in PSV’s ultimate decision to accept Chelsea’s offer.
      Todd Boehly has not held back in his support of under-pressure boss Graham Potter, breaking out the chequebook for a number of new faces.
      As well as Mudryk, Chelsea have also signed Benoit Badiashile, David Datro Fofana and Andrey Santos while loaning Joao Felix from Atletico Madrid.
      Right-sided left-footer Madueke is likely to come up against Raheem Sterling and Christian Pulisic for a spot in Potter’s XI.
      But it remains to be seen if a deal can be done before Chelsea’s crunch clash at Liverpool tomorrow.
      With Madueke’s signing, Boehly will have spent almost £450m on transfers since taking charge from Roman Abramovich.
      And the expectation will be on Potter to drive Chelsea back up the table into European contention while also battling bravely in the Champions League. More