A round-up of news and views relating to Chelsea over the past 24 hours.
Chelsea have been quick to rubbish reports John Terry could leave the club in January. There had been reports earlier that Terry may be in line for a shock move to Valencia in the transfer window. Spanish agent Francois Gallardo claimed Terry instigated the negotiations himself and wanted to leave Chelsea for several reasons, despite retaining the captaincy in the wake of the FA charge for racially abusing Anton Ferdinand.
Gianfranco Zola today backed the clubs decision to keep Terry as captain. The Italian star said that whilst Terry had made mistakes in his career, people should also focus on the “very good things” the England star has done.
Ahead of the match on Sunday Ryan Giggs has warned his Manchester United team mates they cannot afford a sloppy start against Chelsea. United have conceded the first goal in eight of their twelve games this year, and had to recover from being two goals down to Braga on Tuesday night. The Welsh winger recognised that it would be harder for United to stage a similar comeback at Stamford Bridge.
Darren Fletcher has also spoken about Sunday’s match, saying the Chelsea have changed from a physical side into one filled with “Barcelona-like players”. Whilst Fletcher recognises the new challenge Chelsea’s line-up poses, he also believes there are more opportunities to counter attack as Di Matteo’s midfield plays higher up the pitch.
Petr Cech has predicted the game will be another goal fest. Last year’s league encounters saw 10 goals in the two games, and with both sides routinely fielding even more attacking sides this year it’s hard to disagree with the goalkeeper’s prediction.
Brazilian forward Willian has again reiterated his desire to move to the Premier League. The Shakhtar star, who was so influential in Chelsea’s loss on Wednesday, believes the moves can help him break into the Brazil national side. Tottenham are also interested in the player.
Despite suggestions Marseilles may need to sell their top players to balances the books their coach has stated that they will not be letting Chelsea target Loic Remy leave in January. Coach Elie Baup said:
“He is here for the whole season…A lot of things are happening at the moment and his form is vital for our results, which are more important”
image: © jorge-11
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