Chelsea News Roundup: Blues linked with Serie A defender, Tuchel rules two out for Arsenal clash, and more

Chelsea have arguably had their best week so far this season, courtesy of wins against Real Madrid in the Champions League semi-finals and Manchester City in the Premier League.

Up next for them is a home fixture against bitter rivals Arsenal on May 12. Thomas Tuchel addressed the media earlier today to give an update on the team news and his plans for the final few matches of the season.

We look at the top Chelsea news ahead of their much-awaited London derby at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday.

Chelsea interested in Fiorentina defender Nikola Milenkovic

Chelsea are interested in beefing up their defensive ranks

According to Corriere dello Sport, Chelsea are interested in signing Fiorentina centre-back Nikola Milenkovic at the end of the season.

The 23-year-old is set to be one of the hottest properties emerging from Italy in the transfer market, with both the Manchester clubs and Liverpool having expressed interest in the player.

He has mustered 35 appearances across all competitions for Fiorentina, displaying goalscoring instincts and solid defensive capabilities. Chelsea are interested in Milenkovic as they may lose Fikayo Tomori in the summer as the defender wishes to extend his stay at AC Milan.

Tuchel provides injury update on Chelsea players

Andreas Christensen is the latest addition to the Chelsea treatment room

Thomas Tuchel has ruled injured duo Mateo Kovacic and Andreas Christensen out of the game against Arsenal. The former has been sidelined for the past few weeks due to a hamstring injury and is still some time away from returning to training with the first team.

Speaking about Kovacic's injury, the Chelsea boss said:

"He is not ready for tomorrow, we have to postpone it to Wembley. His personal race is on to make it to the squad for Wembley."

Christensen, meanwhile, limped off after pulling his muscle against Manchester City.

"It was much better than we feared. We hope that he can come back in one of the two Leicester games. It will also be a tough one, but the season’s not finished for him, hopefully. We have realistic hopes that he can make his comeback, at the latest, against Aston Villa," revealed Tuchel.

Tuchel hails Frank Lampard for Chelsea foundations

Frank Lampard was sacked by Chelsea in late January

Tuchel heaped praise on the early seeds sown by Frank Lampard before the club legend was dismissed earlier this season. Under the former Chelsea midfielder, the Blues topped their UCL group and progressed through the initial stages of the FA Cup.

"You can only arrive in a Champions League final if you make it through the group stage and Frank had an amazing record in the group stage. This lays the foundations for getting to the final and I will never forget this," noted Tuchel.

Further praising the Chelsea legend, he continued:

"From the first day when I came in here, I was aware that Frank created his own legacy at Chelsea and it is well deserved. When I came in it was halfway through the season and it was about continuing the job he had done."