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Chelsea are set to play Leeds United in the Premier League as they look to continue what has been a phenomenal run of results across all competitions. The Blues appear unstoppable on current form, having won a string of games and have been nearly impenetrable at the back since Thiago Silva and Edouard Mendy have been integrated into the side.
Chelsea are high on confidence and are fresh off a stunning 4-0 win away to Sevilla, with star man Olivier Giroud at the heart of their success having scored all four goals. Ahead of their clash against Marcelo Bielsa's side, here, we take a look at the latest Chelsea news.
Ben Chilwell nominated for Player of the Month award
Chelsea star Ben Chilwell has had a fine start to life at Stamford Bridge, and has settled in seamlessly at the London club. The English international's performances have been recognised with a nomination for the Premier League Player of the Month award.
The left-back helped Chelsea to two wins and a draw in three league games during November, and scored one goal which came against Sheffield United. He becomes the second Blues defender to be nominated for the award this season, with Thiago Silva having earned a nomination for his stellar displays in October.
Chilwell made the shortlist alongside Bruno Fernandes, Jack Grealish, Pierre-Emile Holberg, Angelo Ogbonna, and James Ward-Prowse.
Inter to pursue Chelsea's Olivier Giroud in January on one condition
Italian giants Inter have gotten off to a rocky start to their league and European campaigns this year. The Nerazzurri are dangerously close to being eliminated from the UEFA Champions League in the group stage, and will have to wait until the final round of fixtures to find out about their fate in the competition.
Inter are said to be very keen on Olivier Giroud's services in the winter window. However, they will only pursue the Chelsea star should they qualify from the group to the knockout stage.
Giroud has been a subject of interest for Inter and Juventus, with recent reports suggesting that the latter are keen on the Frenchman. However, with Crisitiano Ronaldo and Alvaro Morata leading their line, he is likelier to get valuable minutes at Inter. Giroud could potentially depart from the Chelsea in the near future should he fail to get game time ahead of the upcoming UEFA Euros.
Frank Lampard admits he cannot give Giroud assurances over minutes
Building on the previous report, Chelsea boss Frank Lampard has addressed Giroud's future amidst several links of a potential departure from Stamford Bridge. In a pre-game press conference ahead of Chelsea's clash against Leeds United, the English coach was asked whether he could provide the Frenchman with any assurance regarding his future. Lampard explained;
"I don't think it's a case of giving any player assurances of game time. I think with the competitive squad we have that's very difficult to do. All you want is the players when they are out of the team to train well, get themselves in the team and perform like Oli [Giroud] did the other day. And of course that gives me nice problems as such."
"Oli's always done that for me here, I think particularly in the back-end of last season he played as regularly as he's played at Chelsea in my time at the club, particularly in restart."
When asked about whether the Chelsea striker is happy with his current role in the side, Lampard responded,
"I can't answer that for Oli, I can't. All I can say from my point of view, in that forward area I have competition for places. Tammy Abraham has been playing very well for us this season, scoring goals and making assists. He brings attributes, Olivier as he showed the other night brings his attributes, so that's great competition for me."
"I can't give assurances, and you'd have to ask Oli. I never see anything negative from Oli, and I've got huge respect for him. And playing the way he did the other night clearly he's going to have opportunities, because that was just a top-class performance all-round."
Giroud is yet to start a Premier League game for Chelsea this year, but has been in sublime form whenever he's been called upon by Lampard.
