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Chelsea will look to return to the top four when they face Manchester City on Sunday in the Premier League.
Here’s the latest news featuring Chelsea from 2nd January 2021.
Chelsea keeping an eye on Mohamed Simakan
Chelsea are in a good position to sign Strasbourg defender Mohamed Simakan, as per L’Equipe (h/t Sport Witness). The Blues already have a deep squad, with several defenders for Frank Lampard to choose from.
However, with Antonio Rudiger set to move away from the club, and Andreas Christensen failing to impress, we could see Chelsea sign a defender or two in the winter window.
Simakan is still only 20 years of age and will be a long-term signing for the club. The Frenchman has been an integral part of Strasbourg so far this season, making 17 appearances in Ligue 1 for them.
His current contract with Strasbourg runs till the summer of 2023, so Chelsea will not able to sign the player for cheap.
Werner’s attributes will be key against Manchester City: Frank Lampard
Chelsea will face a tough test on Sunday against Manchester City, and all eyes are likely to be on out of form forward Timo Werner. The German has struggled for goals in his debut season for Chelsea as teams have played deep to deny him space in the box.
However, Frank Lampard has explained that Werner’s pace on the break will be useful against Manchester City, who like to keep possession for the majority of the game. City are not as defensive as the other teams that Werner has struggled against this season.
"We have generally found some low-block teams against us over the last period that we haven’t broken down well enough when actually we were earlier in the season so there are little tweaks we need to make to that,” Lampard said.
"Timo’s attributes can be very powerful on the counter-attack but there are lots of things that we need in the game against Manchester City, on and off the ball. I think he will become a huge weapon against low blocks as well,” Lampard added.
Real Madrid leading the chance for Chelsea target
David Alaba has been linked with several top sides, but Real Madrid are currently the front-runners for the player's signature. The Los Blancos are expected to speed up their chase for Alaba as the transfer window is now open.
As per Fabrizio Romano, Real Madrid are Alaba’s dream destination even though he has been approached by as many as five clubs.
Chelsea signed Thiago Silva last summer, but someone like Alaba is likely to be a more long-term addition to the squad. The player is still only 28 and will instantly improve the quality at the back.
