7am Chelsea news LIVE: Upamecano to ‘partner Rudiger’, Jorginho, Kepa and Barkley set for transfer – The Sun
FRANK LAMPARD's Chelsea were brought back to Earth with a bump as they were hammered 3-0 by Bayern Munich in the Champions League.
And that could be the trigger for Lampard to ship out a number of players this summer, including Ross Barkley, Kepa Arrizabalaga and Jorginho.
Meanwhile the Blues could be set to beat Arsenal to the signature of Dayot Upamecano from RB Leipzig.
Follow all the latest news and updates from the Bridge below…
GOOD MORNING, CHELSEA FANS
Frank Lampard is preparing to axe up to EIGHT senior Chelsea players.
After almost eight months in charge, Lampard’s mind is rapidly being made up on who has what it takes to survive a major cull this summer.
Among those now in danger of being eased out are England midfielder Ross Barkley, £72million goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga and £50m midfielder Jorginho.
Also under the microscope in the final stages of the season are Kurt Zouma, Willian and Pedro as Lampard prepares to get tough with the established names.
And there is little doubt left-sided defenders Marcos Alonso, sent off for a stupid elbow against Bayern, and Emerson are not rated as good enough.
Whether the manager will be able to engineer a situation which will see so many players offloaded in one transfer window remains to be seen.
But he wants to radically change the squad with at least another four signings following the capture of £33m Ajax forward Hakim Ziyech.
Leicester and England left-back Ben Chilwell is rated highly, while a swap deal with Atletico Madrid for their keeper Jan Oblak would solve the Kepa problem.
And then there is the obvious interest in Jadon Sancho, who would be massively expensive at £100m-plus but would bring what is clearly missing right now at Chelsea – goals and assists from out wide.
COPYCAT
Chelsea fans have taken to Twitter to mock Manchester United's Bruno Fernandes for copying Jorginho's penalty style.
The Red Devils new Portuguese ace seems to have taken inspiration from the Blues vice-captain as he has a very similar stuttering run-up.
Fernandes scored United's first goal in their 5-0 Europa League rout of Club Brugge as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side made it into the Europa League Last 16.
The Stamford Bridge faithful took to social media to voice their displeasure.
One supporter said: “Surely Jorginho has a case for suing Fernandes for copyright infringement now.”
Another added: “Jorginho has definitely been giving Bruno Fernandes private lessons on how to take a classy penalty.”
A fan even went as far to say: “I hear Bruno Fernandes has Jorginho posters in his bedroom.”
TO BE FRANK
Frank Lampard has admitted he regretted his open-door policy at Derby County.
He was made Rams manager in summer 2018 but only lasted a season as he jumped up to the Premier League to return to Stamford Bridge.
Before taking over as Chelsea boss, Lampard laed Derby to the play-off final but Aston Villa – whose assistant boss is Lampard's old Blues team-mate John Terry – won the Wembley showpiece.
Lampard told the Daily Mail: “I remember the first day I got to Derby. I was a fresh manager and I told them I had an open-door policy.
“'Lads, come in'. But they all kept coming! It got to the first international break and I had the hump.
“So I said: 'Listen lads, the door is open but when you do come in, make sure you come loaded with good training sessions, performances, numbers.
“Bring me details that tell me why you should be playing, otherwise I'll shut the door.”
BABY BLUES
Chelsea's youngsters beat Millwall 1-0 in the FA Youth Cup quarter-final at Stamford Bridge.
In a London derby the Blues academy stars earned a place in the last four thanks to Amrando Broja's second-half goal.
Chelsea will play the winner of Manchester United and Wigan in the semi-final.
A thousand fans made it into the stadium to provide an atmosphere for the Cobham wonderkids just two days after the senior side were thumped 3-0 by Bayern Munich in the Champions League.
THE REECE IS ON
Former Chelsea legend turned BT Sport pundit Joe Cole reckons Blues right-back Reece James can challenge Liverpool's Trent Alexander-Arnold for England's starting spot.
Gareth Southgate's Three Lions will contest Euro 2020 this summer and the race for a spot is on.
Competition is rife as Alexander-Arnold stars for runaway Premier League leaders Liverpool, Kyle Walker is impressing for Man City, Aaron Wan-Bissaka at Man United and ex Spurs ace Kieran Trippier for Atletico Madrid.
Cole – on BT Sport – said: “He’s different class, Reece.
“People talk about his delivery but he’s very rarely out of position defensively, he’s a strong lad, he’s cold, he’s calculated in his play.
He’s been one of Chelsea’s most consistent players over the last few weeks. He’s going to be pushing Trent all the way.”
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