Chelsea

Nizaar Kinsella
Football reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Yesterday we explained how Jadon Sancho's future is linked to Tyrique George's and there is a similar situation developing with Nicolas Jackson and Christopher Nkunku.

Both players are being allowed to explore options to leave Stamford Bridge but due to the late nature of the transfers window - much of the interest has been over loan moves.

There is also only one international loan slot left due to Fifa limiting all clubs to six overseas loans per season.

That means Chelsea are trying to sell both Jackson and Nkunku at the same time while also getting multiple suitors chancing their arm to take the last loan spot available from Stamford Bridge.

At the moment, it looks like Bayern Munich may get the opportunity to sign Jackson on an initial loan but negotiations continue over whether to include an option to buy, or make it an obligation to buy.

Those talks are no doubt emboldened by the situation around Nkunku, who has reportedly seen serious interest arrive from Milan to sign him on a permanent basis for the asking price of about £30m.

The situation around Nkunku remains complicated as he wants to play at a club in the Champions League and has a high salary which makes him less attractive to suitors.

Nkunku moving permanently would help Jackson move on loan or vice versa.

This is why they are linked and it leaves Chelsea needing to use domestic loans or sell the rest of their want-away players, including Raheem Sterling, Ben Chilwell, Axel Disasi, George, David Datro Fofana and Alfie Gilchrist.

Manchester United are on the verge of agreeing a deal worth between £35m and £40m to sell 21-year-old Argentina winger Alejandro Garnacho to fellow Premier League side Chelsea. (Telegraph - subscription required), external

AC Milan have entered the race for Chelsea forward Christopher Nkunku, and the 27-year-old France international has also drawn interest from Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich and his former club RB Leipzig. (Athletic - subscription required), external

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The draw has been made for the Carabao Cup third round, with 15 Premier League clubs having made it through or entering at this stage.

There are two all-Premier League ties, while holders Newcastle host League One Bradford City.

Ties will take place across two weeks, beginning on 15 and 22 September.

All the fixtures featuring top-flight sides are shown below in the order they were drawn:

• Port Vale v Arsenal

• Swansea City v Nottingham Forest

• Lincoln City v Chelsea

• Tottenham Hotspur v Doncaster Rovers

• Brentford v Aston Villa

• Huddersfield Town v Manchester City

• Liverpool v Southampton

• Newcastle United v Bradford City

• Wolves v Everton

• Crystal Palace v Millwall

• Burnley v Cardiff City

• Barnsley v Brighton

• Fulham v Cambridge United

See the full draw

The draw for the league phase of the 2025-26 Champions League will take place on Thursday in Monaco.

It will start at 17:00 BST and will follow the same procedure as the 2024-25 campaign - the first season where the 36-team league phase format took place.

The draw is made up of 27 teams that qualified via league positions, the winners of last season's Champions League and Europa League, and the seven teams that progressed out of qualifying.

This season, there are six English sides involved - Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester City, Chelsea and Newcastle courtesy of finishing in the Premier League top five, and Tottenham after winning the Europa League.

The teams are split into four pots based on their individual Uefa club coefficient ranking.

Starting with pot one, each team will be drawn out individually. They will then be selected eight opponents via Uefa's automated software.

A team will play eight games in total, including two teams from each pot - one home and one away.

No group-stage fixtures can be played against teams from the same country, nor more than two against teams from the another country.

This procedure will continue until the fixtures for all 36 teams have been decided.

The Champions League fixture list with match dates and kick-off times will be published no later than Saturday, 30 August.

This article is the latest from BBC Sport's Ask Me Anything team.

Nizaar Kinsella
Football reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Manchester United's Jadon Sancho and Chelsea's fellow winger Tyrique George find their futures strangely interlinked.

Sancho is Roma's first-choice target to strengthen their attack but multiple sources have suggested getting him out of Old Trafford is complicated.

One issue is his reported £300,000-a-week wages being an obstacle for any buying club, while sources in Italy also believe he is lukewarm about moving to the Serie A club.

Further complicating matters is United's ability to trigger an option to extend Sancho's contract for a further year, until 2027, to avoid him leaving for free after any loan deal should one be agreed.

Ultimately, talks between the three parties are complex, while Sancho's agent, Emeka Obasi, also works with Chelsea's George.

The 19-year-old has become a viable alternative for Roma, with Chelsea known to be open to a potential sale.

George is believed to welcome a move to the Stadio Olimpico and a source involved in the deal has explained that £25m should be enough to make it happen if a significant sell-on clause was included.

However, Sancho remains the first choice and any break in the impasse would be likely to result in Roma changing course back to the United man.

Chelsea have other interest in George in England and elsewhere in Europe.

Interestingly, the wingers played together last season at Chelsea and are known to have a close personal relationship.

Sancho is training in United's so-called 'bomb squad' away from the first-team group. George is training with Enzo Maresca's first team but was left out of the squad for Friday's trip to West Ham.

Chelsea are interested in United winger Alejandro Garnacho, Barcelona forward Fermin Lopez and RB Leipzig midfielder Xavi Simons before the transfer deadline next week.

Nizaar Kinsella
Football reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Chelsea defender Aaron Anselmino has completed his loan move to Dortmund.

The 20-year-old only joined the Blues from Boca Juniors in January in a £15.6m move but was told by manager Enzo Maresca he needed to go on loan to build experience with a view to returning to Chelsea.

His move comes amid what Dortmund terms a "strained personnel situation in central defence".

Dortmund CEO Lars Ricken explained: "Due to the injuries to Emre Can, Nico Schlotterbeck, and Niklas Sule, we were forced to make adjustments at centre-back. Aaron Anselmino has already gained first-league experience in his home country and has great potential. It was no coincidence that Chelsea signed him to an extremely long-term contract last summer."

Sporting director Sebastian Kehl added: "We have been following Aaron since his time at Boca Juniors. He is a very good solution in our current situation. We will integrate him quickly because we need him immediately and are looking forward to seeing Aaron in the black and yellow jersey this season."

Anselmino could make his debut at Signal Iduna Park against Union Berlin on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Chelsea have used five of their six international loan spots up after the Argentine's move.

The Blues are still looking to offload Nicolas Jackson, Christopher Nkunku, Tyrique George, Raheem Sterling, Ben Chilwell, Axel Disasi, David Datro Fofana and Alfie Gilchrist on mostly permanent deals but are likely to need that last loan spot before the transfer deadline next week.

Roma have held talks with Chelsea and the representatives of Tyrique George over signing the 19-year-old English winger. (Gianluca di Marzio - in Italian, external)

Alejandro Garnacho has rejected a new approach from a Saudi Pro League club in the last 48 hours as talks between Manchester United and Chelsea for the 21-year-old Argentina winger remain very advanced. (Fabrizio Romano, external)

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Nizaar Kinsella
Chelsea reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Chelsea are interested in Barcelona winger Fermin Lopez but it remains to be seen where it sits in relation to other transfer activity.

The 22-year-old is admired with Barcelona often looking to raise further finances amid their own Financial Fair Play constraints in La Liga.

However, with the Blues having yet to contact the Spanish club directly, it remains unclear whether Lopez could join Chelsea this summer.

Lopez has scored 19 goals with 11 further assists in 89 appearances for Barcelona but was an unused substitute on Saturday for the trip to Levante.

Chelsea are known to be seriously targeting multiple additional attackers but are expected to make moves for Manchester United winger Alejandro Garnacho and midfielder Xavi Simons instead.

They also need to sell or loan certain attackers, like Nicolas Jackson, Christopher Nkunku and Tyrique George, who could all leave before the transfer deadline next week.

The addition of Lopez is acknowledgement of a potential alternative option amid active negotiations on multiple fronts.

Will Faulks
Fan writer

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He has a first Premier League start, he has a first assist for Chelsea, he even has a song. Estevao Willian was supposed to be worked gradually into the picture at Stamford Bridge, but circumstances have accelerated the whole process significantly.

Fans were warned for a long time before he arrived that he was going to need time to adapt to life in England and to the Premier League. But any attempts to temper expectations have been ruined by his dynamic start to life in west London.

He shone in two friendlies, then had a chance for a league start before the end of August handed to him by Cole Palmer's late withdrawal from the squad on Friday night as the Blues prepared to face West Ham.

He played 77 electric minutes in the end, contributing to the demolition of a rotten Hammers team.

But Estevao's breathtaking ability isn't the only impressive thing about him. He is also unbelievably mature, taking everything in his stride and looking as comfortable starting in the Premier League for his new team as he did for his boyhood club in the Brasileirao.

Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca's attempts to bring the winger down to earth a little by using his post-game interview to point to Estevao's errant flick which was turned into West Ham's opening goal are understandable - but felt futile.

The valiant efforts by Maresca to try to stop the hype building to damaging levels can only do so much when the teenager looks so good and so confident on the pitch. He's already more than a rising star, and increasingly the problem for the manager is going to be how to avoid the rising calls to start him every week; rather than how best to work him into the action slowly and safely.

Find more from Will Faulks at Chelsea News, external

Chelsea have agreed a deal to loan striker Nicolas Jackson to Bayern Munich. (Bild - in German), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Tuesday's full gossip column

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Nizaar Kinsella
Chelsea reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Chelsea are considering loan options for midfielder Sam Rak-Sakyi before the transfer deadline on 1 September.

The 20-year-old has interest from leagues domestically and in Europe as the Blues explore ways to get him more competitive first-team experience this season.

Rak-Sakyi has already made four senior appearances at Chelsea while part of the Conference League-winning squad last term.

He was also in the Premier League squad for a game against Brentford and has been training with the first team.

His recent involvement in pre-season friendlies against AC Milan and Bayer Leverkusen was a positive sign he is valued by the club and manager Enzo Maresca.

However, the Blues have a strong midfield, with in-form duo Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez now backed up by Romeo Lavia, Dario Essugo and Andrey Santos.

Rak-Sakyi has been at Chelsea since the age of eight and is the brother of Crystal Palace forward Jesurun Rak-Sakyi.

Chelsea will press ahead with moves to sign Manchester United and Argentina winger Alejandro Garnacho, 21, and RB Leipzig's Dutch midfielder Xavi Simons, 22, if they are able to offload some of their unwanted players. (Sky Sports), external

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Pundits Alan Shearer and Micah Richards join host Kelly Cates to bring you the action and talking points from Friday and Sautrday's Premier League fixtures.

Watch on BBC iPlayer here

And listen back to full match commentaries on BBC Sounds:

• Brentford 1-0 Aston Villa

• Burnley 2-0 Sunderland

• Arsenal 5-0 Leeds

We asked for your thoughts after Friday's Premier League game between West Ham and Chelsea.

Here are some of your comments:

West Ham fans

Matthew: I've never seen a West Ham side as disorganised, lethargic and uncommitted in all my life. Every Chelsea attack was like a knife through melted butter, and emphasised how far away we are from those European nights.

Rob: Looking like a Championship side after just two games. Schoolboy errors all over the pitch and other teams can't wait to play us. How do we get out of this one ?

Rich: Playing at Upton Park gave West Ham an extra player. London Stadium is like playing with nine men. Yes, they were poor, but this ground makes it hard to get behind the team and easy for terrace critics to dominate. If West Ham players fear playing at home, the team is in a doom loop. How do fans help stop this?

Chelsea fans

James: A good performance. Apart from the early West Ham goal, it wasn't really much of a contest. We look very good going forward. It will be interesting to see how Maresca manages minutes among the vast array of talent in this squad.

Martin: Won 5-1 and didn't really get out of second gear. West Ham were woeful. Still think Chelsea need to tighten up at the back because we looked vulnerable a few times. Estevao will light up the Premier League.

Scott: Great result but a flattering scoreline - it was more down to West Ham being utterly awful after they took the lead. We will cause any team problems going forward, but defensively we're still suspect. And what was Sanchez doing for the Hammers goal? He will cost us tight games.

Nizaar Kinsella
Chelsea reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Chelsea defender Marc Cucurella has confirmed that his contract extension is "done".

The 27-year-old started Chelsea's 5-1 win away at West Ham amid pre-match rumours that he signed on improved terms at Stamford Bridge.

There has yet to be any official announcement about Cucurella's new contract, whith his previous deal set to expire in 2028.

However, when asked by Spanish media at London Stadium, Cucurella said: "Yes, it's done. We already did it.

"I'm very happy, the club gave me the confidence and I'm very happy to be here. Hopefully I will have a great year."

Cucurella delivered seven goals and four assists in all competitions last season as the Blues won the Club World Cup and Conference League while qualifying for the Champions League through a fourth-placed finish in the Premier League.

Meanwhile, after victory in the London derby on Friday, fellow defender Trevoh Chalobah says Chelsea have the squad to challenge for big titles.

He added: "I think definitely. By having a strong squad like that, with Champions League and Premier League, in different positions then everyone is going to be important to achieve something big."

Nizaar Kinsella
Chelsea reporter at London Stadium

Image source, Getty Images

Given his contribution of goals and assists, and starring roles in the Conference League and Club World Cup triumphs, Chelsea had previously been labelled "Cole Palmer FC" by pundits - and even former manager Mauricio Pochettino.

Even though there was concern when the forward was forced out of this match as a precuation because of a groin injury, a dominant display and contributions from five different scorers showed his team-mates are capable of stepping up in his absence.

"I'm very happy, very impressed, especially because we didn't start in the right way. Cole injury and conceding after five minutes, but the reaction was very good," said boss Enzo Maresca, whose side shared a goalless draw with Crystal Palace in their opening league match.

"Cole, in the last four or five days, was not 100%. Today, he tried the warm-up, but he felt something and we prefer not to take any risk for it to get worse. We'll see in the next hours if it's something important or not."

Making his first start for the club since joining from Palmeiras, Palmer's replacement Estevao again looked exciting on the right wing despite an early mistake.

Joao Pedro has four goals and two assists in his first five competitive matches since joining Chelsea from Brighton for £55m, while Pedro Neto also scored. Midfielders Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo added goals to continue their excellent form in 2025, with both Liam Delap and substitute Jamie Gittens given opportunities in attack.

There is substantial quality in the Chelsea squad already, and it could get stronger before the transfer deadline on 1 September.

Manchester United winger Alejandro Garnacho and RB Leipzig playmaker Xavi Simons are targets, but it would require forwards Nicolas Jackson, Christopher Nkunku and Tyrique George - all of whom were not involved at West Ham - to leave in the coming days.

Regardless of who comes in, Palmer will remain Chelsea's "best player" - as Maresca admitted after the match.

And the Italian will be hoping the 23-year-old's injury does not sideline him for long, with another London derby against Fulham to follow at Stamford Bridge next Saturday.

Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca, speaking to BBC Sport: "Very happy for today, also very happy last week. I thought the performance was good. We didn't score then but tonight we scored five."

On Cole Palmer: "In the last four or five days he was not 100%. In the warm-up he felt something and we didn't want to take any risk."

On Estevao: "He needs to adapt. He needs to make many mistakes to understand how the Premier League is different to Brazil. We conceded after he did the flick and he needs to understand, but he is a fantastic player."

Thoughts on recent successes: "It has been fantastic. I think probably no-one expected the last results - Conference League, Club World Cup, top four in the Premier League - but we achieved it."

On Reece James not starting: "Reece is one of our best players. I would like to start every game with him but we have more players. We have two good full-backs and will use both."

Chelsea defender Marc Cucurella, speaking on Sky Sports: "We started a little bit sloppy but the reaction from the team was very good. We showed a lot of energy. We want to play good football and we have a good result tonight."

On losing Palmer in the warm-up: "It's difficult. We practise one thing, then we need to change very fast but I think Estevao, in this case, played an amazing game. I think it's very important because we have a good squad. All of us are ready at any time and we are very happy because we showed we have a good team. We have an amazing squad, so I hope we can do good things this season."

Did you know?

• Under Enzo Maresca, Chelsea have picked up more points in Premier League London derbies since the start of last season than any other side (26 - P14 W7 D5 L2).

• Estevao is the youngest player in Premier League history to assist a goal for the Blues at 18 years and 120 days.