Chelsea

Nick Mashiter
BBC Sport football news reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Noni Madueke could time his run into England consideration to perfection.

The winger's 15-minute hat-trick against Wolves in Chelsea's 6-2 win on Sunday underlined his talent - talent which was not seen consistently enough last season.

Four goals in his opening two games, and perhaps a new lease of life under Enzo Maresca, gives him an excellent platform.

The head coach said in his post-match interview that Madueke was his type of winger, praising his defensive efforts, and the former PSV star could flourish this season.

England's interim manager Lee Carsley will be paying close attention ahead of facing Ireland and Finland in the Nations League next month.

While Madueke was initially called up to the Under-21s by Aidy Boothroyd in 2021, Carsley was coach and continued to pick him after taking charge of the Young Lions.

There will be a fight to get into the squad - he is not going to oust Bukayo Saka and England are already blessed with attacking talent at the top end - but, if Madueke continues his explosive start, he will surely be in the selection discussions.

Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca has been speaking to BBC Match of the Day following his first Premier League win: "In the second half, we changed something and it was better. I thought the intention in the first half was good, but we lost four or five easy balls from set-pieces and counter-attacks.

"The second half was completely different. We didn't lose any balls and we were in control of the game. The tactical plan in the second half was the same, but we were a bit more accurate and didn't give away any easy balls."

On whether Chelsea will attack like this every week: "That is the intention, but there are teams that want the same, so it is not that easy. In the first 10 minutes, we created two or three chances, scored a goal, and then we started to lose the ball. But, overall, it was a good performance.

"Absolutely there are always things that we can improve on. We can learn many things."

On Noni Madueke: "In the first 10 minutes he had two chances. Overall, he was very good.

"The only thing I didn't like from Noni is the free-kick that he gave away before half-time - we can avoid that, especially against a team who are good from set-pieces."

Chelsea forward Noni Madueke has been speaking to Premier League Productions after scoring a hat-trick against Wolves: "Today means a lot. I was really just trying to be clever and wait for the right moment. The system allows us to probe and probe, and keep the possession higher up the pitch.

"Maybe in the first half it was a bit more end to end, but then we gained control in the second half."

On getting his hat-trick: "The first one was a bit lucky. The second one was all Cole Palmer - two brilliant passes and, with the weight of pass, I just had to step onto the ball and score. I'm made up for the hat-trick, but I'm more made up that we won the game."

On his team-mate Cole Palmer: "He is unbelievable. He is cold and I am fire, so it mixes well. He has the ability to always play a pass at the right time. I like to get the ball in space, beat people, and make things happen. Luckily today it worked."

On their first win under manager Enzo Maresca: "It is obvious [his approach]. Everyone saw what he did at Leicester last year, he is mad about the details. Even in the first game against Manchester City, there were some nice patterns of play but we just couldn't finish it off.

"It is a great day today. I am happy that he has got his first Premier League win for Chelsea and we go on to the midweek game in Geneva."

On his thoughts on Wolverhampton now: "I just want to apologise to everyone that I might have offended. It is just a human mistake, an accident. It wasn't meant to be out on my socials like that.

"I'm sure Wolverhampton is a nice town - I'm sorry.

"In terms of the boos, I expected it but it is part of the game. You have to be able to play under that sort of pressure."

Image source, Getty Images

Noni Madueke scored his first senior hat-trick, with all three of his goals assisted by Cole Palmer. It is just the fifth time a player has assisted a team-mate three or more times in the same Premier League game, after Mike Newell for Alan Shearer and Stan Collymore for Robbie Fowler in 1995, Freddie Ljungberg for Thierry Henry in 2003, and Harry Kane for Son Heung-min in 2020.

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Nizaar Kinsella
BBC Sport football news reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Chelsea midfielder Leo Castledine has agreed a season-long loan deal at League One club Shrewsbury Town.

The 19-year-old made his debut under former manager Mauricio Pochettino last season but he has sought a move away from Stamford Bridge to further his development.

Multiple clubs came in for Castledine, including several from the Championship, but he is set to join Shrewsbury who are believed to be ready to give him a major squad role.

Castledine is one of the most talented academy players in his age group at Chelsea but all parties were aligned on a loan move being the best way to aid his development.

He is under contract until 2027 after signing a new deal in December last year.

Meanwhile, Shrewsbury finished 19th last season and have lost their opening three matches this season, after a 1-0 defeat to Huddersfield Town on Saturday.

Chris Sutton is making predictions for all 380 Premier League matches this season, against a variety of guests.

For week two, he takes on Make Me A Mixtape hosts Clara Amfo and Jordan Stephens.

Sutton's prediction: 1-1

It will be interesting to see the Chelsea team, Enzo Maresca has a big squad to pick from. But there will be no Raheem Sterling - he's taken the number seven off him.

Chelsea also played in the Conference League on Thursday night and I thought they were well beaten by Manchester City, but it has to click at some stage for them.

Wolves had their moments against Arsenal and this one has draw all over it.

Amfo's prediction: 0-2

Stephens' prediction: 2-2

Chelsea will probably smash them but I have gone for Wolves to get a draw.

Read the full predictions and have your say

Nick Mashiter
BBC Sport football news reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Wolves boss Gary O'Neil believes Pedro Neto could have landed a bigger move this summer without his previous injury issues.

The winger joined Chelsea for £54m earlier this month and will make a rapid return to Molineux with the Blues in the Premier League on Sunday.

Neto suffered two separate hamstring injuries which saw him miss almost four months of last season - problems which O'Neil feels possibly denied him a move to a Champions League club.

"The important thing for him now is being able to play week in, week out," he said.

"I always felt he was unfortunate with injuries, he never struck me as injury prone. That will be a question mark around him at the moment.

"It's not one I'd be concerned about, which is why I was desperate to keep him and play him every week, but you can understand that may have had an impact in the summer.

"But he can definitely play at any club in world football. His talent, work ethic and physical attributes allow him to play at whatever level he wants."

Neto, who has taken Raheem Sterling's number seven shirt at Chelsea, made his first start in the 2-0 Conference League win over Servette on Thursday.

The 24-year-old made a second-half substitute appearance in the 2-0 defeat by Manchester City on Sunday.

His move to Chelsea came after five years at Molineux, having joined from Lazio, and he made 135 appearances for Wolves, scoring 14 goals.

O'Neil added: "He is one of the best out-and-out wide players in world football. What he can do one-v-one, his explosive pace, what he can do when he arrives there, it allows him to do things not many players can do. It was an emotional goodbye.

"He loved it here - his time before I was here and how well it went for him last season on the pitch."

Nizaar Kinsella
BBC Sport football news reporter

Image source, Chelsea FC

Chelsea Foundation have announced they will donate £1m to the Jamal Edwards Self Belief Trust, in memory of the entrepreneur who died suddenly aged 31 in 2022.

Edwards created SBTV, an award-winning platform for undiscovered musicians, which helped launch the careers of Ed Sheeran, Stormzy and Jessie J.

He was a lifelong Chelsea supporter who worked with the club on numerous initiatives, including pieces of content with members of the club's squad.

For the £1m commitment, the club's foundation will help fund the Self Belief Sanctuary, a programme to house young people at risk of homelessness; and the Self Belief Community Hub, a community space in west London for people of all ages to come together, where staff members from the foundation will deliver workshops.

It will also fund 31 apprenticeships over a five-year period.

Barbara Charone, Chelsea director and trustee of the Chelsea Foundation, said: "We are thrilled to be partnering with the Jamal Edwards Self Belief Trust in honour of Chelsea legend, Jamal Edwards.

"Jamal was woven into the fabric of our community at Chelsea and we feel his loss at our club every day. We are so honoured to be able to continue supporting the causes that mattered the most to him."

Edwards' mother Brenda said: "I know just how much Chelsea meant to Jamal and how from a young age he was devoted to the club. I wear Chelsea blue every day in memory of my son and we have also designed the JESB Trust Logo in the same colour. So I cannot think of a more fitting partnership."

Reece James and Millie Bright, captains of Chelsea's men's and women's teams, have also commented on the donation.

James said: "I was lucky enough to meet Jamal on a few occasions. He was a pillar of the community and touched the lives of so many people."

Bright added: "Jamal was one of the most humble and selfless people I've ever met. He touched the lives of so many and was taken from us far too soon."

This season, English top-flight clubs are trialling a new financial system that limits spending based on the earnings of the bottom side, designed to "protect the competitive balance of the Premier League".

Football finance expert Rob Wilson tells The Football News Show why, if permanently introduced, it could make the top Premier League sides less competitive against their European counterparts.

Watch The Football News Show on BBC iPlayer

Nizaar Kinsella
BBC Sport football news reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Bournemouth are weighing up a loan move for exiled Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga.

The 29-year-old is surplus to requirements at Stamford Bridge and is training with the "loan group" under loan technical coach Carlo Cudicini.

The move is internally considered complicated at the south coast club as the Spain international's high wages - estimated to be about £200,000-per-week - present a problem in negotiations.

Chelsea would also expect Kepa, who remains the world's most expensive goalkeeper after joining the club for £72m in 2018, to extend his contract by at least a year and that extension would come with a wage reduction.

That extension would allow the Blues to potentially cash in on Kepa at a later date if he does well on loan, but would also require compromises from all parties on how to cover his wages to facilitate the move.

Kepa spent last season on loan at Real Madrid, who were interested in re-signing him, but only if Ukraine international Andriy Lunin opted to leave.

Saudi Pro League club Al-Ittihad also cooled interest in Kepa last month having held initial talks to sign him.

Chelsea are looking to offload up to 15 players before the transfer deadline next week, with the likes of Raheem Sterling, Ben Chilwell, Trevoh Chalobah and Romelu Lukaku available for sale.

Kepa is an option being considered alongside Arsenal's Aaron Ramsdale as Bournemouth enter talks on multiple fronts to strengthen their options for manager Andoni Iraola.

Image source, Getty Images

Chelsea is a "demanding club" and players need to "fight until the end" to earn their place in the team, says boss Enzo Maresca.

With a much-changed starting XI, the Italian earned his first win as the Blues' head coach against Servette in the Conference League play-off first leg on Thursday.

Maresca said before the match that he is only working with 21 to 22 players in training, with a number of high-profile names excluded from the sizeable squad.

"I judge the first XI. It depends how they work every day for all of them. If they are bad in training sessions and they do not train with intensity, they are not going to play," he said in his pre-Wolves news conference.

"If they do not play Sunday in the Premier League and they think they are going to play Thursday, but if from Sunday to Thursday they do not train well, then they are not going to play Premier League and they are not going to play Thursday.

"Chelsea is a demanding club. You need to work hard, to fight until the end to get your place and be 100%.

"If you think I am going to give you a chance without working hard, forget about that. The first XI [against Servette] was this, against Manchester City was that one. We will see for the next game."

Chelsea have been one of the busier Premier League clubs during the summer transfer window, and Maresca is content with the squad he has with a week remaining until deadline day.

"It is better if we do not sign - because we do not need to sign players just to sign players," he added. "If we sign players and they help us to improve, then for sure we need players. Otherwise, we are happy with the way we are."

Image source, Getty Images

Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca says new signing Joao Felix is physically "ready" to play against Wolves on Sunday.

The forward rejoined the club on Wednesday from Atletico Madrid on a seven-year deal for a fee in the region of £45m.

It is the 24-year-old's second spell at Stamford Bridge, having scored four goals in 20 appearances during a loan spell in 2023.

"In terms of knowing the way we want to play? Probably not yet," Maresca said in his pre-match news conference when asked if Felix was ready.

"In terms of physicality? I think he is ready because he was already playing games there [at Atletico Madrid]. He needs more time to understand the way we want to play but overall I think he can play.

"For me, he can do that [number nine role] fantastically - dropping in and giving us an extra man when we need more passes, more possession. Then, to find the right moment to attack, he can do that very well.

"He can play as an attacking midfielder, if we need, he can play also outside. He can play in different positions."

Felix will be hoping for a better start to life with the Blues than in his first spell - he was sent off less than an hour into his debut against Fulham.

Asked about the importance of the Portugal international remaining disciplined, Maresca added: "I think he is mature enough to understand what he has to do and hopefully he has learned from his mistake in the past and he can do better.

"He is a top player, no doubt. I have known Joao for many, many years. Now, working with him day-by-day, I will know him even better.

"Overall, I think he is a player that is going to help us."

Nizaar Kinsella
BBC Sport football news reporter at Stamford Bridge

Image source, Reuters

There is a strange atmosphere at the start of Enzo Maresca's Chelsea reign as some supporters booed their team off at half-time against Servette at Stamford Bridge.

It was far from the full stadium but it was a sizeable and audible minority who also jeered the team in a marginally improved second half when midfielder Moises Caicedo played it back to goalkeeper Filip Jorgensen.

Chelsea fans already look like they may emulate sections of the Leicester City support and be critical of the patient, possession-based tactical approach favoured by the Italian, who replaced Mauricio Pochettino in the summer.

When asked about the response at the interval, Maresca said: "I can understand but the important thing is to win the game. Clean sheet and we did nine changes."

Of course, the atmosphere is not helped by back-to-back trophyless seasons and continued suspicion in parts of the fanbase of the Boehly-Clearlake ownership.

But the second half also showed the simple way out of it - through winning.

Winning is the one idea that binds this group of regulars in west London and a penalty from Christopher Nkunku and a powerful near-post finish from Noni Madueke saw the team cheered off the pitch.

That is despite a not particularly impressive performance to beat a team that finished third in the Swiss league.

"I think all of them need more time to know the system better. For sure, 100%. But tonight was also not easy for some of them in terms of physical condition," Maresca added.

It is fair for Maresca to call for time while radically overhauling this club's tactical approach to a detailed one akin to the style played by Pep Guardiola and Mikel Arteta.

Yet, giving time is not Chelsea's mantra and you have to buy it for yourself by winning.

To beat Wolves on Sunday they will have to improve markedly on Thursday's display.