Chelsea

Nicola Pearson
BBC Sport journalist

It has not always been plain sailing for Enzo Fernandez at Chelsea.

There was a lot of expectation on the World Cup winner when he joined from Benfica in the 2023 January transfer window for a British record fee of £107m.

While things started off brightly in those first few months, like a number of players, Fernandez suffered in the chaotic nature of the Blues' squad upheaval.

He seemed to struggle with the weight of the price tag and then suffered a hernia which required surgery and ruled him out of the remaining part of the 2023-24 campaign.

The 24-year-old then began last season amid an alleged racism scandal after he sang a derogatory song about black players in the France national team, before losing his starting place to Romeo Lavia in the autumn months.

However, when he got his chance again, he stepped up and made seven goal contributions in six Premier League games between 10 November and 15 December.

And while other players dropped off in the second half of the campaign, Fernandez came to the fore with some crucial goals and assists to help Chelsea secure Champions League football for 2025-26, and silverware by winning the Conference League.

The Argentina international was once again among the goal contributions overnight when he provided two assists in the side's 3-0 over ES Tunis in the Club World Cup.

In fact, Fernandez has provided more assists (eight) and scored more goals (six) than any other Chelsea player in this calendar year.

Heis also the only Chelsea player to create 50 or more chances in that time (54).

And, since the start of April, the midfielder has the most goals and assists combined of any Premier League player in all competitions (11 - four goals, seven assists).

It seems Fernandez could finally be finding the form that led the Blues' hierarchy to break their transfer record to bring him in.

While talisman Cole Palmer is often seen as the creative force, that could now be being challenged with Fernandez, Pedro Neto and Tyrique George all contributing more or equal to the Chelsea number 10 in 2025 so far.

But who will be the one to top this table next season?

Make your choice here

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We asked for your thoughts after Chelsea beat ES Tunis 3-0 to qualify for the knockout stages of the Club World Cup.

Here are some of your comments:

Dell: Considering the amount of changes to the starting line-up, I thought we played well in the first half. The ball was moved around at pace and we went forward rather than the pedestrian sideways and backwards movement we see so often. The second half was played at a slower pace but we still tried for more goals. Tosin's headed goal finally broke the deadlock and with Delap getting his first a couple of minutes later broke the hearts of Tunis. Overall, I reckon it was a good team performance by Chelsea.

Nick: A very comfortable win - frankly no more than expected - by what was practically Chelsea's 'Conference League Group Stage' starting XI. Very tough playing conditions, so the slow pace was unsurprising. Well-taken goals by Tosin and Delap. And an unexpected bonus to be playing Benfica rather than Bayern Munich in the last 16.

Ahmed: The good thing is Chelsea won and progress, and good to play Benfica next, That should be a bit easier than Harry Kane's Bayern. Hopefully make last eight. Keep winning, Blues.

David: The first of many goals for Delap. We hope!

Nizaar Kinsella
BBC Sport football news reporter in Philadelphia

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Liam Delap proved he can be a threatening option up front, with alternative striking option Nicolas Jackson still suspended for the last-16 match against Benfica following his sending off against Flamengo.

The £30m summer signing opened his Chelsea account with a stylish goal - a deft first touch, spin and placed shot into the bottom corner just before referee Yaez Falcon Perez blew his whistle for half-time.

The England Under-21 international had earlier twisted into space after Noni Madueke's pass inside and saw a shot saved by goalkeeper Bechir Ben Said.

Chelsea dominated possession on a hot evening, having 74% of the ball. They also managed 16 shots to just three - and none on target - from ES Tunis.

Midfielder Enzo Fernandez captained the team in the absence of an ill Reece James and set up both goals before being taken off for debutant Andrey Santos in the second half. Mamadou Sarr also made his first appearance for the club.

Several Chelsea players struggled to impress - like Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Malo Gusto and Christopher Nkunku - but it was understandable in such difficult conditions in Philadelphia and after eight changes.

Have your say on the victory and Chelsea's Club World Cup so far

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Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca, speaking after victory over ES Tunis in their final group game of the Club World Cup: "The performance was good. It was not easy and, until we scored the first goal, it was difficult to break their defensive line down.

"We were quite patient, and when we scored the first goal the game became a little more open and a little easier for us.

"It's impossible not to rotate players because playing every three days in these conditions means it's not possible for them to play every game. The ones who played were good and we've given some rest to many players.

"It's important to recover the energy and try to win the next game.

On Chelsea's last-16 opponents Benfica, Maresca added: "We know Benfica is a top club, with a top manager and top players.

"It's going to be tough, but from 32 we are now into the round of 16 - and our next target is to go into the quarter-finals."

Striker Liam Delap scored his first Chelsea goal as the Blues qualified for the knockout stages of the Club World Cup with a win over ES Tunis.

Enzo Maresca's side finished runners-up in Group D but avoid Bayern Munich in the last 16 and instead will face Portuguese side Benfica - who topped their group ahead of the Bundesliga giants - in Charlotte, North Carolina at 21:00 BST on Saturday.

What did you make of Chelsea's display and what are the talking points?

Come back to this page later on Wednesday to find a selection of your replies

Nizaar Kinsella
BBC Sport football news reporter

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Chelsea have restarted talks with Borussia Dortmund over winger Jamie Gittens in an attempt to find an agreement.

The Blues had a £42m offer rejected on 10 June.

The England Under-21 international has played just 13 minutes in the Club World Cup under Dortmund boss Niko Kovac and is keen to move to Stamford Bridge having previously been offered a seven-year deal with the club.

Bayern Munich are known to be interested but unlikely to progress talks.

Noel Sliney
BBC Sport Journalist

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Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca has confirmed plans to sign a winger this summer and reports emerging on Tuesday suggest a deal for Borussia Dortmund's Jamie Gittens could soon be finalised.

Negotiations have been helped by the fact both clubs are competing at the Club World Cup in the United States.

Gittens, 20, scored 11 goals in the first half of a breakthrough 2024-25 campaign but only added one more after mid-January and has been largely out of favour since the arrival in February of new head coach Niko Kovac.

A rapid right-footed winger who is most comfortable on the left flank, Gittens' top speed of 22.34mph last season was the 16th fastest in the German top flight.

That pace helps him excel in one-against-one situations – he came top among Bundesliga players across all competitions last season for dribbles attempted and completed.

He ranked in the top two percent among wingers for successful dribbles in Europe's top five leagues in 2024-25.

Gittens also scored twice as many goals as expected based on the quality of his chances, an overperformance only bettered by Patrik Schick, Julian Alvarez, Ayoze Perez, Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo.

However, he ranks in the bottom 20% for chances created and he registered fewer assists than any of Chelsea's other likely wingers for next season.

But the stats overall suggest he would provide something different to the club's current options.

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The results of a survey of Chelsea fans has urged the Chelsea Supporters' Trust (CST) to join the Football Supporters' Association (FSA)'s 'Stop Exploiting Loyalty' campaign.

It comes as the club introduces a range of new policies around ticketing and membership, including a new booking fee per ticket and a priority membership option.

According to the CST's survey, almost 90% of respondents instructed the trust to join the FSA's campaign which was launched in 2024 and has seen a number of protests across different supporter groups take place in support of the campaign.

The CST say that Blues fans have indicated they do not believe their loyalty is "understood or appreciated by the club" and that they will now "take action to highlight how supporters are continuously being overlooked".

The CST said: "Piece by piece, Chelsea FC is alienating a large part of our core fan base with decisions that will slowly force supporters to pick and choose which games they attend.

"The exploitation of members is also a worry, and we are deeply concerned that the increasingly bad deal that members have will negatively impact our club for generations to come.

"This should be a huge wake-up call to the owners and the senior leadership team within the club. Supporters are rejecting the decisions made by the club and are evidently unhappy with the current path being taken.

"Not only is it ethically wrong to exploit the loyalty of the lifeblood of our club, but it is strategically short-sighted and obliterates any trust or goodwill that had started to be built by recent positive initiatives."

Pat Nevin
Former footballer and presenter

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There will be time to debate who has had a great tournament as the Club World Cup unfolds but one player has had a nightmare.

Nicolas Jackson may not be a name to conjure familiarity for fans across the United States but he could be ready to disappear fairly soon from the Chelsea fold.

Nicolas has managed to get stupidly sent off in two of his past four games. Against Newcastle in the Premier League, it nearly cost Chelsea a top five finish, a place in the Champions League and a cool £50m to £100m in earnings. Chelsea got lucky and qualified by the skin of their teeth, no thanks to Nic.

If Chelsea lose to Tunis and go out of this tournament, the suits upstairs at Stamford Bridge will not be impressed with another £5m leaking out of the club due to his impetuousness.

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On top of that, Jackson has suddenly gone from the 'go-to' number nine, to merely the back up for new boy Liam Delap. I was at a Chelsea supporters' event on Saturday night and the entire group had already written off Jackson in favour of Delap - and the latter has only played a combined 90 minutes of football for the club.

Jackson needs some love right now. He is a good striker and he was on an impressive upward learning curve before his injury earlier in the season. He is still one of the fastest strikers around, if not the most natural finisher.

The problem is, I am not sure this will be enough for Chelsea now. He could do a job for a good Italian, French or Spanish side. For Chelsea it will all come down to the money offered but it just shows the vicious nature of football. You can go from indispensable to superfluous in a heartbeat - or 90 minutes at least.

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After his latest red card, we asked you for your opinions on Nicolas Jackson and whether he needs to change how he plays.

Here are some of your comments:

Tony: Jackson has talent but he needs to sort two things out quickly. First, he must start to put away the number of chances he misses. Secondly, he needs to channel his discipline better and not leave his team short. Whether he can do those things I'm not sure, because Liam Delap is going to put pressure on him. Right now, I'd choose Delap over Jackson.

Barry: We've stuck with Jackson hoping he would develop into the player Chelsea so desperately need up front. He hasn't and, more to the point, he is becoming a liability, letting his team-mates down when he is most needed to step up to the plate. It's time for him and Chelsea to part.

Carol: I am concerned by Jackson's frequent indiscipline. With Diego Costa it was different. I sit very close to the pitch at Chelsea and you could always tell when Diego's red mist was about to descend. But he scored and set up a lot of goals, so it balanced out and we accepted the risks. With Diego, we knew he was giving his all for the team and sometimes it resulted in impetuous behaviour and bookings. I'm unconvinced Nicolas feels as passionate about the team. Would he say: 'I go into battle, you come with me?' Doubt it. Yes, he's still young, but at 24 he should have learned - he's had two seasons in the Premier League.

Osman: Let's say Jackson was scoring goals frequently like Costa and once in a while he's shown a red card, that would not have drawn too much of criticism. But, in Jackson's case, he's not been doing that. Jackson must be sold or becomes second to Delap. Simple.

Dan: Chelsea fans are a bit to harsh on Jackson because he, at least for the 2024-25 season, was expected to lead our attack. However, doing stupid tackles like against Flamengo doesn't work in his favour. He isn't a particularly dirty or hot-headed person like Costa was, and I think his underperformance on goalscoring does bring up more scrutiny on his weaker moments than other players. He just needs to mature a bit and not get silly bookings which negatively impact Chelsea's performances.

Colin: His behaviour unbalanced the whole team and left them one man down. Not easy in the heat of the game but he needs to change.

• Fan of another Premier League side? Find and follow your team here

Nizaar Kinsella
BBC Sport football news reporter

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Liam Delap was one of this summer's most-wanted strikers.

But it was Chelsea who won the race for his signature and, speaking before the Blues' final Club World Cup group game against ES Tunis, Delap revealed why - including the pull of Europe and reuniting with some familiar faces.

"You never know if it is going to be the right decision but you've just got to go with your gut and hope it works out," he said. "You've got to take your time. I took a few days to speak to people and decide my future."

Chelsea's star attacker Cole Palmer was one of the people he consulted, after first playing together at Manchester City when he was just 15 years old.

"I asked him what I needed to ask him," Delap added. "He told me what I needed to know, but I don't like too much information. Ultimately it was my decision, so I kind of just wanted my head to be clear."

Palmer has become the poster boy for Chelsea after two sensational seasons and Delap was asked if he hopes to emulate his former academy team-mate.

"Yeah, of course, that's the goal," he said. "I think we both had similar positions and he has gone and smashed it, so hopefully I can also."

Reports in May suggested Manchester United were frontrunners to sign Delap at first, but their Europa League final defeat and a poor league campaign left them without European football for next season - and Chelsea's Champions League qualification did play a part in his decision.

"It wasn't the be all and end all, because I was also looking towards future seasons, but it helps," Delap revealed.

Speaking about his new manager Enzo Maresca, who he played under during his time in Manchester City's academy, Delap said: "I've got a good relationship with him. I know how he plays. I've played in this system before. It's very similar now but with little tweaks.

"I know a lot of the players here. The project of the club, and how they see the future, that's what excited me."

Nizaar Kinsella
BBC Sport football news reporter

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Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca says it is "impossible" to organise normal training sessions amid a "code red" severe heat warning in Philadelphia at the Club World Cup.

Chelsea's players had what was described as a "very short" training session at Subaru Park, the home of local Major League Soccer (MLS) side Philadelphia Union, in 37C heat as medical staff watched.

There were crates of iced water bottles around the pitch and drinks offered at every opportunity in between drills.

Huge fans were placed on the sides of the pitch, blowing water spray at the players, and they trained in the only partially shaded area of the open stadium in Chester, Pennsylvania, which is just outside Philadelphia.

The 45% humidity means it feels more like 45C, according to accuweather.com, and temperatures on Monday were predicted to top 100 degrees Fahrenheit (37.8C) for the first time in 13 years.

"As you can see, it's not easy in these conditions with these temperatures. We are going to try to do our best," said Maresca.

The local public authority has warned people in Philadelphia to avoid "work in high-heat environments" and to avoid "strenuous physical activity".

However, some matches at Fifa's newly expanded tournament have kicked off in the middle of the afternoon, with temperatures at their highest.

"It's difficult to work with these temperatures, but we are here and we are trying to do our best and we will try to win," said Maresca.

The Blues are set to face ES Tunis on Tuesday evening at 21:00 local time (02:00 BST on Wednesday), with daytime temperatures predicted to reach close to 39C in Philadelphia. However, it is likely to still be around 33C when Chelsea kick off at Lincoln Financial Field.

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Marc Cucurella says the Chelsea squad have accepted Nicolas Jackson's apology for his red card against Flamengo and the incident has already been "forgotten".

Jackson was dismissed for an ugly tackle four minutes after coming on as a substitute as Chelsea suffered a second-half collapse to lose 3-1 on Friday.

When asked if the apology he posted on social media had been accepted by his team-mates before the Blues' final group game against ES Tunis on Wednesday, Cucurella said: "Yes, for sure it's been accepted. What happened is just football.

"This game is sometimes about mistakes. He made a mistake, but we have forgotten about this. We'll miss him in the next game, but we have other players that can do his job."

That result means the Blues need to win to guarantee progression to the Club World Cup round of 16, but if they do they are likely to face Bayern Munich as Group C winners which could then be followed by a meeting with Paris St-Germain.

"Yes, both these teams are very good, and if we need to play against them, we will give it all we have got," Cucurella added.

"They could be important games. But we have a big game tomorrow first [against Tunis]. It's true that in this tournament there are a lot of important teams, and going far is something we see as a big responsibility.

"We are confident if we have to play these kinds of teams in the tournament."

Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca has been speaking to the media before Wednesday's final Club World Cup group game against Tunisian side Tunis (02:00 BST).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Maresca confirmed Reece James did not train because of illness and Levi Colwill has also been ill for the last two days, but took part in the session.

• The suspended Nicolas Jackson did not train because Maresca only wants players who are available to train the day before the match.

• On Christopher Nkunku: "Christo is with us. He's our player. He's doing very well in the last four, five days. For sure, tomorrow we are going to do rotation. We'll see if there is any chance for the ones that are not playing a lot."

• Maresca stressed the difficulty of training in the Philadelphia heat: "It's almost impossible to train, to make a session because of the weather. We are just trying to save energy for the game. It's not easy with these conditions, but we are going to try to do our best. Today's session was very, very, very short."

• He played down questions on the financial importance of progressing deep into the Club World Cup: "The owners just want the best for us, and for the players, game by game. They are not talking about the final reward in terms of money. They never put pressure on us to win this tournament because of the money."

• On the challenge posed by ES Tunis: "I watched both games, I watch some games in their league - even against Flamengo, they were in the game until the end. For sure, it's going to be a tough game."

• Asked about how much pressure there is to win and reach the last 16: "When you are Chelsea manager you are always under pressure and we'll do our best."

• On Marc Cucurella's workload: "We used Malo Gusto during the season on that side. Beginning of the season - Renato Veiga. For sure, in that position, he is the only one. Reece James did a few times. We can find different solutions. Even Josh [Acheampong] did for us."

Nicola Pearson
BBC Sport journalist

"Stupid, stupid, stupid mistake"

That was how former Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel described Nicolas Jackson's red card against Flamengo in the Club World Cup on Friday night.

It took just four minutes from coming on as a late substitute for the striker to be walking back off the pitch after being sent off for a studs-up challenge.

It was the latest incident to lead to questions around Jackson's discipline.

The 24-year-old is now suspended in two competitions simultaneously having also been sent off in the Premier League in May in a then crucial game against Newcastle United.

Alongside his eight yellow cards, it means Jackson has a combined record of 10 cards across all competitions this season.

There were already question-marks around the Senegal forward's discipline when he first arrived in the last campaign after he picked up five bookings in his first six league games leading to an early suspension.

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Many hoped he had put that behind him when he received just five more across the rest of the season.

But these latest incidents have once again left supporters and onlookers asking if this is a bigger problem.

Since his arrival from Villarreal in 2023, Jackson has the joint-most red cards among Chelsea players alongside Reece James.

While he does not come out on top for total yellow cards or combined cards (fourth and third respectively), it is worth noting who the other players are that are above him.

Moises Caicedo leads the way with 28 bookings, but as a defensive midfielder, yellow cards come with the territory.

It is a similar story with Marc Cucurella and Enzo Fernandez, as defenders and midfielders it is almost expected that you will pick up these cards as you try and stop attacks and break up play.

While you do not want your striker up front to be a pushover, you do want them to be clever in how they hold up the ball and battle with the opposition's defence.

The timing of Jackson's latest suspensions also means he is giving new arrival Liam Delap a free hit in the central striker role for Chelsea.

And although the latest Blues recruit is not exactly squeaky clean on the pitch himself - with 14, Delap picked up more yellow cards than Jackson last term - he has yet to be sent off in his senior football career.

But is a striker playing on the edge always a problem?

Former Blues forward Diego Costa had a notoriously fiery persona and picked up 30 yellow cards across his three seasons in west London - although, perhaps somewhat surprisingly, just the one red card.

Club legend Didier Drogba could also walk the discipline tightrope and notched up a combined 64 cards across 381 appearances for Chelsea.

However, with the contributions they offered in front of goal, it felt very much part of their game and helped them provide what they did on the pitch - an area supporters are yet to be convinced of with Jackson.

How concerning is Jackson's latest sending off? Can it be accepted as part of his game? Or does he need to change the way he plays?

Let us know