Plauseorminus

Ruben Loftus-Cheek was enjoying a breakout season at the age of 21, featuring as a full-time starter for the first time in his career while on loan to Crystal Palaceand debuting for England in November, before an ankle injury brought everything to a screeching halt last month. Now, more than a month later, Loftus-Cheek’s ankle hasn’t improved after a period of rest, and surgery has emerged as a very real possibility should no progress be made over the next month. As such, Loftus-Cheek, now 22, has returned to Chelsea for further evaluation by his parent club’s medical team. Palace manager Roy Hodgson, just like the rest of us, is living in total darkness —quotes from the Guardian: “Chelsea insist on having him back there on this period of rehabilitation, so we won’t really know until such time that they release him back to us. The agreement was that he would spend two to three weeks without having a surgical intervention, in the hope that the problem he has will be resol

Arsenal have confirmed the signing of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang from Borussia Dortmund for a club-record fee, understood to be £60m. The Gunners have gradually and significantly improved their offer for Aubameyang, having started at £44m, and the fee eventually agreed eclipses the figure paid to Lyon for Alexandre Lacazette last summer.  For a long time, Dortmund tried to have Olivier Giroud included in the deal, but the Frenchman preferred to remain in London and is expected to join Chelsea, who in turn will allow Michy Batshuayi to move to BVB as Aubameyang’s replacement. The length of Aubameyang's Arsenal deal has not been confirmed, with the club saying the Gabon international striker has signed "a long-term contract". Arsenal announced on their official website the transfer is subject to the completion of regulatory processes and the 28-year-old's squad number will be confirmed soon. A statement from Arsenal confirmed: ‘The 28-year-old has join

The signing of a proven world-class forward such as Alexis Sanchez is just what Manchester United need to compete for the biggest prizes, former Tottenham manager Gerry Francis has said. Sanchez, 29, joined United on a four-and-a-half-year contract from Arsenal on Monday, 22 January, with Henrikh Mkhitaryan moving in the opposite direction in a straight-swap deal. "Sanchez is a real goal-scorer, he's talented and he's aggressive around the box and he makes things happen, he can pull teams through," he told Sky Sports.Francis described the Chilean forward as a match-winner who will aid United in their quest to win silverware by adding some much-needed potency to their attack. "It's [about] the present, you're looking to win trophies and looking to win competitions and, sometimes, you need to buy and have the finished article and Sanchez is certainly that. "It just makes them as a squad that much stronger. Certainly, a much bigger goal-threat with Sa

Chelsea boss Antonio Conte could do no wrong in the eyes of Blues supporters after the remarkable tactical switch that ultimately won him the Premier League title in his first season at Stamford Bridge. The FA Cup final loss against rivals Arsenal that followed did little to taint the Italian's growing legacy, and the image of Diego Costa kissing the club's crest after his equalizing goal in that match certainly made it seem like all was fine and dandy between striker and manager. That was until the Spanish forward revealed that he'd received a WhatsApp message from the boss letting him know that he was no longer needed. A whole lot has happened since then. Costa has returned to Atletico Madrid after a dramatic and seemingly never-ending saga, perceived target Romelu Lukaku has joined Manchester United, and the Blues have replaced the fiery Spaniard with Alvaro Morata. Morata became the club's record signing last summer, coming in from Real Madrid for £58

Chelsea are close to completing their fourth and fifth January transfer deals after reaching an agreement with AS Roma for Emerson Palmieri and Edin Dzeko. The arrival of Ross Barkley from Everton was their first deal, which was followed by departures of midfielders Josimar Quintero and Nathan. The Blues were linked with a number of playersbefore they settled on the Roma pair and are now said to have reached an agreement with the Italian club. According to Goal, Chelsea will pay the Italian capital club €50m (£44m, $61m) upfront with a further €10m (£9m, $12m) in add-ons to sign Palmieri and Dzeko in January. The 23-year-old Brazilian full back's move is said to be at an advanced stage after his agent confirmed talks between the two clubs last week. The London Evening Standard reports that he has agreed a four-year deal with Chelsea worth around £42,000-a-week. Palmieri will provide competition at left wing-back to current incumbent Marcos Alonso, who has been unchal

Barcelona star Ousmane Dembele is set to be on the sidelines for around "three to four weeks" after suffering a fresh hamstring injury during the Catalan's 4-2 victory over Real Sociedad on Sunday. The 20-year-old winger moved to the Nou Camp from Borussia Dortmund during the summer transfer window in deal worth £93.4m  plus €40m in add-ons. The Frenchman spent more than three months on the sidelines as a result before returning to action during Barcelona's 1-1 draw with Celta Vigo in La Liga on 4 January.Earlier on September Dembele was indeed forced to undergo a surgery after rupturing the "tendon in his femoral bicep in his left thigh" during a clash with Getafe when he was only making his third appearance for the club. Dembele has since made three more appearances, playing 25 minutes during the win over Real Sociedad after replacing Paulinho in the second half. But the Frenchman will miss the upcoming games after Barcelona revealed that th

Chelsea have begun talks to sign Richarlison from Watford, according to reports. The 20-year-old joined the Premier League in an £11.2 million deal from Fluminense last summer and has made an immediate impact in his debut season. So far this term, the Brazilian has scored five goals and registered four assists in 23 Premier League appearances.  And now Chelsea are looking to bring Richarlison to Stamford Bridge, although a move will not happen this month. According to Goal, the Premier League champions have already held talks with the winger’s agent Giuliano Bertolucci about a potential deal this summer. Chelsea could also have an advantage in the race to sign Richarlison as Bertolucci has helped the club with several transfers involving Brazilian players, including Willian, Oscar and David Luiz on two occasions. The report also claims that Chelsea are keeping tabs on Thorgan Hazard. The 24-year-old, who is the younger brother of Eden, was permanently sold by Chelsea to

Oxlade-Chamberlain's blistering performance during Liverpool’s 4-3 win over Manchester City highlighted a serious problem at Arsenal, says Jamie Redknapp. The England international left the Emirates over the summer having spent six years with the Gunners. His decision to leave was understood to have been motivated by his lack of progress under Arsene Wenger.  Despite being one of the most highly rated young players in England when he joined from Southampton, Oxlade-Chamberlain failed to ever secure a guaranteed place in the starting XI, struggled to define his best position and never scored more than two goals in a Premier League season. However, in just 20 Premier League games at Liverpool he has surpassed that total with his strike against Man City his third goal of the season. Redknapp believes Oxlade-Chamberlain is not the only player to have stagnated at Arsenal in recent years. ‘If you need any further proof that players stand still when they are at Arsenal, you on

Willian insists reigning Premier League champions Chelsea are ‘confident’ of beating Arsenal to reach the Carabao Cup final. Chelsea welcome the Gunners to Stamford Bridge this evening for the first leg of the tie and Willian is desperate to add to his trophy collection. The Blues are enjoying a fine run and Willian says the team is full of confidence with a final against either Manchester City or Bristol City at stake. ‘We are confident,’ Willian told the Chelsea website. ‘It’s another semi-final for us and a great opportunity to reach the final. ‘It’s a big game, an important game, and of course we want to get through to Wembley. ‘There are two legs and we have to make sure we’re ready for each match. If we win at Stamford Bridge we can go to the Emirates in a good position. ‘Arsenal are strong at home, they have a lot of possession and play with the ball but I think if we play well over the two legs and do a good job we can reach the final.’ Chelsea’s home form of late ha

Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale have been omitted from Real Madrid's 19-man squad for the Copa del Rey clash against Numancia on Wednesday night with Zinedine Zidane expecting to make wholesale changes to his line-up. Los Blancos have all but secured the qualification for the quarter finals in the after goals from Gareth Bale, Isco and Borja Mayoral gave them a 3-0 first leg advantage. Zidane rotated his squad in the first leg and the Real boss will ring the changes when the second division side visit the Santiago Bernabeu. Ronaldo and Bale are among the six first-team players rested by the Real manager after the Welshman proved that he is back to his best by scoring two goals during the 2-2 draw against Celta Vigo. Zidane thus wants to have him fresh for the busy upcoming schedule with the dead rubber clash against Numancia coming only three days before another important La Liga clash with Villarreal on Saturday. Raphael Varane, Marcelo, Luka Modric and Mateo

Kevin De Bruyne admits he is relishing the prospect of teaming up with Alexis Sanchez at Manchester City. The runaway Premier League leaders have revived their interest in the Arsenal forward after narrowly failing to secure his services last summer. Sanchez is reported to have agreed personal terms with City already, but the two clubs are yet to settle on a fee with the Gunners still valuing the 29-year-old at around £40million, despite the former Barcelona forward having entered the final six months of his contract.  Gabriel Jesus is likely to miss the next two months with a knee ligament injury, while Sergio Aguero, who came off the bench to secure a late 2-1 win over Bristol City in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday, has struggled with his fitness in recent years and De Bruyne believes the potential arrival of Sanchez could help ease the burden on City’s attacking players. He said: ‘A very good player. Obviously we will see what happens in this transfer period. ‘If a good playe