Here are your latest football.london Chelsea headlines on Saturday, April 2.
Thibaut Courtois sends Chelsea warning
Thibaut Courtois has insisted he will not apologise if he shines against Chelsea, even though his time there was ‘ very special’ for him, Sport Witness has reported. Courtois left the club in turn oil after he went AWOL. A move that was never appreciated by the Blues faithful who resented the Belgian after the incident, so last season’s win against Real Madrid tasted sweet.
It’s very special. Last year we already played in the semi-finals and lost, so hopefully, this time, there will be a victory,” he told his YouTube show Thibaut Talks.“It will be different because there will be a crowd, and there may be some whistles in protest at my departure, but I hope people remember the beautiful moments of winning two leagues, the FA Cup….
“Chelsea will always be one of my teams because they helped me to become the goalkeeper I am now; they signed me when I was 18 and gave me the opportunity to play for Atletico and then play in the Premier League and win it. I still have friends there, and it’s always a pleasure to play against them. Apologize for my saves? No, it’s been almost four years now, and I defend my club.
“Obviously, I have a fondness for Chelsea, and if I see them win a title, I congratulate the people I know, but when they play against me… I hope we win.”
READ MORE:Tuchel gone, Ricketts in – Chelsea’s worst-case scenario for Premier League 2022/23 campaign
Reece James leads Tuchel’s quadruple injury boost but Chelsea have Christian Pulisic doubt
Thomas Tuchel has confirmed that Reece James will be in the squad to face Brentford as the German coach welcomes back a number of players following the international break. Tuchel was without six players for the trip to Middlesbrough in the FA Cup ahead of his stars joining their national teams.
James, alongside Andreas Christensen, Saul Niguez, and Kepa Arrizabalaga, have all returned to training in the early stages of this week after not joining up with their international sides. Christensen initially met up with Denmark, but his rehabilitation kept him out of their matches, and the 25-year-old was involved in Tuchel’s sessions with the other stars not to compete.
However, Callum Hudson-Odoi’s Achilles struggles have continued, and Tuchel noted a lower back problem for the 20-year-old. While Ben Chilwell’s rehabilitation continues, with the former Leicester ace expected to be out for the season.
Tuchel said: “Callum Hudson-Odoi and Ben Chilwell will miss the game tomorrow. Callum still feels his Achilles a little bit and has some lower back problems. Everyone else was in training. It’s always a challenge to come back after these breaks because everybody was all around the world. Everybody had different experiences, some very successful, some of them not, some of them played a lot, some of them jet-lagged. It’s always a challenge, you’re never 100% sure where you are, and we try to regroup, and we start tomorrow. Reece is in the squad tomorrow.
Read more here.
Mike Dean opens up on how Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham players view him ahead of retirement
Premier League referee Mike Dean has admitted that Arsenal, Chelsea and Spurs players over the years have had mixed views on his refereeing style over the years as the well known Tranmere Rovers fan prepares for retirement.
Regardless of your own personal opinion on Dean, he is certainly a footballing icon and will always be remembered for the most memorable Premier League referees over the years along with the likes of Howard Webb. We know how the supporters, in general, view the 53-year-old but how do the Arsenal, Chelsea and Spurs players view his style?
Well, by his own admission, it’s a mixed bag with the Premier League referee admitting that ‘some do like me’ and ‘some don’t like me.’ “I think over 20 years, you earn a reputation of being a good referee,” he admitted on the latest episode of the BBC’s Football Focus.
“I think the players I’ve refereed over the years, some don’t like me, some do like me. Some don’t like the way I approach games, some do like the way I approach games. And when I give players a bit of stick back or give them a one-liner back, and they don’t like it, if they get upset about it, I will apologise five minutes later and say, ‘Look, sorry for what I said before, let’s just move on’, shake hands, that does happen.”
Read on here.
Read More
Related Articles
Read More
Related Articles
https://www.football.london/chelsea-fc/transfer-news/chelsea-reece-james-thibaut-courtois-23569553
