Jacob Steinberg

Chelsea’s Jadon Sancho loan was not disastrous but they need an upgrade | Jacob Steinberg Winger flickered during his time at Stamford Bridge but failed to provide the consistency and Maresca is thinking bigger

Chelsea were right to loan Jadon Sancho and right to send him back to United. A solid but unspectacular season - decent enough value for £5m, but Chelsea need someone more suited to the intensity of the Premier League.

www.theguardian.com/football/202...

Liam Delap’s £30m move to Chelsea has been finalised and should be announced soon. Top signing.

Chelsea set to sign Liam Delap after activating striker’s £30m release clause The Ipswich striker Liam Delap favours a move to Chelsea, who are plotting further additions to Enzo Maresca’s young squad

Chelsea activate Liam Delap’s £30m release clause. Also interest in Nico Williams, uncertainty over whether Jadon Sancho joins on permanent deal. Chelsea keen to keep building under Enzo Maresca

www.theguardian.com/football/202...

Pellegrini and Betis familiar pawns in Maresca’s search for winning move Chelsea can become the first English team to win all four European trophies – and much of their manager’s strategy is rooted in chess

Maresca, Pellegrini and chess

www.theguardian.com/football/202...

Chelsea eye pre-agreement deal for Emegha with partner club Strasbourg Chelsea are watching Emanuel Emegha’s development at Strasbourg and have held talks with their partner club over a pre-agreement for the striker

Chelsea considering pre-agreement for Strasbourg striker Emanuel Emegha to join in 2026

www.theguardian.com/football/202...

Lego fan Levi Colwill becomes key building block for Maresca’s Chelsea project Passion for Lego helps improving defender take his mind off elite football before Wednesday’s Conference League final

Levi Colwill, LEGO obsessive

www.theguardian.com/football/202...

Maresca leads Chelsea’s new band of brothers to Champions League return | Jacob Steinberg Head coach puts pragmatism over his principles in win at Nottingham Forest that will delight once-warring owners

Piece from yesterday on Chelsea’s win: grit, togetherness, a sense that this thing might actually work

www.theguardian.com/football/202...

Chelsea’s growing pains face Forest fire test in crunch finale A Champions League spot and the cash injection that comes with it are on the line and Enzo Maresca’s side must win to silence immaturity accusations

Have Chelsea learnt their lesson from the Newcastle game? Will they keep their cool at Forest today?

www.theguardian.com/football/202...

It’s also ridiculously frustrating to watch

Unlikely but it’s not a stretch to say someone was going to get injured at some point

Ever watch those passages of play when there’s a clear offside and think that you’re basically witnessing football that doesn’t exist? Chances that mean nothing and take up unnecessary time?

Awoniyi’s injury should lead to a rethink over flawed offside protocol | Jacob Steinberg Assistant referees need more scope to use their common sense as opposed to simply relying on VAR

Taiwo Awoniyi’s horrific injury is definitive proof that the current offside protocol is flawed and unsafe. Officialdom afraid to make mistakes but there isn’t a bigger one than a player getting needlessly hurt

www.theguardian.com/football/202...

No problem

Hi, that line has been amended to add important context. It’s a wider story that doesn’t only take in football. But in case of players we are talking about people who say they wanted to invest their money (like anyone), weren’t sure what to do and sought advice.

Former footballers claim ‘financial grooming’ took them to ‘hell and back’ Politicians and former footballers have protested at the ‘financial grooming’ of Premier League stars who claim they were misled over investment schemes

Former footballers hit out at “financial grooming” that is claimed to have left many with huge tax liabilities. Ex pros including Danny Murphy, Brian Deane and Andy Cole present at launch of APPG Investment Fraud Committee this week

www.theguardian.com/football/202...

Former footballers claim ‘financial grooming’ took them to ‘hell and back’ Politicians and former footballers have protested at the ‘financial grooming’ of Premier League stars who claim they were misled over investment schemes

Former footballers hit out at “financial grooming” that is claimed to have left many with huge tax liabilities. Ex pros including Danny Murphy, Brian Deane and Andy Cole present at launch of APPG Investment Fraud Committee this week

www.theguardian.com/football/202...

Use your elite analysis to work it out

The question was who would you hire not who do you think will be hired. Do try harder x

Because their work isn’t similar?

That’s not happening 😅

The weird thing is every so often they seem to do ok that way. Brentford away.

Iraola

Do you reckon that squad will be able to cope physically with his football in the CL?

Because it’s not really relevant to how they function in the league. Similar with west ham under Moyes

I think ultimately it’s easier to look fast and physical against Bodo/Glimt and AZ Alkmaar.

Ange Postecoglou leaving on a high could be Spurs’ best-case scenario Tottenham’s riches have underpinned Europa League progress but, win or lose in Bilbao, they need to be decisive about their manager to succeed at home

Tottenham should not base their decision on whether to keep Ange Postecoglou on the outcome of the Europa League final. They can’t be emotional. Best case scenario could still be for Postecoglou to end the wait for a trophy and leave on a high #thfc

www.theguardian.com/football/202...

Spurs and Postecoglou face moment of truth on Bodø/Glimt’s plastic pitch Tottenham are without key players for the Europa League semi-final second leg against opponents who have belief

No Maddison, no Bergvall, and they’ve got to cope with a plastic pitch in the Arctic Circle. Can Tottenham do it? #thfc

www.theguardian.com/football/202...

Yes. Also Salah was much cheaper. More of a bet at the time, given it hadn’t worked at Chelsea, whereas those two were already clearly the best.

Liverpool’s mix of young blood and old heads is right model for Chelsea The champions have proved buying the best makes you the best – a hard lesson for Chelsea’s struggling youngsters

Liverpool were entertaining but inconsistent before they bought readymade solutions in Alisson and Van Dijk. Shouldn’t Chelsea give their young team something similar? You can look for value but Alisson and VVD are both going strong in their 30s #cfc

www.theguardian.com/football/202...

The Conference League wasn’t really supposed to be for clubs like Chelsea. Not much they can do about it and they’re taking it seriously but last night felt like a group game rather than a European semi-final #cfc
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