Chelsea FC: The Blues Brief

Article by e-Chelsea Correspondent Robert Wake

e-Chelsea Weekly News Round Up

On The Pitch

26 January – Chelsea 1-0 Stoke City, FA Cup 4th Round. Chelsea progressed to the fifth round courtesy of a brilliant free-kick from Oscar after 28 minutes. Chelsea dominated the game against a disappointing Stoke team, but could not add to their tally.

27 January – Chelsea U21’2 0-1 Arsenal U21’s. The U21’s went down to a narrow defeat in the Premier League U21 cup. Benik Afobe’s goal early in extra-time settled the tie.

29 January – Chelsea 0-0 West Ham United. Chelsea were frustrated by a resilient West Ham team at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday. Despite 72% possession and 39 goal attempts, The Blues could not find a way through. Chelsea remain in third place, two points behind Arsenal, and now visit leaders Manchester City on Monday trailing The Citizens by three points.

Off the Pitch

25 January – Chelsea have confirmed the departure of Juan Mata to Manchester United in a deal reportedly valued at £37.1M. Mata made 135 appearances for The Blues, scoring 33 goals. Mata helped Chelsea to victories in the Champions League and FA Cup Finals in 2012 and the Europa League Final in 2013.

26 January – Chelsea have completed the signing of Egyptian international winger Mohamed Salah, 21, from FC Basel. Salah scored 20 goals in 79 appearances for the Swiss champions, and has 17 goals in 27 appearances for the Egypt national team. Salah will wear the number 15 shirt for The Blues.

26 January – Chelsea have been drawn to play away to Manchester City in the fifth round of the FA Cup. The game will take place at 17:15hrs (GMT) on Saturday 15th February, and will be broadcast live on ITV.

27 January – Three of Chelsea’s fixtures in March have been rescheduled for live TV coverage. Our home game with Tottenham will now take place on Saturday 8 March, Kick off 17:30hrs (GMT) and will be shown live on Sky Sports. The game will be rescheduled should Chelsea progress to the sixth round of the FA Cup. Our trip to Aston Villa will now Kick off at 17.30hrs (GMT) on Saturday 15 March and will also be shown live on Sky Sports. Our home game with Everton on Saturday 22 March will now Kick off at 12:45hrs (GMT) and will be shown live on BT Sport.

27 January – Michael Essien has left Chelsea to join AC Milan on a free transfer. The Ghanaian made 256 appearances for the club scoring 25 goals. He was a vital part of the title winning team in 2005-06, but has subsequently suffered a series of major injuries during his time with the club. Michael spent last season on loan at Real Madrid with Jose Mourinho.

29 January – Young Croatian goalkeeper Matej Delac has joined FK Sarajevo on loan until the end of the season.

30 January – Billy Clifford has moved to Royal Antwerp for the remainder of the season. The Belgian second division outfit are managed by former Chelsea striker Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink.

31 January – Chelsea Ladies have signed Swedish defender Emma Wilhelmsson. The 27-year old joins new arrivals Laura Bassett, Rachel Williams, Gilly Flaherty, Katie Chapman and Ji So Yun.

31 January – Chelsea have completed the signing of France U21 international Kurt Zouma, 19, from St Etienne. The 6ft 3 centre back has been loaned back to the Ligue One outfit for the remainder of the season.

31 January – Gael Kakuta, 22, has been loaned to Serie A team Lazio until the end of the season. Kakuta has been on loan at Vitesse Arnhem for the first part of the season, following previous spells with Bolton Wanderers, Fulham and Dijon.

Looking Ahead

03 February – Manchester City v Chelsea, FA Premier League, Etihad Stadium, Kick off 20:00hrs (GMT). The game will be shown live on Sky Sports.

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