Vesper

ENZO FERNANDEZ SANCTIONED + ROSENIOR SPEAKS OUT + PALMER & MUDRYK NEWS Chelsea news today see's us discuss the latest developments regarding Enzo Fernandez who will not play for Chelsea in the next two games! Liam Rosenior's press conference today saw him discuss Enzo Fernandez comments during the international break! In this Chelsea news video, also discuss the latest news regarding Cole Palmer and Mudryk at Chelsea.

HITC Sevens - The 7 Best Goalkeepers In World Football Right Now (2026)

I do not believe any of that. These BlueCo cunts do nothing but gaslight.

Liam Rosenior pre-match press conference | Chelsea v Port Vale | FA Cup Quarter-final Pre-match press conference with Chelsea head coach Liam Rosenior ahead of Chelsea v Port Vale in the FA Cup quarter-final. Rosenior gives the latest injury update on Reece James, Trevoh Chalobah and Levi Colwill, while confirming Estevao Willian and Jamie Gittens are back as Chelsea prepare for a place in the FA Cup semi-finals. He also confirms Enzo Fernandez will not be available after comments made during the international break, says Chelsea had to protect the culture of the club, insists there is no rift in the dressing room, and says Marc Cucurella remains fully committed. Rosenior also discusses leadership, emotional stability, and Chelsea’s plans to improve the squad in the summer.

EVERY single one of these needs to be SACKED: Management Name/Position Age Nat. Appointed Contract expires Last club Paul Winstanley Sporting Director 47 15/11/2022 30.06.2031 Laurence Stewart Sporting Director 40 01/02/2023 30.06.2031 David Fallows Sporting Director 66 01/11/2025 30.06.2031 Joe Shields Director of Professional Football and Scout 39 01/01/2023 30.06.2031 Sam Jewell Director of Professional Football and Scout 36 01/05/2024 30.06.2031 Glenn van der Kraan Technical Director - 01/10/2024 30.06.2031 Coaching Staff Name/Position Age Nat. Appointed Contract expires Last club Liam Rosenior Manager 41 08/01/2026 30.06.2032 Justin Walker Assistant Manager 50 08/01/2026 30.06.2032 Kalifa Cissé Assistant Manager 42 08/01/2026 30.06.2032 Calum McFarlane Assistant Manager 40 08/01/2026 30.06.2032 Ben Roberts Goalkeeping Coach 50 08/01/2026 30.06.2032 Scouting Name/Position Age Nat. Appointed Contract expires Last club Andrew Cousins Head of Scouting 41 01/07/2023 -

I think these are the AMFs BlueCo may try to buy (I am not listing the ones they will obviously fail on, thsoe are above) (I do not think BlueCo will try to buy Morgan Gibbs-White, Dani Olmo, or Lucas Paquetá, due to age and/or price) Xavi Simons (not convinced they try to go for him, nor am I convinced they should) so that leaves Can Uzun Ibrahim Maza Ethan Nwaneri (very likely a fail if they even try) Rodrigo Mora Konstantinos Karetsas Malik Tillman Chris Rigg Gabri Veiga Mateus Mané Josh King Antoni Milambo (destroyed his knee) James McAtee (danger, he is ex Citeh, so the ass-sniffers on the board will so want him) Vasilije Kostov Noah Nartey Gabriel Mec

We are not getting ANY of the following Midfielders, probably ever. Especially with no CL. The ones in bold we will (or have already) try hard for and we will (or have) FAIL Pedri Jude Bellingham Jamal Musiala Federico Valverde Declan Rice Dominik Szoboszlai João Neves Vitinha Sandro Tonali Adam Wharton Elliot Anderson Fermín López Ryan Gravenberch Arda Güler Nico Paz Morgan Rogers Florian Wirtz Phil Foden Aleksandar Pavlovic Bruno Guimarães Alexis Mac Allister Martín Zubimendi Rayan Cherki Warren Zaïre-Emery Aurélien Tchouaméni Tijjani Reijnders Lennart Karl Eduardo Camavinga Nicolò Barella Frenkie de Jong Bruno Fernandes Joshua Kimmich

We are fucking cursed. No way should we sell Nico Jackson now. There is zero chance we will buy a CF who is better than he is (it isn't like there are all that many out there who are locks to be better AND who are available AND who would come here, especially if we do not have CL). It would be insanity to go into next season with the dregs (other than Pedro) we have now at CF. It also is a real possibility Penders stays at Strasbourg as well, we again refuse to buy a quality GKer (Roberts will say we already have great ones) AND we do not pull ANY quality CBs (no CL ratfucks us there to a higher degree). Imagine next season starts and we basically have the exact same GKers, same CBs (especially if Colwill does not recover fully back to his pre injury level), and same CFs (meaning we sell Nico and keep Delap and Emegha stays at Racing), plus the puppet is still the gaffer. BlueCo says 'This is the way'. 🤮

Chelsea spent £65m on agents this season — £26m more than any other club Premier League’s biggest spenders on intermediaries for third year running also announce pre-tax losses of £262.4million — the highest in English football history https://www.thetimes.com/sport/football/article/Chelsea-spending-agents-record-losses-premier-league-qzqnc2cb7 Chelsea were the highest-spending club on agents’ fees for the third consecutive year as the Premier League set a new record for payments to intermediaries. Overall, the 20 Premier League clubs spent a record £460.3million in 2025-26, up 12 per cent on the previous year. Chelsea splashed out £65.1million and were also the biggest spenders on agents in the previous two years, £60.4million in 2024-25 and £75.1million in 2023-24. The FA published the figures on the day that Chelsea confirmed that last season they made the biggest loss ever recorded by a Premier League club, at £262.4million. Aston Villa were the next highest spenders on agents at £38.4million, followed by Manchester City (£37.4million), Liverpool (£33.8million), Arsenal (£32.1million) and Manchester United (£31.7million). The amount a club spends on payments is likely to become an increasingly important factor in complying with the Premier League’s new financial rules, as well as Uefa’s. The new squad cost rule that comes into force next season will mean clubs are limited to spending 85 per cent of their revenue on wages, agents’ fees and transfers — Uefa’s limit is an even more restrictive 70 per cent. Chelsea’s financial losses for 2024-25 eclipse the previous record of £197.5million, set by Manchester City in 2011, but they have passed the Premier League’s Profitability and Sustainability Rules because they posted a profit of £128.4million in the previous year’s accounts, boosted by the sale of the women’s team to a sister company, Blueco Midco, for £200million. ' Chelsea said the losses were attributable, in part, to increased operating costs in 2024-25 compared to the previous year. Revenue was £490.9million, the second-highest on record for the the club, and included some of the prize money from winning the Club World Cup last summer. About one third of the £86million that Chelsea earned in prize money from winning the Club World Cup was paid to the club in 2024-25, with two thirds paid in this season’s financial year. Last year Chelsea were fined £30million for breaching Uefa’s financial rules, but that is understood to have been included in the 2024-25 losses. Chelsea have spent about £1.5billion on transfers since the Todd Boehly/Clearlake Capital consortium bought the club from Roman Abramovich for £2.5billion in 2022.

Roman Abramovich’s new move to defy government over Chelsea cash Former owner, who insists frozen £2.35bn from selling club should go to victims of conflict worldwide rather than just Ukraine, to register charitable foundation https://www.thetimes.com/sport/football/article/roman-abramovich-Chelsea-ukraine-charity-foundation-bbxjmbhmr A move to break the deadlock over Roman Abramovich’s frozen £2.35billion from the sale of Chelsea will be made this week with an application for a new charitable foundation to be registered without the government’s permission. The plan for a foundation to support victims of conflict worldwide will be submitted to the Charity Commission. The government has previously refused permission to register a foundation because it is insisting the money will remain frozen unless Abramovich agrees for all of it to be spent only inside Ukraine. Abramovich’s representatives insist that was never the agreement over the proceeds of the Chelsea sale. They also say that a criminal investigation launched by authorities in Jersey continues to be an obstacle to him agreeing for the money to be released. Sir Keir Starmer has threatened legal action unless Abramovich agrees to release the money according to the government’s demands. A spokesman for Abramovich told The Times: “Our understanding is that a foundation is in the process of being registered, which we welcome. Mr Abramovich maintains his intention to donate funds to humanitarian causes once the relevant legal obstacles are resolved.” The submission will be for a new charity, to be called the Foundation for Victims of Conflict, and it will be headed by Mike Penrose, a former Unicef executive who has been trying to establish a foundation since the Chelsea sale in 2022. Penrose said: “I can confirm that I am preparing a submission to the Charity Commission to register a new foundation dedicated to supporting victims of conflict worldwide. I am confident in the strength of the board I have assembled, which brings together individuals with significant experience in humanitarian work across the globe. “The application will be submitted this week. The foundation’s objectives are aligned with those set out in the deed of undertaking, and we are hopeful that, once the relevant legal matters are resolved, the foundation will be in a position to receive a donation.” The foundation’s stated objectives will be to provide “humanitarian assistance to people in need anywhere in the world who are victims of conflict” by giving grants or other support to relief organisations. Read more Roman Abramovich lawyers warn Starmer: Don’t confiscate £2.35bn from Chelsea sale The web of offshore companies that allowed Chelsea to cheat the system Abramovich was sanctioned by the British government after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, on the basis of the Russian-born billionaire’s links to Vladimir Putin. His lawyers have written to the government saying that it “appears to be treating this proposed donation [to the foundation] as a form of punitive measure” against him. The money remains frozen in the British bank account of Abramovich’s company Fordstam Ltd. Chelsea announced on Wednesday that their pre-tax loss for 2024-25 was £262.4million. The previous highest annual loss for a Premier League team was Manchester City’s £197.5million in 2010-11.

Ashley Cole opens up on enjoyable 'whirlwind' start to his managerial career in Italy - but admits that even having an Italian wife hasn't helped with the language https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-15700579/Ashley-Cole-whirlwind-managerial-career-Italy.html Cole is married to Italian model Sharon Canu (right) but admits he needs to improve his knowledge on the language Ashley Cole has opened up about his 'whirlwind' first two weeks in charge of Serie B side Cesena FC, and the nature of how difficult it has been to settle into life at his new club. Cole took his first leap into management in mid-March when it was announced that he would be taking over at Cesena, leaving his role as Lee Carsley's assistant at England Under-21s. Cole, who has a win percentage of 50 per cent from his first two games in charge, has also served as Frank Lampard's assistant at Everton and Chelsea, and held the same role at Birmingham City when Wayne Rooney was in charge. But now he wants to 'prove a lot of people wrong' in his new role as the No 1. 'It's been quite a whirlwind but an enjoyable one,' Cole told the Could It Be Magic? podcast. 'Lost my first game, an eye opener, but got the opportunity three days later to play at home in front of our fans, and a good three points were needed. Keeps us in the playoffs. I am really enjoying it so far.' One of Cole's closest allies, Carsley, admitted that he had seen signs of 'frustration' from the former Chelsea full-back at a lack of managerial opportunities in English football before his move to Italy. And the retired England full-back, who played 107 times for his country, is keen to establish himself as a manager by doing things his own way. 'I have to be different,' he continued. 'I can't be like the other managers (out there). It was important that I have to find my way in the game a little bit. But the players have got to believe in me and trust me. 'The second game didn't start as well as we wanted. We had moments in the game where we looked good, and then you go 1-0 down, and you feel like, oh, here we go again. 'You get a little respite at half-time. It was important for me to give a team talk and get the players to still trust in what I'm asking them to do, but just do it better and quicker. Second half, we come out and see a lot of positives, and then we win the game 3-1. 'It's a great opportunity to get closer to the fans because it has been hard. I'm kind of an outsider coming into their club. Everyone will say "no experience" - that's the label I get. So it has been hard. 'I still have to prove a lot of people wrong. It was my second game, my first game at home. It was a little taste of what's to come. But a lot of work to do.' This isn't the first time Cole has moved to Italy in a professional capacity. In 2014, he left Chelsea for Roma, spending just two years in the country's capital. Shortly after his move to Rome, he met his wife Sharon Canu, with whom he shares son Jaxon, seven, and daughter Grace, five. However, despite having been with the Italian model for 12 years and having lived in the country before, adapting to life back in the country is proving tricky for Cole. He added: 'I think the language is massive. It is important, and I struggled to get a number two. I literally jumped in the puddle, jumped in the mud, and just went… I'm just going to have to go. It was an opportunity I couldn't turn down. 'And I was like, that is what it is. You know, you have to sink, or you swim, and right now it's looking all right. It's tough because I've never been in this position. I didn't know what to expect. 'It's been hard getting around the language a little bit. I lived in Italy for a year and a bit. My wife is Italian, but I don't really practice speaking it. So you know going back to the basics again of understanding the little words to get me by. 'But now I need to continue to have conversations with players and just tighten up on my language a bit. But doing the 11 v 11 stuff, I didn't do too much 11 v 11 as an assistant. 'So that would probably be the main difference, really, where you set up your team, how you are going to press, when you get in a mid-block? Are you going to set up. Are you going to be aggressive. Defend your box? It's like a lot of details to get in. 'But like I said you know it is a challenge. But I've watched and been around enough coaches and managers to understand it and pick it up quite quickly. So yeah, it's been good for you.' Cesena are currently eighth in the Serie B, with just six games of the regular season remaining.

here is the full archived Daily Heil article from that tweet https://archive.ph/NBfps Chelsea went above and beyond to protect Enzo Fernandez and he has thrown it back in their face - no wonder insiders are frustrated. This is how they should deal with him, writes KIERAN GILL Enzo Fernandez has been flirting, and not too subtly. Doesn’t know what will happen this summer with Chelsea. Can’t believe they ever split with Enzo Maresca. Would love to live in Madrid, always tell the wife that. Toni Kroos and Luka Modric, what legends they are. There’s keeping it real, and then there’s keeping it Real. The main surprise is nobody on social media used April Fool’s Day to circulate fake quotes claiming he would like to name his next born after Florentino Perez. Parking this mischief behind the microphone for a moment, there has been some criticism of Fernandez’s conduct around his Chelsea team-mates. How he is prone to publicly rebuking other players, as he did with Filip Jorgensen after his mistake in their 5-2 Champions League loss away at Paris Saint-Germain. How he is vocal in the changing room after losses, including their 3-0 Premier League defeat by Everton before this international break. That’s no crime. Sometimes, leadership calls for such shows of strength. It shows the passion of the player, the will to win and the hatred he has for losing. The messages he has been sending into the sphere via the media, though? Therein lies a problem for Chelsea because now, Flirtin’ Fernandez must return to his club. Now, he is supposed to be focused only on winning their FA Cup quarter-final versus Port Vale on Saturday to get to Wembley Stadium and the seven games left in the Premier League to qualify for the Champions League. Now, he is supposed to wear the captain’s armband in the absence of the injured Reece James. Fernandez is Chelsea’s vice-captain, but Liam Rosenior has a decision to make – either he allows the 25-year-old Argentinian to continue to don that armband, or he does not. It would send a message if he decided to go down the latter route, loud and clear. Maybe Rosenior will decide it is fine, but there has to be a consideration, as there will have been at Tottenham Hotspur when their captain and Argentina team-mate Cristian Romero was speaking up. Rosenior has already spoken privately with Fernandez once – two weeks ago after the midfielder cryptically said ‘we will see’ when asked if he will still be with Chelsea next season. Fernandez told Rosenior that words can get lost in translation. That same argument is unlikely to stand up now. If Fernandez has grown disillusioned with what is happening at Chelsea, that's fine, because we can all have our own opinion on their strategy. If he is itching for improved terms, that’s fine also, because he has seen others receive new deals as rewards since signing three years ago. Whatever the motive, however, there are ways of letting this be known privately rather than publicly. Chelsea showed a great deal of faith in Fernandez after Argentina’s 2024 Copa America triumph when he was filmed singing a controversial song, his club team-mate Wesley Fofana describing it as ‘uninhibited racism’ at the time. Fernandez apologised, and a month later, Maresca handed him the armband in a 2-0 Premier League loss to Manchester City, on the first day of their 2024-25 season and with Fofana in the same lineup. Chelsea further protected their player after that controversial saga. Fernandez wasn’t put up for any of their pre-match press conferences in the Conference League that campaign, nor did we get to speak with him in the mixed zone after games, just in case we asked him about that chant. That may add to the club’s feeling of frustration now, given what has happened during this international break. Chelsea were not involved in Fernandez’s interviews conducted while on duty with Argentina. Which is fine, usually, because the understanding is that those called up by their national teams will only answer questions to do with their countries, not their clubs. That’s the general agreement, and it works both ways. He doesn’t speak about us while he’s with you, and we won’t speak about you while he’s with us. That line has been crossed here. Chelsea insiders are disappointed. The relevant federation, in this case the Argentine FA, are supposed to recognise if the interview is the right one for their player, and outlets have used the opportunity to quiz Fernandez on Chelsea, Madrid and his future. Fernandez is not the only one to have spoken up over this international break, of course, but others did it differently. Marc Cucurella criticised Chelsea’s strategy, but came across as respectful in doing so, as if he wanted the best for his club. Moises Caicedo, when asked on his future, said he is only focused on Chelsea and would like to become a legend at Stamford Bridge. Fernandez is a fine footballer, and an important cog in Chelsea’s team. Rosenior cannot suddenly stop using him when he needs to win games and fast, including at home to League One bottom club Port Vale in the FA Cup quarter-final on Saturday after a four-game losing streak in all competitions. When Fernandez next scores, maybe he will kiss the badge, pat it, perform a love heart to the supporters, though it will be hard to read too much into such gestures if so. On January 10, 2023, he scored for Benfica in a 2-0 win over Varzim, and celebrated by pointing to his chest and then to the turf, as if to suggest he was staying. Twenty-two days later he was signing for Chelsea in a British-record £106.8million move. Fernandez tried to force through that transfer, including by personally phoning Benfica president Rui Costa, who later accused the midfielder of showing no commitment to his employers. Fernandez is something of a performative player. Particularly when Chelsea are losing, we have seen him start scraps, as if to show his passion to the frustrated fans. It might be time for Rosenior to do some performing of his own, namely by handing the armband to someone who has not spent the last weeks inviting speculation on his immediate future.

Eduardo Conceição

lol, I knew this was coming after the clean sheet that Japan kept against England: Chelsea may have just found the answer to their goalkeeping woes during international break https://www.thechelseachronicle.com/columnist/Chelsea-may-have-just-found-the-answer-to-their-goalkeeping-woes-during-international-break/ One position Chelsea fans are desperate to see their side upgrade is goalkeeper, and they should certainly of taken note of Zion Suzuki’s performance for Japan against England. Robert Sanchez enjoyed a strong start to the season, but has started to falter of late, with his place in the starting side no longer a given under Liam Rosenior. The new boss has been keen to give Filip Jorgensen a chance, although he let his side down during the first leg of the Champions League Round of 16 against PSG. Zion Suzuki is the answer to Chelsea’s goalkeeping woes Suzuki is a regular for Parma outside of a broken hand he suffered earlier this season, and was on top form for Japan in their first ever win against England. While Cole Palmer struggled for the Three Lions, Suzuki kept a clean sheet and made three saves to deny a star-studded side for Thomas Tuchel. He also knew when to get rid of the ball and play long, with there never any hairy moments when the ball was at his feet. Playing out from the back is important to Rosenior’s style of play, and an area where Sanchez simply doesn’t live up to standards. The Blues can address this with the signing of Suzuki, who has appeared on the radar of a number of top clubs in the past. Chelsea hold prior interest in Suzuki Despite Chelsea not actually making any recent signings to address the goalkeeper situation, they have certainly been linked with plenty of names who could have been Sanchez replacements. One of these is the Japan international. Chelsea have sent scouts to watch Suzuki in Italy on previous occasions. At 23 years of age, the Blues would not be breaking their policy of signing younger players rather than those with more experience. However, there are reports that Chelsea owners are willing to tweak their transfer strategy following comments from current player Marc Cucurella questioning their methods.

He likely will not come here, not when he has (and he will) so many other BETTER options.

Let's talk RELEGATION danger zone next season IF all or much of the following happens due to the BlueCo shitshow ramping up even more: 1. We fail to make CL this season (which fucks us badly both financially and recruiting-wise). 2. We keep the puppet Rosenior as manager AND we keep all the sporting directors and the cunts combine to bury us in the bottom 5 or so by the time ANY (likely Rosenior first, as Winstanley, Stewart, Shields, Roberts, etc are seemingly untouchable no matter how much they FUCK us) are FINALLY sacked next season. 3. We lose multiple, massive players (maybe even all of the following: Enzo, Palmer, CuCu, Neto, etc) and they are not replaced with anything of remotely WC quality. We also continue to see major injuries, including from the ones who are already glassmen (Reece, Lavia, Fofana, etc). 4. Colwill does NOT recover to his previous levels. We also do NOT buy any truly quailty CBs. 5. The board decides to keep Penders at Strasbourg next season and we do NOT buy any Gkers, we roll with the utter shite we have now. OR Penders comes and is a bust, which is even worse as we then have THREE shit keepers and a board who will refuse to sort it. 6. We do not buy any quality CFs AND we also sell Nico Jackson. 7. We fail to pull any (or almost any)) of our main, top class targets for FB, DMF, CMF, AMF, and Winger. 8. We fail to sell many of our dregs, or get fuckall in terms of sale prices for them, thus making it even harder to spend whilst complying with FFP. 9. BlueCo keeps doubling down on ALL of their fucked up shit, gaslighting to olympian degrees, lashing out at all who criticise them, and at that point our remaining quality players go into open rebellion. 10. The new manager BlueCo brings in when our current puppet is sacked is simply another puppet hack, and we get no real 'new mananger bounce'. We sink into the bottom 3 in the table with 5 games to go or so and fail to pull out of the nosedive.

Sources have told BBC Sport that the reported losses include fines - among them the £10.75m Premier League sanction relating to agent payments made under Roman Abramovich's ownership - as well as write‑offs in the accounts for high‑profile players such as Raheem Sterling, who was released, and Mykhailo Mudryk, who is being investigated over a failed drugs test. Chelsea believe income will be at record levels in their next accounts, with an extra £85m earned from winning the Club World Cup, plus about £80m in television revenue from the Champions League. The loss is less than the £355m quoted on Uefa's benchmarking report last month. That figure is understood to be a result of sales between two clubs in a multi-club model being excluded, with Chelsea having the same owners as French outfit Strasbourg. Chelsea also revealed their women's team lost £17.1m in 2024-25, with revenue at £21.3m. What Chelsea need to do to stop the losses It is important to note that Chelsea have not yet released their full accounts, which will soon be published at Companies House and are expected to provide a more detailed picture. The only information currently available is from the statement made by Chelsea on Wednesday., external "People ask whether Chelsea are a football club or a hedge‑fund experiment. I don't think these accounts offer any clearer answer. We are still waiting to see the full picture on Companies House," said football finance expert Kieran Maguire. He said the figures highlighted the importance of Champions League football to a club that is currently sixth in the league. He added: "For every one pound you receive from broadcasting [in the Champions League], you only get 11p in the Conference League, and it is much harder for the marketing department to sell a hospitality box for a match against the second‑best team in Denmark than when Barcelona come to town." There are also concerns that Stamford Bridge is beginning to look dated, leaving Chelsea at risk of falling behind their rivals, particularly with new Premier League squad-cost ratio rules coming into force this summer. These replace PSR and allow clubs to spend 85% of their total revenues on squad-related costs. "Chelsea have only a 40,000‑capacity stadium and are around half of Manchester United's size, and probably £50-60m behind others," Maguire added. "With the introduction of the new squad‑cost ratio rules, it is really important for clubs to boost revenue wherever they can. "Chelsea are simply behind their rivals, with less to spend on players - and that will take its toll over time." Maguire agreed that it was unlikely Chelsea would breach Premier League regulations. Chelsea made a £128.4m profit last year - almost entirely due to the sale of their women's team to themselves, a loophole that has since been closed by the league. It means pre-tax losses over the past three years are about £220m in total, but Maguire said that Chelsea would have needed to submit the losses accounted for under PSR by 31 December. "The lack of any news suggests the league is satisfied with their PSR figures," Maguire said.

Marc Cucurella has spoken to The Athletic in a damning interview which highlights everything frustrated and angry Chelsea fans have been saying for months and years about this Chelsea project under BlueCo. The pressure is now coming not just from Chelsea fans, but Chelsea star players are now publicly coming out to criticize the Blue Co Chelsea project. CUCURELLA HAS DESTROYED THE Chelsea PROJECT 😱 Marc Cucurella interview: Chelsea have ‘paid the price’ for inexperience and why he wouldn’t have let Maresca go https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7157593/2026/03/31/Chelsea-marc-cucurella-exclusive-interview-maresca/ https://archive.li/aFFcf It is a sunny afternoon at Las Rozas, the Spanish FA’s headquarters northwest of Madrid, before their friendly against Serbia last Friday. Spain’s training session has just finished. A handful of Luis de la Fuente’s players, including Martin Zubimendi, Pedri and goalkeeper David Raya, are sunbathing on the pitch while chatting. Others, such as Crystal Palace’s Yeremy Pino and Osasuna’s national-team debutant Victor Munoz, work on shooting drills. The 2024 European champions’ camp is a happy place. That is in large part thanks to head coach De la Fuente’s obsession with creating a strong bond among his players and prioritising dressing-room chemistry — with Chelsea left-back Marc Cucurella being key to creating that harmony. “Coming to the national team is a breath of fresh air for everyone,” Cucurella tells The Athletic in an exclusive interview, conducted before a 3-0 win against Serbia in Villarreal. “Sometimes it feels like the games we have to play are not even the most important thing — you just want to spend time with these people. We have created such strong relationships that the week passes by before you can even realise.” For Cucurella, though, there is an added need to reset with Spain. Chelsea’s recent form has been difficult for the 27-year-old to process — with Liam Rosenior’s side having won only four of their past 12 games, while losing six times. They have been beaten in each of their past four, including by a three-goal margin in both legs of their Champions League round of 16 tie against Paris Saint-Germain. “Sometimes, if you’re in good form, an international break can kill your momentum a bit,” Cucurella says. “But this one will do us (Chelsea) well at club level.” Marc Cucurella says Chelsea ‘lacked experience’ in their defeat over two legs to Paris Saint-GermainRobin Jones/Getty Images Getting outclassed by PSG — they suffered an 8-2 aggregate defeat to Luis Enrique’s reigning European champions — was the one that really stung. “We lacked experience,” Cucurella says. “For a lot of players, it was the first time playing a match of that calibre, and we paid the price. “You can always make a mistake, but we should have handled it better. There was a return game to play, and if you keep a cool head, you go back to London with a 3-2 defeat (the score with five minutes left of normal time in the first leg) and anything can happen. We made a mistake, tried to attack without a clear structure and then PSG took the chance and proved they have that cutting edge.” Cucurella is a respected voice in the Chelsea dressing room. This is his fourth season with them, joining from Brighton & Hove Albion after the May 2022 takeover by Todd Boehly and the Clearlake Capital consortium. It puts him in a privileged position to assess the state of the BlueCo project. There is little optimism around the west London club at present — with the woe over their Champions League exit compounded by Enzo Fernandez casting doubt on his Chelsea future after that PSG defeat. Cucurella does not want to speak about his team-mate’s situation but chooses instead to focus on what happened in that tie. “Results like that are always hard to take,” Cucurella says. “You are fighting and training every day only to realise, at the very end, that when games matter, we are still a bit away from the top level. “I understand this is part of the club’s policy, and that they want to take this direction — signing young players and looking to the future. But, for all of us who are still here and want to win big things, moments like this make you feel discouraged. “We have a good core of players. The foundations are there. But to fight for major trophies such as the Premier League or the Champions League, you need more. Signing young players only might complicate achieving those goals. Against PSG, we lacked players that had gone through situations like that. “You need time as well, and I know the young players are the ones that will have the experience in the future. But you need to find the balance between both worlds.” On top of all that, there has been this season’s managerial drama: with Enzo Maresca going from overseeing a Club World Cup final victory in July to being out of a job within six months, before Rosenior’s arrival as his replacement in January. Cucurella defends the job done so far by the former Strasbourg coach. “Liam is a very good person and has been great at handling the group, the characters,” he says. “He likes to stay close to us and his football ideas are good, but we don’t have the time to train them. “We train on (playing in) competitive games, because we play every three days and that leaves you with no time to work on the training ground. In this context, it is normal that your plans sometimes don’t work out, and then we go through difficult moments. “With Enzo Maresca in charge, we were more stable, because we worked together for 18 months. If you look at our first pre-season with him (Chelsea won only once in six warm-up friendlies, losing three), there were doubts. You need a process for every player to understand what we need to do. In our last months with Maresca, we played almost by heart. If we changed the system, we knew what we had to do. You need that time. “Look at Arsenal now, who are fighting for every trophy. They’ve been with (Mikel) Arteta for almost seven years and they have not won much. But that trust in the project gives rewards.” Cucurella says he would not have chosen for Enzo Maresca to leaveDarren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images Maresca’s exit just after New Year was a turning point in the BlueCo project, but also in the Chelsea dressing room. Cucurella says the Italian was “the most important” of the six permanent managers he has worked under at Stamford Bridge. “We knew what Maresca wanted from us,” he says. “Winning a title like the Club World Cup (beating PSG 3-0 in the final) also helps, strengthens the bond, and you create great relationships during the celebrations. When a manager gives you that confidence and offers you a platform to fight for titles, you’d die for him. “The moment Maresca left, it had a big impact on us. These are decisions taken by the club. If you asked me, I would not have made this decision. To make a change like that, the best thing is to wait until the end of the season. You would give everyone, the players and the new manager, time to get ready, have a full pre-season… “The instability around the club comes from this, in a nutshell. We had a caretaker (former under-21s coach Calum McFarlane) first, then a new manager, with new ideas and no time to work on them. It is what it is.” The Chelsea squad have had to look for new ways to stay focused and united — and one of those has been their now-infamous pre-match huddle in the centre circle. Cucurella says it was an idea from the backroom staff, intended to project the idea of a strong team. “It is a thing that all the players decided to do before the games, following the advice from a coach,” he says. “We have a coach in the backroom staff that helps us to be better from the mental side, too. As we lack profiles of experienced players, he gives us tips to project the image of a better team.” On referee Paul Tierney finding himself in the centre of their pre-match huddle before the recent game against Newcastle United, Cucurella says: “I prefer not to speak. To me, it was a lack of respect. He could have come and told us, ‘Look, you cannot do that for this reason’. But instead, he came and stayed in the middle. I don’t want to speak more about it, honestly. I did not understand it. I believed he wanted to have his moment.” Cucurella’s frustration with the situation at Chelsea reflects a player who has gone from a misfit at Stamford Bridge to a crucial part of the club’s long-term future — last summer, he signed a contract extension until 2028. A similar thing has happened with the national team. Cucurella made the squad for the 2024 European Championship due to injuries to other left-backs, with Valencia’s Jose Luis Gaya and Alejandro Balde of Barcelona both sidelined. In a matter of weeks, he went from an emergency call-up to being among De la Fuente’s starting players, and then became one of the biggest names in a victorious campaign in Germany. He is now the undisputed first-choice in his position ahead of this summer’s World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Cucurella became one of the icons of Spain’s Euro 2024 winCatherine Ivill – AMA/Getty Images “It’s been so nice to live this process,” Cucurella says. “I am thrilled to be in every single squad list. It is not easy to be here — the talent we have is unreal — and seeing this path, arriving as a prospect and now being a trusted part of the team, makes me feel proud.” He is brutally honest when asked if Spain are favourites to win this year’s World Cup, where they will face Uruguay, Saudi Arabia and tournament debutants Cape Verde in the group stage. “Yes, I think so,” he replies. “We have earned the right to have people believe in us. We were a bit overlooked at the last Euros. The team is full of hope for the World Cup now. De la Fuente tells us to stay true to ourselves, to trust in our abilities and keep working on the basics that made us European champions.” He sees England as one of their toughest rivals and values the work done by their new head coach Thomas Tuchel, his first Chelsea manager: “They have always had a great squad, and now Tuchel will give them a bit of a better tactical structure. We have seen the good work he did at PSG and Chelsea. England will be a team to keep a close eye on. “There’s a lot of talent at the World Cup. The players I don’t like to defend against? I would say the likes of (England forward and Chelsea team-mate) Cole Palmer, Michael Olise or Ousmane Dembele (both of France). Those have been some of the toughest attackers I’ve had to face. Jeremie Frimpong (Liverpool’s Netherlands full-back), too. He is so quick! “Everyone speaks so highly of what it means to be at a World Cup. I just can’t wait to be part of one.”

Nicolò Tresoldi Born in Cagliari, Sardinia, Tresoldi later settled with his family in Gubbio, where he started playing both football and tennis before choosing to focus on the former sport. After being offered trials at several high-profile Italian clubs, in 2017 Tresoldi moved with his family to Hanover, Germany, where he proceeded to join the youth sector of Hannover 96. Having impressed during his stints for the under-17 and under-19 teams, on 5 January 2022 the striker signed his first professional contract with the club, with the deal set to be officially activated on the player's eighteenth birthday. After featuring for Hannover's reserve team towards the end of the 2021–22 season, Tresoldi made his professional debut for Hannover 96 in the 2. Bundesliga on 15 July 2022, against 1. FC Kaiserslautern, coming on as a substitute for Maximilian Beier in the 88th minute; the match eventually ended in a 1–2 away loss for his side. On 7 June 2025, Tresoldi joined Belgian Pro League side Club Brugge by signing a contract until 2029. International career Thanks to his dual citizenship, Tresoldi can choose to represent either Italy, Argentina, Germany in international matches. On 25 October 2022, he made his debut for the German under-19 national team in a 0–1 friendly match loss against Spain. Personal life Tresoldi was born in Italy to an Italian father and an Argentine mother of Italian descent (originally from Bergamo). His father Emanuele Tresoldi was also a footballer. He is fluent in four languages: Italian, German, English and Spanish.

Cole Palmer 'increasingly disillusioned' with life at Chelsea and 'primed to leave this summer' Unfortunately a good source for Manchester football news https://siphillipstalkschelsea.substack.com/p/cole-palmer-increasingly-disillusioned Once again, a good source is reporting what I have been reporting on here for a long time now, only backing up the bad news. Now, I want to say before we get into this article, that Chelsea have ZERO intentions of letting Cole Palmer leave anytime soon and hold ALL the cards here. But also, as I’ve been saying in other articles, will they really want to keep any player if said player comes to them and asks to leave the club? Palmer has NOT done this as of right now, but he’s certainly been unhappy at Chelsea for quite some time now - more on that from my at the bottom of this article. Let’s get into what has been reported first. Samuel Luckhurst is unfortunately a very good source of football news when it comes to anything Manchester related. So even though he writes for The Sun, you cannot simply just ignore what he has reported on Palmer over the weekend. People tried to do that with the Enzo Fernandez stuff, and look where that’s gone/going…. Luckhurst writes: “Palmer is increasingly disillusioned with life at Chelsea and primed to leave this summer. “Manchester United, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich are all interested in the £150million-rated England star. “Palmer is understood to be frustrated by a change in Chelsea’s tactics which he feels have denied him space on the pitch. “And he misses playing with striker Nicolas Jackson, who is on a season-long loan at Bayern Munich. “Failing to secure a spot in Europe’s top club competition would surely further damage the club’s hopes of holding on to boyhood United fan Palmer. “Chelsea consider Palmer to be an ‘untouchable’ and he is under contract at Stamford Bridge until 2033. “Palmer is unsettled in London and hankering for a return to his hometown of Manchester. “He would be open to joining the Reds, although United’s priority positions this summer are midfield and the left-hand side. “United director of football Jason Wilcox was the academy head at City when Palmer was breaking through. “Wilcox and chief executive Omar Berrada, previously the chief operating officer at City, will oversee recruitment at United again this summer.” Now, I’ve heard nothing at all on the missing Jackson stuff. I find that bit a little odd. And I know Palmer was frustrated with his lack of freedom under Enzo Maresca, but I’ve not heard anything under Liam Rosenior. Not saying those bits are untrue, just not something I can confirm. What I have heard and have reported for some time now is that Palmer misses Manchester and would be much happier if he was living back there. I was always told to watch out for a move to United, and not back to City. I’d be shocked if Palmer went anywhere else IF he was to leave Chelsea. But the problems here is whether United will even go for him, can they even afford him, and what chances have they got getting him out of Chelsea? Personally, I don’t think Palmer will leave this summer. I do think Fernandez will go, but Palmer leaving, despite his desires to, is just too unrealistic I think. At least for now. Palmer is certainly not acting up, causing any issues, and he’s putting in 100% effort still and certainly not downing any tools. But he misses his family, he doesn’t do much in London other than train and then just go to his living accommodation. He’s been homesick for many reasons. Then add to that the on field and off field frustrations he’s been going through, his own frustrations with his form and injury issues, and the Chelsea project being so turmoil, he’s just not happy at the club right now. I’d be VERY surprised if he ended up going abroad by the way, unless he uprooted his whole family! Hard to call how this will go, but I just think it’s impossible for him to leave this summer at least, for many reasons.

THE Chelsea SITUATION IS GETTING SO MUCH WORSE…

makes sense he is a shell of the player he was pre-injury

oh for a 23yo Jimmy Floyd!!! probably the most underrated EPL CF ever

Newcastle midfielder Sandro Tonali is now the number one midfield target for Manchester United this summer, but his asking price could be as high as £100m. (Matteo Moretto)