REPORT: Two key Chelsea players out of Palace clash, as Blues told to pay £88m for new target
Ahead of Crystal Palace clash on Saturday, Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel provides massive updates on team news.
However, Tuchel may be without two key players who are having injury concerns, chief of which is Hakim Ziyech who had to be subbed off in the first half of the Super Cup clash against Villarreal.
Ziyech injured his shoulder against the Spanish side on Wednesday, and Tuchel has revealed that he would miss this weekend’s game and could miss a few more weeks of action.
“Hakim will miss the game tomorrow for sure because of his injury,” confirmed Tuchel at his pre-match press conference.
“The decision has been made to treat the injury conservatively and give him as much time as he needs to get back to the level he was showing in pre-season.
“We don’t need to consider surgery, which is very good news and we hope he can be back on the pitch in the next few weeks.”
Tuchel also admitted that N’Golo Kante may miss the weekend’s game.
“We have some issues with N’Gole Kante from the final,” said the Chelsea boss.
“We need to sort this out and we will see how he is before we select our team.
“We have not made our decisions yet, we will take our time and we will discuss with the medical department who we can push to play another 90 minutes.
“I think that playing 120 minutes in the Super Cup was the worst thing for us, physically but mentally and psychology, it was the best because winning a penalty shootout gave us a huge boost of positive energy and feelings.”
Blues told to pay £88m for Jules Kounde
Chelsea have sealed a deal for Romelu Lukaku, as the Blues officially announced the signing of the £97.5m man from Inter Milan on Thursday.
Next on Chelsea’s radar is a move for Sevilla defender Jules Kounde.
Chelsea have failed with an initial bid for the 22-year-old, as the Blues submitted a player plus cash bid for Kounde. Zouma, who was the player involved, opted against a move to Spain.
Kounde has a release clause of £68.4m, but Chelsea are trying to get the defender for a fee lower than the release clause.
New reports now claim that Chelsea may end up triggering the 22-year-old’s release clause, but the Blues will want to pay the money in installments.
Reports claim that Sevilla have asked for an additional £20m on top of Jules Kounde’s release clause if Chelsea are to pay his fee in stages.
Meanwhile, Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel has been pleased with the performance and progress of Trevoh Chalobah and may just give the 22-year-old an opportunity in the team.