Simeone opens door to Chelsea deal, Lamps told South American ‘is real deal’ after contact made, Chelsea urged to sign midfielder, Dutchman sends Lamps transfer message.
Diego Simeone hinted at the idea he could leave Atletico Madrid at the end of the season after their awful Copa del Rey defeat to third-tier Cornella.
Simeone’s La Liga side may be sitting pretty at the very top of La Liga, but his side exited the Copa on Wednesday, losing 1-0 to a goal from former Atletico B defender Adrian Jimenez.
Simeone recognised Atleti are struggling in one-off knockout matches, and dropped a massive hint that he may decide to leave the club at the end of the current season, alerting the likes of Chelsea.
It is no secret that Frank Lampard is under intense pressure at the Bridge and is well in that firing line to get the sack, but even though many believe that he will last the season as coach, it is widely expected that there may be a change in the summer, with Simeone on the shopping list.
“[Cornella] played better,” he said. “In the whole game, what they wanted was always done better than what we wanted. “They took advantage of the set-piece situations and immediately found the goal.
“The boys tried to compete in the best way. In the first half, we had more chances, and in the second, it was rockier. It got difficult after the red card.
“This competition has not given us satisfaction in recent years but solutions will have to be found if we are here next year.”
Lyon star Memphis Depay said he may finish the season with the Ligue 1 giants after being linked to Barcelona for the majority of the summer.
Since arriving in France, Depay has fired 64 goals in 155 matches, helping Lyon reach the semi-finals of the Champions League last season, and Only Paris Saint-Germain star Kylian Mbappe (16) has been directly involved in more Ligue 1 goals than Depay (14) this season.
Depay scored twice in Lyon’s 3-2 win over Lens on Wednesday as they moved three points clear at the top, and his performances for the French club this season has led to alot of speculation that the likes of Chelsea and Barcelona may be interested in making a January move.
But While he is linked with a move, Depay said he may yet finish the campaign with Lyon rather than depart this month before his contract expired: “I’m happy here. We have a great team, I really like the president, we’ll see what happens,” he told Canal+ following Wednesday’s win.
“The president and I know what happened in the last four seasons. Let’s keep going and enjoy my presence. I might be here until the end of the season.
“Let’s focus on Saturday’s game, let’s be happy, we have a great team.”
Chelsea have joined the race to sign promising midfielder Moises Caicedo, and they have already made an approach for the lad.
Caicedo has made 31 appearances for Independiente, scoring six goals. He made his international debut for Ecuador in October and has gone on to earn four caps since.
In October, Caciedo became the first player born in the 21st century to ever score in CONMEBOL World Cup Qualifying with a goal in Ecuador’s 4-2 win over Uruguay, and is starting to attract all sorts of interest from around the globe.
Chelsea and Manchester United are two clubs that have been heavily linked with a move for the young man as they watch his performances from a distance, due to the fact that COVID -19 is stopping the scouts from doing their job properly.
And reports on El Telegrafo, have suggested that Chelsea have made the first move to try and get a deal done by approaching his current club about a possible transfer deal.
And according to South American football expert Tim Vickery, Caicedo is already the real deal, he told Sky Sports: “Only 19. The way the market is going with South American football is the European clubs want to take them as early as possible. They are buying on promise.
“The fella Moises Caicedo is much more than promise, he is reality. He is the first player born in the 21st century to score a goal in South American World Cup qualifiers.
“We have just lost Colin Bell and I am not saying he is as good as Bell but Moises Caicedo is in that kind of mould. He is a terrific athlete who makes football look easy. A box-to-box midfielder. “A year ago he was saying that (N’Golo) Kante of Chelsea is his role model but he is already more than that. He already offers more in the final third.
“That kind of box-to-box midfielder that’s very much in the tradition of the England game. Strong, quick, intelligent and cool. He really does look like the genuine article.”
Rio Ferdinand reckons that the likes of Chelsea should be making a move for Aston Villa’s star player and captain Jack Grealish.
Grealish has become one of the best midfielders in the Premier League over the last few seasons and is attracting all sorts of interest with the performances that he has been putting in for Villa.
And despite not really needing to add another midfielder to the squad, Ferdinand has opened up and suggested that the likes of Chelsea should be making a move to sign the England International, who he has urged to quit Villa.
HITC quote Ferdinand as telling his YouTube channel: “If I am a manager of a top, top team in England, one of the top three or four teams. I don’t allow him to stay there no more. I’d go and take him.” He’s a fantastic player to watch. I think when you talk about big numbers like £100 million or whatever you are going to talk about. It’s not about how good they look. It generally comes down to, are they putting up the numbers to justify that price tag?
“He’s been involved in 12 goals in his last 14 games. That suggests that he’s going to go for big, big dough. He looks good but he’s also producing.
“Does he need to push to get out? I’d suggest he probably does now. That’s the situation he will be in. “If I am Jack Grealish and a Manchester United, a Liverpool, a Man City or a Chelsea, someone like that wants me then I walk into that office, whoever makes the decisions, and I am asking to leave.”
Guillem Balague has told Chelsea fans that Guillem Balague is keen to manage Barcelona one day.
Lampard has the been the Chelsea boss for just over 12 months now and has a mixed time of it at the club. But over the past few weeks there has been a negative feeling around the club and his management skills.
Lamps spend some serious money in the transfer window, brought in some top-level players and should be challenging for that top four spot, but he isnt and is in real danger of losing his job if he cannot get the results back on track.
But according to Spanish journalist Guillem Balague, Lampard has a long-term target of managing in Spain and in particular at Barcelona, as he never fulfilled his dream of playing for the Spanish giants during his playing days. Lampard was linked several times with a switch to Spain and to Barcelona and Real Madrid in his playing days, but he stayed put in England before heading out to America.
“His dream is to train in La Liga and do what he couldn’t do during his days as a player,” said Balague on Lampard on Esport3. “He would like to sit in the dugout at the Nou Camp and coach Barca in the not too distant future.”