🗣️ "Cole's a top talent. Cole can decide games at the highest level, he's done that already in his very short career.
And he's super talented, so it's pretty much about getting Cole in the right position and giving him the right amount of quality so that he can decide games of football whether that be with his finishing or his final pass or his creativity, whatever that may be."
Calum McFarlane insists the Chelsea players and coaching staff are not ‘thinking about anything else’ besides Sunday’s FA Cup semi-final against Leeds United and what we need to do to return to winning ways.
The game at Wembley comes at the end of a week in which we were well beaten by Brighton on Tuesday and Liam Rosenior subsequently left his post after three-and-a-half months in charge.
McFarlane has stepped in as interim head coach until the end of the season, and he answered the media’s questions at Cobham today ahead of the Leeds fixture, explaining what the mindset has been in the days leading up to the semi-final.
‘All our focus is on improving the team performance for a massive game on Sunday,’ said McFarlane.
‘The performance against Brighton wasn't good enough, we know that. It's about trying to figure out the reasons why from a technical and tactical perspective, and making sure that the group are in a better place to execute a game plan on Sunday.
‘We want to take control of the game and play our game, the game that suits the players in our group the best. We want to be aggressive and attack the game. We need to make sure we're right in every area because we’re playing a really good side.
‘And it's really important that we have a real focus for the game on Sunday - we can't be thinking about anything else. Everyone’s excited because it’s a massive game and a great opportunity to get to an FA Cup final.’
McFarlane recognised he has inherited a team in poor form, with the Blues heading to Wembley off the back of five straight league losses without scoring.
However, he is adamant the ability in our squad means we are more than capable of arresting this current run and finishing the campaign on a high.
‘There's still a lot of belief in this group,’ said McFarlane.
‘I know it's been tough recently, but we've had some good games this year, good performances against top sides in recent history. So there's a lot of talent.
‘Some of those players in there are some of the best players in the world for their position, so there's still a belief within us we can turn this around and get our season back on track.’
A win on Sunday would be the perfect start.
Calum McFarlane is hopeful Joao Pedro and Cole Palmer could return for Sunday's FA Cup semi-final with Leeds United, but confirmed winger Estevao Willian will unfortunately miss the rest of the season through injury.
McFarlane was on media duties on Friday afternoon, following the announcement he would take charge of the side as interim head coach for the remainder of the campaign following the departure of Liam Rosenior in the week.
He delivered a positive update on Joao Pedro and Palmer ahead of the semi-final at the national stadium on Sunday, but began by confirming the unfortunate news that the hamstring injury that forced Estevao off against Manchester United recently will rule the Brazilian out for the remainder of the season.
‘Estevao unfortunately won’t play for us this season,’ Calum stated during the press conference at Cobham. ‘He will be out for a little bit of time.
‘We’re not sure how long he will be out for but he certainly won’t play for us again this season, unfortunately.
‘That’s really unfortunate for him, especially for someone so young and talented as he is but we are here to support him and be around him.
‘With Joao and Cole, they both trained today and are in a good place. We don’t know yet [whether they can feature on Sunday], but we have another day tomorrow to have a look at them and then make a call on them.
‘But we hope so [they can be involved], but it’s important we give them time. We are going to train tomorrow, they will both be involved and we will make a call on them after that session.’
Enzo Fernández has already played under 𝟕 𝐃𝐈𝐅𝐅𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐓 𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐀𝐆𝐄𝐑𝐒 since arriving in 2023:
• Bruno Saltor
• Frank Lampard
• Mauricio Pochettino
• Enzo Maresca
• Liam Rosenior
• Calum McFarlane
Despite strong interest from Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain, and Manchester City, the club has no intention of selling unless a massive offer comes in.
The recent managerial change could be key. With Liam Rosenior gone, there’s belief a new, authoritative coach could reignite Fernández’s form and commitment after a difficult spell.
Chelsea’s priority now is stability, not another rebuild. Keeping Fernández alongside Moisés Caicedo is seen as central to that plan.
Interest is real but a transfer is not.
Right now, it would take a mega deal to change Chelsea’s stance.
Former Chelsea midfielder Joe Cole has publicly expressed his admiration for Xabi Alonso and suggested the Spaniard would be an ideal candidate to take charge at Stamford Bridge.
Speaking candidly, Cole highlighted Alonso’s impressive managerial work and deep understanding of elite football environments.
“I’d love to see Xabi Alonso at the club,” Cole said. “I loved watching his Bayer Leverkusen team. I think he was hard done by at Real Madrid. He understands massive clubs. He’s a winner.”
Alonso has earned widespread recognition for his tactical intelligence and leadership, particularly following his success with Bayer Leverkusen, where his dynamic style of play and strong results have drawn attention across Europe.
Cole emphasized that Alonso’s experience as both a player and coach at top-tier institutions makes him uniquely equipped to handle the pressures associated with managing a club of Chelsea’s stature.
However, Cole also acknowledged the challenges in attracting Alonso to West London.
“The sad thing is, I don’t think Xabi Alonso would even consider Chelsea,” he added.
Chelsea have continued their search for long-term stability and direction, with ongoing discussions about the club’s managerial future. While Alonso remains highly regarded within football circles, any potential move would depend on a range of factors, including his current commitments and long-term ambitions.
As speculation continues, Cole’s endorsement adds to the growing conversation around Chelsea’s next managerial appointment and the caliber of leadership required to return the club to consistent success.
Chelsea’s hierarchy is reportedly resistant to the idea of appointing Jose Mourinho for a third managerial spell despite growing fan pressure following Liam Rosenior’s exit. While the legendary Portuguese coach is currently excelling at Benfica, club insiders suggest that a fairytale return to west London is unlikely as the board prioritises other candidates.
The prospect of a romantic reunion between Chelsea and their most decorated manager appears increasingly remote, with the club's decision-makers appearing determined to move in a different direction. Rather than a return to the Premier League, current expectations suggest the "Special One" is preparing for a transition from club football to the international stage in the near future.
Breaking down the board's internal view on the situation and Mourinho's likely next move, journalist Ben Jacobs told GiveMeSport: "Chelsea have always downplayed Jose Mourinho returning. So something would have to change there. It’s worth just noting that Mourinho is expected to be a free agent and a lot of people actually think that he’s quite likely to walk into the Portugal job after the World Cup."
Mourinho remains a towering figure in Chelsea history across two distinct periods of immense success. His first spell between 2004 and 2007 yielded 124 wins from 185 games and two league titles, while his 2013 return saw him secure a third Premier League crown and another League Cup before his 2015 departure. Although he recently visited Stamford Bridge in the Champions League with Benfica, club sources insist the focus remains on managers with more contemporary Premier League experience who align with BlueCo's recruitment strategy.
Calum McFarlane will take temporary charge of the first team until the end of the season, allowing Behdad Eghbali and the sporting directors to carefully vet their next appointment. The club is reportedly prioritising candidates with proven Premier League pedigree to avoid the mistakes made with previous inexperienced appointments. While Mourinho's shadow continues to loom over the stadium, the board's interest in Silva and Iraola suggests they are moving away from the "Special One" era.
Estêvão was forced off early on in Saturday night’s game against Manchester United with an apparent hamstring injury, and while initial hopes were that it wouldn’t be too bad of a problem, reports today are indicating otherwise. In fact, he may have suffered the worst possible version.
Either way, Estêvão’s certainly out for the rest of the season and probably the World Cup as well. And if he needs surgery, then it might be a few months into next season before we see him again. Not great!
The youngster is two days shy of his 19th birthday, and thus finished the season with 36 appearances (20 starts) across all competitions with 8 goals and 4 assists. Not too shabby for his first season in Europe. Presumably he will only get better, though first we will have to make absolutely sure that he fully recovers from this injury and it doesn’t become a recurring one like it so often happens.
Alan Shearer has insisted 'everything feeds down from the bosses' after assessing Chelsea as a 'bonkers' club following the sacking of Liam Rosenior.
Rosenior was dismissed by the Blues on Wednesday after a 3-0 defeat at Brighton condemned them to a fifth straight Premier League defeat without scoring a goal.
Speaking to Betfair, former England and Newcastle striker Shearer was sympathetic to Rosenior, as he insisted there was 'no way' he could have turned down the Chelsea job when approached in December.
Shearer stressed that the Chelsea owners BlueCo need to 'look at themselves' over their decision to appoint an inexperienced coach, while labelling their approach as 'bonkers'.
He claimed it was 'laughable' that the club have over a billion pounds on players, only to be short of quality in key areas of the team.
Everything eventually filters down to the pitch from what's going on up top in football,' Shearer told Betfair.
'Everything feeds down from the bosses and that's what's happened to Chelsea. The players are on an absolute fortune, and you can tell they do not agree with what is happening at the club, albeit they are a huge part of it. They were alright taking the seven-year contracts.
'The players have been nowhere near good enough. I watched them against Brighton, and they were an absolute shambles. The manager was searching to do something different with a new system at half-time, but they were equally as poor, if not worse, in the second half. That tells you what players think of the current setup.
'It is laughable how much money Chelsea have spent and still don’t have top quality players.
'It all depends for Chelsea going forward towards the end of the season on what their belief is like. Are they prepared to change? Clearly, this model is not working, and they have to understand that.
'They have spent an absolute fortune, over a billion pounds, and they still have not got a top-class goalkeeper, centre half, or centre forward. How do you spend that much money and lack top quality players in those three major positions?
'You spend that much money and that's the reality of it, you're going further and further down the league. There's no doubt there's talented players in there, but it's laughable you spend that much money and still don't have a top-quality player in those three positions.'
Shearer's criticism mirrors similar views from Gary Neville, who claimed on Wednesday that Chelsea's owners 'haven't got a clue what they're doing'.
This policy at Chelsea, this plan, I don't see it,' Neville told Sky Sports. 'These six and eight-year agreements that they give - it's almost laughable from the start, whether it be for a manager or a player.
'The owners haven't got a clue what they are doing. I've made massive mistakes as an owner and sometimes you've got to accept you don't know what you're doing.
'They are all over the place. I just don't get it. You deserve what you get in football and that's every single ownership, and it's a reflection upon them, not the coach.'
Rosenior joined the Blues from their sister club Strasbourg but took charge of only 23 matches before being axed.
Chelsea's dismal run has left their hopes of qualifying for next season's Champions League hanging by a thread.
Source: DAILYMAIL
The Blues were back to it at Cobham on Thursday, as the work ramped up ahead of this weekend's FA Cup semi-final against Leeds United.
Ahead of our trip to Wembley, interim Head Coach Calum McFarlane and his backroom staff put the players through their paces under the spring sunshine, with the likes of Moises Caicedo, Wesley Fofana, Enzo Fernandez and Andrey Santos among those pictured in our latest training gallery.
They were joined by the defensive trio of Josh Acheampong, Tosin Adarabioyo and Mamadou Sarr, while Joao Pedro also featured after the forward missed the clash with his former side Brighton last time out.
Sonia Bompastor has confirmed Chelsea will be without Mille Bright and Aggie Beever-Jones for our Women's Super League clash against Everton.
Bright hasn't featured for Chelsea since early February due to an ankle injury sustained in a WSL victory at Tottenham Hotspur. Beever-Jones, meanwhile, has missed our previous four games.
Bompastor hoped prior to the international break that she would be able to call upon the duo for this weekend's fixture, however the Blues head coach has confirmed our defender and forward's respective recoveries are not yet complete.
'No, both of them won't be available [for the game],' explained Bompastor in her pre-match press conference. 'I think Millie's rehab is taking longer than we hoped, but Aggie is close to a return. Not for this weekend, but probably the following weekend.'
Bompastor was rejoined at Cobham on Wednesday by the Chelsea players who had travelled the globe to represent their countries during the international break.
She confirmed that nobody had returned with any injury concerns and that the players had quickly refocused on the importance of ending the season strongly.
She said: 'In terms of players' availability, we are in a good place. Everyone came back well, both mentally and physically. We had great energy yesterday on the pitch and this morning in training sessions.
'There were a lot of smiles on the faces, which I think is great – the weather helps for sure, but also the quality of the training session. I think as a group we are happy to be back together, focusing on the last block of the season. It's a really important one for us.'
Chelsea’s players feel Liam Rosenior’s successor needs to be a big character who can command the respect of the dressing room and keep strong egos in line.
With the search under way for the sixth permanent manager of the BlueCo era, it is understood the squad are keen for a shift in focus after failing to connect with Rosenior before his time at Stamford Bridge ended three months into a six-and-a-half-year deal.
Although Rosenior was regarded as a good person, the insider view is that he was fighting a losing battle with the players from the start because they viewed him as too inexperienced and felt he did not know how to manage top players. A source said the 41-year-old, hired as Enzo Maresca’s replacement in January, tried to be a friend to the players behind closed doors, was regarded as an awkward communicator and held too many one-to-one meetings.
Rosenior, who was fired after Brighton damaged Chelsea’s faint Champions League hopes by handing them their fifth consecutive league defeat on Tuesday, ran into problems when Enzo Fernández was hit with an internal two-game suspension after questioning the club’s project and talking up a move to Real Madrid. Fernández is a leading figure in the dressing room – he was worn the captain’s armband when Reece James has been out – and the controversy around the Argentina midfielder is said to have created too much noise.
The squad’s Spanish speakers are said to have been particularly lukewarm on Rosenior’s ability as a coach. Fernández and Marc Cucurella, the Spain left-back, made clear they missed Maresca. The Italian, who was popular with players and regarded as a top coach, left in acrimonious circumstances on New Year’s Day. Chelsea did not fire him and had no desire to make a mid-season change; aggrieved insiders have pinned the blame on the season descending into chaos on what they view as Maresca spoiling his relationship with the hierarchy after 18 promising months in charge.
Rosenior was brought in from Strasbourg, Chelsea’s partner club, and his appointment fitted with the BlueCo model of finding up-and-coming progressive managers who can work in collaboration with Chelsea’s five sporting directors. But the fallout from Rosenior’s demise has left the club keen to bring in a manager with top-level experience and the players are similarly convinced they need to be coached by someone with greater standing in the game.
There is also a desire for someone with a track record of dealing with players from multiple backgrounds. The sense is that Chelsea have a talented group but that some of the younger players need time to develop and are having to learn too quickly because of the inexperience of the squad.
Chelsea, who have placed Calum McFarlane in charge until the summer, have been stalked by indiscipline this season and Rosenior was unable to improve behaviour. A challenge for the board will be convincing a leading manager that moving to Stamford Bridge would represent the right career move. There is interest in Andoni Iraola, who is leaving Bournemouth at the end of the season, but the Spaniard’s intentions remain unclear and some sources are doubtful he would want to join Chelsea.
Other candidates include Como’s Cesc Fàbregas. Xabi Alonso and Xavi Hernández are out of work and Fulham’s Marco Silva could be available. Chelsea have previously made checks on Filipe Luís, their former left-back, who coached Flamengo to multiple trophies before being sacked last month.
Source: Guardian
Manchester City are reportedly exploring a potential move for Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernández as part of a broader summer rebuild in the center of the pitch, according to The Athletic.
The Premier League champions are understood to be assessing a range of midfield options ahead of the new season, with Fernández emerging as one of several names under consideration. Newcastle United’s Elliot Anderson is also among the profiles being monitored, as City look to refresh and future-proof their squad.
This recruitment drive comes amid uncertainty surrounding the futures of key midfield figures, including Bernardo Silva, whose potential departure could create space for reinforcements. City are believed to be preparing proactively for such changes, prioritizing depth and versatility in midfield.
Fernández, who joined Chelsea in 2023 on a long-term contract, remains a central figure at Stamford Bridge. However, his situation has attracted ongoing attention as clubs across Europe continue to reshape their squads. While interest from Real Madrid has also been noted, no formal offers have been made for the Argentine international at this stage.
Manchester City’s approach to the transfer window remains fluid, with multiple options being evaluated before any concrete moves are made. Strengthening the midfield is understood to be a key objective as the club aims to maintain its competitive edge domestically and in Europe.
William Gallas has urged Chelsea to looking at plucking a head coach from La Liga to solve their ongoing crisis. The former defender believes the Blues need a "harsh" leader to transform their young squad into winners.
Gallas has called on the Chelsea hierarchy to consider a move for Atletico Madrid boss Diego Simeone, believing the Argentine is the perfect candidate to demand more from a young squad after Liam Rosenior was sacked on Wednesday.
Speaking to BoyleSports, the former Blues centre-back suggested that while long-term projects have their place, a club of Chelsea’s stature should be prioritising immediate trophies, and he thinks Simeone is the right man.
"What kind of manager did Chelsea need? I think it all depends on what you are looking for," Gallas explained. "For the long-term, you can bring in Cesc Fabregas because he is doing well with his club at the moment. He is young and able to speak to a young squad. He's doing a good job. In the long term, he can bring Chelsea back to the positions where everybody wants to see Chelsea.
"If you are thinking about the short-term, to have success straight away, they need that experienced head to guide them like Diego Simone and with his personality he can win things very soon with Chelsea. Maybe the Chelsea players need him too because we need to see more warriors and soldiers in the team after what they’ve shown us. I think you need that type of manager who is a little bit more harsh on the players."
The tenure of Rosenior has come under heavy fire, with Gallas suggesting that the appointment was a mistake from the beginning. Recent heavy defeats have only solidified the feeling that the current direction is unsustainable, putting immense pressure on Todd Boehly and the Clearlake Capital group.
"With Chelsea’s owners, anything can happen," he added. "Nobody knows what is going to happen next. It was really difficult to accept the results they've had. Like against Paris Saint-Germain, an 8-2 loss is very hard to take and they lost 3-0 to Everton. You don't know if they are already looking for a new manager. Maybe they knew they made a mistake to bring Liam in.
“It was to sack him before the end of the season. I don't think it's a good idea for anybody but for the manager, it would be a disaster. For the fans, it would cause even more frustration against the owners.”
Rosenior's sacking came shortly after a heavy 3-0 defeat to Brighton in the Premier League, which left them languishing in eighth place and further diminished their hopes of qualifying for next season's Champions League.
While names like Marco Silva, Edin Terzic, and Xabi Alonso have been linked with the vacancy, Gallas’ call for a high-profile disciplinarian like Simeone highlights the growing frustration among former players regarding the club's lack of on-pitch identity. With the season reaching its climax, the board faces immense pressure to find a leader capable of stabilising a squad that has failed to score in its last five league matches.
We Breathe Blue
