McFarlane: Important to break the momentum with a win for the fans

 After Chelsea booked a place in this season’s FA Cup final by overcoming Leeds United, Calum McFarlane explained why it was a vital result to hit the reset button on our recent form going into the last few games of the season, which now includes a return trip to Wembley.

In a fiercely contested semi-final at the national stadium, it was the Blues who dominated the game throughout, even if it was a solitary first-half goal by Enzo Fernandez that proved decisive.

McFarlane was back in the Chelsea dugout for this big game at Wembley as interim head coach, a role he will fulfil until the end of the season. Speaking after securing our progress in the FA Cup, he explained why this could be a crucial win for the Blues, beyond the obvious motivation of a final now to come.

‘It was important to get the win,’ he said. ‘I'm not sure if that’s in relation to having an FA Cup final or a carrot to look forward to, I think it was important to break the momentum and the form that we were in.

We were confident that we would do that today and I think that completely changes the feel within the group. I think that was probably more important and gives us confidence going into the next five games.

‘We spoke in the lead up to the game, that we've got a minimum of five games left, potentially six if we win against Leeds, and that it's tough in this moment when you've been on a losing run, but one moment, one result, one performance can change that.

‘That's what we've been going after in terms of shifting the momentum in the group. I did reinforce that at the end of today’s game, but it goes without saying, we're at Chelsea Football Club, we need to try and win every game. So that is our target from now until the end of the season.’

McFarlane and the Blues now have five games remaining of this season, with four fixtures left in the race for European qualification in the Premier League, in addition to our return to Wembley on 16 May to face Manchester City in the FA Cup final.

‘We want to win every game for the fans in every competition,’ Calum continued. ‘It's unfortunately not worked out like that this year, but we want to win every single game from now until the end of the season, as you do in any season, but it's not about extra motivation.

‘We want to do it for ourselves, we want to do it for the fans and the club, everyone. The FA Cup is a massive competition, historic, and we want to win the final and win every Premier League game remaining.’

Two significant landmarks were hit during the Blues' convincing 4-1 victory over Everton

 Two significant landmarks were hit during the Blues' convincing 4-1 victory over Everton at Goodison Park, with Sam Kerr equalling Fran Kirby as our leading Women's Super League goal scorer and Sjoeke Nusken making her 100th Chelsea appearance.

Sonia Bompastor's side opened the scoring after just six minutes, as a well-worked move ended with a typically clinical Kerr finish. Yet Everton quickly responded, Yuka Momiki scoring a fine effort from distance, and the game was level at the interval.

The Blues had work to do in the second period, and we wasted little time in getting it done. Kerr struck her second of the game - and a record-equalling 63rd in the WSL for Chelsea - moments after the restart and Ellie Carpenter then grabbed our third.

With 20 minutes remaining, Erin Cuthbert drilled home a shot from inside the box to make it four, before the Blues saw out the game to take another important step towards qualifying for the UEFA Women's Champions League next season.

Early goals

Bompastor made two alterations to her starting XI, bringing Lucy Bronze and Veerle Buurman into the defence, in place of Kadeisha Buchanan and Naomi Girma.

The Blues started brightly, with Alyssa Thompson and Carpenter combining well down the right. Yet our opener, scored after just six minutes, came through the middle.

After collecting the ball in midfield, Lauren James danced her way into space and found Cuthbert. The Scotland international played the ball through to Kerr, and the striker finished low into the bottom corner

Our lead didn't last long, though. Receiving the ball in space 30 yards from goal, Momiki looped a quality strike over Hannah Hampton and into the top corner.

Pushing hard

As the half progressed, we began to regain control and created further chances to score. The first came from a long ball forward from James as she sought out Kerr, but the striker had her shot charged down by an Everton defender.

Thompson then took the chance to fire an effort at goal as she spotted an opportunity from a tight angle, but her attempt went over the bar.

The Blues were building pressure, though, and Keira Walsh took a shot from distance following a Chelsea corner. While the attempt was powerful, Everton goalkeeper Courtney Brosnan was able to collect.

Walsh then had another go from distance. While Brosnan saved the shot once again, the midfielder was in the mood to cause problems for the Everton stopper. James had her shot from the edge of the penalty area blocked and Nusken had an effort saved just before the break, so the sides went in at half-time all square.

Taking control

The home side went close straight from the kick off as Carpenter did just enough to prevent Mayumi Pachecho from heading in at the far post, but then Chelsea seized our opportunity in the transition.

A through-ball from James picked out Kerr perfectly, and the Australian slotted home her club-record-equalling strike to put us 2-1 in front. She could've had her hat-trick soon afterwards, too. One shot went just wide before she was flagged offside with a second attempt in quick succession, but it mattered little as her compatriot Carpenter soon weighed in with a goal of her own.

Thompson received the ball on the right wing and played a square ball low and hard across the box. Carpenter took a second to make sure the ball was fully under control, before chipping her finish over Brosnan. The advantage was firmly with the Blues.

Securing the win

The second half had seen wave after wave of Chelsea attacks and captain Cuthbert pounced on the opportunity to score her first WSL goal since September with a strong finish on the rebound from a blocked Kerr shot.

Everton rallied in the final stages and crafted a couple of opportunities to score. Still, the Chelsea defence held firm, and substitute Chloe Sarwie contributed with two key defensive interventions, as the 17-year-old impressed once again.

After a shaky start, this was an assured performance from Chelsea and, combined with Manchester United's 0-0 draw at Tottenham Hotspur, the Blues took a big step towards qualification for next year's Champions League.

What it means...

We remain in second place in the WSL table and are now four points clear of Manchester United.

What comes next...

We will travel to Leicester City in the Women's Super League on Sunday 3 May.

The teams

Chelsea (4-1-4-1): Hampton; Carpenter, Bronze, Buurman (Sarwie 78), Charles (Buchanan 60); Walsh (Potter 71); James (Baltimore 71), Nusken, Cuthbert (c), Thompson (Rytting Kaneryd 60); Kerr

Unused subs: Spencer, Peng, Shooter

Scorers: Kerr 6, 47, Carpenter 53, Cuthbert 70

Booked: Charles 44

Everton (4-4-2): Brosnan (c), Blundell, Fernandez, Wheeler, Payne, Gago, Vignola (Snoeijs 78), Galli (Hayashi 68), Stenevik, Momiki (Harbert 85), Pacheco

Unused subs: Ramsey, Kramzar, Jones

Scorer: Momiki 10

Booked: Stenevik 87

Referee: Ross Martin

Cesc Fabregas breaks his silence on Chelsea job

 Former Chelsea star Cesc Fabregas has insisted he is focused on his role at Como after the club's owner admitted he would not stand in his way if he wanted to take charge of the Premier League giants. 

Chelsea have begun the search for a new head coach after sacking Liam Rosenior on Wednesday.

Rosenior was dismissed after just 106 days in the role, with Chelsea's hierarchy acting after a run of five successive defeats in the Premier League without scoring.

Calum McFarlane is set to serve as interim boss until the end of the season, starting with Chelsea's FA Cup semi-final against Leeds on Sunday.

Fabregas, who has impressed in his first head coach role at Como, has been touted as a potential candidate to succeed Rosenior.

The 38-year-old played for Chelsea between 2014 and 2019, where he earned two Premier League titles, as well as lifting the FA Cup, Europa League and League Cup

Fabregas has insisted his focus remains on Como's final five matches of the season, with his fifth placed side set to face Genoa on Saturday as they continue their bid for European qualification.

The Spanish coach added that he had not seen quotes from Como's president Mirwan Suwarso about his future.

'Nothing to say about that, it'd be stupid to think about that now, my focus is on next game against Genoa,' Fabregas said at a pre-match press conference.

'I believe I will continue my chapter as Como head coach and focus on the next games.

'I would be crazy to think of anything else rather than these next five games and getting my team into Europe for the first time in history.

'I have not seen or heard any comments that my president said other than he told me he values me very highly.' 

Suwarso had earlier told City AM that Fabregas was 'free to go to Chelsea if he wishes'.

'If that makes him happy, that’s him,' he said.

'You want your employees to stay with you for as long as possible but at the end of the day we don’t own him and he’s free to go to Chelsea if he wishes.'

Gallery: Blues celebrate at Wembley after sealing FA Cup final place

 For the 17th time in our history, Chelsea will compete in the FA Cup final after the Blues defeated Leeds United at Wembley this afternoon.

Led by interim head coach Calum McFarlane at Wembley, we controlled the last-four tie and a first-half goal from Enzo Fernandez proved the difference between the two sides.

After the full-time whistle was blown, the Chelsea players and staff made their way over to the Blues faithful to celebrate reaching yet another final.

We will return to Wembley on May 16 and bid to lift the trophy once again. Manchester City, whom we have never faced in the competition's showpiece game, will be our opponents.

You can view our favourite images from the post-match celebrations on the Wembley pitch below. Enjoy

FA Cup semi-final report: Chelsea 1-0 Leeds

 Chelsea triumphed over our old rivals Leeds United in the FA Cup once again, this time Enzo Fernandez's first-half goal booking the Blues' place in the final with a dominant win at Wembley Stadium.

In truth, the narrow margin of our victory on the scoreboard hardly reflected the extent to which we controlled the game on the pitch. Leeds carried a threat on the counter-attack, but for the vast majority of the match Chelsea were in full control, while Robert Sanchez was on hand to deal with anything which got through.

The Spaniard was called into action early on to deny Brenden Aaronson, but then Joao Pedro struck the post as we began to take charge with some controlled passing play and the occasional display of flair in the final third.

That paid off midway through the first half, when Fernandez timed his run to perfection to meet Pedro Neto's cross and head us into the lead from close range. Joao Pedro and Alejandro Garnacho both went close to extending our advantage either side of half-time, while Sanchez produced another good save to deny Anton Stach as Leeds tried to fight back in the second half.

However, from the moment we took the lead there only ever looked like being one winner of this semi-final, and it will be Chelsea who return here to Wembley in a few weeks to make our 17th appearance in an FA Cup final.

The selection

Calum McFarlane made three changes to the line-up as he returned to the dugout as interim head coach. Robert Sanchez continued between the posts and was protected by a back four of Malo Gusto, Trevoh Chalobah, Tosin Adarabioyo and Marc Cucurella.

Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia started in midfield, while Alejandro Garnacho came into the attack, alongside Enzo Fernandez and Pedro Neto. Joao Pedro, after missing our last two matches, was back to spearhead the Chelsea front line.

Big day on the big stage

The match started to a huge roar all around a packed Wembley Stadium, as these two old rivals did battle in the FA Cup once more. It was a typically feisty start, as we have come to expect from games between these two teams, whatever the occasion.

The Leeds supporters were lifted when they were awarded a free-kick in a dangerous position, but it looped harmlessly over Sanchez’s crossbar. Before long it was Chelsea who were stamping our authority on the game, and Pedro Neto drew the game’s first save with a low drive from outside the box, but it was too close to Lucas Perri to trouble the goalkeeper.

A series of fouls made it difficult to fall into our rhythm during the opening exchanges, although to the referee’s credit he tried to play advantage when he could. Joao Pedro was on the receiving end of some particularly heavy-handed defending, but helped us start to show our threat by lifting an audacious touch over his own and Ao Tanaka’s head to open up play.

Moises Caicedo chipped a clever pass into the box which drew a few gasps around Wembley, but Garnacho just ran out of pitch chasing it down. Just as we were starting to gather some momentum, though, we were grateful to Sanchez, who produced a brilliant save with his legs to keep out Aaronson when the American got in behind the Blues defence.

Making the pressure count

With 20 minutes on the clock and our dominance demonstrated by our 81 per cent of possession so far, Joao Pedro went a whisker away from opening the scoring. It was a slick, quick couple of passes by Romeo Lavia and Fernandez which set the Brazilian haring towards goal. From an angle he beat Perri, but not the woodwork, has his low left-footed shot came back off the near post.

However, just moments later, Chelsea did have the lead our performance deserved, this time Fernandez getting the final touch. The goal came from us applying pressure high up the pitch, forcing Pascal Struijk to cede possession in a dangerous area. From there, Neto lifted a teasing cross and Fernandez was only too pleased to ghost in unmarked and head in the opener.

Joao enjoying himself

Joao Pedro was continuing to show why his return to the team was such a big boost for the Blues. His hold-up and linking play had been excellent, while he continued to demonstrate his own individual threat with an instinctive chest-control and volley on the swivel, although it drifted just wide to deny him a brilliant goal.

As we edged towards the half-time break with a narrow 1-0 lead, we were still firmly in control of possession. The stadium held its breath when Garnacho drove the ball across the six-yard box after a strong run by Neto opened up space in the final third, but there was nobody there to meet it and Leeds were let off the hook. And so it remained advantage Chelsea with 45 minutes played at Wembley, but that advantage was still a slender one.

Daniel Farke looked to change things up after seeing his team second best so far, introducing Joe Rodon and Anton Stach during the break. It nearly had an instant impact, when the ball dropped for Stach on the edge of the box and he smashed it towards the top corner, but Sanchez reacted brilliantly with a strong hand to tip it over the bar.

Before long the Blues were back on the offensive, when a lovely piece of skill by Gusto was followed by a smart Fernandez flick, but Joao Pedro was eventually crowded out in the box before he could get a clean shot away. Garnacho then had an effort deflected over the bar as we continued looking for a second goal, but we had to remain wary of a Leeds side showing more fight since the break, with Sanchez called into action again by a Dominic Calvert-Lewin header.

Keeping a tight grip

The Yorkshire side definitely started to show more threat as the second half went on, especially on the counter, while they began to press higher up to pitch, trying to cause us more problems. There was also a worrying moment when Sanchez went down needing treatment, but thankfully he was back up and ready to continue in time to watch a Leeds free-kick drift wide of his near post.

However, as Leeds became increasingly desperate, we were able to keep them largely at arm's length during the final 20 minutes of the match, helped by the introduction of Andrey Santos and Cole Palmer from the bench.

With control of the possession and the combination of Tosin and Chalobah keeping the Whites' strikers well marshalled, Sanchez was hardly called into action. A few hopeful efforts from range which drifted high and wide was the best our opponents could muster, as we saw things out through eight minutes of added time to book our return ticket to the national stadium in the FA Cup.

What it means

Chelsea will return to Wembley in three weeks' time to take on Manchester City in the FA Cup final on Saturday 16 May, with silverware up for grabs for the winner.

What is next

The Blues have a bit of time to recover and work on the training pitch with no midweek fixture, before we get back to Premier League action on Monday 4 May, with a 3pm bank holiday kick-off against Nottingham Forest at Stamford Bridge.

The teams

Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Sanchez; Gusto, Chalobah, Tosin, Cucurella; Caicedo, Lavia (Santos 65); Neto, Fernandez (c), Garnacho (Palmer 71); Joao Pedro (Delap 90+8)

Unused subs: Sharman-Lowe, Acheampong, Fofana, Hato, Essugo, Derry

Scorer: Fernandez 23

Booked: Caicedo 60, Palmer 78, Neto 90+4

Leeds United (3-4-2-1): Perri; Justin (Rodon h-t), Bijol (Stach h-t), Struijk; Bogle, Ampadu (c), Tanaka (Nmecha 74), Gudmundsson; Aaronson (Longstaff 86), Okafor (Gnonto 74); Calvert-Lewin

Unused subs: Darlow, Bornauw, James, Piroe

Booked: Struijk 75, Ampadu 78, Nmecha 84, Bogle 90+4

Referee: Jarred Gillett

Crowd: 82,542

Blues deserve their FA Cup final spot after dominating display at Wembley Chelsea 1-0 Leeds

 Enzo Fernandez is enough of an unprepossessing individual that, at the start of this month, he was banned for two matches by his own club but he is still capable of being a very fine footballer for Chelsea when the mood takes him.

Chelsea will face Manchester City in this season's FA Cup final after an Enzo Fernandez goal helped the Blues overcome Leeds United at Wembley this afternoon.

The last-four tie was a heated encounter; the rivalry between Chelsea and Leeds remains intense more than 50 years after it was forged in this competition.

In its latest chapter, the Blues broke the deadlock midway through the opening period. Pedro Neto was the creator as he won possession, broke forward and crossed for Fernandez to head home beyond Leeds goalkeeper Lucas Pern.

Robert Sanchez was called into action twice during the contest and stepped up for Chelsea when needed, denying Brendan Aaronson in the first half and Joe Rodon in the second.

Leeds threw everything forward in the final minutes in search of an equaliser, but the Chelsea defence continuously repelled the Whites to ensure we will compete in the FA Cup's showpiece game for the 17th time.

It is the first occasion we will face Manchester City in the FA Cup final, which will take place on Saturday 16 May at Wembley.

Kick-off is scheduled for 3pm, with ticket information to follow in due course.

Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink on why Delap is struggling:

🗣️ "I think for him it’s confidence. When you’re out there and you’re not having any rhythm, you know, then he plays, then he doesn’t, then he gets 10 minutes, then he doesn’t.

When you are not scoring and it’s and it’s taking a long time you get to doubt yourself."

Calum McFarlane on Palmer:

🗣️ "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."

McFarlane: Full focus on Sunday

 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 delivers injury update on Estevao, Joao Pedro and Palmer ahead of Leeds

 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.

The Blues head to Wembley Stadium looking to secure a passage to the FA Cup final next month, with Leeds – the side we defeated in 1970 to lift the competition for the first time in our history – standing in our way.

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:

  Enzo Fernández has already played under 𝟕 𝐃𝐈𝐅𝐅𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐓 𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐀𝐆𝐄𝐑𝐒 since arriving in 2023:

• Graham Potter

• Bruno Saltor

• Frank Lampard

• Mauricio Pochettino

• Enzo Maresca

• Liam Rosenior

• Calum McFarlane

Chelsea are standing firm on Enzo Fernández.

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.

Chelsea would demand more than the £106.8m they paid and internally, there’s doubt any club will meet that valuation.

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.

Joe Cole Voices Support for Xabi Alonso as Potential Chelsea Head Coach

 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

 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.

Chelsea are currently searching for a permanent successor to Rosenior, who was dismissed after failing to stabilise the club's fortunes during his brief tenure. While supporters have frequently chanted Mourinho's name during difficult periods, the board appears to be leaning towards younger tactical profiles such as Bournemouth’s Andoni Iraola or Fulham’s Marco Silva. Despite Mourinho's historic ties to the club, the current ownership remains focused on a different long-term vision for the first-team squad.

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.

A beautiful and Happy Birthday to ESTEVAO