6.30pm Chelsea news LIVE: Rice-Batshuayi swap, Coutinho £55m-plus-defender, Werner and Chilwell transfer LATEST – The Sun

CHELSEA continued their preparations for the Premier League's return with a 1-0 victory against Reading as Pedro scored the only goal.

And with the arrival of Timo Werner imminent, Frank Lampard is ready to make his next move in the transfer market, with a Michy Batshuayi-plus-cash offer mooted for Declan Rice.

Follow all the latest updates and transfer gossip from the Bridge below…

  • BAT'S YOUR LOT

    Michy Batshuayi's days at Chelsea seem numbered.

    The Belgian striker, 26, failed to make either starting XI in the Blues' intra-squad friendly last week.

    And with Chelsea set to sign Timo Werner this summer, reports say Batshuayi is surplus to requirements.

    According to reports, Batshuayi came on for the last third of their in-house encounter but played no part in Chelsea's friendly with Reading at their Cobham training ground on Wednesday.

    The 26-year-old has spent the majority of this season playing second fiddle to Tammy Abraham but a poor performance against Manchester United in February and the resurgence of Olivier Giroud has seen him slide down the pecking order.

    Giroud signed a one-year contract extension at Stamford Bridge last month but no such deal is forthcoming for Batshuayi, whose contract expires in 2021.

  • WERNER CAUSES NAG-ING PROBLEM

    RB Leipzig boss Julian Nagelsmann believes replacing Chelsea-bound Timo Werner striker is “not possible”.

    Germany striker Werner, 24, is on the brink of sealing a switch to Stamford Bridge ahead of Anfield.

    Nagelsmann told DAZN: “It's not possible [to replace him], you can't clone a player.

    “If Timo Werner leaves us, the main thing would be to replace 34 goals a season,.”

  • GREEN LIGHT FOR GO

    Chelsea could sell N'Golo Kante to Real Madrid this summer to raise transfer funds, according to reports.

    Frank Lampard has got his sights set on signing Kai Havertz from Bayer Leverkusen and Leicester star Ben Chilwell.

    According to AS, Chelsea are prepared to sell Kante to boost their chances of landing their top targets.

    Real Madrid are believed to have reignited their interest in the French World Cup winner.

    Zinedine Zidane's side have been heavily linked to the midfielder as a replacement for Casemiro.

    Paris Saint-Germain have also indicated their interest in Kante – who joined Chelsea from Leicester in 2016.

  • LIKELY LINE-UP

    Chelsea fan writer Simon Phillips has given his breakdown of how Frank Lampard's side next season.

    CLICK HERE TO READ HOW THE BLUES WILL LOOK NEXT TERM WITH WERNER AND CHILWELL

  • CHIL OUT

    Ben Chilwell wants to move to Chelsea, according to reports.

    The Leicester left-back has been linked with a £50million switch to Stamford Bridge for some time.

    The West Londoners are keen to replace Emerson and Marcos Alonso who have disappointed at left-back so far this campaign.

    And the deal could be one step closer as Chilwell is up for the move, according to the Standard.

    The Blues received some more good news yesterday when it emerged the Foxes are looking at Ajax left-back Nicolas Tagliafico as replacement if Chilwell leaves.

  • HOME COMFORTS

    Here is how Chelsea rank in a list of leading European clubs in makeup of the squad using homegrown talent.

    Out of the leading continental leagues, Manchester United currently have the highest percentage of their players brought through the club.

    Chelsea are seventh but are the second-highest ranked English team.

  • 'MANN DOWN

    Timo Werner is irreplaceable at RB Leipzig, according to his boss.

    RB Leipzig gaffer Julian Nagelsmann said: “It’s not possible [to replace him], you can’t clone a player.

    “If Timo Werner leaves us, the main thing would be to replace 34 goals a season.

    “That would be the main task, which perhaps could not be solved by just one player.

    “It is important that we get the same output at the end of the day, that is the complex thing about the topic.”

  • DAVE RAVE

    Manchester United and Arsenal have reportedly enquired about Gent forward Jonathan David.

    The Canadian international was in fine form for his club side this season before the Belgian league was suspended in March and subsequently cancelled.

    According to Belgian newspaper HLN, the Premier League duo have been tracking David for months and have now firmed up their interest with the player's agent.

    They are likely to face competition from across Europe, with Ajax, RB Leipzig, Inter Milan and Porto all interested in the 20-year-old.

    And United and Arsenal are not the only Premier League clubs chasing his signature with Liverpool, Everton, Chelsea, Spurs and Leicester also interested.

  • REAL SALE

    Chelsea could sell N'Golo Kante to Real Madrid this summer to raise transfer funds, according to reports.

    Frank Lampard has got his sights set on signing Kai Havertz from Bayer Leverkusen and Leicester star Ben Chilwell.

    According to AS, Chelsea are prepared to sell Kante to boost their chances of landing their top targets.

    Real Madrid are believed to have reignited their interest in the French World Cup winner.

    Zinedine Zidane's side have been heavily linked to the midfielder as a replacement for Casemiro.

    Paris Saint-Germain have also indicated their interest in Kante – who joined Chelsea from Leicester in 2016.

  • BLUES FIXTURES

    Here is how Frank Lampard's side will match up when the season resumes.

    Excited, Chelsea fans?!

  • MORE THAN O-KAI

    Thomas Muller has revealed how highly he rates Kai Havertz.

    The Bayer Leverkusen star is a target for United, Chelsea, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich.

    The 2014 World Cup winner said: “In my last appearances for the national team, I enjoyed training and playing with him.

    “He’s an extremely good player, if not Europe’s top talent for his age. He has very good abilities.

    “Of course at Bayern we want to have the best players with the best abilities.

    “Unfortunately, I have no insight into the financial area and the sports director area.”

  • DAVE KIDD ON OLE & LAMPS

    They are both club legends and folk heroes, immortalised for their parts in Champions League glory and title wins.

    Frank Lampard and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer claimed the manager’s jobs at Chelsea and Manchester United on account of their storied playing careers — and neither would deny it.

    Until now, both inexperienced bosses have enjoyed honeymoon periods, both have benefited from lowered expectations, both have been offered more patience than any of their recent predecessors.

    Soon, though, all that will change.

    Soon, they will face the demands and pressures they thrived upon as players. Soon, there will be no hiding place.

    Soon, we will discover whether these unlikely lads really are the right men to lead their clubs back to serious title contention.

    READ THE REST OF DAVE KIDD’S SUPERB COLUMN HERE

  • BLM ON THE SHIRT

    Premier League stars are set to wear two Black Lives Matters messages on their shirts next week.

    Top-flight clubs want a BLM badge AND the NHS logo on the front.

    And it has also been agreed in principle that player names on the back of shirts will be replaced with “Black Lives Matter” for the opening 12 games of the Prem’s return.

    The move comes after bosses’ latest meeting saw total agreement that the Prem must take a strong stand in support of the BLM movement.

    A range of possible moves were discussed but they were unanimous that any decisions needed to be signed off by the players before ratifying.

    Such a move might have put the Prem on a collision course with Fifa as it could be seen as a law breach.

  • ICYMI – WERNER LATEST

    Chelsea are only waiting to announce the signing of Timo Werner due to coronavirus travel rules, as reported last night.

    Reports last week suggested the Blues have all but signed Werner after triggering the £50million release clause in the striker's RB Leipzig contract.

    But according to The Athletic's Raphael Honigstein, any confirmation over that deal is being held up by coronavirus restrictions in England and Germany.

    He tweeted: “Delay in the Werner deal is solely down to the practicalities of getting a medical done.

    “He can't fly to the UK due to Bundesliga Covid-19 regulations and Chelsea doctors can't fly to Germany because they would have to isolate for 14 days upon return.

    “Chelsea could use the German FA's doctor in the meantime but they're more likely to wait until German season is over on June 27 or quarantine regulations in the UK change.”

  • BLUES TRANSFER NEWS

    Chelsea's deal for Timo Werner could reportedly be announced within the next 48 hours.

    The Blues are being forced to wait on confirming the transfer due to coronavirus travel rules.

    The Evening Standard say Chelsea should complete the move this weekend, with the striker's £53million release clause at RB Leipzig expiring on Monday.

    The Blues' eyebrow-raising spending spree is in part funded by their lack of transfer activity over the past two windows as well as the sales of Eden Hazard to Real Madrid for £88.5m plus add-ons and Alvaro Morato back to Atletico Madrid for nearly £50m.

    Chelsea are said to be growing confident of striking a move for Leicester left-back Ben Chilwell, while Hakim Ziyech is due to arrive from Ajax for £37m.

  • GOOD MORNING CHELSEA FANS

    Antonio Rudiger sent Chelsea fans wild by tweeting transfer target Kai Havertz on his birthday.

    Following the £54million capture of Timo Werner last week, the Blues have been strongly linked with Bayer Leverkusen wunderkind Havertz.

    And the Chelsea defender has added fuel to the fire after sending a birthday message to the 21-year-old.

    Rudiger is thought to have played a key role in luring Werner to Stamford Bridge – following developments closely and talking up life in London to his former Stuttgart pal.

    Werner's move to Chelsea is said to have been held up as he cannot complete a medical due to coronavirus travel regulations. 

  • ON THE BACK-WERNER

    Chelsea are only waiting to announce the signing of Timo Werner due to coronavirus travel rules.

    Reports last week suggested the Blues have all but signed Werner after triggering the £50million release clause in the striker's RB Leipzig contract.

    But according to The Athletic's Raphael Honigstein, any confirmation over that deal is being held up by coronavirus restrictions in England and Germany.

    “Delay in the Werner deal is solely down to the practicalities of getting a medical done,” he tweeted.

    “He can't fly to the UK due to Bundesliga Covid-19 regulations and Chelsea doctors can't fly to Germany because they would have to isolate for 14 days upon return.

    “Chelsea could use the German FA's doctor in the meantime but they're more likely to wait until German season is over on June 27 or quarantine regulations in the UK change.”

  • WERNER ON

    Timo Werner's transfer to Chelsea has been given the thumbs up – from young striker Armando Broja.

    SunSport expect Werner to join Chelsea for a fee of around £54million after Liverpool ended their interest in the RB Leipzig hitman.

    And while the deal has yet to be officially announced, Chelsea youngster Broja seems to think it's happening.

    Speaking on an Instagram Live, the 18-year-old said: “What do I think about Werner coming in? I think Werner is a really good player.

    “He is really fast, strong, he can score a lot of goals.

    “I’ve watched him a lot of [his games] on YouTube, he is quite good. That is a good signing, I think.”

  • COME ON YOU REGS

    Here is the list of new rules for the Premier League restart.

  • DAVE KIDD

    Frank Lampard and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer claimed the manager’s jobs at Chelsea and Manchester United on account of their storied playing careers — and neither would deny it.

    Until now, both inexperienced bosses have enjoyed honeymoon periods, both have benefited from lowered expectations, both have been offered more patience than any of their recent predecessors.

    Soon, though, all that will change. Soon, they will face the demands and pressures they thrived upon as players.

    Soon, there will be no hiding place.

    Soon we will discover whether these unlikely lads really are the right men to lead their clubs back to serious title contention.

  • REMEMBER ME?

    It's now less than a WEEK until the Premier League returns.

    Top-flight football will be back on our screens on June 17, with Sheffield United vs Aston Villa and Manchester City vs Arsenal to get us underway.

    But as we embark on the new normal, it might be worth having a quick check of your team's squad list.

    Because with Premier League clubs constantly loaning out players – and with the three-month lockdown – sometimes it's hard to keep track of who is and isn't at your club.

    The drama around loan deals and player contracts expiring on June 30 hardly makes life easier, either.

    With that in mind, we've picked out an XI of stars you might have forgotten are actually on your club's books.

  • BIRTHDAY BUY

    Antonio Rudiger sent Chelsea fans wild by tweeting transfer target Kai Havertz on his birthday.

    Following the £54million capture of Timo Werner last week, the Blues have been strongly linked with Bayer Leverkusen wunderkind Havertz.

    And the Chelsea defender has added fuel to the fire after sending a birthday message to the 21-year-old.

    He tweeted: “Happy Birthday my brother @kaihavertz29.”

    Rudiger is thought to have played a key role in luring Werner to Stamford Bridge – following developments closely and talking up life in London to his former Stuttgart pal.

    Those reports have earned Rudiger the nickname “Agent Rudi” and Chelsea fans are hoping Rudiger is at it again with international team-mate Havertz.

  • GER GET HIM

    Chelsea are reportedly chasing Flamengo's £30m-rated midfielder Gerson.

    Frank Lampard is set to continue his squad overhaul this summer having already made some big moves.

    Ajax ace Hakim Zyech's £33m move has already been agreed, while the Blues are also believed to be close to bringing in RB Leipzig striker Timo Werner for £54m.

    Bayer Leverkusen wonderkid Kai Havertz is believed to be their next big transfer target.

    But according to Fox News, Gerson is also interesting the Londoners.

    Borussia Dortmund are also chasing the 23-year-old, who is the most expensive Brazilian player to be signed by a Brazilian club.

  • SEE YOU ZOU-N?

    Jose Mourinho wants Tottenham’s top bods to help him seal a summer swoop for Chelsea defender Kurt Zouma, according to reports.

    The Spurs boss, who landed Zouma for the Blues during his time in charge of the club, hopes to reunite with the player he bought for £12million.

    The France centre-back, who’s been a part of the Blues squad since joining from Saint Etienne in 2014, enjoyed two successful loan spells at Stoke and Everton.

    Although Frank Lampard made more use of the 25-year-old’s defensive talents this season, the player looks to be heading for the Stamford Bridge exit.

    Media outlets in France claim Mourinho has been in talks with Tottenham’s board over a possible move for Zouma.

  • CHILLED OUT

    Chelsea have been handed a major boost in their pursuit of Ben Chilwell as Leicester are reportedly lining up a move for Ajax left-back Nicolas Tagliafico.

    The Blues have been after the English ace for some time as they look to replace Emerson and Marcos Alonso this summer.

    And the deal could be one step closer as the Foxes have highlighted Argentine Tagliafico as the man to replace Chilwell, according to the Mirror.

    The East Midlands side have not named a price for the England international who is also said to have attracted interest from Manchester City.

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