Latest news with #NicolasJackson
Times
13 hours ago
- Business
- Times
Liam Delap chooses to sign for Chelsea — and turns down United
Liam Delap is expected to sign for Chelsea after suitors of the England Under-21 international were informed he will not be joining them. The west London club are now progressing with a move to sign the 22-year-old Ipswich Town striker, and are increasingly optimistic the deal will be concluded. In turn, Ipswich are looking take Marc Guiu, Chelsea's 19-year-old striker, on loan for next season. Delap is available for £30million due to a relegation release clause in his contract at Ipswich, who finished second bottom in the Premier League this season. He had attracted interest from Manchester United as well as Chelsea, who were both considered the leading contenders for his signature. However, United's failure to qualify for the Champions League, after losing the Europa League final, has made them a less enticing prospect, and it is understood that United, as well as other suitors, have been told he will not be joining them. Newcastle United have also held an interest in the former Manchester City academy graduate while Everton have also spoken to him. Delap, 22, is keen to play in Europe and wants to join a club where he would play regularly. It is now expected that Delap will move to Chelsea, subject to an agreement over personal terms and the meeting of Delap's release clause. Chelsea are keen to provide more competition for striker Nicolas Jackson, having spent much of the second half of the season without a recognised No9 due to injuries. They have also targeted Hugo Ekitike, of Eintracht Frankfurt, but his valuation is regarded as too high, reportedly €100million (about £84million), while Benjamin Sesko of RB Leipzig was another on the club's list. Delap, who scored 12 Premier League goals this season and set up two more, is believed to have wanted his future sorted before he takes part in the England U21 European Championships, which begin on June 11. Ekitike has scored 22 goals in 48 appearances, having joined from Paris Saint-Germain last summer. Sesko, meanwhile, has scored 21 goals from 45 appearances in all competitions this term and reportedly has a release clause of £62million.
BBC News
19 hours ago
- Business
- BBC News
Jackson repays Chelsea debts
No-one needed this moment more than Chelsea striker Nicolas the match, even Maresca said Jackson owed a "debt" to his team-mates after getting sent off in the defeat at Newcastle on 11 May, a red card that could well have cost Chelsea qualification for the Champions the match, Maresca said: "This is the Nico that the team needs."He is among those who have struggled to convince the Stamford Bridge fanbase - and the club are looking to sign a striker, with Ipswich Town's Liam Delap among the Maresca, this was his chance to show the club could build a winning mentality after a season during which he has faced criticism for his style of football and a run of poor results over the the US consortium, their ownership was tarnished by 1,201 days without silverware but the moment captain Reece James lifted the Conference League trophy, the first in his captaincy, they earned valuable breathing was the first to go and celebrate with the team, followed reluctantly by influential Clearlake Capital duo Behdad Eghbali and Jose and Clearlake have not always seen eye to eye this season but this is a period of relative stability after the club decided they would stick with Maresca regardless of the result of their final two matches of the beat Nottingham Forest to qualify for the Champions League and won against Betis to add Chelsea didn't sell out their allocation in Poland, for what was the final of European club football's third-tier competition, and fans will quickly move on if it is not backed up with both progress and further success next Nizaar's full analysis here
BBC News
20 hours ago
- Entertainment
- BBC News
'The entire game changed when James came on'
Former Chelsea winger Pat Nevin says Wednesday's Conference League final turned on the introduction of captain Reece James at started from the bench but replaced Malo Gusto in the inverted right-back position at the break with the Blues 1-0 down and struggling."The entire game changed in the second half when James came on - Chelsea looked much more balanced," Nevin told BBC Radio 5 Live's Football Daily podcast."It wasn't working for Malo Gusto because he isn't a central midfield player. A couple of minutes into the second half, James played a ball in from the right hand side, he just got into that area and knew how to play it. Nobody quite got on the end of it but the entire game completely changed in that moment. "James looked better in that position and then the game started to open up. They have more power and strength than Real Betis and were always going to be able to keep on going and Chelsea are generally a better team in the second half."James' England tea-mate Cole Palmer was named player of the match after providing assists for Enzo Fernandez's equaliser and the goal by Nicolas Jackson that turned the match around."There were lots of interesting one v ones - my favourite was Isco versus Palmer," Nevin added."Isco won the first half but Palmer hammered the second half. Those two beautiful, absolutely phenomenal assists he got were fantastic."Chelsea deserved it by a country mile in the end - but they had to work for it."Listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds
The Hindu
21 hours ago
- Sport
- The Hindu
Chelsea wins Conference League, beats Real Betis 4-1 to complete set of UEFA titles
Chelsea produced an impressive second-half rally to beat Real Betis 4-1 in the Conference League final on Wednesday and become the first team to have all four of UEFA's club competitions in its trophy collection. All of Chelsea's goals came after halftime, with Enzo Fernandez and Nicolas Jackson converting pinpoint crosses from Cole Palmer in the 65th and 70th minutes, respectively, before Jadon Sancho and Moises Caicedo added more goals to complete the English team's stirring fightback in Wroclaw, Poland. Playing in its first European final, Betis went ahead through Abdessamad Ezzalzouli's goal in the ninth minute but faded in the second half as Chelsea's strength off the bench showed. Chelsea added the Conference League — a third-tier competition only founded in 2021 — to its Champions League titles in 2012 and 2021, its titles in the Europa League — the successor to the UEFA Cup — in 2013 and 2019, and the now-defunct Cup Winners' Cup in 1971 and 1998. The match was preceded by fan disorder in the Polish city that led to 28 people being arrested. Chelsea's victory ended a remarkable run of successes for Spanish teams in European men's title matches. Before this game, all 23 continental finals featuring Spanish clubs since the start of the 2001-02 season had been won by a Spanish team. That included four all-Spanish matchups. Betis couldn't maintain it in a bid to win a European title for the first time. Instead, it was Chelsea earning another piece of silverware to wrap up a triumphant end to the season for manager Enzo Maresca in his first year at the club. On Sunday, Chelsea secured a fourth-place finish in the Premier League to qualify for the Champions League and now has a first trophy since its American owners, Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital, bought the team in 2022 and spent huge money remodeling the squad.
Asharq Al-Awsat
21 hours ago
- Business
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Palmer is Chelsea's Spark Again in Conference League Success
Chelsea talisman Cole Palmer's quiet second half of the season produced one goal in 22 games and a handful of assists but when they needed his creativity and guile the playmaker delivered a masterful performance to help them win the Conference League. Chelsea trailed Real Betis 1-0 at halftime in the final on Wednesday having been subdued in the opening 45 minutes by the energy and pressing game of their opponents. Chelsea needed a way back and Palmer provided two perfect assists in five minutes to swing the momentum in their favor, Reuters reported. It was a quick-fire double blow from which Betis could not recover as Chelsea romped to a 4-1 win. The England midfielder fashioned a superb cross from the right that was perfectly placed for Enzo Fernandez to head home, before his quick feet and movement shook off a defender and created the space to cross for Nicolas Jackson to make it 2-1. "We picked up the intensity and put in a good performance in the second half," Palmer said. "I was sick of getting the ball and just going backwards and sideways. "The first one (goal) there was a bit of space and I saw Enzo running. Second one, same again. I feel like we showed good character again to make the comeback." His contribution is certainly appreciated by teammates. "If you saw what he did today it was crazy. Two (assists for) goals that completely changed the game. That's what he does," Chelsea defender Tosin Adarabioyo said. Palmer's only goal since mid-January was a late spot-kick against Liverpool, but his ability to find the right pass, or pick a moment to up the tempo, makes him a man for the big occasion. The 23-year-old is famously short on words in interviews, but certainly not on talent and influence within this young Chelsea squad. If they are to progress and challenge for the Premier League title, he is the player manager Enzo Maresca will build the team around. On a frenzied night in Wroclaw, when cool heads and quality were needed, Palmer showed just why. "The bad run he had this season is going to make him a better player, no doubt. In the last third, he can decide games with a goal or an assist. And the two assists were very nice," Maresca said.
