Branislav Ivanovic

Branislav Ivanovic | Serbia & Chelsea Superstar

Former Stoke City goalkeeper Thomas Sorensen believes Chelsea will continue backing Maurizio Sarri for the head coach role despite the club’s 6-0 embarrassment at the hands of Manchester City last weekend. The Blues manager has come under fire with the club’s losing streak on the road and of late, this has contributed to question marks regarding his future.

However, speaking to Optus Sport, Sorensen has said that the Blues hierarchy will maintain their faith in the Italian tactician with the opportunity to turn things around, he said: “That’s where you have to trust the people in charge at the club. They choose the direction of where you’re going and they’ve gone with Sarri. And they, you would expect, have to buy full into that and you need time. I know in today’s day and age you don’t have it. You look at [Ole Gunnar] Solskjaer and there will be talks now that he doesn’t deserve the manager’s job because they [Manchester United] lost. So it is really tough.”

Chelsea shot-stopper Willy Caballero has praised the impact of Kepa Arrizabalaga since joining the Blues from Athletic Bilbao in the summer. The Spain international was pursued from the Spanish side on a world-record fee for a keeper in the summer and he has since been a regular feature for the Blues while being ever-present for the league duties.

Speaking to reporters, Caballero highlighted that the Blues were keen on signing a keeper, who is comfortable with the ball at his feet and this has certainly been the case with Arrizabalaga satisfying the requirements. The Argentine added that he was expecting the 24-year-old to have a tricky beginning in the Premier League but he is pleased that the former Basque player has settled seamlessly.

Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri has urged the club to pursue another ball-playing midfielder after Jorginho endured a tough game against Newcastle United in the Premier League. The Italy international has been Sarri’s undisputed pick for the holding midfield role but the club are currently lacking a back-up option with the same attributes after the departure of Cesc Fabregas.

Speaking to reporters, Sarri admitted that Jorginho had a concern during the Magpies game but he could not change things, given he does not have a player on the bench with the same passing attributes as the Italian, he said: “Today Jorginho was in trouble and on the bench there wasn’t a player for that position.”
Meanwhile, the manager added that he requires an option behind Jorginho in the ranks, although he is unsure whether the club are making progress towards recruiting anyone, he further told: “I need an option for Jorginho. I have no idea. It’s not too much [of a worry for me]. [If] the club is worried, I don’t know. The club knows very well my opinion. I need the player there [in that position]. It depends on the club decision, I think. I cannot do anything more.”

Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri has said that the Blues must act on the contract situation of Eden Hazard in the near future amid the constant speculation linking him with Real Madrid. The Belgium international has openly admitted his ambition of playing for the European champions over the past year and this has increased speculation regarding his future with his Blues contract expiring in 18 months’ time.

Speaking to Sky Sports, Sarri stressed that the club must solve the Belgian’s contract saga in the forthcoming months, although he has no power on his side to influence the attacker’s decision, he said:"I think we have to solve the problem. If we want to plan the future, we have to solve this problem.I don't know [what Hazard is thinking], but I think that it's time to decide. I have not the power to do this. "I am the coach. I want to speak to him only about the position on the pitch."

Spanish heavyweights Barcelona are reportedly planning a surprise winter approach for Zenit St Petersburg defender Branislav Ivanovic as they seek to overcome the concerns at the heart of the defence. The Catalan giants have managed to recover of late with Samuel Umtiti returning from a lengthy knee injury but there remains the lack of depth with Thomas Vermaelen still on the sidelines.

Amidst this, the Spanish champions have been linked with several high-profile players to fill the void but according to Goal.com, Ivanovic has been highlighted as a cut-price to fulfil the role. The former Serbia international presently has only eight months remaining on his existing deal with Zenit but the club are likely to exercise the option of a one-year extension.

Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri has refused to discuss the club’s prospects of challenging for the Premier League title this season. The Blues have got off to a flying start with eight wins and three draws from their opening 11 matches and the run of results sees them within two points off league leaders Manchester City.
Despite this, the Blues are only considered the third favourites for the title among the bookies and speaking to TalkSPORT, Sarri has admitted that the Blues may not have an easy path ahead to match the reigning champions, he said: “No! I thought that the first two months could be very difficult for me. I’m very lucky to work here the same as I did in Naples.

“I think in this period of the season, it’s very important for us to stay close to the top. We knew very well at the beginning that there was a gap – the gap between us and the top last season was 30 points and it’s very difficult to cover this gap in only six months. We’re trying to do it but we know it will be very difficult. I think this record [longest unbeaten record for a new PL manager] is not because of the coaching, it’s because of the team.”

Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho is under a lot of pressure to turn around a start to the campaign at the club, but there are widespread suggestions that he may be sacked in the next few weeks. However, it does not seem to hinder his plans to scout for new players who may be fit for featuring in the United red. It has been revealed that Mourinho will be making a trip in order to watch a game between Serbia and Montenegro in the UEFA Nations League.

Mourinho was able to breathe a sigh of relief after watching his United team get a 3-2 victory over Rafa Benitez’ Newcastle United at Old Trafford. Despite falling 2-0 down in the first half, United came up with a stunning comeback in the second half. It was a remarkable comeback that keeps Mourinho in the job at least for a few more weeks. The Portuguese has come under a lot of criticism for singling out players, defensive tactics, and being at war with the board for lack of support in the transfer market. Since the start of the campaign, it has been downhill for Manchester United who have also been playing like a team without confidence or creativity.

Lazio director Igli Tare has confirmed that the club are close to sorting out fresh contracts with Ciro Immobile and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic. The duo were unquestionably the top performers for the club during the course of the 2017/18 season and Tare has indicated that an announcement over an extension could be made by the end of the month.

Speaking to reporters, Tare said: “It’s a matter of days for Immobile and Milinkovic-Savic’s contracts. The agreements have been there for a while and I think it’ll be finalised at the start of next week. It has been a difficult start to the Serie A season for Lazio, who scraped 1-0 wins over Frosinone and Empoli after losing to Napoli and Juventus. I agree that we’re in a position that we are not accustomed to being in, as we were always surprise outfits, whereas this year we declared that we wanted to be protagonists.”

Serbia international Aleksandar Mitrovic has made the permanent move to Fulham from Newcastle United. The 23-year-old spent the second half of the previous season on loan with the Cottagers where he was influential towards their promotion and he has now joined them for a club-record fee of around £22m.

“I’m very glad and happy and proud to finally be here and officially become a Fulham player. I’m happy to the moon and back. I have love for the fans. They’re amazing fans and I have a really good connection with them. This is a big club and last year we made history, we did big things, and I want to continue this. We want to keep making big things, and with all the fans behind us I think we can go far,” he told the club’s official website.

Fulham were able to complete the signing of Serbian forward Aleksandar Mitrovic from Newcastle United for a fee valued at around £ 22 million. The striker came up with a return of 12 goals in just 20 games for Fulham when he was on loan at the club last season. These goals are very crucial factor behind getting Fulham back into the top division through the play-offs. Since then, Fulham have been actively pursuing the signature of the 23-year-old striker, who played with former Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic at the World Cup 2018.

He was brought to Newcastle for around £ 14.5 million in 2015 but he has failed to settle at the club.
There are suggestions that Fulham are taking a risk for a player who was able to come up with a strong return of goals only in the Championship without doing the same in the Premier League. However, Fulham are extremely confident in their new signing and the goals are crucial for the club if they are to survive in the top division. In the first half of 2017-18, Mitrovic was able to come up with five appearances but this was followed by a tremendous second-half with campaign. Newcastle have been actively looking at replacements forMitrovic in the last few weeks and they seem to have finalised on Yoshinori Muto from Mainz 05.