Branislav Ivanovic

Branislav Ivanovic | Serbia & Chelsea Superstar

New West Brom signing Branislav Ivanovic was an obvious absentee at the weekend as the Baggies suffered heartbreak during their league game with top four contenders Tottenham Hotspur. West Brom started the Spurs game at home as heavy underdogs and were so close to earning a point before Harry Kane broke their resolve.

The game was heading for a goalless draw until the England skipper popped up with the only goal of the game to hand three points to his team.

English Premier League is going to witness the comeback of Branislav Ivanovic as he is going to be the guard of West Brom's goal-post for this season. The former Chelsea campaigner has signed for West Brom United this year as the club has got promoted to the 2020-21 Premier League session. The Serbian defender appeared for the highest number of matches in his career for Chelsea of 261 and has put the ball into the net 22 times.

He was the faithful soldier of Zenit Saint Petersburg since 2017 and appeared in 90m matches for them. He not only has a wide experience of playing for the clubs but holds the record to appear for 105 times for Serbia.

Serbian footballer Branislav Ivanovic has said that he could continue his career with Premier League side Everton. The 36-year-old parted ways with Zenit Saint-Petersburg following their league success and he has been touted to return to the English top-flight, where he previously spent nine years with Chelsea.

Willian can choose to stay at Chelsea or not, says club manager Frank Lampard. His decision will be accepted by Lampard even if it ispositive or negative. The club has offered the Brazilian footballer two-year extension contract but he has demanded a three-year extension. His agent Kia Joorabchian has revealed that the player has received interests from five clubs. Arsenal and Tottenham are the two Premier League clubs speculated to be interested in the player and he has also had interest from MLS club Inter Miami.

The agent of Jorginho has said that the midfielder is attracting interest from a couple of top European clubs. The Italy international is currently in his second season with Chelsea and he has already made close to 100 appearances for the club across all competitions. Despite this, he has been regularly linked with a move away from Stamford Bridge and reports have recently emerged that Juventus could make an attempt to sign him.

American footballer Christian Pulisic had always the dream to be a part of the Premier League. When the opportunity to join Chelsea came to him 2019 he didn’t want to miss it. Pulisic says that the chance was too precious for him to reject it.

Chelsea striker Tammy Abraham has said that Harry Kane is the best striker in the world, as per his opinion. Abraham has enjoyed an impressive breakthrough season with the Blues this term and he has netted 15 goals from 34 appearances in all competitions. Speaking in a recent interview, Abraham has now spoken fondly about Kane, who has played alongside for the England national team.

Spanish journalist Guillem Balague has confirmed that Barcelona were interested in appointing Mauricio Pochettino as their new head coach earlier this year. The Catalan giants parted ways with Ernesto Valverde after a winless run of games in January and they thereafter appointed Quique Setien as their manager on a two-and-a-half year contract.

Speaking ahead of the Manchester United game, Lampard said that he did not necessarily axe Arrizabalaga from the goalkeeping role and he wanted to try out something different at the King Power Stadium. He added that he has been impressed with the attitude of Arrizabalaga in training during the winter break and hinted that the Spaniard could start between the sticks on Monday.

He told: “I think I spoke around the Leicester game, and have to pick it as I see it. It was just a selection on the day. Obviously there’s a bit more to it with goalkeepers, but I want everyone’s reaction all the time to be spot-on. Every player has it. I had it in my career many a time. You have to show character in those little moments. And I’ve been pleased with his reaction. The reaction has been good as I’d expect. He’s been training hard and has had his head down. So there’s a decision for me to make.”

The Blues are currently on a three-match winless run and they have accumulated just four points from the previous five matches. Despite this, they continue to hold onto the fourth spot by the slenderest of margins and have recently been boosted by the fact that the fifth position could guarantee them with Champions League football as well.
With Manchester City’s two-year European competition ban, the Blues have been offered with a better chance of qualifying for the elite competition but they must find ways of winning again with sixth-placed Tottenham Hotspur only four points behind them. The Blues have a tough schedule after the winter break with successive home games against Manchester United and Spurs.

Arsenal legend Paul Merson has said that Chelsea have become easy to play against, given they are not able to create much with the possession at hand. The west London giants were regarded as the favourites to pick up a victory against Bournemouth, who were missing several key players through injury but that was not the case as the Cherries registered a 1-0 triumph.