Marco Palestra is closing in on his Premier League debut for Chelsea after taking part in individual training this week with one of Xabi Alonso's coaches at Cobham.
The session was a precursor to Palestra joining Chelsea's main training group, which would be the final step before he is passed fit for selection. Alonso wants him available but is wary after rushing Moises Caicedo back two weekends ago, only for the midfielder to reinjure himself.
The Chelsea manager has preached caution with both players since that setback, saying he will only use them once he is certain there is no risk. Before the September international break, Chelsea play Hull City at home and Brentford away.
Chelsea signed Palestra from Atalanta for £47million. The 21-year-old Italian was named Serie A Defender of the Year while on loan at Cagliari last season, where he was also identified as the division's fastest player.
The wing back and full back featured heavily in pre-season, starting friendlies against Tottenham Hotspur, Juventus, AC Milan and Real Sociedad. But he was absent from the matchday squad that won 3-2 at Fulham and has not featured since, including Wednesday's Carabao Cup tie with Leeds United. Alonso said Palestra picked up his problem in training a few days before the trip to Craven Cottage.
With Palestra now doing outdoor work, he appears close to availability. Asked this week whether Caicedo was training, Alonso confirmed he was, suggesting the midfielder is also nearing his return.
Scout departs for Adarabioyo agency
One of Chelsea's leading scouts, Stewart Thompson, has left the club to join football agency WNRS, headed by Gbolahan Adarabioyo, brother of Tottenham defender Tosin Adarabioyo. Thompson joined Chelsea as a first-team scout in 2023, having previously worked as a UK and European scout for Manchester City since 2010.
WNRS handled Tosin Adarabioyo's deadline-day move to Tottenham, understood to be worth an initial £10m with a further £2m in add-ons for Chelsea. Spurs head coach Roberto De Zerbi is said to have played a pivotal role in that signing, as well as in securing Mykhailo Mudryk on a season-long loan with a £75m option to buy.
In a blow to Tottenham, Mudryk has suffered an ankle injury in training and is set to be sidelined for several weeks. Meanwhile, 16-year-old academy prodigy Mahdi Nicoll-Jazuli, who impressed on Chelsea's pre-season tour of Australia and Asia, has also joined WNRS.
Alonso on the Rogers-Rice flashpoint
Confidential asked Alonso for his view on Morgan Rogers' reaction after he shoved Declan Rice during Chelsea's 2-1 defeat by Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium, and whether he would have preferred his £117m summer signing to keep a cool head. Alonso answered only after putting some questions of his own.
Asked whether Rogers, booked for shoving Rice, deserved credit for his passion, Alonso replied: "Did you see the tackle?" Told that Rice should instead have been booked for the challenge that led to it, he said: "It was clear. It was pretty clear. It's the emotion of the game. Sometimes, to be able to manage all of them, it's difficult. We were trying to find the equaliser. Morgan saw the chance to get into the box. It was a tackle that was very... I don't know how to say in English..."
Offered the word "cynical," Alonso agreed: "Cynical, that's a good one. He showed his frustration. But it's part of the game."
CAS: no Chelsea contact over Camara
The Court of Arbitration for Sport has told Confidential it has received no request from Chelsea concerning how they missed out on signing Lamine Camara from Monaco on deadline day, nor any indication the club wants to escalate the matter legally. Chelsea remain disappointed with Monaco over how the £47m deal collapsed, but sources inside Stamford Bridge say the club are moving on.
Pochettino calls for Chelsea to be stripped of title
Mauricio Pochettino, the former Chelsea head coach now in charge of the United States national team, said in an hour-long interview with various newspapers in London that Chelsea should be stripped of their 2017 Premier League title, with the trophy awarded instead to Tottenham, who finished second that season.
The comments follow Chelsea being fined £10m this summer for breaching rules on payments to agents between 2009 and 2022, though the club escaped sporting and retrospective sanctions. Beyond some raised eyebrows, no official Chelsea response to Pochettino's remarks is expected.
Graham Potter's Instagram digs
Graham Potter, another former Chelsea manager now working as Sweden's head coach, has been taking sly swipes at his old club on Instagram. After posting pictures of himself trying Pilates, one user commented: "Hopefully you are better at Pilates than you are a football manager." Potter replied: "I'll try not to do Pilates in a dysfunctional place and I will be OK."
When another user, a West Ham United fan, wrote, "Didn't mind the money though, did you?" Potter shot back: "Absolutely not."
Tyrique George deal already looks a bargain
Everton's deal to sign Tyrique George was worth £24m, £18m plus £6m in add-ons, with Chelsea retaining a 15 per cent sell-on fee on any future sale. It is already looking shrewd business for Everton given the 20-year-old's goal against Manchester United at the weekend, and he can also help manager David Moyes cover a striker shortage having played up front at Chelsea.
Kendry Paez given chance to reset
Chelsea signed Kendry Paez from Independiente del Valle in Ecuador on a pre-agreement worth £17.3m when he was 16, with the winger joining once he turned 18. Loans at sister club Strasbourg and Argentina's River Plate did not go to plan amid speculation about his lifestyle.
Chelsea were unable to find him an English loan club this summer. Now 19 and outside Alonso's first-team plans, Paez will instead work with Chelsea's staff for a few months. In the past two years he has lived in Ecuador, France, Argentina and England.
Panel to rule on Gabriel incident
The Premier League's Key Match Incidents panel reviews major refereeing calls each week, and for the first time this season its verdicts are being made public rather than kept private for referees' body PGMOL. By next week the panel should confirm whether Arsenal defender Gabriel should have faced action for kicking Chelsea goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez in the head during the Emirates fixture.
Some inside Chelsea believe Gabriel escaped punishment he deserved. Asked for his view, Alonso said with a small smile: "I have my opinion but we'll leave it there."
Quenda absence a 'technical decision'
Geovany Quenda was an unused substitute in the Carabao Cup tie with Leeds, having made only one appearance all season, coming on in the 82nd minute at Fulham in Chelsea's opening Premier League match. Sources close to the winger say he is carrying no injury and is fully fit.
It appears Alonso's decision not to use the 19-year-old, signed from Sporting Clube de Portugal this summer on a £40m pre-agreement, is purely tactical.
