Brentford FC &#8211; CaughtOffside

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Ben Jacobs on Chelsea’s search for a striker

Writing in his latest exclusive column for CaughtOffside, Jacobs said that Chelsea have a chance of landing Toney but Osimhen will be nearly impossible.

The journalist said: “Chelsea do want another striker in 2024 but no final decision has been made yet as to whether to move in January or wait until summer. There is faith in Nicolas Jackson and Armando Broja and a feeling within the club that Christopher Nkunku’s return from a knee injury could make all the difference.

“It will be near impossible for Chelsea to sign Victor Osimhen mid-season. Although the Nigerian forward hasn’t extended his Napoli contract, Aurelio De Laurentiis just doesn’t want to sell in January. There’s no doubt Osimhen will leave for over €100m if he doesn’t extend, but Napoli are prepared to wait until summer unless they receive an astronomical offer.

“Ivan Toney is a more ‘gettable’ target in January. Chelsea, Arsenal and Spurs have all held internal discussions about him. Brentford want at least £65m, but several sources feel that number could be closer to £80m.”

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West Ham want to bring England striker back to Premier League as Ings replacement

Jason Pettigrove — Tue, 31 Oct 2023 12:43:48 +0000

It’s very clear indeed where West Ham’s problems lie this season, even if they began the 2023/24 campaign in reasonable enough fashion.

With 10 games gone in the campaign so far, they’re one of only two teams in the top 11 sides in the Premier League with a negative goal difference.

Why? It’s because they don’t score enough goals.

With 33-year-old striker, Michail Antonio, not getting any younger and Danny Ings being a complete waste of space so far this season, the Hammers front line boast an embarrassing two goals between them, both scored by Antonio, per WhoScored.

If David Moyes doesn’t want to be spending the second half of the season battling against a slide down the table, then acquiring a striker in the January transfer window is a must.

It beggars belief why the club didn’t prioritise one in the summer window but there’s no use worrying about that now.

According to Calciomercato, West Ham are one of a clutch of teams that are ‘vigilant and determined to obtain new information’ on Roma’s England striker, Tammy Abraham.

Though injured at present, he would surely represent an affordable incoming transfer in Janaury and is unlikely to do any worse than his contemporaries, Ings and Antonio.

The Irons need to be right on it in terms of a striker hunt so that as soon as the window opens, they can hit their ground running with their new purchase.

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Exclusive: Fabrizio Romano responds to Chelsea transfer links with Argentina international

Mark Brus — Tue, 31 Oct 2023 09:38:37 +0000

Fiorentina and Argentina winger Nicolas Gonzalez has been linked with Chelsea recently after also attracting the interest of Brentford during the summer.

Responding to these transfer rumours, Fabrizio Romano took to his exclusive column in the Daily Briefing to discuss the latest on Gonzalez’s future, explaining that there’s not been anything concrete going on with the player since Brentford made a bid for him in the summer transfer window.

The 25-year-old has impressed in Serie A and could be good enough to make a big move to the Premier League soon, with Romano clearly a fan of the player and his abilities, even if there doesn’t appear to be much to the links with Chelsea at the moment.

“Another Chelsea rumour is that Nico Gonzalez is now on their radar, but honestly I’m not aware of any contact with Chelsea at this stage,” Romano said.

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“It’s a very quiet situation since Fiorentina rejected £40m from Brentford last summer. He’s a very good player in my opinion, but he probably needs one more year in Fiorentina before thinking about a big move to somewhere like Chelsea.”

The Blues have been big spenders under Todd Boehly’s ownership, so one imagines we could see further changes to Mauricio Pochettino’s squad this January, though we’ll have to wait and see how likely it is for Gonzalez to be one of their priorities.

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Arsenal star’s position safe despite transfer links with £65million star

Mark Brus — Mon, 30 Oct 2023 13:17:00 +0000

Transfer news expert Fabrizio Romano has provided an update on the Arsenal striker situation ahead of this January’s transfer window.

Eddie Nketiah was in superb form to score a hat-trick in the win over Sheffield United at the weekend, and Romano insists the Gunners are very happy with him, despite there also being some interest in Brentford striker Ivan Toney as well.

For now, Romano insists Arsenal have nothing agreed over Toney, who is also wanted by Chelsea and who won’t come cheap, so it’s currently looking unlikely that his arrival can be taken as a given, and therefore Nketiah’s place in Mikel Arteta’s squad is surely safe.

“Arsenal really wanted him (Nketiah) to stay, they extended his contract months ago, so the idea has always been to trust him. I have no indications of him leaving,” Romano told The Debrief podcast.

Ivan Toney in action for Brentford

“Toney is really appreciated by Arsenal, same at Chelsea, so I think the race is absolutely open. At the moment nothing is agreed with the player or Brentford, but for sure he’s appreciated.

“We’ll have to see Arsenal’s situation in December, it will depend on their position in their Champions League group and the Premier League table. It’s not guaranteed that they will spend big money on Toney, because it would have to be at least £65m, so Arsenal want to take their time to decide on what they need.”

Some Arsenal fans will surely want to see an upgrade come in up front, even if Nketiah is a decent squad player who can do damage to teams like Sheffield United from time to time.

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Toney, however, would likely be able to take this team to the next level, giving more of a guarantee of 20-25 goals a season than either Nketiah or Gabriel Jesus can give.

It won’t be easy, however, so as Romano says, this is surely an open situation ahead of January.

The post Arsenal star’s position safe despite transfer links with £65million star appeared first on CaughtOffside.

Video: Mbeumo seals Brentford win as Chelsea goalkeeper punished for coming up for corner

Darren Looney — Sat, 28 Oct 2023 13:40:09 +0000

Brentford have defeated Chelsea 2-0 at Stamford Bridge to move above their West London rivals in the Premier League table.

The Bees struggled in the first half of the clash and despite Chelsea having the majority of the possession and control of the match, a goal from Ethan Pinnock after 58 minutes sent Thomas Frank’s side on their way.

The home side failed to break Brentford down after the opener and when Robert Sanchez came up for a corner in the last minute of the match, the Bees countered with Bryan Mbeumo finishing the move off to seal all three points.

Unbelievable! ?

Robert Sanchez leaves his goal to come up for a Chelsea corner and Brentford break away into the open net! ? pic.twitter.com/IgRTPUAw4K

— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) October 28, 2023

??| GOAL: Mbeumo doubles the lead!!

Chelsea 0-2 Brentford pic.twitter.com/AeuvLFQr9Q

— CentreGoals. (@centregoals) October 28, 2023

Footage courtesy of TNT Sports and beIN Sports

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Video: Brentford stun Chelsea as defender pounces on Blues defence falling asleep

Darren Looney — Sat, 28 Oct 2023 12:59:15 +0000

Brentford have taken the lead at Stamford Bridge in their Premier League clash with Chelsea courtesy of a header from Ethan Pinnock.

Mauricio Pochettino’s side have been the better of the two teams in the opening hour but with 58 minutes on the clock, Brentford stunned the home side.

Bryan Mbeumo crossed a ball to the back post and Pinnock ran past several Chelsea defenders, who were asleep to the danger, as the centre-back powered home an easy header to give the Bees a 1-0 lead.

Brentford take the lead at Stamford Bridge! ?

Ethan Pinnock heads the ball into the back of the net as the Bees go 1-0 up! ?? pic.twitter.com/pRb3ZEVvDA

— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) October 28, 2023

This ball in from Bryan Mbeumo was a thing of beauty. ? #CHEBRE

? @USANetwork pic.twitter.com/EfVfIpQkBX

— NBC Sports Soccer (@NBCSportsSoccer) October 28, 2023

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The post Video: Brentford stun Chelsea as defender pounces on Blues defence falling asleep appeared first on CaughtOffside.

Chelsea have ace up their sleeve in expected battle with Premier League rivals for Serie A hit-man

Jason Pettigrove — Sat, 28 Oct 2023 09:03:15 +0000

There doesn’t seem to be a transfer window that goes by now without Chelsea being heavily involved in one way or another.

The Blues have been the busiest club in the marketplace by a distance since Todd Boehly took over, and there’s nothing to suggest that things won’t be much the same in January and next summer.

One player that could be of interest to them is their former striker, Tammy Abraham.

Currently out injured, the forward could be open to a move back to the Premier League according to TeamTalk, and Chelsea have an ace up their sleeve should they decide to bring the player back to Stamford Bridge.

The report also states that Aston Villa and Brentford could be interested – the former incase Ollie Watkins decides to move on – which appears unlikely given that he’s just signed a contract extension until 2028 – and the latter because Ivan Toney is expected to leave.

Where Chelsea are one step ahead is that their player, Romelu Lukaku, is currently ripping it up in Serie A, and there’s a possibility of a swap deal with the Belgian.

Though the truth behind Lukaku’s fall-out at the Blues hasn’t become public, it does appear that he has no future in west London, so a swap with Tammy Abraham could be a move to suit all parties.

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Chelsea team news vs Brentford

Connor Holden — Fri, 27 Oct 2023 16:32:12 +0000

Chelsea (10th in the Premier League) take on Brentford (14th in the Premier League) on Saturday, 28th of October, at Stamford Bridge, at 12:30 PM (BST).

The last time these sides faced, Brentford beat Chelsea 2-0 at Stamford Bridge. Goals from Bryan Mbuemo and an own goal from Cesar Azpilicueta securing the victory for Brentford.

Chelsea drew their previous Premier League game, drawing 2-2 with Arsenal at Stamford Bridge. Goals from Cole Palmer and Mykhailo Mudryk for Chelsea, and goals from Declan Rice and Leandro Trossard for the Gunners.

Brentford won their last Premier League game, beating Burnley 3-0. Goals from Yoane Wissa, Bryan Mbuemo and Saman Ghoddos to secure victory and three points for the Bees.

How to watch Chelsea vs Brentford

Date: Saturday, October 28th, 2023
Kickoff: 12:30 PM (BST)
TV Network: TNT Sports
Venue: Stamford Bridge

Team News:

Chelsea will remain without their long injury list, with the likes of Wesley Fofana, Ben Chilwell, Romeo Lavia, Christopher Nkunku, Trevoh Chalobah and Carney Chukwuemeka all out through injury, with Armando Broja also nursing a slight knee injury since returning to the team in recent weeks.

Predicted XI:

Chelsea: Sanchez, Cucurella, Colwill, Silva, James, Caicedo, Fernandez, Gallagher, Mudryk, Sterling, Palmer.

Brentford: Flekken, Janelt, Mee, Pinnock, Collins, Ajer, Jensen, Norgaard, Onyeka, Wissa, Mbuemo.

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Hargreaves thinks £50m Premier League man could complete West Ham squad

Darren Looney — Fri, 27 Oct 2023 15:13:13 +0000

Former Premier League footballer and now pundit Owen Hargreaves believes West Ham United manager David Moyes should make a move to sign Brentford’s Ivan Toney in January.

The England striker is expected to leave the Bees during the next transfer window upon his return to the sport on January 16th.

The Brentford star is currently serving a ban from playing for eight months after admitting to 232 breaches of the Football Association’s betting rules

Moyes has been linked with a big-money move to sign the £50 million-rated Ivan Toney this winter, reports Football London, but the Hammers face competition from the likes of Arsenal and Chelsea.

Speaking to Premier League Productions, Hargreaves has stated that West Ham should make a move for Toney to fill their goalscoring needs.

The pundit said: “Ivan Toney is the one who screams out. Benrahma can play off the left. Kudus can play off one of those wide areas. I think Moyes has got the players. Maybe get a Toney in, if you could. But I just think you have to get Kudus in the side, then allow Paqueta to play central. He is easily their best player.”

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