chelsea.news

George Jobling has completed a mid-season move to Tottenham Hotspur. The highly rated teenager becomes the latest starlet to leave Cobham.

Chelsea are continuing a worrying trend of losing top academy talents. Today, a report in the Sun says that George Jobling has completed a move to Tottenham after four years in the Chelsea academy. Most recently he’s played in our Under-16 and Under-17 sides, and he’s also an England Under-16 player.

In fact, there are already pictures of the youngster in a Tottenham kit. The 16 year old right back will sign a Spurs contract at his 17th birthday later this year.

Chelsea lose another top young talent

There’s no need to be overly concerned by this news. This is a worrying trend, but it’s always been the case that young players will leave the academy for better opportunities. Of course you want to keep your best and brightest, but you can’t win them all.

The departure of Rio Ngumoha to Liverpool was seen as particularly devastating, not just because the attacker is such a top talent, but also because it raised fears that our superb, category leading academy might be losing its grip. The departure of the likes of Neil Bath, plus the constant purchase of young players for the first team, seemed to create fears among some academy players that their pathway to first team action was being blocked.

In other news…

Yan Diomande is tearing up the Bundesliga, and Chelsea are among the teams being linked with him. If only we didn’t blow our budget on Jamie Gittens a year ago…

A year ago, it was a different Bundesliga star being linked with the Blues. Sadly, we all know it didn’t work out.

Check out the latest edition of Simon Phillips’ SPTC podcast here:

Chelsea are going into this international break on a high, with a big focus on what will be happening in the games to come, but that doesn’t mean that they’re not also looking to the future.

The Blues have a committed policy of signing up young players, and that’s not going to stop even when results are good. So it’s no surprise to see them today linked with another up and coming talent.

SportWitness are great at grabbing headlines from South American before they go mainstream over here, and that’s just what they’re done today by finding a story about European interest in the latest up and coming South American talent.

Lautaro Rivero is a River Plate centre back, the latest player off the Argentine giants’ talent production line. The claims are that Chelsea have “joined Tottenham Hotspur and Atletico Madrid” in their chase of the 22 year old, who is becoming a regular. His €100m release clause shows how highly he’s rated, and his current deal running until 2028 will make him hard to snap up cheaply – but a January deal is apparently possible if someone makes a convincing offer.

We’ve still barely seen a minute from our last Argentine defender investment, Aaron Anselmino. He’s at least returned to the bench for his loan club Dortmund at the weekend. We can’t imagine Chelsea will be too ready to invest heavily on Rivero until they have a better picture of Anselmino’s ceiling.

In other news…

Chelsea have had some big questions up top while players have been injured, suspended and otherwise absent. With most of them now back, we can see which direction Enzo Maresca is taking this team.

Robert Sanchez has just been speaking to the Daily Mirror after a great performance against Tottenham Hotspur. The Chelsea goalkeeper took the chance to speak about the game, but also his form more generally.

Sanchez admits to early struggles with Blues

“I enjoyed myself. When you play for one of the best teams in the world, a massive club, you’re always going to be under pressure when the team or you don’t perform,” the Spaniard admitted.

“Obviously, being the last line of defence, normally you get the blame for it, even if it’s not yours but that’s the life I choose, that’s what I like and I enjoy it.

“I’ve got the confidence of my boys, the manager and the club to keep doing as good as I’m doing. “The whole entrance into Chelsea for me personally, was difficult. I came in a rush, only had about three days of training on how to start with a new manager, a new team and it was a bit of a struggle. I got used to it then got a massive injury on my knee around Christmas which put me out for the rest of the season.

“Then I came back, got stronger, then a new manager came in again and new signings, so I had to start again. Now, I’m doing good.”

It all seems a bit flimsy – blaming a lack of training time and new signings makes more sense for outfielders than goalkeepers to us. Of course it’s better to know your teammates, but take a l

Still, the important think is that he’s playing well now. Long may it continue!

In other news…

Sanchez also hailed teammate Moises Caicedo for his impact on the game. The dynamic midfielder led the press with superb energy and inspired his whole team to compete higher up and more intensely.

Jamie Redknapp has made a bold claim about Chelsea following their win against Tottenham on Saturday evening.

Chelsea ran out 1-0 winners at The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, with Joao Pedro scoring the only goal of the game in the first half.

The Blues were comfortably the better side and should have won by a bigger margin, with Pedro and Jamie Gittens missing huge changes at the end of the game.

Jamie Redknapp makes bold Chelsea claim

The pressure was on Enzo Maresca ahead of the match, with Chelsea sitting ninth, and he made some big calls in his starting line-up.

Josh Acheampong and Estevao were both on the bench, whilst Reece James was deployed in midfield and Alejandro Garnacho started.

In fairness Maresca got it spot on tactically and Chelsea completely nullified Tottenham’s game plan, as they won the midfield battle and defended really well.

What the Blues are lacking is that level of performance on a consistent basis, but Redknapp had some words of encouragement after the game.

“If you actually analyse the Premier League, there’s one outstanding side in Arsenal,” he told Sky Sports.

“They are head and shoulders above everyone else. The rest are all really struggling.

“No one’s really found that consistency, and that’s why it’s up for grabs for Chelsea this season.

“You know, they’ve got that confidence.”

🗣️ "At least when I look at Chelsea tonight there's a bit of excitement, a bit of flair"

🗣️ "Tottenham just looked pace-less today"

Jamie Redknapp reacts to Chelsea 1-0 Spurs 🔊 pic.twitter.com/ESQXjrD6Ma

— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) November 1, 2025

Cole Palmer return will be huge

The Blues have had to make do without Cole Palmer for virtually the whole season, with the attacker sidelined by a groin injury which has caused him problems since the Club World Cup.

Palmer could return at the end of the month, and Redknapp feels Chelsea will only get better once he returns to action.

“Once they get Cole Palmer back as well, imagine how much better they’re gonna be,” he added.

“There’s an excitement about watching Chelsea play.”

Chelsea face Tottenham at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in just over an hour, and the teams are in!

We suspected that Enzo Maresca would do something funky, but while we predicted he would put Romeo Lavia into midfield, instead he’s put Reece James in there.

That means Robert Sanchez in goal, with Malo Gusto at right back and Marc Cucurella at left back. Wesley Fofana is in at centre back, alongside Trevoh Chalobah. Josh Acheampong, who has been so good recently, is benched.

James is in midfield alongside Moises Caicedo, with Enzo Fernandez playing ahead of them. As we predicted, the Marc Guiu up top experiment lasted just one game. Joao Pedro leads the line, flanked by Alejandro Garnacho and Pedro Neto.

This is probably not a team people are going to love – we all want Josh in the team, and we all prefer Reece James at right back, generally speaking. However, we can see why the coach has decided to add James’ immense physical and technical prowess to the middle of the pitch – and this setup does leave us the flexibility to be able to bring on another attacker and change shape if needed.

Of course – it’s also possible Gusto is the one in midfield, as we saw a few weeks ago. We’re all guessing until kick off.

Here are the full team line-ups for Tottenham vs Chelsea (kick off at 17:30 GMT)

CHELSEA:

Some players out there need big performances – Garnacho scored last week but has Jamie Gittens breathing down his neck. Joao Pedro has been desperately poor recent and needs a goal.

In other news…

Estevao isn’t starting today, but we’re sure we’ll see him in action later in the game. It’s a good chance to read up on a great interview about him and his early years.

Enzo Maresca believes Chelsea will be “fantastic” in the future as the Blues continue to develop and evolve as a side.

Chelsea head to Tottenham on Saturday evening looking to return to winning ways having lost to Sunderland last weekend.

Maresca will be under pressure to get three points, and Chelsea sit ninth having lost three of their last five league games.

Enzo Maresca predicts bright future for Chelsea

Chelsea have a great record against Spurs and have lost just one of the last 11 meeting between the two sides, whilst they’ve scored four goals on each of their previous two visits to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

The Blues are a side who still need to grow and develop given how many young players they have, but speaking ahead of the game Maresca feels the future is really bright.

“During Wednesday’s game, the first half was completely under control,” he told Chelsea’s Website.

“The second half, probably after the first goal we conceded, we panicked a little bit. I think it’s part of the learning process of this squad and this team.

“Wednesday night, we had one player born in 2007, three players from 2006, four players from 2004, one player from 2003, another from 2002, and the oldest player born in 1997. So, it is all part of the learning process.

“We took some risks, and I was told after the game that we had an average age of 21. So this is normal.

“They are young and they need to improve, they need to understand, and they need to live some experience to get better. For sure, in the future we are going to be fantastic.”

Chelsea handed injury boost ahead of Tottenham game

A number of Chelsea’s young stars will be on show against Spurs, and Maresca handed the Blues a triple injury boost before the game.

Maresca also faces a number of tough decisions including who his centre back pairing will be, and who will start on the wings.

There were ten changes to the team against Wolves, and there could be a similar amount again for Saturday’s game, which is bordering on must win territory.

Enzo Maresca has praised Tottenham’s start to the season under Thomas Frank as he prepares to take Chelsea to north London.

The Blues head to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday evening looking to return to winning ways in the Premier League.

Chelsea lost to Sunderland last weekend and sit ninth in the league having lost three of their last five league games, whilst Spurs have made a good start and sit third.

Enzo Maresca on Tottenham’s start to the season

The Blue desperately need the three points as a defeat could see them slip into the bottom half, whilst the pressure would also ramp up on Maresca.

Maresca handed Chelsea a triple injury boost in his pre-match press conference, and the Blues have suffered defeat to Spurs once in the last 11 meetings between the two sides.

Chelsea have scored four goals on their previous two visits to Tottenham, but it feels like they’ll be in for a tough game.

Paul Merson believes the Blues will win, and Spurs don’t have the best home record, but Maresca doesn’t believe that makes them vulnerable.

“Tottenham, I think they are doing very good,” he told his pre-match press conference.

“They finished last season winning the Europa League. They started very good this season and also because it’s a derby for sure it would be a difficult game.”

Selection headache for Chelsea

Maresca mad ten changes for the game against Wolves, and the Italian is once again likely to make a host of changes.

The big questions are who will play at centre back, and who will start on the wings with Jamie Gittens and Estevao both in very good form.

Josh Acheampong has to start so it feels a case of who partners the teenager, whilst it’s likely Pedro Neto will start, so it’s a case of deciding between Estevao, Gittens and Alejandro Garnacho.

It will be interesting to see who he selects, with both decisions likely to have a key bearing on how the game might plan out.

Paul Merson has claimed Saturday’s game away at Tottenham is the biggest of the season for Chelsea as he made his prediction.

Chelsea head to north London looking to return to winning ways in the league having lost to Sunderland last time out.

The Blues responded by beating Wolves 4-3 in the Carabao Cup, but head into this game sitting ninth in the league, whilst Spurs currently sit third.

Paul Merson makes Tottenham vs Chelsea prediction

Chelsea have a great record against Tottenham, with Spurs only managing one win in the last 11 games between the two sides.

Enzo Maresca made ten changes for the game against Wolves, and will likely make a whole host of changes again.

A win is vital for Chelsea given they’ve won just four of their opening nine games, and Merson has backed the Blues to get the job done.

“This is the biggest game of the season for both teams,” he told Sportskeeda.

“After this, Chelsea face Wolves and Burnley in the league. If they can beat Spurs this weekend, they will be confident of going into them games feeling like they can make it three straight wins before the international break.

“Chelsea must start with Pedro Neto in this game. It’s a big pitch at Tottenham and he’s quick as anything. I’m almost certain Estevao will also start the game.

“Both wingers must track back though. Spurs have full-backs who love to go forward, so if the Chelsea wingers do not help out in defence, their team will get overrun.

“I expect Enzo Maresca to make his team selection based on who he trusts more to do the defensive work down the flanks, otherwise Chelsea are in trouble.

“Prediction: Tottenham Hotspur 1-2 Chelsea.”

Chelsea need to build momentum again

After suffering back to back defeats in the league to Manchester United and Brighton, the Blues won four games on the spin before defeat to Sunderland.

A win against Spurs would get them back on track and could be the catalyst to go on another run, with Chelsea currently three points outside the top four.

Chelsea have lost three of their last five league games, and defeat against Spurs would see serious questions asked.

Former Premier League star Paul Merson believes Chelsea must start Pedro Neto in Saturday’s game away at Tottenham.

The Blues head to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium looking for a response after losing to Sunderland last time out.

Chelsea advanced to the Carabao Cup quarter finals in midweek, whilst Spurs were dumped out by Newcastle, and the London derby is sure to be a spicy affair.

Paul Merson claims Pedro Neto must start against Tottenham

Enzo Maresca’s men sit ninth heading in the clash, whilst Spurs are flying high in third after a good start under Thomas Frank.

The pressure will be on Maresca to deliver three points, and Spurs have won just one of the last 11 games between the sides.

Maresca made ten changes for the game against Wolves, and will likely make a number of changes again on Saturday.

Who plays on the wings is always a point of contention, with Estevao and Jamie Gittens impressing against Wolves, but Merson has claimed Neto must start against Spurs.

“Chelsea must start with Pedro Neto in this game,” he told Sportskeeda.

“It’s a big pitch at Tottenham and he’s quick as anything.

“I’m almost certain Estevao will also start the game, both wingers must track back though.”

Maresca has praised Neto for his form, and he’s been a main stay in the side this season, with two goals and two assists in 13 appearances in all competitions.

Estevao and Jamie Gittens impress

Whilst Neto has been a regular, both Estevao and Jamie Gittens are knocking on the door to start in the Premier League.

Estevao scored a lovely chip against Wolves, whilst Gittens put in another impressive performance with two assists and a brilliant goal.

On merit the duo should start against Spurs, but the reality is that’s unlikely to happen, and it will be interesting to see what combination Maresca goes with.

It looks like Fabrizio Romano has conceded to the fact that Chelsea might now not be signing a target they’ve wanted for MONTHS.

To be honest if you’re like me, you are probably going to be very relieved to see this transfer window end, it’s been a window of annoying and underwhelming sagas, and one is about to end now after months of Chelsea trying to sign the player.

EXCLUSIVE! Chelsea have late discussion about signing Arsenal defender this window!!

It emerged yesterday and reports grew over the day that Tottenham were trying to ‘hijack’ Chelsea’s move to sign Xavi Simons from RB Leipzig. Of course, there is no hijacking to do because Chelsea had not even made an offer and Simons has been waiting on joining Chelsea all summer. But if we don’t offer, then he can’t come here. But he wants to leave Leipzig, so it looks like Spurs are his only Premier League option now.

It’s always been Simons and Alejandro Garnacho that Chelsea have been chasing at this latter end of the window. And Chelsea even threw out the agreed deal reports for Garnacho yesterday seemingly to perhaps soften the Simons blow for Chelsea fans.

Here we go soon!

Many Chelsea fans wanted the club to sign Simons and have been fully invested in this deal all summer, so there will be a bit of anger around this morning hearing Romano’s latest updates on it.

Romano posted on X in the early hours of this morning:

“Tottenham agree €60m fee with RB Leipzig for Xavi Simons!

“Official bid accepted, green light after #THFC sent formal bid following player’s encouragement.

“Spurs want deal done today also on player side + medical in the next hours.

“Here we go, expected soon.”

Baffling

Chelsea spend all summer making Simons wait for them and now wont even sign him for such a reasonable fee? It’s absolutely baffling and such a bad way to run things. It’s not even about the player and if you rate him, it’s about being so public with your pursuit of him all summer and making him wait, then not signing him at all. Not the firs time Chelsea have done this recently either. Victor Osimhen and Michael Olise are just two examples of that.