Month: July 2016

Eden Hazard’s brother Kylian has attempted to end speculation surrounding the Belgian’s future by declaring that he is committed to Chelsea Football Club.

The forward struggled for form last season and was blamed by some sections of the Chelsea fans for the team’s under-whelming league campaign. Hazard and his teammate Diego Costa found themselves targeted by some supporters when the club’s owner, Roman Abramovich, decided to sack José Mourinho for the second time.

It was Hazard who went down injured in the then defending Premier League champion’s first game of the season against Swansea City, causing the club doctor, Eva Carneiro, to run on to the pitch and treat him. Mourinho was furious with her and demoted her and the physio Jon Fearn from first-team duties. Hazard went on to struggle to hit the heights he’d achieved the previous season when he was named Chelsea’s player of the year.

He did seem to find a degree of form towards the end of the season, particularly at Anfield when Chelsea played Liverpool in the Reds’ final home game of the campaign. He caused all sorts of problems for Jürgen Klopp’s men, causing some Chelsea fans to believe he was playing for a move to one of Europe’s biggest sides.

The player himself denied that he was hoping to get a move to Paris Saint-Germain before he joined up with the Belgian squad ahead of the 2016 European Championships in France. He seemed to carry his end of season form into the tournament, though he couldn’t help Belgium avoid defeat to Wales in the quarter-finals of the competition.

Now his brother has re-iterated his desire to stay at Stamford Bridge and work under the new Chelsea boss Antonio Conte. Speaking to Goal Kylian Hazard said, “He will stay at Chelsea, he is happy at Chelsea,” Kylian told Goal. “He loves London. It is good for him there and he says the facilities are great. It is one of the biggest teams in the world. He will be special again for them next year”.

Kylian Hazard also thinks that his brother will be able to strike up a good attacking relationship with Chelsea’s new signing, Michy Batshuayi. Batshuayi was also part of Belgium’s squad at the Euros and becomes the third well-known Belgian to sign for the West London club, joining Hazard and Thibaut Courtois in Conte’s squad.

Batshuayi signed for Chelsea from Marseille for £32.2 million and Kylian Hazard said, “Chelsea is a great team for Belgians at the minute. You see it with another Belgian arriving in Michy Batshuayi as well as Thibaut Courtois. Batshuayi will do really well at Chelsea and he can help Diego Costa, including times like last season when he was injured, and score goals. He will work with Eden well just as they did for Belgium. They know each other now and we have talked about Michy’s move. We think he will be really good”.

Chelsea Football Club have today confirmed that their Brazilian forward Willian has signed a new four-year contract with the West London club.

The 27-year old was signed from the Russian team Anzhi Makhachkala for £32 million in August 2013 and has so far made 140 appearances for the Blues, scoring 19 goals. He has put pen to paper on a deal that commits him to the club until 2020.

The talented forward was voted as Chelsea’s player of the year for the 2015-2016 season by both supporters and his fellow players. He arrived a Stamford Bridge in the same summer as José Mourinho began his second spell in charge of the club. Under the management of the self-proclaimed ‘Special One’ he went on to win the Premier League and the League Cup in only his second season in England. Now he’ll be hoping that he can add to his trophy haul.

He told the club’s official website, “I’m very happy to sign a new contract with Chelsea. It’s a dream to continue with this club and over the next four years I will try to help the team win more trophies. It’s been an amazing time for me since I joined the club three years ago, I’ve won titles and last season I was named Chelsea Player of the Year. I hope to be able to stay at that level during the coming seasons and achieve more success”.

Chelsea’s technical director, Michael Emenalo, was delighted to get Willian’s long-term future sorted out this summer. He said, “We are very pleased to agree a new long-term deal with Willian who has proved himself to be an important player for the team since he arrived here”.

Emenalo also hinted that new Chelsea boss Antonio Conte was a big part of the reason why Willian has agreed to the new deal. He said, “We are looking forward to seeing his continued impact as we begin an exciting new campaign under first-team head coach Antonio Conte”.

Last season was Willian’s most successful for the London club, with the forward scoring 13 goals in 59 appearances, firstly under José Mourinho and then under the management of Guus Hiddink when the Dutchman took over after the Portuguese manager was sacked by the club’s owner, Roman Abramovich.

Willian had two years left on his previous deal, which would have seen him remain with Chelsea until 2018. The new contract extends that by two more years and sees Willian receive a pay increase. He will be hoping that his continued work with Chelsea sees his appearances for his international side continue to take place. He’s so far earned 30 Brazil caps since he made is debut for his national team in 2011. He’s scored six goals for the Verde-Amarela.

Chelsea Football Club have this week confirmed the signing of the Belgian striker Michy Batshuayi from Marseille for a fee believed to be in the region of £33 million or €40 million.

The 22-year-old has become Antonio Conte’s first official signing since agreeing to take over the manager’s job at Stamford Bridge, despite the fact that he’s only just left France where he had been managing the Italian national side in the European Championships.

Batshuayi joined Marseille from Standard Liege back in 2014, making his international debut the following March in a 5-0 win over Cyprus in a Euro 2016 qualifying game. He scored 23 goals for the French side last season, leading many clubs to keep close tabs on him.

The Belgian striker scored in his country’s last-16 match against Hungary, helping them earn a quarter-final draw with Wales. Sadly he was unable to aid the Belgians in their quest for Euros glory, even though he came off the bench in the match that the Red Devils eventually lost 3-1 to Gareth Bale and his teammates.

He is not the only Belgian player to be on the books of the West London club, of course. Both Eden Hazard and Thibaut Courtois have been out in France with him and have apparently been telling him all about life at Stamford Bridge. He said, “I am delighted to sign for one of the biggest clubs in Europe. Eden Hazard and Thibaut Courtois have told me many good things about the club, and with Antonio Conte coming in, it’s an exciting time to become a Chelsea player”.

He will be hoping that he can continue his good relationship with Hazard. He came off the bench during Belgium’s game against Hungary and scored a goal with his first touch after a brilliant cross was played to him by his new Chelsea teammate.