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Serie A side Napoli have agreed to sign Chelsea’s 20 year old England Under 21 international Nathaniel Chalobah on a season long loan.

Chalobah has yet to play a senior competitive game for the defending Premier League champions, but he has enjoyed loan spells at Nottingham Forrest, Watford, Reading, Burnley and Middlesborough.

Chalobah was born in Sierra Leone but impressed for England during the summer’s Under 21 European Championship. Despite the move to the Serie A club, however, the 20 year old might not be too impressed with the words of Napoli’s head coach Maurizio Sarri.

Things work slightly differently in Italy to in the Premier League and clubs routinely bring in players without the manager’s knowledge. That has led Sarri to say, “I don’t know anything about the player. If the club picked him then he must have some quality. I train whoever the club puts at my disposal”.

Chelsea used transfer deadline day to complete the signing of Michael Hector from Reading. The 23 year old central defender has cost the defending Premier League champions £4 million and has signed a 5 year contract with the London club.

Hector has only broken in to the Reading starting XI over the past year and a half, getting his first team debut in January 2014 and making 54 starts for the Royals since.

Hector joined the Reading Academy in 2009 before spending his time on a succession of loans. He spent a month on loan at Bracknell Town in October of 2009 before joining Didcot Town in November of the same year. In January 2010 he went to Havant & Waterlooville, making one appearance for the Conference South side as a substitute. He then signed his first professional contract with Reading in May 2010.

In August that year he spent a month on loan at Oxford City, making seven appearances. He moved to Horsham in November, scoring his first career goal in his debut against Billericay Town. He made another eleven appearances for Horsham, picking up three red cards including two in successive matches, before returning to his parent club.

In February of 2011 he joined Dundalk in the Premier League Division of Ireland until 30 June. He made his competitive debut against Shamrock Rovers and went on to make another 14 appearances, netting two goals. Hector picked up a knee injury in May 2011 and spent the next few months regaining his fitness, joining Barnet on loan in November. His initial one month loan was extended until the end of the season, becoming a regular first team player and being voted the club’s Young Player Of The Season.

Hector signed a new contract with Reading in the summer of 2012 despite interest in his signature from both Norwich City and West Ham United. He joined Shrewsbury Town on a six month loan in July of that year, but the loan didn’t work out and he returned to Reading in November. In the middle of that month he was sent on loan to Aldershot until the end of January 2013. Hector then joined Cheltenham Town on a one month loan initially, only for the loan to be extended until the end of the season after some impressive performances.

On July 26th 2013 Hector joined Aberdeen on a six month loan, impressing enough for the Dons’ manager Derek McInnes to want to extend his loan. An injury crisis at Reading meant that couldn’t happen, and the youngster made his Reading debut as a substitute in January 2014. He made nine appearances in total that season before breaking in to the first team proper the following season.

The six foot four inch centre back is a boyhood Chelsea fan and will immediately return to Reading on loan for the rest of the season. The manager at the Royals is former Chelsea player and Jose Mourinho’s one time assistant manager Steve Clarke, therefore the Portuguese manager will be hoping that Hector will be given plenty of chances in the Reading first team and that his former assistant will help him understand what it means to play for Chelsea.

Chelsea winger Victor Moses has signed a new four year contract with the club before joining West Ham on a season long loan.

The Nigerian international signed for the defending Premier League champions for £9 million from Wigan Athletic in 2012, making 43 appearances and scoring 10 goals. He then spent the 2013 – 2014 season on loan at Liverpool and the 2014 – 2015 season on loan at Stoke City. He returned to Stamford Bridge in the summer hoping that he’d be able to break into the first team.

The Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has rewarded Moses with a new four year contract, despite the fact that the forward player has only made one appearance under the Portuguese manager and that came as a second half substitute during Chelsea’s 1-0 loss to Arsenal in the Community Shield last month.

Having signed his new contract that will keep him at the club until 2019, Moses then immediately agreed a deal to join Slaven Bilic’s West Ham on a season long loan. He’ll be hopeful of gaining some first team football at The Boleyn Ground in order to force his way in to Jose Mourinho’s plans next season.

Chelsea used Transfer Deadline Day to confirm the arrival of Papy Djilobodji from the French side Nantes for £4 million. The 26 year old Senegal international has signed a four year deal at Stamford Bridge.

Jose Mourinho was forced to turn his attention elsewhere after Roberto Martinez, the Everton manager, made it clear in no uncertain terms that Chelsea’s number one target, John Stones, wouldn’t be leaving Goodison Park this summer.

That led him to the signing of Djilobodji, the 6 foot 4 inch tall centre back who has impressed in Ligue 1 and is in the final year of his contract with Nantes. He joined the French club in 2010 and has made 183 performances for them, scoring nine goals. He said, “I’m very happy to sign for a big club like Chelsea and I want to do my best to help the team win titles. I want to thank the club for giving me this opportunity”.

The Chelsea manager has made the move in the transfer market in the hope that it will help his team to shore up their defensive frailties after they have conceded nine goals in their first four league games. Considering they conceded just 32 goals across the whole of the 2014 -2015 season he may feel he still has some work to do.

Chelsea winger Juan Cuadrado has completed a loan move from the champions of the Premier League to the champions of Serie A.

The 27 year old signed for the London club for £23.3 million in February, leaving Italian club Fiorentina in order to move to England. But he only made 15 appearances for the Blues with just 4 of them coming in the starting line-up.

With Chelsea signing Pedro from Barcelona on Thursday of last week it became clear that the winger was surplus to requirements at Stamford Bridge and Juventus seized upon his unhappiness in England’s capital to take him to Turin.

The Columbian international has already played in Italy not only for Fiorentina but also Lecce and Udinese, so the move to Serie A won’t come as too much of a shock to the winger.

Cuadrado, one of the stand out performers of the 2014 World Cup, was greeted by Juventus fans when he arrived in Italy on Monday night. He successfully passed a medical on Tuesday and has now moved to the Italian champions on a season long loan.

John Stones ‘won’t be fazed’ by a move to the defending Premier League champions, according to the Barnsley Academy coach that trained him when he was younger, Ronnie Branson.

Speaking to the BBC World Service Branson, who coached Stones from the age of 8, said, “He’s done well at Everton and got into the England first team. Every step he’s taken, he’s managed it well, so going there won’t faze him”.

Despite Roberto Martinez’s continued denial of the likelihood of a move for the talented defender it now seems likely that Chelsea will get their man before the transfer window slams shut at the start of next month. Stones made 23 appearances in the league for Everton last season and has been capped 4 times. He has four years left on his contract, meaning that the Londoners will need to make an offer their Merseyside rivals can’t refuse if they hope to tempt them into selling.

Stones handed in a transfer request on Tuesday as he attempted to force through a move to Jose Mourinho’s team, with Chelsea planning a £40 million bid in the coming days. He is seen as the long term replacement for John Terry, something that has become more urgent in recent weeks with Terry being substituted during Chelsea’s game against Manchester City and then sent off when the Blues played West Bromwich Albion at The Hawthorns.

Branson said, “He’s a real defender. There is a lot of talk at the moment about whether he is a good defender. We all know he can step in and get the ball and set attacks off but can he defend? Yes he can. He has a steeliness that people don’t realise”.

Everton have so far refused to admit that they have even received a transfer request from the Premier League champions and they are unlikely to do so. If they accept the transfer request then they are essentially accepting that Stones will be leaving and that will put the power into Chelsea’s hands. For now Everton will likely keep their cards close to their chest and that will force the potential buyers to up their offer until the Toffees can no longer refuse their offers.

Jose Mourinho used his press conference after Chelsea beat West Bromwich Albion 3-2 at The Hawthorns to claim that people ‘love’ to see his club lose matches.

Speaking to BBC Sport Mourinho, who looked somewhat gaunt and spoke in a weakened voice, said after the match, “Many people are disappointed with this result. They love Chelsea to lose a game”.

The Chelsea manager was responding to questions about John Terry’s red card, shown to him after he appeared to drag Salomon Rondon back when the West Brom forward was through on goal. The Portuguese boss said, “I prefer to have no views and try to keep quiet”.

The comments from the self-proclaimed Special One seem to hint at a belief that there is a conspiracy against Chelsea going on behind the scenes. The Chelsea boss confirmed as much when he refused to pursue an appeal against the red card, stating, “I think we should but normally it’s a waste of time. It’s a ball into the space behind the full-back, the full-back is pressing high, the striker makes the movement and then Mr Clattenburg decides it’s a red card”.

If Mourinho failed to understand that footballing rivalry means there will always be people who are happy when other teams lose, he was somewhat more sanguine when it came to Pedro’s debut for the club. He said, “Pedro played well. We know he is a good player, more than good. There are lots of top players who come to the Premier League and it takes time to adapt but it looks like he has been with us for a long time because straight away he was in the game and he was important”.

Continuing his theme of suggesting there was some sort of conspiracy against Chelsea, the Portuguese manager said of Chelsea’s first win of the season, “The performance was not dramatic, and not bad but obviously four points in three matches is not enough. There is a feeling we are fighting against a lot but today we won”.

This is the first time in 17 years that Chelsea have failed to win either of the first two opening games and Mourinho knows that they will need to pick up their form if they hope to become the first team since Manchester United in 2008-2009 to win back to back Premier League titles.

Chelsea Football Club today confirmed the signing of Spanish forward Pedro Rodriguez from Barcelona for a fee of £21 million.

The club confirmed earlier today that the 28 year old Spanish international has agreed a 4 year deal to play at Stamford Bridge under the tutelage of Jose Mourinho. He said, “I am very happy to be here. I am very excited to start my adventure at Chelsea and I am here to keep winning titles. Thanks to the club and the supporters for giving me the opportunity to put the blue shirt on”.

Pedro is a product of the Catalan club’s revered academy system, making 321 appearances for Barcelona and scoring 99 times during his time there. He was a target for Manchester United, the club he scored a goal against in the 2011 Champion’s League final when the Spanish club beat the English team by 3 goals to 1. However he stalled on a move to Louis Van Gaal’s team in the hopes that a club more likely to win major honours would come in for him and got his wish when Mourinho showed an interest.

Pedro made 50 appearances in all competitions for Barcelona last season, helping the club to win a La Liga, Copa Del Rey and Champion’s League treble. He has previously won the European Cup 3 times with Barca as well as La Liga 5 times; he was also part of the Spanish side that won the World Cup in 2010 and the European Championship in 2012.

Stats wise, Pedro matches up with the best of them. Since the 2009 – 2010 season only Lionel Messi has been involved in more league goals than Pedro. Messi has either scored or assisted in the scoring of 317 goals during that period, whilst Pedro has netted 58 goals and got 35 assists during the same amount of time. The fact that Messi was involved in 317 goals and Pedro in 93 shows the gulf in class between the players, but 93 is nothing to be sniffed at.

Pedro will be a welcome addition to Jose Mourinho’s squad, offering a more viable alternative than Radamel Falcao during any periods of injury that Diego Costa is likely to suffer. He will also offer competition to the likes of Hazard, Willian and Oscar in the more creative part of the Blues’ team.

Jose Mourinho has defended his decision to substitute John Terry at half time of Chelsea’s game against Manchester City at The Etihad this weekend; a game that the Londoners went on to lose 3-0.

34 year old Terry, the Chelsea club captain, has not been substituted in the previous 176 games he played under Jose Mourinho’s management. Yet he was replaced by youngster Kurt Zouma at the interval with the team having been outplayed by the hosts and finding themselves 1-0 down.

After the match Mourinho confirmed that Terry was not removed from the action due to an injury, but rather because of a tactical decision by the manager. He said, “It was clear to me Zouma has to play”. Mourinho felt that City were dominating in Chelsea’s half and that he had to bring on his fastest player in order to play the high line he wanted to play to keep the Manchester team away from his team’s final third.

Mourinho was somewhat prickly in the aftermath of the game, suggesting to journalists that he wasn’t the manager they should be questioning about Terry’s removal. In what was a bizarre and slight non-sequitur of a reply the Chelsea manager said, “I don’t know if you asked questions to Rafa Benitez, Andre Villas-Boas, Roberto Di Matteo, to the ones that never played him. I’m the one you shouldn’t ask because I’m the one that plays with John in every game. I made John captain. I recovered John from a difficult situation with other managers”.

Yet Benitez did comment on John Terry when he was Chelsea manager, saying, “With his age, he has more experience and his understanding of the game will be better but you have people coming that will be faster and they will be stronger. But still he has a lot of ability and he can do well. But it will not be two games a week, carrying on playing, because [he has] more competition”. Owing to his long-term animosity towards Benitez it is no surprise that Mourinho has not acknowledged the Spaniard’s foresight regarding Terry. He might also point to the fact that the ex-England player played in every game of Chelsea’s title winning campaign last year.

Yet his removal of the captain in a game that Chelsea were being dominated in suggests that the self-proclaimed Special One feels the centre back may no longer be able to handle the pressure of what is an intense league.

Coming just a week after he made a scapegoat out of his doctor when the team struggled to get a result against Swansea at home, some feel that this is yet another distraction tactic from a manager who specialises in just that. In The Irish Independent the journalist Chris Bascombe wrote of the manager’s decision to remove Terry that, “it smacked of sending a message to his board about the urgent need for reinforcements”.

In the aftermath of a 3-0 loss away to Manchester City Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea have brought in a defensive reinforcement in the form of Baba Rahman.

The 21 year old Ghanaian international has signed for the Premier League’s defending champions from FC Augsburg in a deal rumoured to be worth around £21.7 million.

The Londoners have been linked with a move for a left back after allowing Filipe Luis to head back to Atletico Madrid earlier this summer and with Mourinho hoping for some competition for Cesar Azpilicueta.

On the official Chelsea website Rahman is described as “a pacy and attacking full-back who can also operate as a midfielder or winger”, and the player himself is quoted as saying, “I am very happy to sign for Chelsea, one of the biggest clubs in the world, and I can’t wait to train with my new team-mates and very much looking forward to working with them and Mr. Mourinho. I am also looking forward to having the opportunity to meet the fans as soon as possible”.

Rahman made 31 appearances for Augsburg last season, making more successful tackles than any other player in the Bundesliga last season. He also attempted more crosses than any other player from the left back position. He helped Augsburg qualify for the Europa League and will be a welcome addition to a Chelsea defence that is starting to look a little old and ragged.