Here are your Chelsea evening headlines for Monday, January 11.
Abramovich considers Grant return
Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich is reportedly considering a dramatic return for former manager Avram Grant, who has been working as a football consultant in India.
Per TEAMtalk, Grant, who is now 65 and led Chelsea in the 2007/08 season to runners-up finishes in the Premier League, League Cup, and Champions League, could return to Stamford Bridge in some capacity in support of under-pressure coach Frank Lampard.
Grant managed Lampard at Chelsea, but the former midfielder has been questioned after Chelsea spent more than £200 million in the summer but have not seen significant improvement from last season, when Lampard led the team to fourth place despite being under a transfer embargo.
Chelsea have lost four of their last six league games and have slipped to within three points of the bottom half.
RB Leipzig's Upamecano stance
RB Leipzig will not sell centre-back Dayot Upamecano this January, although teams will be given the chance to sign him in the summer due to a release clause in his contract that starts at the end of the season.
Upamecano had been tipped with an exit last summer but instead signed a new contract with Leipzig. And now Fabrizio Romano reports that the German side will not sell the monstrous defender this month.
"RB Leipzig are not open to sell Dayot Upamecano in January," he tweeted. "He’s expected to leave the club next summer - many clubs interested and set to open talks with his agent. The release clause value is €42m."
Chelsea currently have five first-team centre-backs on the books, though Thiago Silva is 36 and Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen are unlikely to be viewed as long-term starting options either.
Soonsup-Bell signs new contract
Jude Soonsup-Bell has signed his first professional contract with Chelsea, just a day after turning 17.
Players cannot sign a professional deal until they turn 17, but Soonsup-Bell wasted no time in tying his long-term future to the club.
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Chelsea signed the young striker from Swindon Town as an under-13. He made his debut for the under-18s in the 2019/20 season, as well as being called for the England under-16 team.
He scored four goals in an FA Youth game earlier this season and has been training with the first team over the past week.
Writing on social media, he said: "Very happy to have signed my first professional contract @ChelseaFC. Hard work continues."
