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Chelsea’s academy has earned a lot of attention over the years, and with good reason. Many of Europe’s best young talents have been growing behind the scenes at Stamford Bridge, and now Maurizio Sarri has the task of getting them into the first team. 

Though seen as an easy feat, it’s anything but, with the transition to performing for a top European side not an easy one for young players.

That said, there is no doubting that Chelsea have incredible youth talents within their ranks, and it’s hard to identify who is the best. It appears as though many Chelsea fans have already made their decision on that, though.

Undeniably, the two biggest names in the Chelsea academy at present at Callum Hudson-Odoi and Ethan Ampadu. Both, on occasion, have been involved in the first team, and whenever they’ve played they have looked solid.

We recently asked Chelsea fans who they think is Chelsea’s best young player, selecting both Hudson-Odoi and Ampadu in particular. Eager to include any other choices, we also included another ‘other’ option, with 8% of those polled voting for that. However overwhelmingly taking the win was Callum Hudson-Odoi, who picked up 54% of the vote, whilst Ampadu earned just 38% of the vote.

Clearly, both players are popular among fans, but Hudson-Odoi has done a lot to prove his worth in particular.

He was arguably the star of the show for Chelsea over the summer, impressing in the attack prior to the return of Eden Hazard, and though he hasn’t been given much of a chance over the last month or two, it’s clear that he’s got unbelievable potential.

At just 17-years-old, he’s still got more than enough time to make an impact as the season continues to progress, and it’s clear that fans have huge expectations.

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Wolves will be hoping to take the Premier League by storm this season, with strong financial backing and a boisterous fanbase driving them to what they hope will be a successful season.

The Molineux club romped to success in the Championship last term and were by far and away the best team throughout the season, and this year represents another chance for their talented squad to show what they can do at the highest level.

To do so, manager Nuno Santo is going to need to sign some players with Premier League experience, and one man we here at the Transfer Tavern think would be an excellent addition is Chelsea stalwart Gary Cahill.

Cahill has been a class act at the Bridge for nigh on a decade now, and has the experience needed to really thrive at a club like Wolves. The England defender is too good to be sitting on the bench like he has been at Chelsea for much of the last 12 months, and he would bring an element of class and title winning mentality to the Midlanders.

Cahill would bring a steady head to the back four at Wolves, and alongside Wily Boly, could form a formidible and crucial partnership to help Wolves ensure Premier League survival.

Wolves fans, what do you think? Good signing? Let us know in the comments!

Fiorentina winger Federico Bernardeschi is closing in on a move to Italian champions Juventus having handed in a transfer request amidst interest from across the continent.

The Italian international, who has been linked with a move to Manchester United, has agreed personal terms with the Champions League finalists with a view to making the move to Turin, according to reports from Gianluca Di Marzio.

However, there is still time for United boss Jose Mourinho to make a move given that, as per the report, there is still no agreement in place between the two Serie A sides, with Fiorentina holding out for a deal worth €40m, almost peanuts to those at Old Trafford these days.

The 22-year-old, who bagged 11 goals and four assists in the league alone last season, may not be of top priority to Mourinho, however, if the former Chelsea boss wants to land a deal he usually gets his way, meaning Ed Woodward and his team may well have their work cut out over the coming days and weeks.

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As lovely as it was for Arsenal to beat Swansea, they face another tough fixture this weekend. The comeback against Bournemouth is still fresh in the memory, but for the recovery rather than the failure to notch three points. Now it is the turn of Burnley to try to topple Arsene Wenger’s recovered Gunners, who are just one point off of second place ahead of this weekend’s fixtures.

Burnley’s difficulty this season has been finding any sort of form away from home. Their form at Turf Moor makes them one of the most formidable sides in the league, yet, once they leave their Lancashire comforts, they look the team many expected them to be. Not just failing to pick up points, the Clarets are hardly even scoring away from home this season. That information, one may think, would suggest that this will be a walkover for Arsenal. And it might be.

With Spurs facing Manchester City and Chelsea about to embark on a challenging run of fixtures – including a clash with Arsenal – this match is an open goal for Arsenal. Heavy favourites, this is not just a chance to make ground or leapfrog their North London rivals, it is a blank canvas to make a real statement as he we head into a decisive month of Premier League football.

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Burnley, however, are a team built to frustrate. Sean Dyche’s approach could be perfect to restrict this free-flowing Arsenal side. With Alexis Sanchez experiencing a relative dip in form, the Gunners look like they can be calmed. The deep defence, the rigid midfield line and the obscene form of Tom Heaton make Burnley a plucky underdog. And that status is, after all, what Dyche loves the most. It is what his Burnley teams have been built upon. They have enough threat to expose Arsenal on the counter-attack potentially, too.

The Clarets should not be underestimated, despite their dreadful away record. While, on the one hand, you feel like Arsenal could easily win this fixture by a clear margin, there is always an niggling feeling that Burnley could produce a shock. A tenth-placed side taking points from the fourth-placed team would not usually be regarded as a surprise, mind, but these are unusual circumstances.

With such a golden opportunity, these are the kind of fixtures that Arsenal would find a way to mess up. If it isn’t the result that delivers a knockout blow to their season, it would be a suspension or an injury. Maybe this time of year Arsenal will push on towards the title, or leave their collapse a little later. Or maybe, just maybe, the Gunners can build something. The demolition of Swansea was a nice starting point, following that with a similar result and performance against Burnley would be the foundations of a genuine title challenge.

What appears to be a routine win for Arsenal can become so much more than that. Burnley have frustrated the Gunners’ top six rivals throughout this campaign, which would amplify the significance of a heavy win for Wenger’s men. Failure to pick up all three points, on the other hand, would be further confirmation that Arsenal have not changed.

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This is an important campaign for West Ham United, with a move to the Olympic Stadium next season a landmark in the London club’s history.

Ahead of the significant stadium move, a successful and progressive 2015-16 was required to give the club’s fans something to be optimistic about and to say goodbye to the long-serving Upton Park.

The appointment of Slaven Bilic was followed by an aggressive summer recruitment policy, with a host of new faces heading to the Hammers.

Of the new men to join the London club, the likes of Dimitri Payet and Manual Lanzini have stood out, while Victor Moses and others have also played their part so far.

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With West Ham sitting sixth and only four points off the top four after 20 games, few would disagree that it has been a successful campaign to date, with memorable away wins at Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City making it all the sweeter.

One of the key features of this success has been strength in depth after the summer signings, which has been put to the test of late.

Bilic has bemoaned his situation as a crux of key men have been sent to the treatment table, with the Hammers down to their bare bones over the manic festive season fixture schedule – especially in attack.

This has given another summer signing that had been somewhat forgotten about a chance to play and proved that he can be an influential member of the team both for the rest of the current campaign and for seasons to come.

Michail Antonio joined West Ham from Nottingham Forest after proving himself as a dangerous attacking force in the Championship over a solitary campaign with the City Ground outfit.

Something of a journeyman before his move to the Midlands outfit, the 25-year-old lived up to his potential at Forest and looks capable of continuing this in the Premier League.

A winger with sparkling pace and footwork, Antonio’s eye for goal stood out during his time in Nottingham, with the versatile attacker striking 14 times in the 2014-15 campaign. This was backed up by 12 assists, with Antonio’s drive and desire too much for most opposition full-backs to handle.

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Given the competition for places in wide areas at West Ham, the star will find it tough to play week-in, week-out; but over recent weeks he has shown that he can be an important player for Bilic’s men.

During five starts and a number of substitute appearances for West Ham in quick succession, Antonio has scored a number of important goals and added an extra dimension to the team’s attacking play.

The club are clearly eager to play with pace on at least one flank, with the former Forest man offering this in abundance with Moses not available.

It will be interesting to see just what line-up Bilic opts for when some of his missing men return to availability, but so far Antonio has taken his opportunity to play with two hands.

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Bayern Munich's Bundesliga match against Bochum had to be halted on two occasions and the players were taken off as objects were thrown on the field.

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• Bayern game stopped in both halves
• Players taken off the field and down tunnel
• Fans lobbed tennis balls onto the pitch

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  The game was stopped after 25 minutes as fans lobbed tennis balls from the stands. Although it was allowed to resume, it was halted again just nine minutes into the second half and the players were taken down the tunnel. Play started up again around 10 minutes later.

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  German football matches have been stopped regularly in recent weeks as part of an ongoing protest involving throwing tennis balls, gold chocolate coins and apples onto the field to voice their anger against foreign investment in the German top-flight. The fans are demanding an end to a controversial plan from the league to sell a stake of future revenue to a private equity investor. The campaign to stop it was given a boost this week when prospective buyer Blackstone dropped out of talks. However, there remains one more leading candidate in the shape of CVC Capital Partners.

• DID YOU KNOW?

  Bayern were 1-0 up through a Jamal Musiala goal in the Bundesliga clash when the initial interruption occurred. Play was disrupted less than 10 minutes after Harry Kane missed a golden opportunity to double their lead. The striker was sent through on goal by an incredible pass from Musiala but his effort went sailing over the bar.

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  WHAT NEXT?

  After the restart, Bochum managed to pick up some momentum and went on to equalise through Takuma Asano before Keven Schlotterbeck put his team ahead just before half-time. Things took a turn for the worse after the second interruption as Dayot Upamecano was sent off in a second consecutive game and Kevin Stoger scored a penalty to make it 3-1. Kane eventually got a late goal to pull one back for Bayern, but the damage had already been done and they sustained a third consecutive defeat after the recent losses to Bayer Leverkusen and Lazio.

England stars, including Jack Grealish and James Maddison, reportedly ran up a £35,000 bar bill celebrating qualification for Euro 2024.

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Three Lions heading to another tournamentAllowed to celebrate in styleBig money spent at London nightspotWHAT HAPPENED?

The Three Lions claimed an impressive 3-1 victory over reigning European champions Italy at Wembley on Tuesday to book their tickets to next summer’s tournament in Germany. Gareth Southgate was happy for his players to let their hair down after earning themselves another shot at major silverware, with a night out in London being enjoyed.

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reports that England aces – with Trent Alexander-Arnold, Jude Bellingham and Luke Shaw among the revellers – hit the trendy Tape nightspot in Mayfair. They are said to have been joined by a number of celebrity faces, including boxing star Chris Eubank Junior.

DID YOU KNOW?

It is claimed that a bill of £35,000 was racked up while enjoying cocktails and spirits. Armand de Brignac Ace of Spades champagne was setting back the England stars £650 a bottle, a magnum of Dom Perignon Vintage Luminous came in at £1,050 and a jeroboam of Belvedere vodka was priced at £1,300.

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While the likes of Grealish and Maddison thoroughly enjoyed themselves, England captain Harry Kane – who is now playing his club football outside of the Premier League at Bayern Munich – did not get involved as he headed home to his young family. All of the jubilant Three Lions stars will be back in action for their respective club sides this weekend.

With the draw to be held on Friday, GOAL remembers previous sides from the continent that performed strongly in the group stages

• African nations at the World Cup

  Picking out five nations from the continent that flourished at the start of the global showpiece.

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  Algeria (1982)

  While Morocco became the first African side to make it out of a group in 1986, that honour ought to have gone to the Fennecs four years earlier.

  Not only were Algeria the continent’s foremost team to win two group matches, their four points after three games in the first group stage (teams were still awarded two points for a win at the time) was outdone by only three sides—Brazil (six), England (six) and Belgium (five).

  The North Africans finished level with West Germany — whom they stunned 2-1 in their tournament opener — and Austria on four points, but the Austrians advanced with a superior goal difference.

  The final game between Germany and Austria — in which both sides knew the outcome of the African side’s final game (a 3-2 win over Chile) — has been dubbed the “Disgrace of Gijon” due to the perceived relaxed nature of the game after the West Germans scored early, with the 1-0 result enough to take both European nations through.

  Algeria’s tally of four points would have seen them progress from four of the other five groups, further rankling for a side that flourished at the finals in Spain.

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  Cameroon (1990)

  Morocco ended top of their group in ’86 runs Cameroon close, but the Indomitable Lions winning two games sees them pip the Atlas Lions’ feat from Mexico ’86.

  The Central African nation defeated reigning champions Argentina 1-0, despite being reduced to nine men and finished as group winners, with Roger Milla inspiring their 2-1 success over Romania.

  That Cameroon side advanced to the quarter-finals before suffering a painful 3-2 extra-time defeat against England.

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  Nigeria (1994)

  Tournament debutants Nigeria finished top of a group comprising one of the tournament favourites Argentina, Bulgaria and Greece, ending with six points from three games.

  Their 3-0 success over the Bulgarians remains the biggest victory by an African nation to date, with no side from the continent matching the Super Eagles in nearly a generation.

  The then-African champions reached the last 16.

With Barcelona having stolen Malcolm away from Roma at the 11th hour, Goal looks back at other deals involving dramatic u-turns

Getty ImagesDimitar Berbatov to Man City

With both Manchester sides battling to sign Tottenham's Dimitar Berbatov in 2008, the Bulgarian frontman had a difficult decision to make. Spurs had accepted an offer from City, though the striker wanted to sign for United.

When Berbatov flew into Manchester to speak to City officials, United boss Sir Alex Ferguson was at the airport to pick him up, much to the player's surprise. United then got their man for a price lower than City had offered.

"I am flattered that he [Ferguson] gave me so much of his time," Berbatov said. "He personally came to pick me up at the airport. It was a shock to me, but it was a pleasure to get to know him." 

AdvertisementGetty ImagesRomelu Lukaku to Chelsea

After a 25-goal campaign with Everton, Romelu Lukaku had his pick of Champions League clubs to join ahead of the 2017-18 season.

As the reigning Premier League champions, Chelsea were the clear frontrunners, with manager Antonio Conte desperate to sign a striker who had been discarded by the Blues during Jose Mourinho's tenure at Stamford Bridge.

However, much to the Italian's disappointment, United were ultimately willing to stump up more cash for the Belgium international, who moved to Old Trafford for a whopping £75 million.

Lukaku has proved worth every penny, though, netting 27 times in his first year on Manchester before then proving himself one of the world's elite forwards with his performances at the 2018 World Cup.

Getty ImagesPedro to Man United

With Chelsea and Manchester United locked in a battle to sign Pedro from Barcelona in 2015, it was a matter of urgency which closed the deal.

United officials had flown to Spain to talk to the forward but the winger's agent later said that the Manchester side had, metaphorically speaking, "fallen asleep" during the protracted negotiations, thus allowing Chelsea to swoop in and take Pedro to west London for £19m. 

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GettyEmmanuel Petit to Tottenham

As the story goes, Emmanuel Petit was in London for talks to sign with Tottenham in 1997.

During discussions with Spurs chairman Alan Sugar, the Frenchman became aware of interest from north London rivals Arsenal, who told Petit not to put pen-to-paper at White Hart Lane until he had spoken with compatriot Arsene Wenger.

With his options now open, Petit was sent back to his hotel in a taxi paid by Spurs to think things over, only for the World Cup winner to take a detour to Highbury and sign with the Gunners instead.  

Chris Gayle could yet return to the Melbourne Renegades next summer, after the team’s coach David Saker described the controversy surrounding his sideline interview with broadcaster Mel McLaughlin as “a bit of a beat-up”

ESPNcricinfo staff04-May-20161:35

‘Meant no disrespect towards reporter’ – Gayle

Chris Gayle could yet return to the Melbourne Renegades next summer, after the team’s coach David Saker described the controversy surrounding his sideline interview with broadcaster Mel McLaughlin as “a bit of a beat-up”.Gayle sparked outrage in January when he used a mid-match interview to ask McLaughlin out and told her “don’t blush, baby”, which Cricket Australia CEO James Sutherland at the time described as “borderline harassment”. The Melbourne Renegades fined Gayle $10,000 but stopped short of suspending him over the incident.Sutherland said last month that Cricket Australia was unlikely to ban clubs from signing Gayle for next summer’s BBL, although it still appeared unlikely he would return to the competition in any case. Saker said that while Gayle’s conduct was wrong, it would not be cause not to sign him again if the Renegades decided he would help their chances of winning the title.”That doesn’t enter my mind,” Saker told the . “I just pick a squad of players. If the hierarchies or people in higher positions than myself come down on that, they do. All I try to do is pick a squad to win.”We know it was the wrong thing to do and he probably identified that quite quickly. We all did. But I think what happened afterwards was a bit of a beat-up. We really want women in sport and I think in Australia we’re embracing that quite well. Mel does a fantastic job with what she does. We know it was wrong, but a lot of people put their two bobs-worth in that probably didn’t need to.”Saker said he was not aware of any directive, either official or unofficial, from Cricket Australia declaring that Gayle was persona-non-grata in the BBL.”Not to me. It might have come to our CEO, but not that I know of and I don’t think that would happen,” Saker said. “It was the wrong thing to do, but it’s not the end of the world, I wouldn’t have thought.”Despite Saker’s comments, it remains to be seen whether the Renegades would want to re-sign Gayle from a pure cricket point of view. Last summer he scored 260 runs at 32.50 and managed just one half-century from his eight appearances. Saker foreshadowed his team needing an overseas bowler, although he said it was still possible they could sign Gayle again.”There’s still a chance of that,” he said. “To be fair we probably need an overseas bowler though. We’re looking at whether to go down that track or to recruit a bowler from inside Australia. So we’re going through whether we need to re-sign Chris Gayle.”