Chelsea captain Reece James has sent a message to the upcoming generation of footballers as he looks to inspire them with a new tournament.

Noni Madueke had punished debutant Abdukodir Khusanov’s error inside two minutes, but City hit back to level through Josko Gvardiol before half-time. A mistake from Robert Sanchez then allowed Erling Haaland to put Pep Guardiola’s side ahead, before Phil Foden crowned a 3-1 victory.

Reece James had a rare off day during Chelsea’s 3-1 defeat against Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium. Kyle Walker described James as “complete” as the England international has always been renowned for being incredible defensively while also being a massive threat going forward.

“Cole Palmer will be pleased to see that Chelsea are making progress because getting back into the Champions League was a minimum requirement from this season. In two or three seasons’ time he might think about leaving if he hasn’t won a major trophy, he will want to be challenging at least but at the moment he is committed to the club.”

The big news is Cole Palmer is fit to start after his ankle knock in the draw with Bournemouth, while Reece James is also in the lineup after rescuing a point from the bench against the Cherries. There's also a first league for the club for Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall,

Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca has admitted Cole Palmer is a huge doubt for his side's clash with Wolves on Monday. The forward produced another sublime finish in the 2-2 draw with Bournemouth on Tuesday night, his 14th Premier League goal of the season.

CHELSEA are set to be forced into a makeshift starting XI when they take on Wolves tonight, with star man Cole Palmer set to miss out through injury. The Blues have been hit by a wave of injuries

Cole Palmer has been passed fit to start Chelsea’s clash against Wolves this evening.  The 22-year-old star has once again been the Blues’ key player this season but was an injury worry ahead of

It could be a very busy end to the transfer window for Enzo Maresca and Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. A quiet month in general for the west London club with Renato Veiga the only first-team player to depart, things could possibly burst into life prior to the 11pm deadline on Monday, February 3.

Despite the bloated playing squad available to Maresca, it is still incoming moves generating the most attention. The club are actively looking at new wingers, most notably Mathys Tel and Alejandro Garnacho.

In November, he suggested that Jamie Vardy was the best English striker of his generation, better even than Wayne Rooney or Harry Kane. He also claimed that League One side Barrow and then a doomed Southampton were the “worst” possible opponents for his Chelsea side, who went on to score five in both games.

Chris Sutton has predicted that Chelsea will fail to finish in the Premier League top four, with a shock team making the cut instead. As ever, the race to finish in the top four and qualify for the Champions League is incredibly close, though it is not just the usual suspects involved.