Latest news with #DarioEssugo
Yahoo
11 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
New arrival picked as potential 'player of the tournament' for Chelsea
The London is Blue podcast are in Atalanta right now getting ready to watch Chelsea kick off at the Club World Cup, and they picked out two new players they're really excited to see in Blue in the coming weeks. Santos (and Essugo) picked as ones to watch by podcast fans Presenter Nick Verlaney had one player on his mind above all others: Advertisement 'Andrey Santos. He is going to do really well… I just look at him, he's coming off this great season,' Verlaney said. 'I think he's going to be our player of the tournament, I think he's really going to step up. And he's going to need to, right. With the balance of resting your players, you're not going to be able to get away with playing Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo, obviously Romeo Lavia hasn't shown himself fit enough to take over one of their spots alone. 'Watching the midfield in this tournament is going to be fascinating, I'm super excited to see what Andrey Santos does and what Dario Essugo does.' You can see their thoughts in the clip embedded here: Chelsea's 2 new boys will be thrown right into the mix We totally agree, and we agree with their logic too. Caicedo and Fernandez were among the most used players last season, AND they've just been playing international games. The management team will be looking to play them as little as possible, especially in the group stages, and that means the likes of Santos and Essugo stepping up right from the jump. Advertisement Starting against LAFC is a nice introduction, Flamengo should be a little tougher, but then Tunis to close out the group is another soft one. Ideally we can make it to the knockout stage with a minimum of minutes played for our first choice central midfielders.
BBC News
3 days ago
- Sport
- BBC News
I like Club World Cup individual walk ons
Chelsea midfielder Romeo Lavia says he likes the Club World Cup individual walkouts as he bids to overcome his injury issues. The 21-year-old started the 2-0 win over Los Angeles FC in Chelsea's opening match of the newly expanded tournament in the United States. Before kick-off, as with the other matches at Fifa's tournament, each individual player was announced and walked out separately at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium. When asked about the experience, Lavia said he liked it: "I think it's something special and new for us. It's a first for us. I enjoyed it. Why not bring it to the Premier League?"He added: "I mean, it's a bit of a showbiz thing, isn't it? I quite like it. The only difference is [if we did it in the Premier League], we might get a bit cold because once you're out there, you have to wait for maybe the other players. "But apart from that, it was good. I guess we always learn new things from international tournaments and that's what makes it special."Defender Tosin Adarabioyo also spoke of the entrances and laughed as he said: "It's something new! We buy into it. We've not done it before so it's a new experience for us all."Lavia faces new competition after Chelsea signed Dario Essugo from Sporting while also recalling another midfielder in Andrey Santos from his successful loan spell at Strasbourg. "It's what is needed for the club of this level, so it's all healthy," said Lavia."We all have great connections together. It's just about doing our best every day, and then the manager must decide who he wants to pick, but all the players are going to be ready."But Lavia also needs to improve on his fitness record having made just one substitute appearance in his first season at Stamford Bridge and a further 19 appearances this season, meaning he has missed more matches than he has been available was then asked whether he hopes to ever emulate Moises Caicedo's feat of starting in all 38 Premier League matches and said: "I'm doing everything possible to stay fit, and playing as many games as possible."I think the biggest 'credit' a footballer can have is to be available. It's definitely something I'm aware of. "So I do everything possible to stay fit. Honestly, all the injuries I have had before, I just want to put them behind me and look forward to the future feeling good. So I don't know why I should be thinking about the injuries."
Mint
4 days ago
- Sport
- Mint
Chelsea vs Los Angeles FC Live Streaming: When and where to watch FIFA Club World Cup 2025 tie, CHE vs LAFC probable XIs
Full three points will be on Chelsea's mind when the Blues start their FIFA Club World Cup 2025 campaign against Los Angeles FC in a Group D clash on Tuesday (June 17) at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. The group also consists of Flamengo from Brazil and Tunisian ES Tunis. Chelsea are coming into the tournament after securing a top five finish in the English Premier League. It also helped the Blues secure a spot in the next season of the UEFA Champions League. Los Angeles FC sealed their FIFA Club World Cup 2025 spot after a thrilling win over Club America in a play-off encounter. Chelsea: The Blues could hand a few debuts to the likes of Liam Delap, Dario Essugo and Mamadou Sarr. Notably, Delap landed a deal with Chelsea after impressing at Ipswich Town. The good news for Chelsea is the return of Andrey Santos, who had a successful loan spell at Strasbourg. The likes of Raheem Sterlin and Joao Felix aren't in the squad after the duo is reportedly exploring ways away from the club. Wesley Fofana is out with injury while Chelsea will miss the services of Mykhailo Mudryk after being provisionally suspended following a failed drug test. Los Angeles FC: On the other hand, former Chelsea star Olivier Giroud will lead the line for Los Angles FC, along with Denis Bouanga. The France-born Gabon international has so far scored 81 goals in 128 games for Los Angeles FC since joining from Saint-Etienne. Former Tottenham Hotspur captain Hugo Lloris will start in goal. Time: 3 PM ET (June 16) | 12:30 AM IST (June 17) Venue: Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. Chelsea: Sanchez; Gusto, Chalobah, Badiashile, Cucurella; Caicedo, Fernandez; Neto, Palmer, Madueke; Jackson Los Angeles FC: Lloris; Palencia, Segura, Marlon, Hollingshead; Tillman, Jesus, Delgado; Yeboah, Giroud, Bouanga The Chelsea vs Los Angeles FC clash in the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 will be streamed live on DAZN's YouTube channel. DAZN is FIFA's global broadcast partner for Club World Cup 2025 in the United States. There is no update on the tournament's official broadcaster in India.
BBC News
6 days ago
- Sport
- BBC News
New signing Essugo ready to play Caicedo's understudy
Chelsea's new midfielder Dario Essugo knows what is in store for him at Stamford Bridge. The 20-year-old signed for £18.5million from Sporting in March but was officially unveiled as a Blues player last week. In discussion with the club's media channels, he highlighted how he is a similar style of "aggressive" defensive midfield player to Moises Caicedo and also picked the reigning winner of both of Chelsea's player of the season awards, as the person is he most looking forward to playing he also recognise that he will mostly be lining up with the Ecaudorian in training rather than in matches and will operate as his understudy. Essugo, a Portugal Under-21s international, could not be more similar to Caicedo in terms of style, operating as a mobile and powerful ball-winning option in midfield. After all, Chelsea ran the risk of breaking Caicedo last season when he started all 38 Premier League matches. He also started six further cup matches, although that was helped by Chelsea's heavy rotation in most Conference League games, and early exits from both domestic cups. Caicedo was also only substituted in four league matches. No-one played more minutes than the 3,815 played by Caicedo at Chelsea last season and, with Champions League qualification secured for next season, he needs a reliable deputy. Who is Essugo? In the midfielder's own words, he is also a "chill" character away from the pitch. He grew up in the Odivelas suburb of Lisbon, was a multi-sport athlete in his youth but took to football in the school playground. He first suffered a rejection from his mother's handball club at CAC da Pontinha Club but soon impressed UD Santa Maria Club, before ultimately ending up in Sporting's academy. Essugo achieved his goal of emulating his idol William Carvalho, now at Betis, by lining up for Sporting in midfield, aged just 16 and six days old. After becoming the youngest player to play for Sporting, he became the youngest Portuguese player to play in the Champions League, playing in a competition that other idols, Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, N'Golo Kante and Toni Kroos, all excelled in. Those idols showed Essugo looked towards La Liga and, after a loan spell at Portuguese second division Chaves, he played in Spain's top flight last season with Las relegated, Essugo played well enough to attract Chelsea and said of the spell at the island nation on his Instagram account: "It's been a season of personal growth, with highs and lows, but at all times I tried to leave it all on the field."But his post when leaving Sporting was more emotional, despite only making 25 appearances in the first team, he wrote: "I believe I left something worth keeping - a piece of my childhood, my youth, my soul."Essugo targets "playing as much as he can" despite being Caicedo's understudy in a competitive midfield space, featuring Enzo Fernandez, Romeo Lavia, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall - and returning loanee Andrey said: "I want to win as much as possible, as many titles as possible. Obviously, I want to win the Champions League, but also the Premier League because it's very difficult. I want to win titles, play as much as possible at Chelsea and be part of the club's history."The first time we will see Essugo is at the Club World Cup and he could make his debut for Chelsea against LAFC on Monday evening. Longer term, he will relieve the pressure on Caciedo as Chelsea embark of their return to the demanding Champions League after three seasons away.
Daily Mail
11-06-2025
- Sport
- Daily Mail
Joao Felix is STRIPPED of Chelsea kit number after being snubbed from Enzo Maresca's Club World Cup squad... as the Blues hand shirt to new £18.8m summer signing
Chelsea outcast Joao Felix has been stripped of his shirt number just hours after being excluded from their Club World Cup squad. The 25-year-old, who spent the second half of last season on loan at AC Milan, looks set to leave west London for a third time after being snubbed by Enzo Maresca. The Blues unveiled new signing Dario Essugo on Wednesday and handed him the number 14 shirt. It means Essugo, who they snapped from Sporting Lisbon for £18.8million, has been given Felix's shirt, leaving the Portuguese flop without a squad number. Chelsea's team will remain divided going into the Club World Cup, with Raheem Sterling, Axel Disasi and Djordje Petrovic also axed from the tournament squad. The Blues kick off their campaign next Monday against LAFC before further group fixtures against Flamengo and ES Tunis. Enzo Maresca's side unveiled new signing Essugo on Wednesday with the number 14 shirt Felix won't be heading to the tournament despite Chelsea signing him for £43m just last year. He only scored once in 12 Premier League appearances this season before being shipped out to Italy in February. Chelsea saw potential when they first signed Felix from Atletico Madrid in a £9m loan deal back in January 2023. But he was sent off on his debut against Fulham, and finished the campaign with four goals in 20 appearances. His first stint was not enough to earn him a permanent move but the Blues returned for him the following year. After impressing during a loan spell at Barcelona, they brought him to west London on a six-year deal. It seemed a strange move on Chelsea's part to tie down Felix down to such a long-term contract, and less than six months later he was sent on his way to Milan after failing to break into Maresca's starting XI consistently. Chelsea's announcement for Essugo makes no reference to Felix. Following the 20-year-old's move to Chelsea, he said: 'It's a big step to make in my early career. Every player dreams of getting to a big club, and Chelsea is no exception. It's a massive club and I'm feeling proud and very happy to be here. 'Chelsea showed big interest in me. When that happens, you can't turn it down. When my Dad told me Chelsea were interested, I was very happy and here we are now.'
