These stories are samples pulled from external media sources. They do not represent the views or position of Chelsea Football Club.

Abraham reminds Ferdinand of Drogba

BT Sports pundit Rio Ferdinand says he sees part of Didier Drogba in Tammy Abraham's game and believes the young striker's career is progressing nicely.

Speaking after he had watched Abraham score on his 22nd birthday in the Blues’ 2-1 win at Lille on Wednesday, Ferdinand spoke in glowing terms about the Chelsea man.

‘I saw elements in Tammy’s game that I haven’t seen as much as I would have liked to before,’ said the former England defender, as reported by Goal.com.

‘His hold-up play, coming to the ball, bringing others into play. There were some balls that came into him that were Didier Drogba-esque.

‘I think he’s developing nicely, he’s scoring goals, he’s scoring different types of goals and I think he’s a threat.

‘This touch here (for his goal), when this ball comes to him, it’s a magnificent touch because it’s not the perfect ball. He adjusts his feet beautifully and the finish, the calmness to do it like that.’

Lille coach frustrated by loss

Lille coach Christophe Galtier admitted he was frustrated after he watched his team lose 2-1 at home to Chelsea on Wednesday to remain at the bottom of Champions League Group H.

While Galtier felt his team had improved from their opening 3-0 loss at Ajax, he admitted there was still plenty of room for improvement after their second straight defeat.

‘We're frustrated. We equalised at the right time. I'd tried to strengthen the midfield to win the ball back higher up the pitch, but it didn't really work and then we conceded a goal of real quality. It's a tough learning curve, and we need to work harder to improve,’ said the Lille coach, as reported by the Champions League official website.

‘There are regrets, but that's what happens in the Champions League. The second goal is a regret, and we had some good opportunities. Sometimes their goalkeeper did a good job, and perhaps we weren't clinical enough.

‘I thought my players put more energy and commitment into the game than in the first game. We needed to match Chelsea in every area. To do that, you need strength, and you saw there is a difference between us and them.’

Clarke wants to give Gilmour time to develop

Sky Sports reports Scotland manager Steve Clarke has decided against calling up Billy Gilmour for his team’s upcoming Euro 2020 qualifiers as he feels the Chelsea midfielder needs ‘time to grow and develop’.

The 18-year-old impressed in the Blues’ 7-1 win over Grimsby in the Carabao Cup last week but Clarke opted not to call him up for this month’s games against Russia and San Marino.

He will continue instead to play for the Scotland Under-21 side, which is managed by Scot Gemmill.

‘Billy is an exceptional young talent and we have to give the young players time to grow and develop,’ Clarke explained.

‘I think the best place for them to do that is in Scot's Under-21 team. There are a lot of good boys down there.

‘Scot's got some good players there and it's important that they grow together as a group. If they can develop and get a winning mentality then that'll be good for Scotland in the future.’