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

Oscar expresses willingness to play for China

According to Goal.com, former Chelsea midfielder Oscar has said he would be willing to switch his international allegiance from Brazil to China if he was allowed to do so by FIFA.

The 28-year-old left the Blues in January 2017 and has just started his fourth season with Chinese Super League side Shanghai SIPG, where he has played 123 games, scored 39 goals and won the 2018 league title.

He has not added to his 47 caps for Brazil since his departure from Chelsea and admits that if there was a change to the FIFA rule which prevents players who have appeared in competitive fixture from representing another nation, he would consider playing for the Asian country.

‘Of course I can think about it because it's difficult to go to the Brazil national team now because I'm here, but in China everyone sees how good I play,’ said Oscar in a video interview with CGTN’s Sports Scene show.

‘The China national team need one good midfielder, so I think I can help with this. I like China, but the players now who go to China to change their nationality, they can do better also.’

Brazilian native Elkeson, a former team-mate of Oscar at SIPG, became a naturalised Chinese citizen last year and went on to play for China in the 2022 World Cup qualifiers.

Collymore tips Lampard for greatness

In his column for The Mirror, former England international Stan Collymore has lauded Frank Lampard as the ‘brightest English coach’ since Glenn Hoddle and expects him to lead Chelsea to glory.

The former Liverpool striker said was impressed by the way Lampard stood up for himself in a heated exchange with the Liverpool bench at Anfield last week and believe he will pose a big challenge to Jurgen Klopp’s Reds in time to come.

‘It’s all shaping up and ¬pointing towards Lampard being the brightest English boss I can think of since Glenn Hoddle decided he wanted to get into management,’ said Collymore.

‘Hoddle stopped playing, ¬introduced a sweeper system at Swindon and was hailed as a forward-thinking gaffer, ending up in the hottest seat of them all with the Three Lions.

‘I see that with Lampard. Tactically, politically and among his fellow coaches and players, he has got respect. He’s the real deal, the full package, and that rebuke to Klopp tells me all I need to know about Frank.

‘He’s not there for the ride. He wants what Klopp’s got in double-quick time. And, do you know what? I think he will get it.’

‘Battle of the Bridge’ is Vertonghen’s most memorable game

It is a match more fondly remembered by fans of Chelsea and Leicester than Tottenham Hotspur but Jan Vertonghen says the epic 2-2 draw with our London rivals at Stamford Bridge in May 2016 is his most memorable game for Spurs.

The fiery encounter which has been dubbed “The Battle of the Bridge” saw nine Tottenham players booked including Vertonghen as Chelsea came from two goals down to earn a draw which sealed Leicester’s unlikely Premier League title triumph.

But speaking to Tottenham’s official website following his departure from the club as a free agent, the Belgian said the match was the one he remembers most from his eight seasons there.

‘The one game that will always stay in my mind is the Chelsea away game where we drew actually,’ said the 33-year-old.

‘They saw we lost the league there but it is whatever it is. That game for me what the Premier League is.

‘I came off the pitch very disappointed but I said “wow what a game this was, it was old-fashioned Premier League”. Obviously we are rivals and they wanted to beat us and we had to beat them but it was just a battle and that is what I loved.

‘I really was proud of the team at that time and the fight that we put in. The result, 2-2, was not what we wanted, but I remember sitting in the dressing room like “this is the Premier League and this is unbelievable”.’