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

Torres tips new-look Blues to shine

Speaking to TalkSport, Fernando Torres has praised the job done by Frank Lampard as head coach of Chelsea and said he expects great things to come from the Blues this season and in the future.

While Torres believes Liverpool and Manchester City are still the main contenders for the Premier League title, he feels something exciting is building at Stamford Bridge under his former Chelsea team-mate Lampard.

‘I think they are building a fantastic team, not just for this season, but for the future,’ said the Spaniard.

‘They are building a very interesting squad but they are young, and you can see Frank can manage a young team as he did last season in a brilliant way.

‘They will be close but I don’t know if they can compete with Liverpool and Man City. Hopefully they can go for the Premier League right until the end.’

Torres also spoke about his time with the Blues from 2011 to 2014 when he helped the club win the Champions League and Europa League but was unable to match the prolific scoring form he had enjoyed earlier in his career at Atletico Madrid and Liverpool.

‘It was maybe my fault for not being able to adapt quicker,’ he admitted. ‘I had good moments but I wasn’t consistent. If you are not performing every week then someone will come in.

‘I always said it was my fault. I was old enough to find solutions but I didn’t do it. I won the trophies but I didn’t do it every week.

‘I knew the difficulties of going to Chelsea, but I thought it was the team to offer the chances of winning more trophies. They hadn’t won the Champions League and a generation like that needed to win the Champions League. Finally we did it.’

James leads the way in power ranking

Reece James’s impressive performance in Chelsea’s 3-1 win at Brighton saw the young full-back take top spot in the Sky Sports Premier League power rankings after the opening weekend of the new season.

The power ranking is a weekly measurement of the top-performing players in the Premier League with points awarded to players for 35 different statistics - from goals and assists, to blocks and tackles.

Goalkeepers, defenders, midfielders and forwards receive a different number of points for certain achievements - for instance, a defender is awarded more points than a forward for scoring a goal.

James scored with a long-range screamer to restore our lead against the Seagulls, claimed an assist for Kurt Zouma’s clinching goal and also created two chances and had two blocks to claim 6,406 points.

Mohamed Salah was second with 5,265 points after scoring a hat-trick in Liverpool’s 4-3 win over Leeds United while Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford was in third place on 3,899 after keeping a clean sheet in a 1-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur.

Two other Blues were in the top 20 with Zouma taking fifth spot and Jorginho coming in at 18th.

Ivanovic delighted with Premier League return

Branislav Ivanovic has told West Bromwich Albion’s official website he has missed playing in the Premier League and is motivated by the challenge of achieving a successful season with the Baggies.

The former Chelsea defender has signed a one-year deal with the newly promoted club after leaving Zenit St Petersburg as a free agent and is looking forward to playing in England again.

‘I missed English football, the English style of football, everything. I looked to be back in the previous year but it didn’t happen, so now I am happy to be here and I will try and do my best,’ said the 36-year-old Serbian.

‘I think I can give something more. I am completely different. Of course, I had a career with Chelsea but now I am in a new beginning and I understand that. I need first of all to work hard and make sure I am ready for the Premier League. ‘

‘The Premier League is the best and toughest league in the world, the strongest league in the world so I need to challenge myself and I am ready for the challenge and I hope I am going to be a success.

‘’When you are a player you always find a motivation and you always find something deep inside yourself. I have a lot of ambition and I want to prove a lot of things so I need to first of all work hard and believe and to try to give everything for the team and to the club to be a success.’

Ivanovic could face the Blues when West Brom host Frank Lampard’s side in a Premier League encounter at the Hawthorns on 26 September.