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

Klopp insists he has no issues with Blues

Speaking to Sky Sports, Jurgen Klopp has downplayed the idea that he has an intense rivalry with Frank Lampard and Chelsea.

In the build-up to this weekend’s Premier League clash at Stamford Bridge, there has been plenty of talk in the media about a renewed intensity to the rivalry between the Blues and the Reds along with suggestions the two managers don’t see eye to eye.

However, Klopp has sought to defuse the tension and said he admires the work done by Lampard with the Blues.

‘Between Frank (Lampard) and me there is absolutely nothing - I admired him and loved him as a player and now he is doing a really good job as a coach,’ said the German.

‘So I can't help you with [talk of] some “rivalry” between us. We will obviously be rivals on Sunday but apart from that it's all good.

‘We are different clubs, leading in a different way, that's how it is - we invest what we earn and sometimes we invest before we earn but it's still based on these kind of things and it's not like this for other clubs.

‘Whatever they do though I am completely fine with that - they can all do what they want and it's a free world. We have our way of dealing with the club.’

However, Klopp admitted he is wary of the threat Chelsea will pose to his side, not just this season but in the years to come.

‘There's plenty of threats, they've signed really well and already had an unbelievably good team,’ he added. ‘We had to suffer a lot against them in the games last season.

‘There's so many good players up front, in midfield, the defensive line and the full-backs - there's not a biggest threat, Chelsea themselves are the threat - that's how it is in football.’

Robben reveals extent of latest injury

Arjen Robben expects to be back in action soon despite suffering a groin injury on his return to competitive action in the Eredivisie last weekend, Football Oranje reports.

The former Chelsea winger has come out of retirement to play for his boyhood club Groningen but he was forced off after half-an-hour in their Dutch league opener against PSV Eindhoven last weekend.

However, the 36-year-old has had a scan which revealed there is no muscle tear, meaning the injury is not as serious as first expected.

‘The damage is not too bad, I am very happy about that. I feared worse, but fortunately the muscle is not broken, there is no tear. So that’s hopeful,’ he said to Groningen TV.

‘You can be very cynical about it, but I look at it differently: I have taken really good steps.’

Essien tipped for success by former team-mate

Ex-Ghana defender John Paintsil believes Michael Essien has the ability to become a top football manager after the former Chelsea favourite took his first step into coaching at a European club, GhanaWeb.com reports.

Speaking on a Ghanaian radio broadcast, Paintsil expressed delight at his former international team-mate’s appointment as an assistant coach by Danish side Nordsjaelland.

‘Michael will do this job easily, sometimes players who have played to the highest level easily become good coaches, look at Frank Lampard, Scott Parker and others,’ said Paintsil, whose former clubs include West Ham, Fulham and Leicester City.

‘Essien does not talk too much and those people when they enter coaching, they do it perfectly,’ he added.