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

Lampard recalls first meeting with Abramovich

Ahead of his 1,000th game as the owner of the club, head coach Frank Lampard has detailed the first time he met Roman Abramovich at the old Harlington training ground.

Lampard spoke to Premier League all-time leading goal scorer Alan Shearer on The Athletic ahead of our weekend fixture against Tottenham.

‘My first memory of Abramovich in the flesh was him flying into our old training ground near Heathrow and coming over and holding a meeting with us as the helicopter was calming itself down,’ he said.

‘It was quite surreal. The first thing he said, through a translator, was, “Well, we need to improve the training ground”. And straight away, you think “OK, standards are instantly going to go through the roof”.'

The first season saw the likes of Joe Cole and Claude Makelele arrive at Stamford Bridge and Lampard acknowledges that it’s all because of Abramovich they could start competing at the highest level.

‘We signed big players in the first year. There was an element of fear amongst us younger players in terms of what it meant. A few of us managed to stay in the game and all the levels rose around us,’ our head coach said.

‘It’s been the most successful patch in the club’s history and we couldn’t have done any of it – consistently winning trophies, new training ground, building the squad, the capital put into the club, turning us into a world brand – without the owner.'

Former Spurs manager on Blues’ important players

Speaking on Optus Sport and as reported in the Metro, the former Spurs manager revealed what Chelsea need to do to make sure they are top of the table in May.

'I think anyone that finishes above Liverpool, I think they can win the league,' said Sherwood.

‘They have to keep their key men fit. I think that's Werner, Kante has to play and Mendy has to be there all the time, and Thiago Silva has to play the majority of the games.’

The Blues are unbeaten in 10 matches and have won six games in a row. Earlier this week, we qualified for the Champions League knockout stages but face a big test against an in-form Tottenham side on Sunday.

Chelsea linked to Uruguayan centre-back

According to the Here We Go Podcast hosted by transfer guru sports journalist Fabrizio Romano and also reported in The Sun, the Blues have identified Uruguayan centre-back, Jose Gimenez, as a key target.

At 25 years old, it is rumoured that Chelsea see him as a long-term prospect. Gimenez played 27 times for Atletico last season and his performances attracted attention from the European elite.

Gimenez has been on the record, talking about his love for Chelsea and his desire to have liked to play with Frank Lampard.

A few months ago, reports in the Metro stated that Gimenez told La Liga in an interview that he watched Chelsea as a kid and 'loved' the Blues.