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

Gerrard a ‘massive fan’ of Mount

Ahead of our game at Aston Villa on Boxing Day their manager Steven Gerrard has admitted he is a big admirer of Mason Mount.

The 22-year-old has been an integral part of both the Chelsea and England team during a successful 2021, establishing himself as one of the finest attacking midfielders in the country, and earning praise from Gerrard in his press conference to preview Sunday’s game.

‘He’s a big talent for the country, and I’m a massive fan of Mason,’ Gerrard said, as reported by the Daily Express.

‘He plays with a smile on his face. He can create, he can score and he’s already a European Cup winner so I don’t think he needs the likes of myself to big him up or praise him.

‘I just hope he doesn’t have such a strong performance at the weekend! But I must say I'm a fan. I think he’s only going to get better the more he plays and the more experience he gets.’

Ziyech omitted from Morocco’s AFCON squad

Hakim Ziyech has been left out of Morocco’s squad for the African Cup of Nations, reports the Daily Mirror.

The winger hasn’t played for his country since June after a disagreement with head coach Vahid Halilhodzic, and he will not feature in next month’s continental showpiece after the Atlas Lions’ squad was confirmed yesterday.

That means Ziyech will be available for our Premier League fixtures against Liverpool, Manchester City and Tottenham in January, as well as the Carabao Cup double-header with Spurs in what is set to be an exciting start to 2022.

Robertson to miss crunch clash

One player who won’t be able to feature in the Chelsea vs Liverpool fixture on Sunday 2 January is Andrew Robertson, writes the Independent.

The Liverpool left-back was sent off for a bad tackle during their draw at Tottenham on Sunday, and handed a three-match ban.

That was initially set to cover the Reds’ Carabao Cup quarter-final against Leicester, as well as a league game against the same team and the Boxing Day clash with Leeds. However, because of a Covid outbreak in the Leeds squad that fixture has now been postponed, meaning the third game of Robertson’s ban will be his side’s trip to Stamford Bridge in the new year.