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

Kepa happy to become Spain’s first-choice keeper

Kepa Arrizabalaga has told Marca that he understands David De Gea’s disappointment at being replaced as Spain’s first-choice goalkeeper but he pledged to continue working hard to maintain his place in the team.

The 24-year-old was selected by acting head coach Roberto Moreno for both of Spain’s Euro 2020 qualifying wins against the Faroe Islands and Sweden in the past week, ahead of De Gea who has suffered a recent dip in form at Manchester United.

But while he was thrilled by the opportunity to win his third and fourth caps for his country, the Chelsea No.1 is not about to rest on his laurels.

‘I'm going to continue working as I have until now, doing my best at my club to keep the confidence of the coach,’ said Kepa after Spain’s 3-0 win over Sweden in Madrid.

‘Whoever plays will do very well. Of course I understand that David is sad, we all train to play and then it is the decision of the coach, and it is up to you to respond well.’

Kepa wanted to downplay any potential controversy around the decision to start him for both games ahead of long-time incumbent De Gea.

‘We are always surrounded by such controversies, but we must take it naturally,’ he noted.

‘I'm happy to play, to help the team and to finish the season in the best way possible.

‘The season has been very long, but before we left we had these two very important commitments.

‘We are happy to finish in the best way possible.’

Pogba's choice

Manchester United and France midfielder Paul Pogba has been asked to name the toughest opponent he has faced and when he made his choice, it was a Chelsea name he selected.In a video interview originally carried by the Times, and reported elsewhere, the 26-year-old had little hesitation in naming our own N’Golo Kante as the player he has found it most tricky to face.The two certainly know each other well having been at the heart of France’s World Cup-winning side last summer and when it comes to head-to-heads between Chelsea and Man United, you can certainly see why Pogba made his choice if you consider the two goals Kante scored in those encounters and our 2018 FA Cup final win.For the record, Pogba chooses his former Juventus team-mates Andrea Pirlo and Paul Scholes as the best he has played with.

Hudson-Odoi looking for more Chelsea minutes

The Sun is reporting that Callum Hudson-Odoi is eager for more playing minutes at Chelsea as he negotiates a new long-term deal with the club.

Citing an unnamed source, the paper said that the 18-year-old is more concerned with playing time than money in discussions on a new deal for him to remain at Stamford Bridge.

‘It’s never been about money for Callum, it’s far more about his development. Chelsea is the team he supported as a boy and he wants to play for them,’ said the source.

‘But if he can’t play enough, he won’t improve — and that doesn’t suit him or the club.’

The highly rated winger was named Chelsea Young Player of the Year after an impressive campaign in which he scored five goals in 24 appearances for the Blues and made his full England debut.

He is currently recovering after undergoing surgery on a ruptured Achilles he suffered in April.

Fabregas hits back at Twitter troll

Goal.com is reporting that former Chelsea midfielder Cesc Fabregas had a great comeback against a Twitter troll who suggested that he traded the Arsenal captaincy to become a reserve at Barcelona.

On Tuesday, the Spaniard posted a picture of 12 of the kits he had worn during his career at Arsenal, Barcelona, Chelsea and Monaco and asked his followers: ‘Which one brings you the best memories?’

While there was plenty of positive response, with many Chelsea fans pin-pointing the dark blue kit he wore when scoring at Queens Park Rangers during our league-winning campaign in 2014/15, one Arsenal fan decided to give him some grief.

‘The one where you @Arsenal captain. You traded that to sit on the bench at FC Barcelona,’ he said.

Fabregas was not about to let the matter lie though as he responded with a list of his achievements during his three seasons at the Camp Nou.

‘I started in 121 games out of the 151 I played... I won 6 titles, I scored in 2 finals, won a league of 100 points having played 36 games, 43 goals and 47 assists... but yeah, cool,’ he said.