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

Hargreaves compares Blues star to Essien

TV pundit Owen Hargreaves has compared Cobham graduate and Chelsea star Reece James to club legend Michael Essien.

James operated a midfield role in yesterday’s 3-3 draw against Zenit in Saint Petersburg after four central midfielders were ruled out, with Ruben Loftus-Cheek also injuring himself in the warm-up.

Despite a position change, James still impressed and Hargreaves heaped praise on yesterday’s birthday boy.

‘When he was on loan at Wigan he played centre-midfield there and the reports that came back from there was "who is this kid? Oh he’s a right-back." He got player of the year at Wigan and he’s a ridiculous talent,’ he said on BT Sport, quoted by the Mirror.

‘We spoke about young players, right-backs in this country dictating games. He went into midfield and looked like he was playing there all of his life.

‘He was dominating, passing, breaking things up but he looks accustomed to playing there.’

Hargreaves also made a bold claim, comparing his ability to that of Blues icon Michael Essien.

'You know who he reminds me of when he plays there? Essien,’ added the former England international.

‘Powerful. Much better feet but he can cover ground, he can play on his own and get up against players one-v-one.

‘He’s such a great player. I don’t think he has a weakness, he's the most complete player out of all the full-backs.’

Blues reportedly eye Juve duo

Chelsea are reportedly in the race to sign both Federico Chiesa and Matthijs De Ligt from Serie A side Juventus.

The pair both featured in Chelsea’s clashes with the Old Lady in Group H of this season’s Champions League, with the Italians pipping Chelsea to top spot.

Although the report, from Eurosport, does suggest the Blues face huge competition for their signatures.

‘Federico Chiesa and Matthijs De Ligt are the two players being spoken of most heavily in terms of a potential exit at the end of this season if it ends in disaster,’ the report states.

‘Liverpool, Chelsea and Bayern Munich all have eyes on the Italian forward, while Chelsea and Manchester United are keen on Dutch centre-back De Ligt.

‘His style of play would go down a storm in the Premier League and both Liverpool and Chelsea are understood to believe he has the potential to add a different dimension to their attack as they consider how things will begin to shape up over the next few years.

‘Things might look different by the end of the season though. Strange goings-on in football constantly remind us to rule nothing out.

‘It’s the same for De Ligt. Chelsea are priming him as a candidate to come in next summer with the futures of Antonio Rudiger, Andreas Christensen, Thiago Silva and Cesar Azpilicueta all still uncertain.’

Fulham attacker amongst Chelsea targets

Chelsea are one of a number of clubs in for Fulham playmaker Fabio Carvalho, according to reports.

Carvalho is one of a number of key players amongst the Fulham ranks, who sit top of the Championship table and have already scored 50 goals this season – four of which have been from Carvalho.

A report by Goal indicates the England Under-19s attacker is proving popular ahead of the January transfer market.

‘Real Madrid, Barcelona, Liverpool and Chelsea are among the clubs monitoring the 19-year-old after he turned down a new deal at Craven Cottage,’ the report states.

‘Carvalho has also displayed a Frank Lampard-esque aptitude for runs from midfield that lead to late arrivals in the box, allowing him to get himself into good goalscoring positions.

‘It is clear from just his 17 first-team appearances that Carvalho’s prospects greatly exceed what he can achieve at Fulham. He seems to already be aware of this, too, as illustrated by his apparent reluctance to sign a new contract as his current deal enters its final few months.

‘This has prompted rumours linking him with the likes of Real Madrid, Barcelona, Liverpool and Chelsea, but there is more to this situation than meets the eye.’