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

Blues doing well in producing talent

A report by The Sun shows Chelsea are enjoying great success in turning out top-flight talent with no fewer than 14 of our Academy products now playing in the Premier League.

Citing a study by bettingodds, the report indicates Chelsea are second only to Manchester United in terms of producing players for the Premier League with six Academy graduates (Andreas Christensen, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Fikayo Tomori, Mason Mount, Reece James, Tammy Abraham) in our current squad and eight playing for other clubs.

Southampton are third in the ranking with 13 players while Arsenal and West Ham round out the top five with 12 and 11 respectively.

While the list is comprised largely of English clubs, it also features some European sides including Dutch giants Ajax and Portuguese outfit Benfica, who have each produced eight Premier League players.

In terms of value, Mason Mount is rated as our most valuable Academy graduate with a figure of £40.5m attached to him.

Krasnodar coach assesses Chelsea challenge

Krasnodar’s newly appointed physical fitness coach John Phillips has told the club’s official website they can expect an aggressive approach from Chelsea when they face the Blues in the Champions League tonight.

The experienced English coach, who has previously worked with Southampton and Queens Park Rangers, said the Russian side will have to work hard in order to get anything out of their first home match in the Champions League group stage.

‘Chelsea are similar to most English clubs as they are going to be aggressive and the speed of the game will be high,’ said Phillips.

‘They will want to come and they will want to really try and dominate so it's going to be tough especially with the injuries we've got.

‘They have a lot of players who can individually do something out of nothing. I think the key is if we work hard, if we're aggressive, we need to concentrate for 95-96 minutes.

‘We can't switch off because you'll get punished by this sort of team. Don't give them the respect and allow them to play, we have to be aggressive and take the game to them.’

Hazard makes return from injury

Former Chelsea favourite Eden Hazard was pleased to make his long-awaited return from injury on Tuesday as he helped Real Madrid overturn a two-goal deficit and earn a point from a 2-2 draw at Borussia Monchengladbach, Goal.com reports.

Sidelined since the start of the season after suffering a muscle tear in his right leg, the Belgian came on to replace Vinicius Junior 20 minutes from time with the Spanish side trailing 2-0.

Late goals by Karim Benzema and Casemiro helped Real rescue a point in Germany, much to the delight of Hazard, who likened the result to a victory.

‘I'm here to play football, so after two or three months off of the pitch, I'm so happy,’ he said. ‘I just want to play football. That's why I'm here.

‘It's like three points, but it's not three points. We showed great character because to be 2-0 down, with just five minutes to play, I think we could score one more.

‘I could score one more, but I missed, but it felt like three points, like a victory.’