Chelsea News Roundup: Blues to hand defender a chance, latest on Declan Rice, and more - 15th December 2020

Chelsea will play four games in the next fortnight or so, the first of which will be against Wolves. Frank Lampard will hope his side pick up as many points as possible from the coming games. Let’s now take a look at the latest news featuring Chelsea from 15 December 2020:

Chelsea to give Marc Guehi a chance next season

The Blues have a mixture of youth and experience at the back this season. Thiago Silva’s arrival has added some much-needed calmness at the back, and he has formed a good partnership with Kurt Zouma.

Fikayo Tomori is seen as someone with good potential, but another defender who will be given a chance in the future, as per The Athletic (h/t Evening Standard) is Marc Guehi.

🔸 Szoboszlai's deadline is today🔸 Chelsea’s plan for Marc Guehi🔸 Bale wants Real Madrid return🔸 Eriksen to snub Man UnitedHere is the latest transfer news and rumours on Tuesday morning.https://t.co/qHJlll1f3G

— Standard Sport (@standardsport) December 15, 2020

The England Under-21 international is currently on loan at Swansea City in the Championship, and has put in some solid displays for the Welsh side. He has made 15 appearances for the club already, and has helped them to third in the Championship table.

Frank Lampard has given the young players opportunities to prove themselves. Guehi is likely to be promoted to the first team after he return to Stanford Bridge following the end of his loan spell.

Chelsea will have to sell first to sign Declan Rice

West Ham United v Manchester United - Premier League

Declan Rice is clearly a player that Lampard admires. The England international’s versatility to play as a centre-half as well as a holding midfielder who can break play and launch counter-attacks resonates well with Lampard.

Chelsea courted Rice in the summer, only to be put off by West Ham’s massive asking price for the 21-year old. As per The Daily Express (h/t thesportreview), Chelsea are looking to raise funds for Rice by getting rid of Kepa Arrizabalaga and Antonio Rudiger.

Rudiger and Kepa have fallen down the pecking order at Chelsea, and are no longer first team starters. The duo are still relatively young, especially Kepa, and will have considerable re-sale value for Chelsea to sell and then reinvest.

Lampard believes Thiago Silva will have a big role to play against Atletico

Despite finishing top of the group, Chelsea were handed a tie against perhaps the strongest team who finished second in the group stages. Atletico Madrid are doing well in La Liga, and they will be a massive test for Chelsea come February.

The Blues head to the Spanish capital in the UCL round of 16.You can watch this week's #AskFrank on the 5th Stand now!

— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) December 15, 2020

Lampard believes Atletico Madrid are an experienced European side, and has backed Thiago Silva to pass on some experience to his Chelsea teammates when the two sides square off next year

“Players that have been there and done it – Thiago was the captain in a final not long ago – will be able to pass on experience and be very aware of those levels over two legs against a team as experienced as Atletico,” Lampard said in a press conference.