Chelsea handed blow as club reject request to recall Blues loanee amidst injury crisis: Reports

Chelsea have been handed a blow after French club Lyon rejected their request to send back Blues loanee Emerson Palmieri. The Ligue 1 club have also revealed no recall clause has been agreed upon in their contract for the 27-year-old Italian international.

He has only 33 Premier League caps to his name since his arrival and has expressed his urge for more game time with the Chelsea board. The club agreed to send him on loan to Lyon in 2021, where he has featured in 18 games, scoring one.

Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel has requested Lyon to send back their loanee after Ben Chilwell's disappointing injury situation.

Chilwell suffered a knee ligament injury in Chelsea's 4-0 win over Juventus in their Champions League clash in November. The England international has undergone surgery and is reported to miss the entire season.

Palmieri joined the Premier League club in 2018 after a three-year stint with Italian club AS Roma. However, the Italian international did not find himself playing regularly at Stamford Bridge. Hence, the player was loaned out to Lyon to provide him with enough game time.

Chelsea's injury issues are not limited to Ben Chilwell. Thiago Silva is yet to recover from the injury he picked up a few weeks back. Meanwhile, Timo Werner has been out after contracting Covid-19 virus.

Tuchel is also reported to be monitoring Everton's Lucas Digne as a potential target for the upcoming January transfer window.

Chelsea have slipped to second spot in the Premier League table after a series of unfavorable results. The gap between them and Manchester City, who sit atop them, has widened to eight points.

Tuchel's side have drawn three games out of their last four matches in the Premier League.

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Chelsea's annual losses mount despite the Champions League triumph earlier in 2021

Premier League club Chelsea have revealed that their annual losses have swelled to £145.6 million. This is despite being crowned as the European champions earlier in 2021.

The reason for such mounting losses has been attributed to closed door matches last season following the Covid protocols set by the British government.

However, the club's revenue has increased from £387.8 million to £416.8 million thanks to higher cash flow from broadcasting rights.