Chelsea rivals eye move for Ben Chilwell in January: Reports

Premier League team West Ham United are interested in launching a move to lure Ben Chilwell away from rival club Chelsea in the winter transfer window, according to TEAMtalk.

Chilwell, 27, has been phased out of his current club's first-team plans since Enzo Maresca's arrival as a replacement for former boss Mauricio Pochettino. The wing-back has made one appearance this term, playing 45 minutes in an EFL Cup third round win over Barrow.

With Marc Cucurella regarded as the key starter and Renato Veiga deemed as the backup left-back, Chilwell could decide to leave next January. Should he join West Ham in the future, he would offer stellar competition for places to former Blues left-back Emerson Palmieri.

Since arriving from Leicester City for a sum of around £50 million in 2020, Chilwell has helped Chelsea add three silverwares to their cabinet. He has featured in 109 matches across competitions for his current club, netting nine goals and providing 12 assists in the process.

Meanwhile, Cucurella has featured in 683 minutes of first-team action, across eight games across all competitions. Veiga has racked up 614 minutes of action, starting six of 10 overall appearances in the process.

Chelsea backed to defeat Newcastle United

In his column on BBC, former Chelsea striker Chris Sutton predicted a 2-1 Premier League win for the Blues in their home game against Newcastle United on Sunday (October 27). He wrote:

"Newcastle have scored only eight goals in their first eight league games, but I don't think they have changed their style since last season. It's more that they don't have the strength in depth in the strikers' department. They badly missed Alexander Isak when he was injured, because their other main frontman, Callum Wilson, has not been fit enough to feature this season."

Sutton, who represented the Blues 39 times as a player, added:

"I am backing Newcastle to get a goal this time after two games without scoring, but everything points towards a Chelsea win at Stamford Bridge. With Cole Palmer in the team, they carry far more of a threat than the Magpies."

The Blues are currently in seventh spot in the Premier League table with 14 points from eight matches, bagging 17 goals. Eddie Howe's outfit, on the other hand, are 12th with 12 points from eight games as well.

Enzo Maresca's team recorded a 3-2 win in the same league fixture last campaign. However, the Blues have won just once and lost two times in their last four Premier League meetings against the Magpies.