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Here is a roundup of the top Chelsea transfer news that you guys could have missed..<\/p>\n
Manaka Matsukubo says she is \u201cso excited\u201d to begin the next chapter of her career after completing a five-year move to Chelsea, with the Japanese forward becoming the latest addition to the Women\u2019s Super League champions.<\/p>\n
The 22-year-old joins the Blues from North Carolina Courage after establishing herself as one of the brightest young attacking talents in the National Women\u2019s Soccer League. Capable of playing as a striker, second forward or out wide, Matsukubo arrives in west London with a growing reputation for her technical ability, intelligent movement and eye for goal.<\/p>\n
Speaking after her CHELSEA<\/i><\/b><\/em><\/strong> move was confirmed, Matsukubo expressed her delight at joining one of Europe\u2019s leading clubs: \u2018I\u2019m so excited to be joining Chelsea, a club with a lot of history,\u2019 said Matsukubo.<\/p>\n \u2018As a small child, I followed Chelsea because it is a club everyone in the world knows about.<\/p>\n \u2018The club has a strong history of winning trophies and has done so well at the top of the game, so I couldn\u2019t pass up this opportunity, and I want to help continue this club\u2019s tradition of winning trophies for years to come.\u2019<\/p>\n The Japan international is widely regarded as one of the country\u2019s most promising young players, combining pace, creativity and composure in the final third. Her versatility is expected to give Chelsea head coach Sonia Bompastor additional tactical options throughout what promises to be another demanding campaign.<\/p>\n CHELSEA<\/i><\/b><\/em><\/strong> have continued to invest in emerging talent while maintaining a squad filled with experienced internationals, a strategy that has helped establish the club among the elite sides in European women\u2019s football.<\/p>\n Matsukubo\u2019s signing reflects that long-term vision, with the forward expected to continue her development alongside some of the game\u2019s biggest names<\/p>\n ALONSO TOLD SIGN HALL<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Former Chelsea striker Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink has urged new head coach Xabi Alonso to consider a move for Newcastle United defender Lewis Hall, suggesting the England international could be an ideal long-term replacement for Marc Cucurella.<\/p>\n Reports linking Hall with a return to Stamford Bridge have emerged amid ongoing speculation over Chelsea\u2019s defensive plans ahead of the new season. Hasselbaink believes the academy graduate possesses the quality, versatility and familiarity with the club to thrive if an opportunity arose.<\/p>\n Hall came through CHELSEA<\/i><\/b><\/em><\/strong>\u2018s youth system and made his senior breakthrough before joining Newcastle, initially on loan, in a deal that later became permanent. Since moving to St James\u2019 Park, he continued his development, establishing himself as one of the Premier League\u2019s most promising young full-backs with composed displays on both sides of the pitch.<\/p>\n Speaking about Chelsea\u2019s options at left-back, Hasselbaink reportedly argued that Hall has all the attributes required to succeed under Alonso\u2019s tactical approach. The Dutchman is said to view the youngster as a player capable of contributing both defensively and in possession, qualities that have become increasingly important in modern full-back roles.<\/p>\n Asked whether he would \u2018prefer\u2019 Chelsea to target Hall, who is valued at around \u00a360m, Jimmy-Floyd Hasselbaink told 10bet: \u2018Yeah, I would.<\/p>\n \u2018Look, I think with Marc Cucurella leaving, they will need to bring somebody in, but they also have Jorrel Hato who can play left-back and finished the season really strongly and really well.<\/p>\n \u2018But Lewis Hall has been unlucky not to be part of this England World Cup squad \u2013 he\u2019s done really well at Newcastle. He used to be at CHELSEA<\/i><\/b><\/em><\/strong>though, so I don\u2019t know how the club would feel about buying their own player back \u2013 most of the time, that\u2019s a bit of an issue psychologically.<\/p>\n \u2018I think they can go two ways: they can keep Hato as the first-choice left-back and get a younger lad in as backup, or they look at Hall.<\/p>\n \u2018But if Lewis Hall comes, he\u2019s going to want to come to play, isn\u2019t he? Because he\u2019s playing regularly at Newcastle. So then it becomes a real battle.<\/p>\n \u2018But I do like Lewis; I think he\u2019s done exceptionally well. He\u2019s really worked on himself, improved, and he\u2019s a very good player.\u2019<\/p>\n BRONZE BUZZING<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Lucy Bronze has spoken about how much she still has so much to give Chelsea after agreeing a new contract with the club until 2027.<\/p>\n The England international has agreed fresh terms after an impressive spell at CHELSEA<\/i><\/b><\/em><\/strong>with the new deal underlining Chelsea\u2019s commitment to maintaining an experienced core as they continue to compete for domestic and European honours.<\/p>\n \u2018You know, as you get older and you gain more experience, you become a leader regardless of what team you\u2019re in and who you\u2019re with,\u2019 Bronze explains. \u2018Apart from Becky (Spencer), I\u2019m the oldest and the most experienced, so I\u2019ve probably just got a little bit more of that to give.<\/p>\n \u2018We have lots of other players like that who have all different types of experience and lead in different ways. We\u2019ve got a good group to help lead and give experience to the team.<\/p>\n \u2018Understanding the history of the game, of each club, the league and the national team, I feel is really important. You can pass that knowledge on to the younger players because the game\u2019s in a good place, but it\u2019s still not in the best place it could be.<\/p>\n \u2018I think we need to remind ourselves where we\u2019ve come from and where we still have to go. There\u2019s always something to be done to push the game on \u2013 and the players have to be the biggest advocates of that.<\/p>\n \u2018We can\u2019t just sit back and expect other people to push and advocate for the game that we love. That\u2019s why it\u2019s important to share my experiences, so players understand that it\u2019s a big responsibility and we all have to make sure we can keep driving the game for the people who come after us.<\/p>\n \u2018I love that the game\u2019s in a better place now than it was when I was in my twenties, and I watch the girls in their twenties now, and I think, \u201cOh, what, what an amazing time they\u2019re going to have and what amazing careers they\u2019re going to have because the game\u2019s in a better place.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2018I hope they do that for the next group and the next generation.\u2019<\/p>\n \u2018I feel at home here, so it\u2019s been nice. I\u2019ve been able to connect with so many people in England and in London, which has been amazing. I\u2019ve played against CHELSEA<\/i><\/b><\/em><\/strong> a lot in my career. They\u2019ve always been a difficult team to play against because of the fans, so it\u2019s good to be on the other side of it now.<\/p>\n \u2018Whether that\u2019s the local fans I meet, even just walking around in Wimbledon, London or Surrey, or being in the stadiums and seeing the fans there, they\u2019ve all been amazing these last two years. I\u2019m excited for them that I\u2019m carrying on here.\u2019<\/p>\n MORE BIG CHELSEA NEWS AND GOSSIP<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Top<\/em> Read: New Chelsea arrival living the dream after completing \u00a3100k-a-week move to Stamford Bridge<\/strong><\/p>\n Most Read:\u00a0Blues fans buzzing after world class act signs up with Chelsea<\/p>\n Must Read: Chelsea in talks sign big worldie \u2013 \u00a340M star FREE Leave Chelsea \u2013 Midfielder opens door as summer move wanted<\/strong><\/p>\n Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Here is a roundup of the top Chelsea transfer news that you guys could have…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16099,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16098","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chelsea"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16098","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=16098"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16098\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/16099"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=16098"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=16098"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=16098"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}LOVE CHELSEA? 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