Chelsea have been encouraged to continue negotiations with Juventus for Thomas Tuchel-admiring defender Matthijs de Ligt, according to reports.
Tuchel’s ability to coax the best out of defenders is central to the Blues' pursuit of the Dutch star.
De Ligt is understood to be keen to work under Tuchel, having seen how the German coach helped the likes of Toni Rudiger thrive.
The Blues have emerged as favourites to sign De Ligt should the 22-year-old leave Juventus this summer, with the Juve hierarchy accepting his wish for a new challenge.
As Chelsea stars returned to their training ground to prepare for the new season, the Blues are thought to be ready to include either Christian Pulisic or Timo Werner in their bid package for De Ligt, with talks expected to continue.
De Ligt’s keenness on Chelsea is also thought to have softened Juventus’ stance on a fee, with the Italians aware they cannot hold out for the 38-cap centre-back’s £102 million ($123.5m) release clause.
Chelsea’s new owners Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital are determined to reshape the Blues squad in manager Tuchel’s image this summer.
New chairman Boehly has thrust himself to the fore of transfer negotiations as interim sporting director after the regime change radically altered the Stamford Bridge hierarchy.
Chelsea need two centre-backs this summer, after Rudiger’s free-transfer switch to Real Madrid and Andreas Christensen’s Barcelona move.
Long-term target Jules Kounde remains on Chelsea’s radar, but Manchester City’s Nathan Ake has also emerged as another target.
Chelsea also remain hopeful of pulling off a deal to bring Brazil forward Raphinha to Stamford Bridge, with a £60m fee understood to have been struck with Leeds.
A deal for Manchester City’s England forward Raheem Sterling remains in the offing for Chelsea, with all parties thought to be confident of the move going through.
Chelsea finished third in the Premier League last season and open their campaign at Everton on August 6.
Above is a photo gallery of Chelsea stars returning to training. To move on to the next image, click on the arrows, or if you're using a mobile device, simply swipe.
Fixtures
Friday Leganes v Alaves, 10.15pm; Valencia v Las Palmas, 12.15am
Saturday Celta Vigo v Real Sociedad, 8.15pm; Girona v Atletico Madrid, 10.15pm; Sevilla v Espanyol, 12.15am
Sunday Athletic Bilbao v Getafe, 8.15am; Barcelona v Real Betis, 10.15pm; Deportivo v Real Madrid, 12.15am
Monday Levante v Villarreal, 10.15pm; Malaga v Eibar, midnight
Boulder shooting victims
• Denny Strong, 20
• Neven Stanisic, 23
• Rikki Olds, 25
• Tralona Bartkowiak, 49
• Suzanne Fountain, 59
• Teri Leiker, 51
• Eric Talley, 51
• Kevin Mahoney, 61
• Lynn Murray, 62
• Jody Waters, 65
Know your camel milk:
Flavour: Similar to goat’s milk, although less pungent. Vaguely sweet with a subtle, salty aftertaste.
Texture: Smooth and creamy, with a slightly thinner consistency than cow’s milk.
Use it: In your morning coffee, to add flavour to homemade ice cream and milk-heavy desserts, smoothies, spiced camel-milk hot chocolate.
Goes well with: chocolate and caramel, saffron, cardamom and cloves. Also works well with honey and dates.
New UK refugee system
- A new “core protection” for refugees moving from permanent to a more basic, temporary protection
- Shortened leave to remain - refugees will receive 30 months instead of five years
- A longer path to settlement with no indefinite settled status until a refugee has spent 20 years in Britain
- To encourage refugees to integrate the government will encourage them to out of the core protection route wherever possible.
- Under core protection there will be no automatic right to family reunion
- Refugees will have a reduced right to public funds
Directed by Sam Mendes
Starring Dean-Charles Chapman, George MacKay, Daniel Mays
4.5/5
White hydrogen: Naturally occurring hydrogen
Chromite: Hard, metallic mineral containing iron oxide and chromium oxide
Ultramafic rocks: Dark-coloured rocks rich in magnesium or iron with very low silica content
Ophiolite: A section of the earth’s crust, which is oceanic in nature that has since been uplifted and exposed on land
Olivine: A commonly occurring magnesium iron silicate mineral that derives its name for its olive-green yellow-green colour
The Book of Collateral Damage
Sinan Antoon
(Yale University Press)
It's up to you to go green
Nils El Accad, chief executive and owner of Organic Foods and Café, says going green is about “lifestyle and attitude” rather than a “money change”; people need to plan ahead to fill water bottles in advance and take their own bags to the supermarket, he says.
“People always want someone else to do the work; it doesn’t work like that,” he adds. “The first step: you have to consciously make that decision and change.”
When he gets a takeaway, says Mr El Accad, he takes his own glass jars instead of accepting disposable aluminium containers, paper napkins and plastic tubs, cutlery and bags from restaurants.
He also plants his own crops and herbs at home and at the Sheikh Zayed store, from basil and rosemary to beans, squashes and papayas. “If you’re going to water anything, better it be tomatoes and cucumbers, something edible, than grass,” he says.
“All this throwaway plastic - cups, bottles, forks - has to go first,” says Mr El Accad, who has banned all disposable straws, whether plastic or even paper, from the café chain.
One of the latest changes he has implemented at his stores is to offer refills of liquid laundry detergent, to save plastic. The two brands Organic Foods stocks, Organic Larder and Sonnett, are both “triple-certified - you could eat the product”.
The Organic Larder detergent will soon be delivered in 200-litre metal oil drums before being decanted into 20-litre containers in-store.
Customers can refill their bottles at least 30 times before they start to degrade, he says. Organic Larder costs Dh35.75 for one litre and Dh62 for 2.75 litres and refills will cost 15 to 20 per cent less, Mr El Accad says.
But while there are savings to be had, going green tends to come with upfront costs and extra work and planning. Are we ready to refill bottles rather than throw them away? “You have to change,” says Mr El Accad. “I can only make it available.”
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Key findings of Jenkins report
- Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
- Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
- Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
