Tuchel's squad harmony, outgoings update, Kounde/arrivals updates, Hudson-Odoi make or break, Lukaku GO TIME!

All packed into our latest Chelsea FC Newsletter

Morning guys,

First up, some personal news and an update for you. I am typing this as my last few days as a free man… I’m getting the old ball and chain attached to my ankle this Friday and tying the knot with my girlfriend, Ally.

We’ve been together for over 4 years now and have had a long 2-year engagement, so I really can’t put it off anymore! Haha I’m joking of course, I’m a very lucky man she is an awesome person.

Anyways, so as you can expect this week is VERY busy for me, but of course I still had to chat to you guys and get this newsletter out!

I won’t be able to Podcast though, but fear not, Dan (Macca) McCarthy is taking the reigns so we can still get it out for you this week, and we have got our guy Jai Macintosh, who has been doing some comment pieces for us on this site, to fill in for me. Trust me, Jai is great and you guys will LOVE this show. Keep an eye on our Twitter page to see exactly when this will be out, as it won’t be the normal schedule.

So… Back to the newsletter…

Romelu Lukaku is set to make his Chelsea debut this Sunday against Arsenal with all being well. He should be joining training today for the first time, due to being in quarantine since his arrival in the UK last week.

We exclusively told you about this at a time when no media outlets were allowed to report it, because they were told by the club they were not allowed to and needed to wait for Thomas Tuchel to reveal it in the press conference.

We were quite proud of having this news and putting it out there, and yes I did celebrate when it was confirmed, because I’m sure you guys know how much stick we get from the odd clowns on Twitter, even though we have proven 100s of times now to genuinely get you reliable information.

So well done you guys for being in our community here, it means you get the information as well!

Sorry, I digressed once again (I’m supposed to be organising a wedding dammit!).

Here is the Lukaku article!

Not long left of the transfer window now, and I’ve got a couple of transfer update pieces for you to cast your eyes over.

The outgoings one you can find here, and the potential arrivals one is here.

Meanwhile, I’m sure you all saw that we beat Weymouth 13-0 in a behind closed doors friendly on Sunday right? Close game I’m hearing… !

This was for Thomas Tuchel to give match fitness to some of his players who didn’t play on Saturday and have not featured a lot in pre-season.

Callum Hudson-Odoi was the star boy, albeit against very low opposition. Still, he got two goals and six assists in the game, which prompted me to write a bit of an opinion piece on him here.

Finally, Thomas Tuchel is having the time of his life as Chelsea manager so far and he is already adored by us fans. Long may that continue.

The squad harmony in camp right now is at very high levels, and this is a massive part of Tuchel’s man-management skills. Here is a look at how he has been operating so far and in pre-season, and how important squad morale is to his and the teams success.

Thanks for checking in guys! I’m off to get married, wish me luck, or whatever it is I will need going into married life!!

The Newsletter and Podcast will be back next week as normal, I am not on honeymoon until September the 10th and that will just be for a week.

Simon Phillips