Chelsea news LIVE: Hazard ‘not Messi’, Man Utd eye defender, Higuain fury at Sarri

1.40pm UPDATE: Callum Hudson-Odoi injury woe

Chelsea ace Callum Hudson-Odoi was a huge loss in the 2-2 draw with Burnley last night, says Shaka Hislop.

“I thought both of those [injuries] were two huge blows, in particular Hudson-Odoi,” he said.

“I feel when he’s on the pitch, that’s when you see the best of Eden Hazard, you’ve got someone to carry the load, albeit on the other side of the pitch.

“Once he goes off, the only real threat is Eden Hazard, and Burnley knew that.

“All they had to do was to put numbers [of defenders] on him, and exercise a certain amount of discipline.

“You know that nobody else is going to threaten you, and Chelsea showed in the second half without Hudson-Odoi and Kante is what we’ve seen from Chelsea six weeks ago.

“Fantastic football but not really troubling Burnley too much in ways you would think.

“A team that’s pushing for top four football, looking to get into Europa League final, should beat a team who are just trying to stay in the Premier League.”

1pm UPDATE: Eden Hazard ‘no Lionel Messi’

Craig Burley thinks Chelsea ace Eden Hazard is ‘not Lionel Messi’ and the Blues are too reliant on the Belgian.

“Chelsea’s plan this season has been to get the ball to Eden Hazard,” he said on ESPN FC.

“When that fails, the plan is to get the ball to Eden Hazard, then it’s still the same, and everybody is waiting on this guy.

“He’s had a good season, but he’s carrying so much weight on his shoulders of those who haven’t performed consistently.

“He’s not Messi. He’s a great player, very good player, but you can’t rely on him to get 40 goals per season.

“Others have to take charge, take responsibility.

“Too often they think ‘he’ll dig us out of the hole, he’ll get us a result’, but today proved that isn’t always going to be the case.”

12.15pm UPDATE: Man Utd eye Chelsea youngster Reece James

Manchester United are tracking young Chelsea defender Reece James.

The right-back has been on loan at Championship side Wigan this season and could be a potential replacement for Antonio Valencia.

James’ sister Lauren already plays for United and helped then win the Women’s Championship title this year.

The Daily Mail claim the full-back is valued at £15million.

James has played 43 times for Wigan this campaign and was named in the Championship Team of the Year.

11.30am UPDATE: Gonzalo Higuain furious

Gonzalo Higuain was FURIOUS with Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri after he was substituted in the Premier League clash with Burnley on Monday.

The Argentine gave one of his best performances in a Blues shirt as he netted and looked dangerous throughout against the Clarets.

But that didn’t stop Sarri replacing him with Olivier Giroud with 15 minutes left to play at Stamford Bridge.

And Higuain made his feelings clear, throwing his bib to the ground on the bench and shouting something in frustration.

With the score at 2-2 when taken off, the 31-year-old clearly felt like he could be the man to make the difference.

source: express.co.uk