Chelsea

The France international, 21, is set to undergo a medical at the west London club and will add to Graham Potter's defensive options.

Chelsea, who are confident of extending N’Golo Kanté’s contract, are looking to be aggressive in January as they attempt to kickstart their top-four challenge. The west London club has been looking to add more depth in central defence since losing Andreas Christensen and Antonio Rüdiger. The 21-year-old Frenchman is a left-sided centre-back and will give Graham Potter more options.

Chelsea fell to a draw against Nottingham Forest in the late kick-off on Sunday in the Premier League.

Does not show for the ball enough to be a number nine. Could be dropped for the next game. One of the worst performances of his career. Not the problem today. Taiwo Awoniyi tore him and Kalidou Koulibaly to shreds down the right side. Done well at times but still seems a bit rusty. Added a bit of control and energy to Chelsea's midfield when he came on but wasn't enough to win the game. Does not move the ball well enough in the middle of the park. Afternoon to forget. It arguably could have been a lot worse for Scored by that was all he done in the game. Forest were the better team for large parts of the clash, and may have scored a lot earlier than they did in the game.

Chelsea dropped more points in their quest to climb back up the Premier League standings as Serge Aurier earned Nottingham Forest a 1-1 draw with Graham ...

"We're in control of our destiny and we have to keep building." They nearly broke the deadlock in just the second minute as Mason Mount fired over from a good position. The second half we didn't control it well enough."

Chelsea's spluttering Premier League campaign took a turn for the worse as Serge Aurier's equaliser gave lowly Nottingham Forest a 1-1 draw on Sunday.

It was Sterling's first league goal since August and only the sixth in all competitions for the England forward since his close-season move from Manchester City. Chelsea are languishing in eighth place after failing to win for the sixth time in their last seven league games. But Ivory Coast right-back Aurier levelled after the break and Chelsea were fortunate to escape without an embarrassing defeat after Forest dominated for long spells in the second half.

Chelsea were lucky to leave City Ground with a point as the visitors struggled to deal with the physicality of Nottingham Forest in a 1-1 draw.

[Cesar Azpilicueta](https://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/97770/César-Azpilicueta), 5 -- Put in a great block to deny [Morgan Gibbs-White](https://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/243396/Morgan-Gibbs-White) and had a shot of his own from range deflected wide. [Kepa Arrizabalaga](https://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/169532/Kepa-Arrizabalaga), 7 -- Stood up well to save Johnson's shot after the [Wales](/soccer/team?id=578) international had broken through. Made a fairly comfortable save to deny [Taiwo Awoniyi](https://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/194686/Taiwo-Awoniyi), then denied Johnson again moments later. Struggled in the second half as he couldn't keep up with Johnson when he ran behind, then got booked for a foul on [Renan Lodi](https://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/245858/Renan-Lodi). [Raheem Sterling](https://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/156366/Raheem-Sterling) opened the scoring in the 16th minute, after a ball contested by [Willy Boly](https://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/152349/Willy-Boly) and [Kai Havertz](https://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/231182/Kai-Havertz) came back off the woodwork and fell to the feet of the [England](/soccer/team?id=448) international to tap in, although the Blues were unable to build on that momentum. Hit a weak shot from a promising position and was outjumped by Boly for the equaliser. Was dispossessed by Boly then gave away a free kick on the edge of his own box as he faded out of the game. Made a great block to deny Gibbs-White. [Serge Aurier](https://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/143576/Serge-Aurier) equalised shortly after the hour mark, and the visitors were forced to settle for a point, which leaves them eighth in the [Premier League](/soccer/league/_/name/eng.1) table. His triple change shifted the momentum again, but it wasn't enough to earn a winner. There were periods when it was far too easy for the hosts to break forward and get behind Chelsea's defence, with the second half being especially concerning as Forest eventually got level. Chelsea built up some lovely passages of play from the very beginning, even if they didn't always lead to goal-scoring opportunities.

Nottingham Forest gave its Premier League survival hopes a boost with a 1-1 draw against Chelsea whose troubles on the road continued.

A deserved leveler came in the 63rd from an unlikely source as Aurier scored his first goal since January 2021. Forest started the second half well and had a chance just four minutes in. Sterling was waiting eagerly to fire home the rebound for his first Premier League goal since August.

Chelsea have reached an agreement with AS Monaco to sign young French defender Benoit Badiashile for an estimated fee worth £32.7 million ($39 million).

- Starting price: $4.99/mo. He also uses his 6ft 4in height to good advantage to be dominant in the air that will come in handy in the Premier League. Badiashile had attracted interest from Manchester United last season and most recently Newcastle United who were also ready to meet Monaco’s asking price for the player. And now after a stellar World Cup, Gvardiol’s asking price is expected to skyrocket for any potential suitors. [The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/football/2023/jan/01/chelsea-agree-327m-fee-for-monaco-centre-back-benoit-badiashile) also reports that the west London side had agreed terms with Croatian defender Josko Gvardiol last summer but were unable to meet RB Leipzig’s asking price for the player. Badiashile is a left sided center back who will give manager Graham Potter options at the back alongside Thiago Silva, Wesley Fofana and Kalidou Koulibaly.

Chelsea have reached an agreement with AS Monaco to sign defender Benoit Badiashile. The deal for the 21-year-old is worth in the region of €37-38million ...

Badiashile has been capped twice by the senior [France](https://theathletic.com/football/team/france/) side. [Thiago Silva](https://theathletic.com/football/player/thiago-silva-SMvGFhYXbUH4qI7k/), [Kalidou Koulibaly](https://theathletic.com/football/player/kalidou-koulibaly-Xrp8uQyKo6Y04VY4/), [Trevoh Chalobah](https://theathletic.com/football/player/trevoh-chalobah-nA4AuCi9fSD483tE/) and [Wesley Fofana](https://theathletic.com/football/player/wesley-fofana-B3xBiMo59OK63V81/) in competing for the centre-back spots, with [Marc Cucurella](https://theathletic.com/football/player/marc-cucurella-HjRBGZc2KN43b1sK/) and [Reece James](https://theathletic.com/football/player/reece-james-GKa1YfGdueMrjfBr/) able to play there in a back three too. [Eintracht Frankfurt](https://theathletic.com/football/team/eintracht-frankfurt/) and 20-year-old [Piero Hincapie](https://theathletic.com/football/player/piero-hincapie-P854Xhv4VtVMW1Fd/) of [Bayer Leverkusen](https://theathletic.com/football/team/leverkusen/). [Antonio Rudiger](https://theathletic.com/football/player/antonio-rudiger-tqko5XSWRbH8iz36/) and [Andreas Christensen](https://theathletic.com/football/player/andreas-christensen-aBhQDp5VdWGQvZtH/) left on free transfers last summer. [Josko Gvardiol](https://theathletic.com/football/player/josko-gvardiol-Q36YxjElleCmJU6X/) but were unable to strike a deal with [RB Leipzig](https://theathletic.com/football/team/leipzig/) over a transfer fee for the 20-year-old.

NOTTINGHAM, England (AP) — Nottingham Forest gave its Premier League survival hopes a boost with a 1-1 draw against Chelsea, whose troubles on the road ...

A deserved leveler came in the 63rd from an unlikely source as Aurier scored his first goal since January 2021. Forest started the second half well and had a chance just four minutes in. Sterling was waiting eagerly to fire home the rebound for his first Premier League goal since August.

Graham Potter admitted Chelsea's disappointing 1-1 draw at Nottingham Forest underlined the lack of consistency that threatens to shatter their hopes of ...

"We need to be more consistent. "We need to have a very good second half of the season if we want to play in the Champions League next season." Chelsea captain Cesar Azpilicueta added to the gloom when he said: "Since the beginning of the season we have lost too many points and we are really far from where we want to be. But while it is surely too early for Potter to be worried about losing the first high-pressure job of his career, the 47-year-old needs an uptick in results in the new year to avoid putting Chelsea chairman Todd Boehly in an awkward position. The Blues are seven points adrift of fourth placed Manchester United in the race to qualify for the Champions League via a top four finish. But Ivory Coast defender Serge Aurier levelled after the break and Chelsea were fortunate to escape without an embarrassing defeat after Forest dominated for long spells in the second half.

Elsewhere, Manchester City are on the verge of signing a young talent.

The Portuguese side have offered a five-year deal to Schjelderup until the summer of 2028. As CBS Sports Soccer Insider Fabrizio Romano reported, the player and the club have a verbal agreement and the deal is at the final stages. The 18-year-old Norwegian winger will likely become a target for many top clubs but Benfica want to beat all of them and are working to sign him. The talented center-back will complete his medicals on Monday and will later sign his new contract that will be valid until the summer of 2029. These are the deals that are happening, or at least on the verge of getting done. What's better than a cup of coffee and the latest transfer news?