West Ham could sign “clinical” Chelsea player who’s pushing hard to leave

It is believed a “clinical” Chelsea player is now pushing hard to leave Stamford Bridge in January, with West Ham United and Crystal Palace emerging as real contenders for his signing in the winter.

Chelsea seven points behind Liverpool after 5-1 win over Southampton

Enzo Maresca continues to be asked about the prospect of Chelsea winning a Premier League title this season, with Liverpool dropping points in a 3-3 draw away to Newcastle United and the Blues thumping Southampton 5-1.

Goals came from all over the field, with Axel Disasi, Christopher Nkunku, Noni Madueke, Cole Palmer and Jadon Sancho all getting on the scoresheet at St. Mary’s Stadium, as Chelsea sealed yet another impressive victory on the road.

It was a blistering night of attacking flair by the away side, who could’ve scored even more than five, but Maresca still had some criticism for his players after getting off to a slow start on Wednesday night.

“I’m very happy with the five we scored, but I’m not happy about the first 10 or 15 minutes when we struggled,” said Maresca after Chelsea’s 5-1 win over Southampton.

“The reason why we struggled is because we prepared the game to press them man-to-man but in the first 15 or 20 minutes, we were not pressing them man-to-man. This is a team that if you don’t go man-to-man, then you struggle to recover the ball. Then after that, we adjusted that and the game was much better. But we could score more, but five goals is enough.

“We said, if you remember from the beginning of the season, the way we played with the two wingers, the two attacking midfielders and the No.9 are in charge of the goals. You can see the goals from Noni, from Cole, from Jadon, from Nico, Christo – they are all attacking players, and it’s a good feeling that all of them can be involved in the goals.

“I think there are just three or four teams that have conceded less than us. So we are very happy.

One man who didn’t play a role in last night’s stunning victory was midfielder Carney Chukwuemeka.

Carney Chukwuemeka pushing for Chelsea exit and could join West Ham

The £100,000-per-week midfielder is yet to make a single Premier League appearance, and reports are suggesting that Chukwuemeka is very likely to leave Chelsea in January as a result.

Now, journalist Graeme Bailey says that Chukwuemeka is pushing to leave Chelsea in January via his agents, with both West Ham and Crystal Palace named as contenders to sign the 20-year-old.

The former Aston Villa gem’s best move is clearly to leave at the next opportunity, considering he is clearly down Maresca’s pecking order, despite some praise for his ability in the past.

“I like Carney Chukwuemeka because he is like an artist who comes onto the stage,” said former France defender and World Cup winner Marcel Desailly.

“He has got the ball. Now is my moment. Shine. You see the dribbling. He is sure about what he is going to do and he is clinical. I love it.”