Pedro is 'very happy' at Chelsea after adjusting to Premier League life under manager Antonio Conte

PEDRO

Chelsea forward Pedro confirmed he is now 'very happy' at Stamford Bridge after adapting to life under new manager Antonio Conte.

Pedro hinted at his desire to stay at the club after his poor form last year coincided with a forgetful season for the Blues as they stumbled to a mid-table finish.

The Spain international held transfer talks with Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu last summer, but the move back to his former club fell through.

But Antonio Conte's revived Chelsea outfit have romped to the top of the league and the Spanish winger revealed he is in a good place.

'This is the best moment for me at this club and also the best moment for the whole team since I've been here,' he told the Chelsea club magazine.

'I'm very happy here. It's a good situation when you are top of the League and progressing in the FA Cup. We are on the right path.

'Last year was a difficult one for me, for the club, for the team, but this year is different.

'With this coach, all the team is focused on the fight for the title, with more confidence for every game and this is good. It's a completely different season.

'Every day I'm more comfortable with the team, with my team-mates, with the club and I have a good relationship with the supporters. All is good for me here and I'm very happy with the situation.'

The Spanish flier joined from Barcelona with a glowing reputation. After scoring and assisting in his debut for the Blues against West Brom in August 2015, the £21million Spain international looked a shrewd signing.

But his turbulent form saw him dip in and out of the side at Stamford Bridge as he failed to showcase his talents consistently.

Now under Conte's stewardship, Pedro and the whole Chelsea team have hit their straps to race away from their title challengers.

PEDRO'S HONOURS 

La Liga: 5

Supercopa de Espana: 4

Copa del Rey: 3 

UEFA Champions League: 3 

UEFA Super Cup: 3

FIFA Club World Cup: 2

FIFA World Cup: 1

UEFA European Championship: 1 

'I understand the Premier League more now,' he added.

'It's very different compared to Spain, but now I'm in my second year here I understand the football. It's quicker, more intense and more competitive.

'For me it's different now I have adapted. I have to run a lot, play harder and I'm very quick, which helps me in the games here in England.

'There are more crosses into the box and everything happens very quickly, which is good for the players and the spectators.

'Spain is different. It's more tactical. It's more about passing the ball and developing something.

'Here it's quicker when you attack and everything is different. You have to change mentally and it's difficult to adapt at first, but I have changed, I have done that now.

'It's a good moment for me. I feel really good on the pitch. I'm scoring goals and I'm connecting well with my team-mates.' 

Thorgan Hazard backs Chelsea youngsters Andreas Christensen and Charly Musonda to make impact for Blues next season

CHRISTENSEN

Thorgan Hazard has lavished praise on Chelsea's often maligned approach to young players, insisting Andreas Christensen and Charly Musonda can make it at Stamford Bridge. 

Hazard, a former Blues prospect himself, spoke glowingly of defender Christensen in particular who is in his second season on loan at Borussia Monchengladbach.

The Belgian is convinced his team-mate has all the attributes to make it at the top level with Antonio Conte's side.

In an exclusive interview with Goal he said: 'When he arrived everybody in the team and at the club were saying "wow", what a defender, what a player.

'He can play football, he is strong, he is fast, he is intelligent and so he has helped us a lot and helped us get Champions League qualification.'

Christensen is expected to return to the Blues next season and attempt to break into Conte's star-studded ranks.

Hazard is convinced the 20-year-old can make the step up, saying: 'I think he has a great future and he can play at a top, top level at a top, top team.'

Eden Hazard's younger brother was also effusive in his assessment of Charly Musonda, another Chelsea youngster who has developed on loan.

Musonda, a fellow Belgian, spent time with Real Betis in Spain in a move labelled by Hazard as 'fantastic' for the attacking midfielder.

'Charly is a friend. He decided to go on loan to Betis and the first year he was fantastic for Charly.
'I know Charly and I think he is a winner. He will fight for that and I hope he can do this [play for Chelsea],' he added.

The Blues have come under fire for their treatment of young players with 35 out on loan from their parent club but supporters will be heartened by Hazard's assessment of two up-and-coming prospects.

Chelsea manager Antonio Conte welcomes England boss Gareth Southgate to training

CONTE AND SOUTHGATE

There was a notable special guest at Chelsea's Cobham training ground on Thursday, as England manager Gareth Southgate dropped in to watch how the Premier League leaders prepare.

Southgate, whose side return to action next month with a tough friendly away to world champions Germany before a World Cup qualifer at home to Lithuania, was warmly welcomed by Chelsea boss Antonio Conte.

Another man pleased to see Southgate was Nathaniel Chalobah, whose hopes of a senior call-up may be boosted by the friendly handshake he shared with Southgate.

He has closer ties to Chelsea than with many other Premier League clubs through Steve Holland, Southgate's assistant manager who will continue in his role as a coach at Stamford Bridge until the summer.

With Southgate's next fixtures coming up soon, he will be keen to get as much information on English players as possible, as well as picking up tips from Conte, whose team are eight points clear at the top of the Premier League. 

One English player very much involved in the action, however, was one not available to Southgate - John Terry was in full flow, going into tackles as full-blooded as he would for any game.

Terry, 36, retired from England duty in 2012 amid controversy, and rejected calls to return to the team under Southgate's predecessor, Sam Allardyce.

It was a competitive training session all round - Nathan Ake and Michy Batshuayi gettin involved in a tussle for the ball in one drill, with Ake tugging on the Belgian forward's bib.

Chelsea were preparing for their FA Cup fifth round tie on Saturday, when they take on Wolves, the Championship side having conquered Liverpool in round four. 

Have Chelsea benefited from Champions League and Europa League qualification failure?

CHELSEA

Chelsea are eight points clear at the top of the Premier League, but did their failure to qualify for the Champions League or Europa League last season help their title charge?

"In some ways it's good, in other ways maybe not," Blues 'keeper Thibaut Courtois told Chelseafc.com when asked whether Chelsea's lack of European competition was an advantage.

"The other year, when we were champions, we had European football so I don't think it makes a big difference."

But is Courtois correct? Or does missing out on European football boost Premier League form?

Over the last 10 years, the current top six teams in the Premier League have improved their league position by three places, on average, when they've not been playing in Europe. That's a significant rise.

Tottenham, for example, can point to claiming their first top-four finish in 21 years in 2010 when they didn't have any continental competition.

Spurs claimed 70 points that season, 19 more than the previous campaign when they were in the UEFA Cup.

Similarly, Manchester United missed out on European qualification for the 2014/15 season and went on to finish fourth in the league - a considerable improvement from seventh the previous season.

A lack of European football was also attributed to boosting Liverpool's title tilt in 2013/14, when their points total of 84 dwarfed their hauls of 61 and 62 in the seasons before and after, when they were involved in the Europa League and Champions League.

Just last season, Leicester won the Premier League with no European football distracting them from their domestic duties.
It's been argued the added workload of Champions League fixtures has contributed to their struggles this season.

In fact, of the Premier League's current top six, over the last 10 years, Liverpool are the only club to have finished in a lower position without European football than a previous season with. And that happened just once, in 2011/12.

Why could European football be a hindrance?

The increased number of fixtures is often cited as the main issue.

With European games to contend with and the travelling involved, teams are supposedly sapped of energy for Premier League matches and left with less time to prepare for domestic opposition.

But that's a theory dismissed by Courtois.

"Everybody wants to play in Europe and if you're in the rhythm of playing a game every three or four days, sometimes you can play better, even though it's harder at the end of the season," he explained.

"We have a lot of people on the bench who want to play and maybe haven't had as many minutes as they deserve, and if we had European football they would have played more minutes."

Out of the top six clubs, Chelsea have played the fewest games with 30 - excluding the Checkatrade Trophy - while Liverpool, who also missed out on Europe this season, have played the second fewest with 34.

In contrast, Manchester United's Europa League exploits have extended their fixture tally to 39 this season - more than any other top six club.

European football could also add decisively to the workload during the run-in - should Tottenham, Arsenal, Man City and Manchester United progress to the latter stages of their respective competitions.

United could still face another 28 fixtures, more than twice the number of out-of-form Liverpool who only have a guaranteed 13 games left after exits from the EFL Cup and FA Cup.

Chelsea only face a maximum of 18 more games if they progress in the FA Cup, so the Blues' workload could be considerably lighter than all of their rivals except Liverpool during the crucial latter stages of the season.

Chelsea too good to slip up in title race, says Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink

CONTE

Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink believes Chelsea's rivals for the title should not take too much encouragement from the league leaders' draw at Burnley.

Antonio Conte's side took the lead at Turf Moor on Sunday with an early goal from Pedro, but Robbie Brady earned a share of the points for the Clarets with a spectacular free-kick.

Burnley have only lost three Premier League games at home this season, to Swansea, Arsenal and Manchester City, and still have to entertain title contenders Tottenham and top-four hopefuls Manchester United.

Hasselbaink, who played for Chelsea between 2000 and 2004, is confident Conte's team will not be knocked out of their stride.

"It's a good point for me, at Burnley. It's a difficult place to go. You have to give Burnley credit because not a lot of teams go there and win, only Man City and Arsenal, who were quite lucky," Hasselbaink said on Premier League Daily.

"So for Chelsea to go there, winning 1-0 and then they score a stunner, I think it's a good result. Man United still have to go there, Tottenham still have to go there, so it's not going to be easy.

"Chelsea have found a way of how to play, and they are very calm and relaxed within that, very confident. I don't see them losing three games out of the 13 games they have left.

"Also, they don't have any European games, they only have the FA Cup and the Premier League, so they can concentrate in midweek, from Saturday to Saturday and really prepare. I think they will be too far ahead for the others."

The form of Chelsea striker Diego Costa has come under examination after a January move to China failed to materialise.

The Spain international has scored just one goal in six games this year, and missed a penalty in the 1-1 draw with Liverpool at Anfield, but Hasselbaink does not believe there is any cause for concern.

"Always as a striker you get those little spells where you don't score, you have to look at the attributes, at the amount of work he does and how much he creates," Hasselbaink said.

"He's missed a penalty but that can happen. But for me, pound for pound he's the best striker at the moment in the Premier League."

Arsene Wenger has earned the right to decide when he leaves Arsenal, says Charlie Nicholas

WENGER

The time has come for Arsene Wenger to call time on his 20-year association with Arsenal, but he has earned the right to decide when he leaves, according to Charlie Nicholas.

The Gunners' Champions League last-16 struggles returned on Wednesday as Bayern Munich all but ended their hopes of navigating the stage for the first time since 2010 with a humbling 5-1 first-leg victory.

Already under siege for Arsenal's faltering Premier League title bid, Wenger's position at the Emirates Stadium has been the subject of yet more scrutiny.

Nicholas feels the Frenchman's revolutionary tenure in north London - which has yielded nine major honours - has run its course, but he stressed Wenger deserves to leave in a dignified manner.

"He has earned the right to decide when to leave," he said. "For the last three years he has been questioned and last year was the first time I started to turn.

"I don't enjoy saying it but the reality is that this is not the Arsenal I want to see. He deserves criticism but I feel pain for him more than anyone else.

"I want him to leave with dignity and humility after the greatness he has achieved. He will decide when the time is right but I feel that time is coming.

"He cannot continue with this pain, the anxiousness he has before games and the players not reaching the level he has delivered in the past.

"I suspect he will say enough is enough this summer, he won't announce it until the season wears as to not affect their involvement in the FA Cup.

"He will also want to uphold his record of securing a top-four finish in every season, so he will put himself in a position to do so.

"The fact of the matter is that there has been no improvement this season, even with Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez. Nothing at Arsenal is driven, it's all nice and easy, these players need driving.

"He will walk away this summer because of the intensity surrounding his position and having blindly put his faith in players who simply haven't improved."

Mark Clattenburg quits Premier League to referee in Saudi Arabia

CLATTENBURG

Referee Mark Clattenburg has quit the Premier League and is moving to Saudi Arabia.

Clattenburg is one of the world's leading referees and in 2016 he officiated the FA Cup final, Champions League final and Euro 2016 final.

With no Premier League fixtures this weekend, Clattenburg's final top-flight game was Arsenal's 2-0 win over Hull on Saturday.

He has taken a role with the Saudi Arabian Football Federation.

The Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) issued a statement in which they praised his contribution to the English game.

"PGMOL would like to wish Mark Clattenburg well as he prepares for his move to the Saudi Arabian Football Federation," it read.

"Since joining the PGMOL Select Group in 2004, Mark developed into one of our top officials, refereeing at the highest level and setting standards for others to follow.

"His accomplishments are numerous and last season saw Mark achieve a memorable treble, on top of another consistently excellent season in the Premier League, as he officiated three major cup finals - the FA Cup final, the UEFA Champions League final and the UEFA Euro 2016 final.

"Mark is a talented referee, he has been a great asset to the English game and hopefully an inspiration to those who want to get into refereeing at the grass roots of the game.

"We understand this is an exciting opportunity for Mark as well as further underlining what high esteem English match officials are held throughout the world game."

Clattenburg's first match in professional football was in 2000, a Third Division (now Sky Bet League Two) match between Chesterfield and York City at the age of just 25 - which was then a post-war record.

Just four years later he had climbed the ladder to the Premier League, where his first match was Crystal Palace's game with Everton.

The Newcastle fan was in charge of the 2012 Olympic final in London, the 2012 League Cup final and the UEFA Super Cup in 2014.