Noel Whelan has claimed he would find it “baffling” if Harry Maguire leaves Man United for Chelsea this summer.

The former Leeds striker, speaking exclusively to Football Insider, insisted the Red Devils fans will also be unhappy to see their skipper depart to a Champions League club.

According to the Daily Mail (19 August), Chelsea have made a “shock enquiry” about Man United captain Maguire, 29, in the wake of the Red Devils’ interest in Christian Pulisic.

The report claims Leicester star Wesley Fofana remains the Blues’ priority, but the England star has emerged as an option in case their first-choice deal collapses.

Chelsea have been linked with the struggling defender after losing Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen on free transfers in July.

Whelan insisted Maguire’s performances will improve despite Man United’s struggles at present.

When asked if he could see the England star joining Thomas Tuchel’s side this summer, he told Football Insider‘s Ewan Kingsbury: “No.

“I’d find it very strange that Chelsea would go in for him right now.

“I’d find it even more baffling if Man United were willing to let him go with the desperation they’re in.

“I think it’s speculation, and I’d be very surprised if that came off.

“Maguire’s not the only player not playing at the top of his game right now. It’s a disease that spreads in a team sometimes, and I’m sure his performances will get better.

“I’m sure Man United fans don’t want to see them selling one of their record signings to a club who is going to be competing in the Champions League.”

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has finally explained why the club decided to sell key trio Raheem Sterling, Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko to this summer.

While Jesus and Zinchenko joined Arsenal, Sterling made a move to the other side of London, with Chelsea.

There have been insinuations that Pep Guardiola made a mistake allowing the trio out of the club despite efforts to replace them.

However, Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko reunite with manager Mikel Arteta – who was assistant manager for both during his Man City days.

The pair have already impressed, with the Brazilian having five goal involvements in his opening three, while the Ukrainian international has been the go-to left-back option so far.

Speaking to Sky Sports on Sunday, he said: “If you force one person to stay when he doesn’t want to stay, how can you get the best from him? It’s impossible. I wouldn’t want to move anyone on now. I love this squad I have.”

On the other hand, manager Mikel Arteta has been hailed for making the decision to sign Gabriel Jesus, disclosing that the Brazilian is a winner and his presence at the Emirates Stadium has helped improved the mentality in the dressing room.

Leicester manager Brendan Rodgers has refused to admit that Youri Tielemans’ move to Arsenal is close and one of the reasons why he was absent from the game against Southampton.

Leicester City duo Wesley Fofana and Youri Tielemans were both missing as they are being linked with a move to Chelsea and Arsenal respectively.

Whilst Tielemans remained on the bench and Fofana was left out of the matchday squad altogether, a rare decision by the manager which forced the press to ask if their absence was related to the proposed move to London.

Rodgers however, refused to admit in his pre-match interview with Sky Sports, saying they were not in the right frame to be called for the game.

“One, a change in system,” he said via Football Daily. “And two, I mentioned it in the week about coming into a Premier League game with players that maybe aren’t quite in the right frame of mind.

“You cannot carry them and certainly we can’t, so yes that is the reason.”

He further explained post-match: “I don’t know. There’s a few offers for some players nowhere near the valuation the club would want to sell. None of them are for sale but I know how the game works. There’s a few weeks to go. I don’t know what’s going to happen.”

Chelsea title winner Shaun Wright-Phillips has opened up on why Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel is chasing a deal for Barcelona striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

Chelsea are in talks with Barca over a fee for the former Arsenal captain as he could be set for a return to London.

Speaking to The Sun for bet365 on whether Aubameyang is the right choice, Wright-Phillips said: “Do you know what, I didn’t think so at the start.

“But after watching them play at the [Spurs] game and the way Tuchel wants his team to play and after having conversations with [Gianfranco] Zola and [Glenn] Hoddle, it became clearer the reasons why Tuchel wants him.

“Aubameyang could definitely suit them, especially if he joins and scores goals.

“His mobility, the way he stays out on the left, never dropping too deep could suit Chelsea and can be someone they need.

“But I’m strong believer if you have a young talent there, why not put them in and give them a run of games.

“But I doubt that will happen until the transfer window shuts and they don’t get anyone in.”

Aubameyang left Arsenal in an unceremoniously way as he fell out with manager Mikel Arteta and was stripped of his captaincy before his exit.

A move to the other side of London means the Gabon international will play against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium this season.

Legendary Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has opened up on his rivalry with Jose Mourinho when the Portuguese was in charge at Chelsea.

Wenger said his rilvary has to do with Chelsea than it was the Portuguese while also confessing that his original frustrations came from the Blues’ spending ability, dating back to 2003.

Both managers were part of some iconic moments in the Premier League because of the dig at each other during press conferences.

There were also plenty of touchline bust-ups between the pair in their time, but few came quite as big as the one in 2014.

However, speaking to Sky Sports, while reflecting on the 30th anniversary of the Premier League, Wenger made mention of some of these moments.

Wenger did not fail to mention moments of rilvary while he was in the dugout.

“My rivalry was more with the clubs than the persons, I never made any statements on a personal level.

“I had a lot of aggravations with [José] Mourinho at the time because I felt that Chelsea were the first club that came in and spent money they didn’t earn. At the time you had no Financial Fair Play, since that moment in 2004, nowadays they have created a financial fair play and there is more control over the finances of the clubs.”

Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel has unwittingly confirmed his wish to sign former Arsenal striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang from Barcelona this summer transfer window.

Aubameyang only left Arsenal some months back and he could be returning to England if the offer on the table is luring enough.

Thomas Tuchel did not openly confirm Chelsea’s interest in the striker but admitted that he has a close bond with the Barcelona forward from their time at Borussia Dortmund and said, ‘some players stay your players.’

Tuchel worked with Aubameyang during their spell at Dortmund together from 2015-17.

‘I enjoyed a lot working with him, it was a pleasure,’ Tuchel told a press conference of Aubameyang. ‘It has nothing to do with the situation now but some players stay your players because you were very, very close and Auba is one of those players, we had a very close relationship.

‘Always when we played him here with Arsenal it was always straight away this close bond. They always stay your players, in a way, and Auba is one of these guys.’

However, Aubameyang is reportedly not keen on leaving Chelsea but he would listen to offers from the Blues to prove that he is not closing the door for a move.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has sent a message to former striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang as reports claim he is wanted at the other side of London by Chelsea.

The former Borussia Dortmund star left Arsenal in the January winter transfer window after his contract with the club was terminated as a result of the fall out with manager Mikel Arteta.

Now it is reported that he could have a return to England.

Mikel Arteta in his message to the striker says he hopes he would have a good reception when he returns to the Emirates Stadium in Blue colours.

When asked if he has any regrets over the handling of the Aubameyang situation, Arteta replied: ‘It’s a long time since that happened. I cannot go back each time there is a series.

‘I have made my comments on that, I was clearly clear and honest on my opinion

‘What has been done has to defend the club and put it in the best possible position.’

Meanwhile, Mikel Arteta describe the Gabon international as an ‘exceptional player’ and thanked him for what he did for the club.

‘Auba is an exceptional player. He did so much for us,’ Arteta added.

‘He was our captain and I think we have to be very grateful for what he did for this club.’

Manchester United missed out on signing Timo Werner from Chelsea before the striker rejoined RB Leipzig, according to reports.

The situation at Old Trafford calls for a new striker as Anthony Martial is injured, Marcus Rashford badly out of form and Cristiano Ronaldo still keen to leave the club.

However, the Red Devils were keen on signing Werner before he opted to return to Leipzig after his struggles at Stamford Bridge.

The German international striker has returned to the Bundesliga side on a four-year deal in a transfer worth a reported £25m after failing to live up to expectations at the Stamford Bridge.

While he scored 95 goals and 40 assists in 159 games before moving to Chelsea in 2020 for £47.5m, Werner scored just 23 goals in 89 matches across all competitions for Chelsea.

‘I am incredibly grateful for the time I spent at this special club,’ Werner said about his time at Chelsea.

‘I felt so much love and support throughout the last two years and I will never forget how you guys stood behind me in good and in challenging times!’

Quizzed about rejoining Leipzig, Werner added: ‘I had a great time here between 2016 and 2020, when we performed brilliantly as newcomers in the league.

‘It was a dignified departure for me to leave the club as record goal scorer, but that’s in the past now and I’m looking ahead, because both I and the club have developed in the past two years.

‘I had two great years at Chelsea that I’m really grateful for. The experience to play abroad in a new league really helped me and my career.

‘Now I’m looking forward to the new season with RB Leipzig and above all to meeting the Leipzig fans again, who mean a great deal to me.’