Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall has insisted his Chelsea team-mates will not be distracted by the constant transfer speculation surrounding the club.
Dewsbury-Hall, who arrived from Leicester City in a reported £30m deal, is one of 10 new arrivals during the transfer window at Stamford Bridge.
The midfielder starred for Enzo Maresca in the Foxes' Championship success, notching 26 goal involvements (12 goals and 14 assists) in the league last year.
But with the Blues' overhaul of players, Dewsbury-Hall found himself on the bench for their opening Premier League fixture against Manchester City last Sunday.
Maresca is continuing to trim his bloated squad, with the Italian confirming that both Raheem Sterling and Ben Chilwell are among a group of more than 15 players who are not training with the first-team.
Despite the troubles off the pitch, Dewsbury-Hall was keen to focus on the variables within his control ahead of their Europa Conference League play-off tie against Servette on Thursday.
"No, we're in a bubble with it. You can't let that sort of thing affect you," Dewsbury-Hall said.
"The only thing we're doing is just going out every day and training as well as we can, getting ready for the matches.
"Everything that happens outside, it's not up to us.
"Probably when the transfer window finishes, then it can just be pure focus on the season. Of course, when it's open, you get speculations."
Maresca's arrival from Leicester continued the carousel of managers at Stamford Bridge during Todd Boehly's time in charge at the club.
But the Italian's no-nonsense approach when communicating with players is something that has turned heads.
However, Dewsbury-Hall revealed that the Chelsea squad respects the decisions taken by their new head coach.
"I think people respect him for (his honesty)," Dewsbury-Hall added."As a player you want to have clarity in terms of what's happening and he (Maresca) is certainly a person that gives you that. I don't think you can have any complaints on that side.
"I think it would cause more upset in any aspect of life if you're not honest with people. The fact that he is, is a good thing."
Martin relishing Southampton's Premier League homecoming
Russell Martin is excited about leading Southampton out for their first home game of the season when they welcome Nottingham Forest to St. Mary's on Saturday.
Martin, who made 125 appearances in the Premier League as a player, managed his first top flight fixture last weekend in the Saints' 1-0 defeat to Newcastle United.
Southampton's last Premier League encounter on home soil saw them share the spoils in an eight-goal thriller against Liverpool, and Martin is hoping for another memorable occasion when Forest visit the South Coast.
"It's going to be really exciting for us. Last time we were there was West Brom in the semi-finals of the playoffs - it was incredible," Martin said.
"The atmosphere was one of best I’ve heard so if we can get anywhere near that, that would be amazing.
"It is just reward for fans after last season and support they showed, the connection between them and the team, I hope everyone can enjoy it."
Meanwhile, Forest laid solid foundations to build from after their 1-1 draw with Bournemouth last weekend, a game that was overshadowed by Danilo's horrific injury.
Despite their impressive recent record against newly promoted sides, Nuno Espirito Santo acknowledged the difficulty of the task that awaits his side on Saturday.
"Playing the champions Manchester City is equally as difficult as Southampton because the level is very high [in the Premier League]," he said.
Forest confirmed the arrival of Aston Villa defender Alex Moreno on Wednesday, while they have also been linked with a move for Arsenal's Eddie Nketiah.
"Anything can happen in a transfer window, right to the last day. I always say it is more important to keep the players here," Espirito Santo said on more potential arrivals
"Every club will try and add to their squad right to the deadline. At Forest it will be the same. We have to be ready to react."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Southampton – Ben Brereton Diaz
After being welcomed back into the Premier League with a warm embrace from the Newcastle faithful last week, Ben Brereton Diaz can look forward to a home debut at St. Mary’s.
Brereton Diaz faces the side he made 57 appearances for at the start of his professional career and will be hoping to end his winless run in English football’s top flight.
The Chilean is yet to end up on the winning side in a Premier League match in 15 attempts (D4 11), with only Marvin Sordell (17 games) and Emanuel Villa (16) having played more without featuring in a victory.
Nottingham Forest – Chris Wood
After scoring 14 Premier League goals in 31 appearances last campaign, Chris Wood got his tally up and running for the new season with his strike against Bournemouth last Saturday.
His 23rd minute effort was the 70th goal he has scored in the competition, taking him ahead of former Liverpool striker Luis Suarez and level with Manchester United great, Eric Cantona.
However, the 32-year-old has never scored in both of a side’s first two games in a league season, although he has netted three times in 11 appearances against the Saints in the past.
MATCH PREDICTION: DRAW
Southampton can take the positives from their opening day defeat to Newcastle, boasting 77.8% possession, albeit against 10 men, which was their second highest on record (since 2003-04) in a single match in the competition (78.1% v Aston Villa in December 2013).
But the Saints have struggled against the Reds on home soil, with both their Premier League victories coming in away games and are winless in games at the Dell and St. Mary’s (D2 L2).
Southampton have also won just two of their last 21 Premier League home games (D5 L14), keeping just one clean sheet at St. Mary’s in that run (1-0 v Leicester in March 2023).
Forest’s six away games without defeat against Southampton in the Premier League is the most they’ve faced a side on the road without losing in the competition, and the joint most the Saints have faced a side at home without ever winning (also six v Brighton).
The Reds have won their last two Premier League games against promoted sides, beating both Sheffield United and Burnley in May. They’d only won one of their previous 19 such matches in the competition before this (D12 L6).
They also triumphed in their last two top flight away games of 2023-24, winning against the Blades 3-1 and Burnley 2-1. They last won more consecutive top-flight away games between March and April 1995 (a run of four).
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Southampton – 39.3%
Draw – 26.3%
Nottingham Forest – 34.4%
PSG will not rush into market for Ramos replacement, says Luis Enrique
Paris Saint-Germain will not rush into the transfer market even after losing striker Goncalo Ramos to injury, head coach Luis Enrique pledged on Thursday.
Ramos injured his ankle in last week's 4-1 win at Le Havre and is expected to be out for up to three months in a major blow to the French champions, who were already believed to be in the market for attacking reinforcements after losing Kylian Mbappe to Real Madrid.
Luis Enrique, however, says PSG will not be pressured into paying over the odds for any player, with Ousmane Dembele, Lee Kang-in, Randal Kolo Muani and Bradley Barcola now the forward options at his disposal.
"It's a shame, it's always sad when you lose a player, but it doesn't change anything," Luis Enrique told reporters ahead of Friday's clash with Montpellier.
"We have a very good team, I have great confidence in all the players who make up my squad.
"We already have a team here which won the league, so we are observing the transfer window and we will see if a player comes up at a normal price. If it is a silly price, we won't. We are not in a rush."
The former Spain boss then explained how PSG face unique difficulties in the market, adding: "When a big team like Paris Saint-Germain has to buy a washing machine, instead of €4 it costs €400, and then the washing machine has to work like a washing machine that costs €400, but it only cost €4.
"But we have already worked well last year with magnificent arrivals and this year I already have a team that has improved in all areas.
"So we have no emergency, I repeat, no emergency, but I repeat, we are always attentive and likely to improve things at the same time."
Luis Enrique expects a difficult test against Montpellier on Friday, despite the Ligue 1 champions beating the same opponents 3-0 and 6-2 last season.
"It's difficult because it's the beginning of the season, there is no team that is 100% yet," he said.
"But we have a lot of hope, we are very motivated, tomorrow's match means getting back in touch with our supporters and we hope to win at the end and for the fans to have a good time, that's our goal."
New York City v Chicago Fire: Cushing maintains 'sky-high' belief in hosts
Nick Cushing maintains 'sky-high' levels of belief in his New York City squad as they look to bounce back from their Leagues Cup disappointment against the Chicago Fire.
NYCFC reached the quarter-finals of the Leagues Cup, only to suffer a heartbreaking penalty shoot-out defeat to the Columbus Crew last week.
They resume their MLS campaign in a strong position, though, sitting fifth in the Eastern Conference standings and holding an eight-point cushion to the play-in spots.
Cushing does not expect City's Leagues Cup exit to affect them in the run-in, saying: "I said at the start of the season, when we started slowly, that my confidence in the group is sky-high and always has been.
"We fell below our standards last season, but I said then that tough times make top teams.
"If you have guys with a work ethic as high as ours is, you'll learn from your experiences. I have sky-high belief in this group of guys.
"This team has the capability, but it's about how you move forward, it's about the character to take the knocks and move forward."
Chicago, on the other hand, resume their campaign in 14th place, though the congested nature of the Eastern standings means they are only three points off a play-in place.
Head coach Frank Klopas has been grateful for the chance to work with his players on the training ground, with their own Leagues Cup campaign ending in the group stage three weeks ago.
"Putting all pressure and expectations aside, I think we need to be prepared, which we are, and this break has given us an opportunity to really work on that and also the little details," Klopas said.
"I think we need to go and play the game, not to overthink things, and be focused and organised without the ball."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
New York City – Santiago Rodriguez
Thirteen (seven goals, six assists) of Rodriguez's 16 regular-season goal contributions for New York City in 2024 have come at home.
Rodriguez has been involved in seven goals in his last five home league matches (three goals, four assists).
Chicago Fire – Hugo Cuypers
Cuypers has recorded a team-high 11 goal contributions in regular-season play for the Fire this year (nine goals, two assists).
The only player since 2021 with more than 11 goal contributions in a season for Chicago was Xherdan Shaqiri (18) in 2022.
MATCH PREDICTION – NEW YORK CITY WIN
New York City have won eight straight regular-season matches against Chicago, tied for the second-longest active home winning streak by one team over another in MLS.
It is also NYCFC's longest home winning run against a particular team in MLS, though they have drawn six of their last eight games in all competitions (one win, one loss).
However, a Chicago team that has lost their last three games in all competitions should not present much of a threat. This is the Fire's 10th losing streak of three or more matches since the start of the 2020 season.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
New York City – 61%
Chicago Fire – 18.5%
Draw – 20.5%
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