We are now set for Instagram. Join us for the ride. 👇 instagram.com/blue_footy?stk…

Gittens is mentioned every time I talk about a player; it seems he is my only miss. 🤔 On a serious note, I don't know why people still ask about Gittens when the dude has been struggling with fitness since last season. Let him recover and have sustained playing time. I still think his profile is too good to flop. These are exactly the same things I said about Jackson. Profile-wise, some players are too good to waste away, but they might not work in one club and could boom in another. There are factors that may make it difficult for some players to settle. I used to hear every time Jackson had a bad game, "You still think that Jackson is better than Vlahovic?" Size of the scrutiny at Chelsea made it difficult for Jackson. Today, nobody asks me that again. I will repeat the same thing for Gittens: when Gittens returns to full fitness and settles down at Chelsea or elsewhere, his talent will still shine. I have no doubt about that. It is only a matter of time. I will remind them like I always do.

There is something about Emegha that I want to see badly. He's a ridiculous profile, especially designed to dominate the Premier League. I badly want to how it plays out. But I'm very optimistic about him if he stays fit of course.

Xabi Alonso: "We tried with Morgan playing close to Cole [Palmer], and sometimes we need to be creative and try a few things to see if they are going to work well. I assess all the possibilities we have." That's normal. He's just a new manager trying combinations to see what works. There is no other way as we are no longer in preseason. But when it doesn't work, everyone goes up in arms. However, it's just part of the process. In a few months, he will know a fair part of what works and what won't work. Then, experiment will be minimal. That's just how coaching is. You won't know everything about your team overnight.

Did Alonso say anything about Chavarría's injury today?

It won't be cheap to sack Carrick, he just signed a permanent deal in the summer.

If Man City get relegated, I see Haaland at Real Madrid. I think Real Madrid have space for Erling Haaland and he suits Jose Mourinho's style. I'm not so sure he suits how Barcelona want to play. Barca want the likes of Alvarez, Pedro or Kane. They want a 9.5 not a traditional 9.

Xabi Alonso on Emegha: 🗣 "He has special qualities, but he has to feel fully fit. He's been training for the last couple of weeks, 10 days, in a good way that allows him to build a strong base for his fitness and now gradually we want to see him."

Xabi Alonso on low possession against Spurs: 🗣 "What I want is to win the game. We can be better but it's not that significant. Possession can be 60, it can be 40, 30 as long as you create chances and you have chances to score goals and win games. That's the most important."

Alonso has confirmed that Emmanuel Emegha is back for Liverpool, but I suspect he will start on the bench.

Joâo Pedro is out for a few weeks with a thigh injury. Not great but thank God It's just a few weeks not months. I guess he will be back after the next international break.

Very sensible decision by Manchester United. 👏

I wonder if we will move on from Camara or revisit that deal in the summer.

No, we won't allow him leave Chelsea in January.

It is okay to have doubts about Chelsea beating Carrick's Man United because of our performance against Spurs, but facing Carrick's United, who lack confidence, is 10x better than facing a United team full of energy to impress the new manager. I don't like facing a new manager bounce; it is complicated.

So, Chelsea are already in talks with Bournemouth for Alex Scott. I like that ambition. He will be a massive addition for the second half of the season. Make it happen!

‼️ Chelsea are increasingly confident of signing Bournemouth midfielder Alex Scott in January, and are already in fresh talks having made multiple bids over the summer. ~ @JacobsBen | @alex_crook

Man United fans are crashing out. They were expecting Carrick news this morning, but are being told that he is still the man for the job. 😂

It looks like Michael Carrick will take training at Manchester United today and could even be in charge against Chelsea on Saturday. That's good news. 👏

Simơn over Raya is the only award I do not agree with. Raya was arguably the best goalkeeper in Europe last season, with 19 clean sheets in the Premier League and reaching the Champions League final. Simon started over him for Spain because he is De La Fuente's personal choice, not because he is better than Raya. If Raya played for Spain, he would have done even better. My question is, is just a good World Cup performance enough to overshadow every performance and achievement over the season? We see that all the time, but I think it is wrong. Unai Simon was bang average in La Liga last season.