New York State

Enzo Maresca insists Chelsea must ‘do the right thing’ when it comes to managing Reece James’ fitness ahead of the trip to Leeds United.

The Blues captain has transformed into a hugely capable midfield option for his club, stepping into the middle of the park in an excellent performance against Arsenal on Sunday after Moises Caicedo was sent off.

The Ecuador international will now serve a three-match suspension, leaving a gaping hole in the Chelsea midfield.

While James will be a tempting option, Maresca suggested at a press conference on Tuesday he may rest his skipper at Elland Road.

James also still has a future at  right0back with the Chelsea boss prepared to decide on his position depending on the opposition.

‘It’s complicated. I would like to start him but we need to do the right thing,’ Maresca said.

‘He can play in both positions. He has been at full-back all his life, he has also played as a midfielder.

‘But I think he can be good in both positions, when we decide for him as a midfield, most of the time it’s because we want the physicality when we face something that is strong in the middle. It depends on the game plan but he’s doing very well in both positions.’

Maresca names surprise option to replace Caicedo in midfield

Elsewhere, Maresca is confident Andrey Santos can step in and fill the void left by Caicedo’s suspension – but named another Chelsea player who can also step into his midfield role.

Caicedo was shown a straight red card in Sunday’s 1-1 draw with Arsenal after a wild and reckless challenge on Mikel Merino in the first-half.

Despite his protests, his yellow card was swiftly upgraded to a red by referee Anthony Taylor, earning him a three-match suspension.

The Ecuador international will miss the Leeds game and Saturday’s trip to Bournemouth. He will also be suspended for the home game against Everton on 13 December.

It leaves a gaping hole in midfield where Caicedo has been in magnificent form this season. Chelsea do have a promising young deputy in Santos however, with the Brazil international turning in an excellent display against Burnley following the international break with Caicedo named among the subs that day.

Santos had a superb season on loan at Strasbourg last season but has been limited to just three starting appearances in the Premier League and Champions League this season.   

Maresca feels the 21-year-old is now ‘ready’ to step up – but also names academy graduate Josh Acheampong, a centre-half by trade, as another possible option.

For sure, again, we are a better team with Cole [Palmer], with Moi [Caicedo], with Levi [Colwill, sidelined with an ACL injury], but when these players are not available, we need to find solutions,; Maresca told a press conference on Tuesday.

‘Now we need to do something different.

‘Andrey is ready. His position is playing as a No.6, like Moi, but he is ready. One that can play good in that position is Josh [Acheampong], but we will see.’

With the transfer window reopening in less than a month, Arsenal are busy drawing up plans for what they hope will be a productive period in the market.

The January window represents a chance for the Premier League leaders to bolster their squad ahead of the second-half of the season while also potentially offloading unwanted players.

Mikel Arteta will not want to upset the apple cart too much given his Arsenal side have arguably been the best team in Europe never mind England over the past four months.

A sensational run of just one defeat has seen the Gunners pull five points clear at the top of the Premier League, while they also sit top in the Champions League group phase with a perfect record from five games.

It is not immediately obvious where Arsenal – the undisputed favourites for the title – need to strengthen, but Arteta will not want any decent transfer opportunities pass him by.

The north London side, runners-up in the Premier League for the past three seasons, spent £250m in last summer’s transfer window.

While they will get nowhere near that figure in January, Arsenal are being linked with a number of players ahead of the winter window.

Arsenal ‘seriously consider’ Bahoya bid

According to Sky Germany, Arsenal are ‘seriously considering’ a move for Eintracht Frankfurt’s 20-year-old attacking midfielder Jean-Matteo Bahoya.

Bahoya has attracted interest from several Premier League clubs despite not being guaranteed a place in the Frankfurt team this season, starting half of their Bundesliga games.

A late of regular minutes has not stopped Bahoya from being touted as a future star of European football, having represented France throughout the youth levels.

Reports in Germany claim Frankfurt, currently seventh in the German top-flight, are ‘aware’ of Arsenal’s interest, though talks between the two parties are yet to commence.

It is also claimed that Frankfurt value Bahoya at around 70m euros (£61.5m), having raised an initial £69m when they sold Hugo Ekitike to Liverpool last summer.

Bahoya was the subject of a lucrative offer from Saudi Pro League side Al-Ittihad in the last transfer window but rejected the move.

Explaining his decision to L’Equipe, he said: ‘I honestly didn’t hesitate for a moment. It was a logical decision. I want to have a great season here and compete in the Champions League.

‘We’ll see what happens after this season. In any rate, Frankfurt was the ideal place for me and I’m happy I stayed.’

Arsenal agree to sign 16-year-old twins

Arsenal have already agreed two transfer deals but the players in question – Eduadorian twins Edwin and Holger Quintero – will not be arriving at the Emirates Stadium until the summer of 2027.

The Quintero brothers were in London earlier this week to put pen to paper on deals with Arsenal, according to ESPN.

They currently play for Independiente Del Valle, the club which produced Chelsea’s superstar midfielder Moises Caicedo and Arsenal summer signing Piero Hincapie.

Hincapie moved to Arsenal from Bayer Leverkusen and has made an instant impact in north London, impressing in the absence of the injured Gabriel.

Edwin Quintero, a rapid right-winter, has been likened to a young Neymar, while his brother Holger is a talented attacking midfielder.

Arsenal have been keeping tabs on the teenage twins for well over a year as they look to recruit the best talent of the next generation.

Myles Lewis-Skelly, Ethan Nwaneri and Max Dowman have all enjoyed success for Arsenal’s first team as teenagers, with the latter becoming the youngest ever Champions League player earlier this season.

Who could leave Arsenal next month?

In terms of outgoings, Arteta will resist losing any player he believes could be of use to Arsenal’s title push in the business end of the season.

That includes the aforementioned Lewis-Skelly, who has been linked with a January exit following a surprisingly underwhelming start to the 2025-26 campaign.

The 19-year-old enjoyed a breakthrough season last year after making his senior debut in September, helping Arsenal challenge for the Premier League and reach the semi-finals of the Champions League.

Lewis-Skelly was particularly impressive during Arsenal’s sensational Champions League win over Real Madrid, drawing comparisons with several legends after his performance at the Bernabeu.

The England international was naturally expected to kick on this term but is yet to start a single game in the Premier League, losing his place in the side to Italy international Riccardo Calafiori.

His reduced presence in the team has led to speculation Lewis-Skelly could be loaned out next month but Fabrizio Romano has ruled this out.

The transfer expert claims there is ‘no chance’ of Lewis-Skelly leaving Arsenal in January, with Arteta expected to rely on the youngster in the coming months and the player himself still content.

The same is likely to be true for Ben White despite his lack of game-time – he has started only one Premier League game – although the 28-year-old was recently tipped for a sensational move to Chelsea.

Lewis-Skelly replaced the cautioned Calafiori at half-time during Arsenal’s 1-1 draw with Chelsea on Sunday.

Arteta’s side may have taken a point going into the game given Chelsea’s threat – they beat Barcelona in the Champions League last week – but left Stamford Bridge slightly disappointed after failing to fully take advantage of Moises Caicedo’s first-half sending off.

Arsenal still boast a five-point lead at the top of the Premier League, however, and will be confident of returning to winning ways on Wednesday when they play host to Brentford.

For more stories like this, check our sport page.

Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

A former British soldier suspected of spying for Russia, after being lured by the promise ‘easy money’, has been detained in Ukraine.

The man, who has been named in Ukrainian media reports, travelled to the country in 2024 to train Ukrainian troops, according to a statement from the security services, SBU.

While pretending to help Ukrainian forces defending their homeland from Russian advancements on the frontline, he was recruited by Russia’s FSB spy agency to pass on secret information.

He then carried out ‘reconnaissance and sabotage activities’ and prepared attacks on high-profile Ukrainian activists and an MP.

The Kremlin provided him with weapons and ammunition for the ‘targeted killings on the territory of Ukraine.’

Investigators believe the instructor distributed the firearms used to murder Ukrainian activists Demian Hanul and Iryna Farion and Ukrainian MP Andriy Parubiy.

Parubiy was assassinated in Lviv – shot dead in broad daylight – on August 30.

He was earlier secretary of the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine.

The killing sparked wide shock and condemnation across Ukraine – but was celebrated by hardline Russian war fanatics. 

Among the information the instructor is alleged to have shared with the Russians are the coordinates of military training centres in the south of Ukraine and details about foreign instructors working for the Ukrainian armed forces. 

The UK Foreign Office has not yet commented on the man’s arrest or on his identity.

It is understood that he had military experience from service in the British Army, during which he was deployed to the Middle East.

The SBU first released details about his arrest in October, but further information on his case emerged today when Ukrainian media reported his name. 

The man has been detained and is in custody, while an investigation is ongoing.

Metro has contacted the UK Foreign Office for a comment.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

For more stories like this, check our news page.

DRDO CEPTAM-11 Recruitment 2025 Author: Sarkari Exam Team Tag: B.Sc, Diploma, ITI Job Short Information : Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO CEPTAM) has released the short notice for the recruitment of Senior Technical Assistant-B, Technician-A Posts on the official website of the DRDO. This recruitment has been issued for 764 posts. Candidates Can Also ... Read more

The post DRDO CEPTAM-11 Online Form 2025 appeared first on Sarkari Exam.com.

RAF Operations and Exercises category, third place

Technical/Engineering category, first place winner

RAF Operations and Exercises category, highly commended

Current RAF Equipment category, third place

People category, highly commended

RAF Operations and Exercises category, first place

RAF Operations and Exercises category, highly commended

Current RAF Equipment category, second place

Current RAF Equipment category, first place

RAF Sport category, first place