OhForAGreavsie

Earnings in the region of £50m if we reach the quarter finals gives the tournament an importance which the club can't, and won't, ignore.

Makes perfect sense.

But, over the years, they've fought to keep selected players like Reus, Bellingham, Dembele, Lewandowski, Gotze, and Hummels, for example. The are not fighting to keep Gittens. They are just haggling for the best price they can get.

If these valuations are correctly ranked, and accurately reflect consistent real game contributions, then six from the top, and six places above Sancho, isn't bad. I'm not encouraged by BVB's stance mind you. They aren't really fighting to keep him, and I would expect them to if he is of the calibre to make a really good impact in the Premier League.

Is anything known about why he turned down the Saudi move? It can't simply be the money since he won't get anywhere near the same offer elsewhere. Might it just be for his negotiating integrity? Has he maybe said I won't take any less than x amount, and then felt forced to walk away when he wasn't offered what he had asked for? Interesting to see what next in this multi-season drama.

Is it significant that Noni is starting for England while Gittens does not make the squad, or does his age fully explain this?

I'm looking forward to my first real viewing of Santos. I saw nothing whatsoever which impressed me during the youth international tournament where he received rave reviews, and I have not watched him at Strasbourg. This will be my chance to catch up so I hope he gets significant minutes.

As for the tournament itself, I find it hard to look past PSG for the eventual winners.

We seem to have a favourable draw. It gives us a chance to progress to the last sixteen and, if we avoid Bayern at that stage, we might even be favourites to make the last eight. That would be a good, and profitable, outcome.

You are more positive about him than I am. The next season is a big one for him in terms of establishing his status in the game but I remain a non believer.

At least this suggests there's a good option available for Trevoh if he still hasn't convinced Chelsea's decision makers. Still a top five league, Champions League, and there are a lot of worse places to live than Southern Italy.

No, I don't believe that he did. He remains what he always was, i.e. a player who flatters to deceive.

Impress with your advanced English. Instead of half-a-quid Jackson, say ten-bob Jackson. And if you really want to put someone down go with two-bob, e.g. two-bob OhForAGreavsie, or he's two-bob.

Quite possibly net.

Didn't want him at half the price. Certainly don't want him now.

Agreed. Last season we were able to use squad teams in most cup games. Next season it will be a massive advantage if we are able to use a squad team in some Premier League matches. That's going to require a significant upgrade in the quality of the squad team.

I don't know for sure but I would be surprised if we were contractually obliged to pay him during his ban.

Does this mean they have ended their reported interest in Gibbs-white?

We should be able to play him in the Club World Cup, which would count as this season. We would then still have the option to loan him out again, whether that be back to Genk, elsewhere, or even both Genk and one other club over the course of next season.

Well this would certainly be the right public stance for the manager to take.

As long as the sporting directors have read your post here about not allowing Penders to experience a long-term loan at a desirable destination where there is a high risk of him putting down roots.

They do seem to take longer these days don't they. There's the arrival video, the photo shoot video, the interview, the sponsors' placements and real life events (like a pre-booked holiday perhaps) sometimes having to be squeezed in as well.

CoPilot's assessment of SJ's post: "Mike Maignan is a French professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for AC Milan and the France national team. He is widely regarded as one of the best goalkeepers in the world, known for his reflexes, distribution, and leadership qualities. From the surrounding page content, it appears that Chelsea has approached AC Milan regarding a potential transfer for Maignan. This suggests that Chelsea is actively looking to strengthen their squad with a high-profile goalkeeper. Given Maignan's reputation and performances, he would be a significant addition to any team aiming for top-level competition."

Just received a BBC notification that we are sending Sancho back to ManU and paying what the report describes as a penalty. I heard one journo describe the payment as just the agreed loan fee, and not an additional penalty clause at all. I confess that I had wondered if we might try to turn a profit on Sancho by doing a back-to-back buy from United and sell to X deal. In reality that was daft of me because United and club X would make sure that couldn't happen. Since the original report claims that we've passed on Sancho because we failed to agree terms with him, I have to say that I don't really blame him for holding out. Although he's relatively young he has to face the reality that, outside of moving to Saudi, he will never get another contract to match his current deal with United. That being so, it makes sense not to give up that contract without a payoff or matching terms from his new employer.

Or non-performances. I don't think he actually played a Premier League game. Or should I say, Google doesn't think so. 🙂