OhForAGreavsie

We'll see how the season develops. Perhaps Lavia in the side will give Enzo the freedom to unleash his A game but I'm yet to be fully convinced by him. If our Argentine fails to make our top XI once Maresca has the team playing the way he wants it to, I won't be totally shocked.

If it turns out that he stays in the Premier League I'll be gutted. I put in what I thought was a stupidly large bid for Palmer in my fantasy league but found myself massively outbid by a manager who spalshed almost 40% of his entire budget to get Cole. When Olise came up I was therefore determined to get him so I bid 75% above his market value. Then came the bad news that he was going so I had to sell at a massive loss to avoid losing all the money I spent on him. Now this. Come on Bayern pay up.

She wasn't a regular while on loan at Paris so I doubt there is a contract on offer for her there either. Wonder if London City Lionesses might be interested with their new found riches?

I had a report that said it was a free transfer but with add-ons.

Other reports giving Arsenal's share as 10 to 15% of the final figure including any add-ons achieved.

As we write Leicester are trying to find a way to demand Chelsea pay more for KDH than the figure they had agreed with Brighton.

My own opinion on Connor is unchanged since I formed it when he was a youth team player but I have to admit that he has done much better than I thought he would when I said back then that I did not think he was Chelsea level. (Mind you our level has dropped a fair bit since then.) There is no way KDH can match Connor's love for the club but if he is, in effect, to replace Connor in the squad he will have to offer huge effort, energy, and commitment. After that we'll see.

KDH may, or may not, turn out to be any more effective than Sidwell but it's clear from just the eye test that he is far more talented than our former player was.

To be fair I'm not a fan either, that's mainly based on games I watched him play for the 21s.

I expect he'll be good at Milan, but after that we'll see.

Makes sense.

Ramano claimed last night that Mamardashvili will be available this window. Assuming that's true, he will presumably prefer a Champions League club if he can find one that; suits him, needs a keeper, and is able to spend on one. Maybe we could convince him that our Champions League absence is just temporary, and remind him, that if he joined, he'd be playing in the club world cup next summer.

Since it takes two to dance the buyback tango it's a reasonable guess that Hutchinson is emotionally done with Chelsea. If he has no interest in coming back here he ain't signing a buyback. Let's hope for a significant sell on eventually.

No, it has to be Nico. I've admitted several times on here that I don't have the kind of personality to get chants going but, even so, I have tried several times to get a NICO song based on this started at The Bridge. No success yet but I live in hope.

That's where I've been going wrong! Get me a cashmere dress coat, and get my agent Todd's number. 🙂

In terms of roles in the team, who would you feel that Xavi replaces, or at least how would you see us lining up with him in the side?

He looked good in possession on YouTube but I think it's going a bit far to say that this is a cock up. Wolves no doubt have offered him a place in their first team squad when he joins up and are very likely paying him more than could be sustained by Strasburg without upsetting their wage structure. He's probably also agreed a release clause in case his performances attract the interest of bigger clubs. That's an attractive package when compared to what we could offer now. I don't blame BlueCo for trying to do this deal, and I don't blame the lad for choosing an alternative which suits him better. Good luck to the boy.

Pile on those zeros son!

I hope you checked that one first. Seems like it must always have been a good bet. 🙂

I agree on both counts. Estevao does look a huge talent in his highlight videos but Paez looks to be on another level, which only underscores the hype surrounding the Ecuadorian. All of which gives the two lads a lot to live up to, and us a lot to look forward to. As for Olise, of all the players linked, or signed, last summer he was number one on my wish list. (Although I had watched Palmer run the show against us in the 2020 Youth Cup Final, and had been blown away by his talent, he never occurred to me as a potential transfer target.) You do ask the right question though about what we're going to do with all of this talent. I'm guessing that the plan would be to put off any irreversible decisions by adding Paez to the squad and loaning Estevao to Strasbourg. If nothing else he should help their fans start to feel a lot better about being part of BlueCo. That plan would allow BlueCo to inject a few extra pounds into Chelsea in the form of a loan fee. If this is set at a level which covers the amortisation of his transfer fee, then Chelsea will essentially have signed the player for free. Later, if Estevao lives up to his potential, the time will come when he demands either first team football at Chelsea or a move to another competitive high level club. Then we have the option to add him to our squad if that is the correct decision or to cash in on his enhanced transfer value. Meanwhile, back at Stamford Bridge, Olise and Paez sharing playing time sounds like squad depth to dream of. The question still remains though can we get Olise. I'm not confident and in fact think we have no chance if City throw their hat into the ring. I've read that there could be no room for Olise at the Etihad because of Phil Foden. I don't see it that way however. Firstly, City have a clear strategy of a squad which represents two first elevens, rather than starters and backups. Secondly, Foden can play the KDB position, leaving Olise and Silva to cover the inverted right wing spot.

Those 'doubts' may very well be the writer's own for all we know.

The way that's written is suggesting that Guardiola doesn't appeal to Olise, rather than that Olise does not appeal to Pep. Somehow I doubt that's true. In fact I doubt it's true either way round. Maybe Pys just wrote it a bit carelessly.

A Chelsea player who is actually comfortable playing on the left wing. 🙂

Seems we are firmly in the, "It's the hope that kills.", stage now. 🙂

Agreed.