OhForAGreavsie

Good information thank you. I have only seen Yildiz in the Club World Cup and was impressed. I don't claim that this is enough to contradict people who have seen him play more often than I have. I do however contrast the impression he made on me with my thoughts about Raphael Leao. As my post history will show, Leao never impressed me at all and I consistently argued against us signing him. Based on my own limited viewings I therefore have no choice but to feel that Yildiz is the better of the two. I do though think that the opinions of fans, and especially fans of the player's own club are worth considering. For example, it was the views of Leicester City fans which made me doubtful about us signing Ben Chilwell.

I'm repeating myself I know but I would take both of them. The plan would be for Rogers to replace Fernandez who I would allow to join Real to help finance the moves. Assuming Real's interest is real of course. If it isn't then I suppose buying both of those players would not be affordable, even if their clubs could be persuaded to sell.

Me too.

I'd like to think that we did and, if we did, the most likely reason it didn't progress is that we were given no encouragement by the player.

Perhaps the club concluded that Yildiz wasn't doable?

We know nothing could happen unless the player pushes hard to leave. Have there been any rumours that he wants to move? Every once in a while I post about my amazement that all pro footballers aren't two-footed. The fact that Yildiz is puts him at the top of my new winger wish list. Juve would obviously want a huge fee but now is the time to make a huge effort. If the Old Lady feels forced to sell, we have some players who could possibly tempt them. Those players; some available for sale, one or two for loan, might therefore sweeten the deal if Yildiz forces his way out.

According to Google he renewed last year and is contracted until 2029.

Much of which he didn't pay! Stiffed a lot of people.

You're just posting this to brighten up a rainy day here in London aren't you? 🙂

Agreed.

I think we will need a third striker. That role is not right for Guiu, and I can't see Jackson being a happy with it so perhaps we need to bring in a veteran who is happy to fit into our wage structure and accepts being number 3. I wouldn't object to Callum Wilson for example. As far as I know he's still looking for a club. I've become sold on the idea of listening to offers for Enzo, if there are any. His transfer value in the rumours would fund the transfer fee of both Simons and Rogers. Rogers then takes the Enzo role in that scenario.

I'm not convinced that Marc would be willing to return.

I'm massively against this. I think that Tosin has deserved more minutes than he was granted last season but that is not the reason I say we need to keep him. He's just a great person to have around: - A squad needs players who accept that they won't start all the big games. Tosin seems reconciled to that. He is a calm, sensible head. He seems to be good for Palmer. He has quickly become one of the elements which bind the squad together. He has the character and the intelligence to embody the ethos of the club; to be the person who commands the respect of his fellow players. If he is not a regular starter then he probably can't be match captain, but I can see him in a 'club captain' role. He is better in front of a camera than pretty much anyone else in the group who comes to mind right now. He can develop into a person that is one of the faces of Chelsea.

Yep that's a fair response. I phrased my question badly. The answer to "Is this our best line up?", will always be, "It depends." 🙂

I tried to buy Estupinan in my fantasy league but was outbid by another manager. I then made that manager three separate offers to buy the Brighton man. He turned them all down but now he'll be scrambling to dump him back to the computer for whatever he can get. Tee-hee.

¡¡

Thanks for not typing 'revert back'. Seems these days a lot of people don't know what revert means. I know it shouldn't bug me but it feels like watching Spurs every time I hear, or read, 'revert back'. That phrase, along with 'very unique' are horrible English, irritate the heck out of me, and yet have become ubiquitous.

✅ (Free transfer with no further salary contribution by Chelsea also works. Perhaps works better in some ways.)

Wirtz reminds me of Hazard. If he performs like Eden it would be a disaster for non Liverpool fans, so I really hope that you are right not to be enamoured.

Longish for a YouTube video but interesting.

Does the World Cup prove that Cole plays better, and the team is better, when there are three authentic midfielders in the team with him? Does it suggest that our best line up currently would feature three midfielders with Cole, João Pedro and one other up top?

After the low of Trump on Sunday, the high of Henderson a few days later. Talk about a rapid rise in the world. Onwards and upwards Cole. (I don't actually know anything about Henderson but it is surely big odds on that he is a better human being than Dopey?)

If I were the capo di tuti Chelsea sporting directors here's an idea I would explore... Encourage Real to make an offer, send some of their money to Villa in exchange for Rogers, and have him replace the departed Fernandez in our squad. Hear me out, I did say 'explore'... I haven't seen Rogers playing that role so I can't confirm it would suit him, but I do feel very strongly that it would. I think he can match Enzo's contribution in those areas of the pitch, plus bring a higher level of technical proficiency. I know many people here, whose opinions I respect, think very highly of Enzo but I can't quite get there, and I wonder if they would agree that technique is not his best attribute? If I wasn't too lazy to make the effort to understand those spider web charts the data analysts love, I'm sure that the Rodgers chart would give me a clue as to whether my idea is a possibility. Of course if I was the head of recruitment I would already know how the read them. I'd know what basic shape I'd be looking for. As it is though I'm stuck with the old fashioned ways.

60 million quid richer no doubt. Good luck to him.