LAM09

Ah, okay. It's very rare that you come across strikers of similar build who are nimble or tidy on the ball.

Don't insult the latter like that. A large majority of people were saying the former had a much better goal return (it was slight) during his first season in Italy. You know why: Osimhen was busy getting 16 IIRC screws put into his face. His numbers speak for themselves. Osimhen is a whole different player in the box and would have probably taken Napoli to the CL final at least, were he fully fit.

I'd have preferred Gallagher leaving instead of Mount, but it is what it is. We can't afford to keep players around in the hope they MIGHT get better. His performance in the Carabao Cup final will live long in memory.

£65m for Casper. I don't have any qualms about that, and he makes a rival weaker in the process.

I just feel like a number of these players won't make the grade, similar to years gone by. It's one thing to potentially go after the most talented or noteworthy youngsters around, like RM tends to do, but this idea of stockpiling them? Meh. I'd love to be proven wrong, though.

I can see someone doing just that this summer. There was serious talk about Bernardo going, so it wouldn't surprise me to see him join his fellow Portuguese teammates.

I quoted your post in response to another user, so I've addressed that already. I apologise if my post wasn't identical to how you worded yours, but that's the vibe I and clearly other users got. Another topic I touched upon - Players based in the major countries in Europe will develop at a much faster rate than those elsewhere, for obvious reasons. Using the USA as a pointer is odd considering football or soccer is still irrelevant for the most part. However, to partially answer your question, he probably wouldn't have developed at the rate he did, but there's no telling how quickly we would have adapted to European football considering someone with his skillset would have been bought in his mid teens, similar to Alphonso Davis. Alphonso Davis is probably the best example, having thought about it. Someone born in Africa moved to Canada at a young age (goes with your thinking) and was bought by Bayern at 17. Would his career have been different if he had been born in Spain?

Were Morocco tactically naive on their way to the WC semis 6 months ago? I made a brief mention of the problems that, in general, affect African football. Whether it was your intention or not, the way you phrased your post lumped all people from Africa together, which is incorrect on so many ways. The dearth of the best coaching available to players on the continent itself may cause them to play at World Cups with less tactical awareness than the majority of SA nations, which have players who mostly compete in Europe's top leagues. Once again, Africans as a whole don't inherently lack tactical awareness; those still playing on the continent or who moved to Europe relatively late in footballing terms (23+) might have those issues, but Africans that were either born in Europe (most of the Morocco squad in Qatar) or individuals like Ndidi, Salah, or Mane who came early on in their careers don't lack it. This misconception needs to be banished. Edit - Nice change to your post. I'm not going to go round in circles.

"have difficulty grasping the tactical side of the game" 🙄

I gave an example above. People think footballers of African descent lack the mental capability or have difficulty grasping the tactical side of the game. What on earth is that?! I could write a whole list of issues with regards to how African players are viewed by their counterparts, but this is a "Chelsea transfers" thread, not discrimination 101.

No. You presumed that. Discrimination comes in many forms.

I never mentioned racism at all. I just pointed out that Africans aren't viewed the same way. The post that originally started this conversation is a prime example of exactly that point. Incorrect. His post - "Absolutely! and African players often lack tactical discipline -- not a super nice thing to point out, but it is what it is." That's a generalisation of African players rather than him specifically talking about those that play on the continent.

That helps, but where do most of the squad play currently? There's no doubt Europe is the best place for young players to develop, learn from the best coaches, and have the chance to play at the highest level. Those chances have been severely lacking for years, not to mention the amount of exploitation, which is well documented.

There's a reason the majority of France were angry after a large number of the French 2018 WC winning squad stated the triumph was for Africa. If only times were different or players had to play for the country of their birth (country unrest aside).

Eto'o. Drogba and Yaya Toure should have been the conversation at their peaks. Salah would have had a very solid case had he won the CL during his first season at Liverpool as well (Ramos thuggery).

If you have dual nationality, it's rather common to support a team that was local to you when you were younger or more mainstream in your country. I doubt Chelsea were that renowned two decades ago overseas. People who randomly wake up in their thirties with half-and-half scarves is when you ought to start questioning things.

Just take a look at African WC qualifying, for starters, and you'll see most of the best nations have a hard time reaching a WC, let alone performing on the biggest stages. Also, if there are other people with the same train of thought as you who are seemingly profiling people from the Africa as being inept in one way or another, you can see why it's an uphill battle for them to even be treated fairly. There's a reason Weah is still the only African to win the Ballon d'Or, and it has nothing to do with the talent of those who have followed him.

Onana seems to have some disciplinary issues (he fell out with Song during the WC too), so that wouldn't surprise me. However, his drug ban might have contributed to his issues with Ten Hag while they were in Ajax. I think you might have to get used to Kepa for at least another 12 months, unless he gets injured. If we do end up missing out on Onana, I wouldn't be too worried, tbh. His performances at last year's AFCON summed him up quite well. Maignan is the only keeper we're interested in that ticks the boxes. However, I don't think he's keen to join, if rumours are to be believed. I wouldn't say he's massively overrated, but the hype and supposed eagerness to sign him are a bit much, IMO. We should put a sizeable offer in and, were it to be rejected, move on before it costs us dearly.

There are mixed reports about him on a daily basis, from going to Saudi Arabia to signing an extension at United. He's always liable to make notable blunders multiple times a season, so finally replacing him would be the smart move despite his heroics in seasons gone by.

He made mistakes in important matches (against Sevilla, IIRC, and the FA Cup final, to name two). It's widely reported they want a new number one, & if the Onana news is true, it would make sense due to his Ajax connections.

There certainly is. It's not worth replying most of the time.

You originally said shit managers, so you're moving goal posts now. Havertz was just as bad for Germany at times, which is why a second-tier CF was favoured over him to lead the line. A style of play doesn't force players to miss chances on a frequent basis. It's that time again. 🙄 Neither of those players was given a proper chance, while Havertz has played 139 games thus far. Pinning your hopes on potential won't get us anywhere.

I have to wonder what the rationale behind that is. KK, Silva, & Chalobah could be leaving. Oh, you can't mention those three in the same breath because Chalobah is dreadful in comparison. I'm actually flabbergasted at how we've ended up here based on that original post.

Tuchel & Flick are shit managers now? I don't know what to say. He just mentioned a player that's also linked with a move away rather than alluding to them all being of equal ability. I'd be happy to be corrected if I'm wrong, though. Edit - You have your answer in the post above.

You said good. Either way, I wholeheartedly disagree. Both players are living on potential. We should move them on if the price is right.