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Milinkovic-Savic. I am a massive Leon Bailey supporter, but in this scenario we have Hazard/Pedro/Willian/Hudson-Odoi. Bailey is a special player, but tricky wingers are easier to find than legit midfield studs. SMS can Score/Pass/Dribble while being a physical presence in the midfield. SMS is a potentially immense player. (I do think however Leon Bailey is more likely to come here as SMS is too expensive, I will be over the moon if we secure either)

If we get Reina he is a placeholder until we sign a #1 so we don't get destroyed in GK negotiations & we move on from Caballero as our cost is only his salary. For a position that the player hasn't seen the field in 2 years I would be fine having someone as unqualified as you occupying it if you count as HG. The club will play Bulka before Green gets a sniff. I don't really care what your standards are if you can't see the logic & reasoning behind this move. You can stew and be angry and rant about this all you want, I am done with the conversation. Have a good day.

I can't believe how worked up you are over a free HG goalkeeper. As countless people have said this makes perfect sense. You might have an issue with Caballero but for league cup games he does the job just fine. Courtois gets lions share of the minutes, as will our next keeper. that Pepe Reina rumour is around, he would be a fine 2nd keeper as well. You're making a mountain out of a molehill with this.

Caballero is a fine goalkeeper. We have more pressing matters to attend to. our 2nd/3rd gk were both free and one is now HG. I don't know what more you want.

So basically you'd like Chelsea to carry a 3rd goalkeeper with the potential to be No. 1 just in case the first 2 get hurt? Common. Eduardo didn't play a game for 2 years straight

You guys are aware he is only being signed to help with HG. He will get as much time as Eduardo did. Its a free HG spot who won't play.

Is anyone else as over the Transfer window as I am? The must buy pieces were Jorginho & Sarri. Now I am tired of it, all these rumours which nobody knows about. Golovin? I'd be happy with him, but I'd also be fine without him. Rugani? Good player I'm sure, but if we stick with AC/Rudiger/Luiz I would be alright. I think Sarri is our most important signing. I am so done with all this.

I don't think either of us will agree with the rating of Allan or Kante. Regardless we will get to see how he performs this year in the system. You still haven't answered my 2nd question: Who do we currently have or who would you buy(that is somewhat available) to be this B2B player?

Where we differ is I believe Kante can be adept at getting forward and being involved in the build up. Allan has 11 goals in his entire career, in the 7 seasons before Napoli he had 3, at Napoli in 3 seasons he has had 8. He is not a goal machine but he is valuable in other ways, the same as Kante. Also, speaking of B2B you mentioned that if we sold Kante you would use the cash on a striker or RW, my question is who do we currently own that could fill that B2B role you've explained or who would you buy that could perform the role more effectively than Kante?

I respectfully disagree, I believe Kante can excel in the B2B/Shuttler type as you mentioned except i would classify it as B2B/Ball winner. Go back and watch our Barca game in the Camp Nou, he picked the ball up, beat his man and covered ground effectively moving forward. That is exactly what is expected here. His reading of the game is probably his greatest skill, freeing him up to roam the middle of the park which opens him up to a larger area to roam. Jorginho will sit in behind and can recycle smartly, while also giving Kante an easy passing option to jump start the attack. Without him I fear we would lose balance in the midfield which we will need against real opponents. That money could be used to strengthen other areas of the field but Sarri said the area where we were missing quality is Midfield, Kante is part of the solution not the problem in my eyes. The beauty of a Sarri system is the passing triangles/patterns are so driven into the player that all Kante would have to do is simply lay it off to a nearby creative player if nothing forward is available. Jorginho Kante Barkley(or RLC or Golovin) That Kante position needs to be more defensively minded or else we will get over run. I think he has the chops to succeed in the Sarri system and continue his run of being integral in every team hes been apart of.

Not to mention he is a terror at pressing. Constant movement

@Chelsea Legend 11 You're right, Kante has never played in an uber attacking team setup. But his role is defined by Allan, as you showed. A key component of SarriBall is quick recovery of the ball and movement. Kante is the best in the world at ball recovery, and is in constant movement. We need a balanced midfield, Kante has shown he can carry the ball when need be and has shown he has a wide variety of passing capabilities. Is he going to pick those incisive passes through the lines consistently? No. Few players can, we happen to posses two of them in Cesc and Jorginho. His role will be to run around and destroy, a role in which I feel extremely comfortable he will excel at.

Can we discuss the actual game on this topic? Move the Kante debate to the Kante forum. Even though I think it is ridiculous that its even a debate, He has been an important player on every single team hes been on.

I am extremely excited for this game. They are an extremely talented squad top to bottom and should have a bunch of their key players available. I expect some of this positivity will boomerang back to negativity if things dont go well. I think we start with the same lineup except Emerson for Alonso and either Pasalic or Bakayoko for Cesc.

Really positive start for me. Pedro looked really comfortable in the system, Barkley when he was in Mid was extremely good. Jorginho was Jorginho. We all know the positives, there were some negatives however. Emerson looked better than Alonso while attacking but we looked WIDE open at the back, Perth just didnt have the players to hurt us. Jorginho/Fabregas together should never happen against real teams unless we have Kante on the field. We need better balance, I think Azpi/Rudiger/Kante will provide this. We have a serious scoring problem still, one that I think Sarri knows and its concerned with. Overall though it was a great Debut, I just wanted to balance some of the positives with a few negatives to keep it even. In regard to the Kante debate in the posts above mine, he is essential for us in this system in my opinion. Ball recovery is essential to the system, Kante is the best at that in the world. I don't feel the need to expand on that, Kante is incredibly important for us and I think he will be great for Sarri.

I've been arguing that Morata could come good, That first game was about as poor as possible for him. he was on the ground complaining and had a seemingly negative energy the entire match. Just one match but I am much closer now than I was 4 hours ago to thinking he needs to go at any and all costs. What a disappointment.

Price keeps rising, but we seemed determined to arm Sarri with who he wants. Frankly, you could see how much quicker Jorginho was moving the ball than anyone else, it might be an extreme example but it makes me more confident in Rugani if Sarri says he is the target he wants for his system. If we have a rotation of Rudiger/Christensen/Rugani/Luiz I think Sarri will be extremely happy. Not to mention Ampadu as an under 21 option. Very intriguing.

I happen to think Barkley will come good, he had a very positive game today. I think either of RLC or Golovin(if we buy him) would be extremely dangerous there as well and Cesc is limited but still useful against weaker teams if we protect him. I never said Bakayoko would start, but I do think we should keep him if he can keep up. If Kante goes down(god forbid) or just needs a rest we would have no defensive minded player in the midfield, we need balance. I view him as a Kante backup. Drinkwater getting sold for sure. Deep: Jorginho/Fabregas B2B: Kante/Bakayoko ATM: Barkley/RLC(or Golovin or both)

Just the 1st game against an easy Perth but he looked decisive and strong. His passing was crisp and almost always forward. I was very surprised. He looks like he could understand the philosophy and really build himself back up. I don't think we should sell/loan him(i never wanted too) this year. If he can grasp the system he is useful for us as we have no other midfielder who has his physical capabilities on the defensive side of the game. Really happy for him with this showing (i know its one half against a shit team in pre-season, but you've got to start somewhere!)

Agreed, expectation every year has to be at a minimum top 4. I am nervous going into the season, top 6 is as competitive as ever and we are coming from a weaker position. New manager, unrest in the squad. I am excited for the season, but also nervous.

For the record, I want Hazard to sign a new deal. It is looking like he wants this move, and frankly I don't blame him. He has not made a fuss through a chaotic Chelsea time, and he is being a good soldier now. If Madrid wants to offer Asensio + 100-125m I am taking the deal. I am selling Willian to Barca for 60-70m. That puts anywhere from 160-190m in the chest for immediate spend. I am bringing in Milinkovic-Savic(100m), Fekir(60m) and/or Leon Bailey(50m). It resets our team age to all grow together and we can make better use of our academy. Will we win a trophy next year? probably not, unless its Europa. But we will be set up for an extremely bright future. Core of Team Moving Forward GK: Donnarumma or Schmeichel Defenders: Azpi(CAPTAIN), Rugani, Rudiger, Christensen, Emerson, Moses Midfield: Milinkovic-Savic, Jorginho, Kante, Golovin, RLC, Bakayoko, Barkley Attackers: Asensio, Leon Bailey(or Fekir or both), Hudson-Odoi, Mount Strikers: Higuain, Bats, Tammy That is potentially one of the best midfields in the world, Some of the brightest young exciting attackers, and Some strikers with a nose for the goal. This is purely a hypothetical, its more just my thoughts on what we should do in an unfortunate situation.

frankly im surprised Man City hasn't bought him yet if he really has been offered to teams. He was the first player Pep requested to bring in at Bayern supposedly.

He is a wonderful player, but so similar to Jorginho that a midfield of Pjanic/Jorginho/Kante would be wonderful but woefully lack the goals we need. If we were willing to offer that amount of money and with Lazio being interested in Pedro it would hypothetically be worth a run at Milinkovic-Savic. I suspect once Golovin comes in we will be finished our midfield spending though.

Atleti - Oblak Barca - Ter Stegen Just because there are other teams doesn't mean everyone wants him? Plus he has been vocal about Real and the city of Madrid. They have all the leverage in this situation. 35-40 will be the price, and considering the situation I am fine with that fee. Get a grip on market dynamics man.

I would like to see Schmeichel here. He has good distribution, world class penalty stopper, commands his area well. Isn't as glamorous as Alisson or as Imposing as Courtois but I think he has the right mindset and would jump at the chance to play for a big club.