Vesper

Bono would be PERFECT for us as a 2, 3 or so year transitional keeper until penders is ready to go

insane GKing by Bono WOW

1 1

1 nil Fluminense

Alessandro Bastoni 1.90m Ronald Araujo 1.92m Ousmane Diomande 1.90m Ilya Zabarnyi 1.90m (very likely PSG-bound though) Cristhian Mosquera 1.91m David Hancko 1.89m Joel Ordoñez 1.88m Jair Cunha 1.98m Martin Vitik 1.93m

I actually might agree with this

as I posted days ago his wage demands are around £198K PW which is not extortionate at all it's over £150K PW less than what we paying that rotter Sterling

in terms of left-footed wingers Geovany Quenda is coming next season or, to really press it, Kudus now, but Spuds are close to buying him

Gustavo Gomez their captain/best CB is suspended

number 1 it is Strasbourg buying Soumaila Coulibaly number 2 he only cost £6.45m + £0.85m in add-ons https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6470783/2025/07/03/strasbourg-coulibaly-dortmund-transfer/ Strasbourg are set to sign central defender Soumaila Coulibaly from Borussia Dortmund. The 21-year-old is expected to move for a fee of €7.5million plus €1m in add-ons.

Our board thinks both will be elite level.

Soumaïla Coulibaly Sarr replacement for Strasbourg at CB

Lyon set asking price for Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea target Malick Fofana https://metro.co.uk/2025/07/02/lyon-set-asking-price-arsenal-liverpool-Chelsea-target-malick-fofana-23564711/ Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea are just three of the many clubs interested in Lyon winger Malick Fofana and the French club have named their price. The 20-year-old moved to Lyon from Gent in January 2024 and has been a regular in the side since. The Belgium international scored 11 times in his first full season with Lyon and established himself as one of the brightest young talents in Europe. Alongside the Gunners, Reds and Blues, Nottingham Forest and Fulham have also expressed an interest, although will do very well to win the race for the winger. German champions Bayern Munich, Italian champions Napoli and RB Leipzig are also reportedly keen. The Independent reports that Lyon are asking for £51.5m for his services this summer, but given the level of interest in him they are hoping this lofty price could rise still higher. The report suggests that the interested clubs have already made contact, while transfer expert Fabrizio Romano reports that Nottingham Forest have got as far as agreeing a deal with Lyon. Clearly that suggests that Forest are in a good position in the battle to sign the Belgian, but there has been no agreement between the City Ground side and the player. With much bigger clubs tracking him, Fofana is believed to be waiting to see what other offers come in and hoping for a Champions League club to make the move. Lyon would rather not lose one of their best players, but they do need to raise funds due to the financial crisis at the club and will be happy to sell for a big offer.

To all those who are going a bit ratch over the signings I have two words: Manchester United

Chelsea sign free agent who claimed he'd discovered his release after social media post Chelsea's newest signing, Kian Best, was released by hometown club Preston North End last month and claimed that he only found out about the decision from social media https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/transfer-news/Chelsea-kian-best-new-signing-35490827

Ronald Araujo snip At the start of this year, Araujo penned a new long-term contract to commit his future to the La Liga champions until 2031. However, the 26-year-old remains linked after he only made 25 appearances for Barcelona in all competitions in 2024/25 due to injuries and a dip in form. It has been suggested that the Uruguay international could be sacrificed this summer as Barcelona look to raise funds for Athletic Bilbao’s Nico Williams and a report in Spain claims he is attracting interest from three European giants. It is noted that Serie A giants Juventus were initially the only club in the race to sign Araujo, but he also has ‘offers’ from Man Utd and Bayern Munich. Juventus are currently the ‘most advanced’ club, but no one has yet done enough to tempt Barcelona to ‘open the door to his exit’, with their ‘minimum’ price set at 40 million euros (£34m). Man Utd and Bayern Munich are ‘attentive’ and ‘monitoring the situation’, with the report also revealing what it will take to get a green light ‘without hesitation’ from Barcelona.

Boga had that one decent season 2019-20, when Covid hit

João Pedro - Exactly the profile of player Maresca’s system requires Analysis by senior data writer Mark Carey While Chelsea have formed a habit of stockpiling attacking talent under their BlueCo ownership, Joao Pedro’s profile is actually one that Maresca does not have in the squad — and one that could be a crucial part of Chelsea’s attacking jigsaw. Capable of playing as a centre-forward, second striker or attacking midfielder, Joao Pedro’s best attributes are stitching attacks together, often drifting towards the left side of the pitch but also dropping in to help progress his side up the field. That is exactly the profile of player that Maresca’s system requires: someone who is able to show for the ball when midfield options are limited within Chelsea’s build-up. Nicolas Jackson has shown that he does have strengths in that part of his game — linking play and working the channels well — but he and Liam Delap are more likely to stretch the opposition back line with their runs in behind. By contrast, Joao Pedro is far more natural in making runs towards the ball — equally comfortable creating for those looking to run beyond him as he is spearheading his side’s attack. This is reflected in his SkillCorner profile below, looking at his off-ball run types per 30 minutes in possession, compared with centre-forwards across Europe’s top seven leagues. It is striking how low Joao Pedro’s ratings are for running in behind (20 out of 99) and running to attack the box to receive a potential cross (Cross receiver, 12 out of 99). Instead, look how often the Brazilian international looks to come towards the ball (Coming short, 70 out of 99) or create overloads by running closer to his team-mate (Support runs, 91 out of 99).

Jonathan David set to join Juventus on free transfer: What this means for Canada and the player https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6080133/2025/07/02/jonathan-david-juventus-transfer/ Canadian forward Jonathan David is set to join Juventus after leaving Lille at the end of last month. David is yet to undergo a medical with the Italian club but, pending that, he will join as a free agent. The 25-year-old announced in May he would be departing the club upon the conclusion of his contract this summer. “I want a club with ambition that wants to do something,” he then told The Athletic in June. “Obviously, I would love to fight for titles, to win titles. A team that’s competitive, that has ambition, really, with a good sporting project.” A move for David would see him become Juventus’ first new arrival of the summer. Obligations in loan deals for Lloyd Kelly, Nico Gonzalez and Michele Di Gregorio have seen the trio join the club permanently this summer, while Juventus triggered their option to sign centre-back Pierre Kalulu on a permanent basis in early June. Premier League side Chelsea had held talks with the representatives of David about a potential transfer during the 2024 summer window. What You Should Read Next Why Jonathan David is captaining Canada for first time at Gold Cup The Canadian star forward will take on some added responsibility as he seeks to guide his team to its first trophy in 25 years. David joined Lille from Belgian side Gent in 2020 in a record deal for the French club. He helped Lille win the Ligue 1 title in 2020-2021, scoring 19 goals in 48 games. The Canada international registered 109 goals in 232 appearances for Lille, putting him second in the club’s all-time top scorers list. He has scored 34 times in 63 appearances for Canada and was part of the side that reached the semi-finals of the 2024 Copa America. Juventus finished fourth in Serie A in 2024-25 as they failed to win a trophy for the third time in the last four seasons. Head coach Igor Tudor was appointed in March, replacing Thiago Motta, who only lasted nine months in the role. They reached the last 16 of the Club World Cup but were eliminated by Real Madrid after a 1-0 defeat. David ready to take the next step Analysis by Joshua Kloke After years of questions emerging over David’s future, the player stayed patient. He dutifully answered questions in Canada camps about his club future, all the while never showing outward frustration or questions about how long the process of moving on from Lille was taking. David knew what he wanted — a move to one of Europe’s biggest clubs — and knew he could keep scoring enough to keep himself in the conversation. Ultimately, for David, this move is about solidifying himself among Europe’s great forwards, once and for all. He scored almost at will for Lille. So much so that it became easy to ask whether he could continue scoring once he ascended to a more competitive league. David is betting on himself that he can. Given the variety of positions he can play in, his innate football smarts and his continued improvement season to season, it is a safe bet. David was attracted to Juventus because of the club’s ambition and their desire not just to compete for Serie A titles every season, but also to compete in the Champions League as well. Winning regularly is what drives David, internally. David will join fellow North Americans Weston McKennie and Timothy Weah. (Marco Bertorello/AFP via Getty Images) A chance to grow his brand Analysis by Joshua Kloke For a player who has long been a reserved character at least publicly, heading to a widely recognized club is an opportunity for David to grow his own brand and image. That’s secondary to what he can accomplish on the field, no doubt. But with the World Cup less than a year away, David might not get a better opportunity to turn himself into a globally-recognized force as well. And don’t kid yourself, this move will have a massive impact for David and Canada, too. He captained Canada through their Gold Cup run. It seemed like a strange choice at first, given David’s reserved nature. But the man the national team started calling “Capi” came out of his shell and took ownership over the team with Alphonso Davies and Stephen Eustaquio not available. It was a step towards becoming the household name in Canada that, three years ago, he said he wanted to become. What You Should Read Next Will Canada learn from a total Gold Cup failure, or just keep talking a big game? Canada's been knocking on the door of a breakthrough, but it's going to take more than speaking it into existence, as the Gold Cup showed Canada is as diverse and multicultural a country as there is. When the World Cup arrives next summer, people across Canada will be tuned into the national team with a sense of curiosity. Having a global brand like Juventus beside your name not only provides David instant credibility with neutral fans, it could turn Canadians with deep ties to the team and Italy itself onto Canada’s national team in a new way. A move that could help Canada’s scoring woes Analysis by Joshua Kloke On the field, it is fair to be optimistic about what this means for David and Canada. More competitive teams and better defenders in Serie A and the Champions League should hone David as a scorer over the next year. And Canada need him to score. While they progressed to the semifinals of Copa America last year, they also did so by only scoring just two goals through the group stage and quarterfinal. Canada need to score much more to match their high-tempo style. Getting a confident and improved David as a result of playing among the world’s best will be a boon to Canada in 2026. And it might end up making David Canada’s most important player at the World Cup. He will have the freedom to play almost wherever he wants for Canada — as a second striker, a No 10, even out wide — as Jesse Marsch sees him one of the most intelligent players he has ever coached. If David can add more tools to his game in Serie A, Canada could have a much better chance of finally winning their first World Cup game. And, in a 48-team World Cup, possibly advancing to the knockout round.

Veiga shound not leave for less than 35m quid I am pissed we do not give him a shot at CB I watched him there at Juve and he looked great

Chelsea's 'next Eden Hazard' retires aged just 28 after being 'killed' by Blues exit Former Chelsea wonderkid Charly Musonda left Stamford Bridge in 2022 and just three years down the line, has decided to hang up his boots in an emotional announcement https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/Chelsea-charly-musonda-retire-hazard-35478496 Ex-Chelsea starlet Charly Musonda has decided to retire at just 28 three years after leaving West London. The Belgian winger joined the Blues from Anderlecht in 2012, moving through the Blues’ youth system until his eventual breakthrough. He made his first-team debut for Chelsea in 2017 and went on to make seven senior appearances for the club. Big things were expected of Musonda and he was even tipped to be the successor to club icon and compatriot Eden Hazard. But things then went downhill for Musonda in West London after loan spells with Real Betis, Celtic and Vitesse Arnhem. He eventually left the club for nothing in 2022 at the end of his contract, with Levante and Cypriot side Anorthosis Famagusta then making moves for him. But he left the latter last summer and has been without a club since. Musonda has now decided to hang up his boots despite having only 63 appearances under his belt. Speaking on the Rising Ballers podcast, he said: "I've got a big announcement today. It's not easy but it's something I've been thinking about for a long time. After reflecting on my experiences and who I am, I've realised I want to live with purpose to inspire and motivate others." READ MORE: Transfer news LIVE: Arsenal in 'advanced' Gyokeres talks, Man Utd eye old target, Liverpool get Guehi boostREAD MORE: Players ask FIFA to scrap early kick-offs and say Chelsea match should have been called off Opening up on his time with Chelsea - and eventual exit - Musonda has revealed that his departure from the club was the catalyst behind his downturn in form. He added: "The exit killed me. It killed me mentally. It was the worst thing. “I was obviously with the reserves at that time so the plan was to pick up with the reserves, get some training in and if there were a few games where I could fit in toward the back end of the season, that was the plan. "Because I literally had just gotten better. I came back in December-January and was training with the reserves. Feeling amazing, happy to be back—obviously it was a long way for me to be fully fit, but just being able to train was amazing. "The first team was doing really well. It was COVID, so the buildings were split and you wouldn’t really see the first team. Then toward the back end of the season in the car park I ran into Thomas Tuchel, the manager. "They were getting ready for the semi-final of the Champions League and he just said, 'How are you feeling? How are things going?. "It was my first time meeting him. He said, 'I’m looking forward to seeing you back and I said, 'Don’t worry, I’ll be back for pre-season. "Because in my mind, it was always pre-season and I’d be back with the first team and we’d see from there. So I came back for pre-season and that’s where things got tricky. That was the end of my time at Chelsea."