Vesper

100% agree, I am just going to hope he comes good, BUT there are deffo some bargains out there that we need to look at HARD, and bin old Willy for. I will do a happy dance if we buy Predrag Rajkovic or Ugurcan Cakir.

you read my mind and if he ends up HALF the player Xavi was, he wave a bloody diamond on our hands. Xavis is a top ten all-time CMF'er in my book. Bloody genius (and I hate Barca, almost as much as I hate Real!, lol)

IF they follow the clubs instructions/wishes and donate to charities, then I am fine with this. BUT they must do that or I will be fucking pissed. Pay it forward.

there are only TWO names I know for sure that we are actually targeting Moussa Dembele and Chilwell. ALL the rest is just speculation, even Sancho. TBH, I do not think Lampard thinks we even need to tinker with the CB's.(I think he is profoundly wrong here) I also DO think he that he really wants another GKer, but I have ZERO clue who we are looking at, I can but put out my lists of who I think would be the best value.

My wife has talked me into opposing this Coutinho deal. Too much money, too few goals for his talent level, almost too old (this is the last year I would even consider buying him at all, as he is 29 next summer), and it FUCKS us with Pulisic and CHO, both of whom are so young and need to be given space to grow. Ziyech is a floater (AMF/RW) and Sancho is RWer, so no problems there as we lose both our RWers this summer. I have to say pass on Coutinho. I think we can roll with a winger set of CHO, Puli, Sancho and Ziyech as AMF/RWer as needed Sancho can play LW as well (Ziyech cannot, he is too one footed) and both Puli and CHO can play RW as well I will not lose my mind if we do not get Sancho this year, I just do NOT want him at either Manc club, let him stay at Dortmund for now IF we do not get him I am really trying to tamp down my own expectations overall on what we can do this summer we are super fucked (as I predicted even before COVID) with selling dregs, now it is even worse we desperately need a LB and a WC CB and a great CF, plus competition for Kepa (Willy is 39 at the end of summer ffs), those 4 things HAVE to be done, the rest can wait IMHO Kante is more than likely going nowhere, so he needs to rebound huge and Lamps need to figure out how to use him better (that IS Lamps's fucking job, let's be honest on that, Kante is a truly WC footballer when played correctly)

we are not going to get fuckall for Drinkwater, hell we will be LUCKY to get him out on a free with full wages paid by a club Bakayoko we may well be fucked on too, lest hope Monaco wants him (Russian billionaire owner, so money is not an issue) and ffs, we could have had 30-35m for Bats, no club was ever going to pay 45m for him, nw we will be luck to get 25m or so since I joined here I have been sounding the alarm about non sales, mis-timed sales, horrid contract management, and shit buys and now COVID-19 is making my nightmares reality thank fuck Roman is still worth around £11bn (he was back up to close to £14bn pre-VID, but has taken a 2.5bn pound or so haircut with the crisis, although his assets will rebound more than likely, (eventually), he is not a fool and hedged a lot I am sure)

Sport today report on a possible “massacre” at Madrid, as they look to cull large parts of this bloated squad. Named up front are Gareth Bale, James Rodriguez and Mariano Diaz. All will be sold the moment a buyer is found. But it doesn’t stop there. Brahim Diaz and Alvaro Odriozola are also on the unwanted list, and will only end up sticking around as squad players if there’s no interest in them from elsewhere. Of last summer’s arrivals, Luka Jovic, Eder Militao and Alfonse Areola are all also up for grabs if anyone’s interested. Then there’s the old guard – Luka Modric, Marcelo and Lucas Vazquez. Again, they will stick around if there are no takers, but if someone wants to pick up their contracts, Madrid aren’t going to demand much of a fee. That’s a full XI of players who could leave – how many buyers the club actually find remains to be seen. not that those 2 (Jovic and Militao) are i my 'wow' book, but they are potentially cheap options, as Real will get shit for them compared to what they paid RM have 2 players I would kill for Raphael Varane and Casemiro (Casemiro only IF we sold Kante, which I know think (COVID-19) is unlikely) this summer is the last one in which I would buy Casemiro, as he turns 29 in less than 10 months, he is only 11 months younger than Kante btw HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Varane same age as me now (27) as of today Raphaël Varane Date of Birth/Age: 25.04.1993 (27)

The horrid thing is..... we REALLY need to unload Michy (fucking Marina that bish demanding £45m was madness) and also we need to PRAY (even as an atheist lol) that Atleti do not try and fuck us on Morata if we cannot dump Michy and we get stuck with Morata, we are not doing fuckall at CF I fear and we will have FOUR (unless we sell Giroud after just renewing him for a another year) Morata would be a nightmare coming back here he hates London, his wife is a bish who winds him up about it, and he will be a dressing room grenade waiting to blow

REPORT: Big-Money Moves Thrown Into Doubt for Manchester United With Ed Woodward’s Latest Statement https://lastwordonfootball.com/2020/04/25/report-big-money-moves-thrown-into-doubt-for-manchester-united-with-ed-woodwards-latest-statement/ The Coronavirus has not spared any football club in its virulent spread throughout Europe. Even a club the size of Manchester United is having to respond to the crisis; Ed Woodward has recently thrown doubt onto any big-money moves for United with his latest statement, as reported by Samuel Luckhurst of the Manchester Evening News. Big-Money Moves Thrown Into Doubt for Manchester United With Ed Woodward’s Latest Statement The Coronavirus Taking Away Normality The Coronavirus has taken away any sort of normality for virtually everyone in the world; Europe was one of the worst-hit continents. It has been over a month since all five major leagues decided to suspend matches until further notice; despite efforts from many countries, the virus has not stopped, infecting and killing thousands across the World. Already, two leagues have decided to cancel the rest of the season. Belgium’s First Division A decided in early April that enough was enough; they declared current leaders Club Brugge as champions. The Eredivisie of the Netherlands made the call more recently, but instead of attempting to salvage the campaign in some way, it was declared null and void with no winners or relegation. In terms of clubs, everyone from Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain have been affected, and won’t be able to make the same calibre of transfers they would have hoped for in the summer. United are also in this boat, and Ed Woodward recently shed light on their situation. Woodward’s Statement The rather unpopular United vice-chairman told fans on the quarterly fans’ forum conference call that any move for 100s of millions of pounds is unrealistic due to the Coronavirus pandemic. The Red Devils have been linked with multiple transfers for around this sum over the past month, including Harry Kane for £200 million, Jadon Sancho for £120 million, Kalidou Koulibaly for £90 million, and Jack Grealish for £60 million. These comments have now thrown doubt onto whether the Red Devils will make any of the above moves, and with some more important than others, they may only see very few players arrive at the Theatre of Dreams this summer, a major blow to their rebuild. Woodward’s full statement is below: “Nobody should be under any illusions about the scale of challenge facing everyone in football and it may not be ‘business as usual’ for any clubs, including ourselves, in the transfer market this summer. “As ever, our priority is the success of the team but we need visibility of the impact across the whole industry, including timings of the transfer window, and the wider financial picture, before we can talk about a return to normality. ”On this basis, I cannot help feeling that speculation around transfers of individual players for hundreds of millions of pounds this summer seems to ignore the realities that face the sport. “Like all of you, we are eager to see the team return to the field as soon as we are advised it is safe to do so, hopefully to complete a season which still held so much promise for us in the Premier League, the Europa League and the FA Cup when it was suspended. “We are in constant dialogue with our governing bodies about when and how that will happen and we will continue to engage with this Forum to keep fans consulted. “And while it may be that games need to be played behind closed doors in the shorter term, we all recognise that football will not be fully back to normal until supporters are once again in attendance.” ??

The board of Chelsea Football Club would like to update our fans, our staff, our community and our other stakeholders of certain actions the club is taking during the coronavirus crisis. https://www.chelseafc.com/en/news/2020/04/25/club-update-on-coronavirus-initiatives-for-staff--supporters-and The board, guided by club owner Roman Abramovich, has agreed on a number of initiatives aimed at ensuring the financial well-being of our staff as well as supporting our fans and the wider community. Employees The club can confirm we will not be taking advantage of the Government’s current Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme which runs to 30 June. We are not planning any general redundancies or furloughs for our full-time staff who are continuing to be paid 100 per cent of their current wages. Casual workers and match day staff employed by the club are being compensated by us through 30 June as if matches had been played and we had been operating as normal. We are continuing our current level of financial and other support to our professional women players and also to our women’s academy programmes. Our women’s team and staff have been very supportive of our charitable activities during this crisis which has been appreciated by both the club and the respective charities. Ticketing In regard to our fans, we will credit general admission season ticket holders and hospitality season ticket holders for any Premier League home matches which are not played with fans in the stadium, once the final fixtures for the 2019/20 season have been agreed. Crediting will be on a pro-rata basis. We will also reimburse travel and accommodation costs up to £350 per ticket holder to cover non-refundable expenditure by the 3,800 supporters due to travel to Munich last month for the Champions League match. This applies whether travel was booked privately or with the club. Those affected will be contacted shortly. Men’s Team Representatives of the Chelsea board have recently held extensive talks with the men’s first team to discuss how they can contribute financially to the club during the coronavirus crisis. The objective of these talks has been to find a meaningful partnership around ensuring we preserve jobs for staff, compensate fans and participate in activities for good causes. We are grateful to the team for having played their role in assisting the club with community activities as well as all the charitable causes they have been supporting in their respective home countries and through the Players Together initiative supporting the NHS. At this time, the men’s first team will not be contributing towards the club financially and instead the board have directed the team to focus their efforts on further supporting other charitable causes. As this crisis develops the club will continue to have conversations with the men’s first team regarding financial contributions to the club’s activities. snip FULL WAGES Chelsea instruct players to support charities rather than imposing pay cut during coronavirus crisis https://talksport.com/football/698920/chelsea-first-team-pay-cut-coronavirus/ Chelsea will not impose a pay cut on their first-team squad but have instead encouraged them to continue supporting charities during the coronavirus pandemic. Negotiations had been taking place between Blues officials and players about a possible salary reduction of around 10 per cent. But Chelsea released a statement on Saturday saying they have taken a different approach and encouraged their stars to focus their efforts on other causes. A statement on the club website said: “Representatives of the Chelsea board have recently held extensive talks with the men’s first team to discuss how they can contribute financially to the club during the coronavirus crisis. “The objective of these talks has been to find a meaningful partnership around ensuring we preserve jobs for staff, compensate fans and participate in activities for good causes. “We are grateful to the team for having played their role in assisting the club with community activities as well as all the charitable causes they have been supporting in their respective home countries and through the Players Together initiative supporting the NHS.

Chelsea star Billy Gilmour models his game on three players including former Arsenal midfielder The 18-year-old Chelsea star on why he has modelled his game on one of the club's most cultured former stars. https://www.football.london/premier-league/chelsea-billy-gilmour-cesc-fabregas-18150314 Chelsea youngster Billy Gilmour says he models his game on former Blues midfielder Cesc Fabregas. The 18-year-old, who grew up watching the Monaco star at his very peak, continues to develop as one of the club's most promising talents. And Gilmour has revealed that he has modelled his game on his former teammate, who he was able to witness up close on the Cobham training pitch during the back end of last season. "We had to analyse our own game and compare it to a player so I thought I'd chose Fabregas," Gilmour told BT Sport. "Growing up it was Iniesta, Xavi and Fabregas, they were the players I base my game around." Fabregas' career took off across the City as an Arsenal player, but at Chelsea, he won the Premier League twice and pulled on the shirt nearly 200 times. snip

Everton wants £100m for him. The least I could see them dropping to is £85 or 90m £90m is only £7m away from Lautaro Martínez's RC come the first 2 weeks in July Lautaro Martínez's buy-out will drop to 111 million euros in July The Argentinean forward is on Barcelona's wish list and for two weeks in July, AS can confirm, he will be available for 111 million euros. https://en.as.com/en/2019/12/11/football/1576056196_140544.html as usual, I put up my COVID-19 disclaimer though

I agree he is in my top 6 CF's that we could (or should) actually do (Werner is not as he is going to the Scousers) 1. Lautaro Martínez (although I assume he will end up at Barca or Real) 2. Dominic Calvert-Lewin (seriously doubt we would spend what it would take to pull him, but I think he would be perfect if we are going to go full blown HG) 3. Victor Osimhen 4.Moussa Dembélé 5. Aleksandar Mitrovic 6. Odsonne Edouard

Just setting this out there..... NO, we are NOT buying the 31yo (on June 18th) Aubameyang, especially for 70m euros

Inter Pull Out Of Race To Sign Olivier Giroud After Chelsea Extend His Contract & Focus On Napoli’s Dries Mertens https://sempreinter.com/2020/04/25/inter-pull-out-of-race-to-sign-olivier-giroud-after-chelsea-extend-his-contract-focus-on-napolis-dries-mertens/ Inter have decided to stop following French striker Olivier Giroud after he signed a one-season contract extension with Chelsea, according to a report from today’s paper edition of the Milano based newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport. The report details how the 33-year-old French forward was incredibly close to a move to Milan in the January transfer window, but the deal collapsed after the Milanese club began to focus their attention on signing Tottenham midfielder Christian Eriksen. Whilst it seemed like Giroud would be joining Inter in the summer on a free transfer, he is now set to stay in London with the Blues. snip

FERREIRA ON SHACKLING RONALDO AT WEMBLEY https://www.chelseafc.com/en/news/2020/04/25/ferreira-on-shackling-ronaldo-at-wembley?cardIndex=0-2 At 3pm today, The 5th Stand app will be showing the full game re-run of our 2007 FA Cup final victory over Manchester United, the first at the newly-rebuilt Wembley Stadium and an encounter which featured a key battle between two Portuguese internationals down the Chelsea right flank. With the previous six finals having been held at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium, it was a huge game to mark the return of the showpiece fixture to its natural home as the two best teams in the country went head-to-head for the famous trophy. The match itself was tight, perhaps unsurprising with so much at stake and so little to choose between the teams, who would go on to compete in the Champions League final just one year later. In the Premier League United had finished as champions, six points ahead of the Blues, but it was Chelsea who would come out on top at Wembley as Didier Drogba - who else? - scored a dramatic extra-time winner when he latched on to a clever Frank Lampard flick and poked the ball home to seal what would be the first of four FA Cup triumphs in just six years. Paulo Ferreira was given the unenviable task that afternoon of trying to shackle Cristiano Ronaldo, his international team-mate and United’s biggest attacking threat. It was a job he excelled in, with the attacker a peripheral figure for much of the game, and our former defender explains why our game-plan worked so well. ‘That season Cristiano was flying, I think he scored 42 goals and did really well,’ recalls Ferreira. ‘For me, I had to play against him because he was on my side, but the team did really well that day. snip

HUDSON-ODOI: ‘I KNEW LAMPARD WOULD BE A GOOD MANAGER BECAUSE OF HOW HE WAS AS A PLAYER’ https://www.chelseafc.com/en/news/2020/04/23/callum-hudson-odoi---i-knew-frank-lampard-would-be-a-good-manage The young forward discusses Frank Lampard the boss, working with familiar faces, learning lessons in defeat and getting a taste for the big stage... It’s fair to say it’s been a stop-start 12 months for Callum Hudson-Odoi. After a breakthrough 2018/19 campaign in which he played 24 times for Chelsea and made his England debut, the young forward’s progress was stopped sharply in its tracks when he sustained an Achilles injury in a Premier League encounter with Burnley. That was exactly a year ago this week and a range of factors have prevented him from building momentum ever since. The teenager put the hard graft in over the summer months, returning ahead of schedule in September with a goal in our 7-1 thrashing of Grimsby Town in the Carabao Cup. Five days previously, he put pen to paper on a new long-term contract at Stamford Bridge. snip

Hakim Ziyech says he will be a Chelsea player on July 1 as planned https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11668/11978576/hakim-ziyech-says-he-will-be-a-chelsea-player-on-july-1-as-planned Hakim Ziyech says he will be a Chelsea player as planned on July 1 and is not concerned his move to Stamford Bridge could be impacted by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The 27-year-old signed a five-year deal ahead of his move to west London this summer after Chelsea agreed a £33.3m fee with Ajax for the attacking midfielder in February. snip

Chelsea-bound star slams ‘bullshit’ Eredivisie decision https://www.football365.com/news/hakim-ziyech-ajax-eredivisie-cancelled-chelsea Future Chelsea signing Hakim Ziyech has slammed the Dutch Football Federation’s decision to cancel the Eredivisie season and not name a champion. The Eredivisie became the first major European football league to end its season because of the global pandemic on Friday. In addition to champion being named, promotion and relegation to and from the top flight will not take place for next season. The decision not to crown an overall winner seems fair, with Ajax leading AZ Alkmaar on goal difference after both having played 25 games. But winger Ziyech, who will leave for Chelsea this summer, clearly disagrees. “Come on, what nonsense I have heard?” Ziyech said to AD. “We are at the top anyway. All those stories that AZ deserved more because they defeated us twice. So the goal difference, as it always is, doesn’t count now? “Bullshit, of course. How did PSV become champion in 2007? Exactly, on one goal. “That we are not official champions, well. Of course, I would also have preferred to have won the title on the field, but if you have to choose one club as champion, that is Ajax to me. “That would have been my closing in style. As it is now, you do not want it to end. But over a longer period of time, I will cherish my best memories. “And then, of course, that brings up last season. The championship, but especially our journey in the Champions League, how we amazed the whole world with our game. It all fit. “That not only gives me a special feeling for all the players, but I think it will last forever. We left something at Ajax. And for me, it is now time for something new.” snip

Two different types of players, Coutinho is an AMF/LW, where Aouar is more a CMF/LMF (can play at No 10 or AMF if needed) who is very good at dribbling and passing, and MAY become a great scorer. They could easily both start on the same side for many (if not most) teams. I would be more than happy with both (especially if we fail on Sancho, as their combined price would/should be less than what Sancho will end up costing alone (COVID-19 hedge, as usual) Here are the only CMF's in the world I rate over Aouar atm (the ones in bold are now too old to buy) Saúl Ñíguez Frenkie je Jong Marco Verratti Sergej Milinkovic-Savic Paul Pogba (when his head is right) Thiago (Bayern) Toni Kroos (last year in top 10 maybe) Artur Miralem Pjanic (last year in top 10 for CMF, but he can also play DH DMF, where he is also WC) Federico Valverde and the ony AMF's in the world I rate over Coutinho (and Coutinho is versatile enough to play LW) Kevin De Bruyne Kai Havertz Bruno Fernandes James Maddison (maybe, and especially due to age) I would rather we go for Grealish, but Coutinho is probably my 2nd choice, and again, in FM world, ALL THREE could start on the same side, Grealish at No 10/AMF, Coutinho at LW, and Aouar at CMF I so doubt that is going to happen, my overall expectations are massively lower now, until Roman proves me otherwise with FFP out the window, if the bloke cares to the level he needs to care to put together a top 5 in the world squad (which we have been for the past 16 year in agregarate, we are 4th over the past 15 in UEFA coefficient, 5th over the past 10) he needs to spend big and grab WC players to compliment our youth

The lockdown takeover: What Newcastle’s proposed new owners plan to do first https://theathletic.com/1759832/2020/04/21/newcastle-takeover-bruce-charnley-transfers/ “We’ve been planning this for well over two years, on and off. All of those plans have effectively gone out of the window.” This is not just the takeover of Newcastle United, this is the lockdown takeover. Although all of our lives have changed beyond recognition over the past few weeks, for those sketching out the existence of a football club beyond Mike Ashley’s ownership, it has presented challenges and obstacles that are without precedent. One person familiar with the deal compares it with “buying a house and then being told you can’t move in”. The biggest of big pictures consumes all of us. Containing and coping with coronavirus is about far more than football, but as Newcastle supporters await official confirmation of Ashley’s departure and fantasise about what might happen next, there should be realism as well as excitement. As things stand, with government restrictions to remain in place “at least” until May 7 and probably longer, Amanda Staveley’s consortium will not be able to set foot in St James’ Park, let alone implement far-reaching changes. Where do things stand? The Athletic has been told that all necessary documents have been exchanged between the two parties and that a deposit has been paid, with the Premier League now working through the owners’ and directors’ test, which effectively represents regulatory approval. Once that has been granted — it began around April 9 and they have been told it could take up to four weeks — completion of a £300 million sale becomes automatic. “There’s no stopping it now,” says one source, who insists that the owners’ and directors’ test has not yet raised any red flags. There has been no public word from either party, although a detailed document lodged at Companies House last week presented for the first time the existence of an agreement between Ashley and Staveley. Given Ashley’s record of contentious decisions at Newcastle and his previous failures to sell the club, a section of the fans will not believe it until they see it and that cynicism is understandable as well as ingrained. Yet there are no reservations from the people buying the club and preparations are underway accordingly, even if a lot of those preparations are, by necessity, being tweaked. As The Athletic reported at the end of last month, a board of directors is in place, with Staveley and her husband, Mehrdad Ghodoussi, joined by Jamie Reuben and Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the governor of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF). Staveley and the Reuben family will each own 10 per cent of the business, with PIF holding the remaining 80 per cent. Al-Rumayyan, below, would be chairman, but Staveley would have responsibility for running the club. Ultimately, the aim is to transform Newcastle into a club capable of challenging in the upper echelons of the Premier League and to guide them back into European competition. The Reubens — worth £16.6 billion, according to the 2019 Sunday Times Rich List — already own property in the city and, along with the Saudis, further investment in the region forms part of their strategy. They view Newcastle in terms of its potential and hope to transform it into “the club of the North”. They will look to improve and enhance the training ground and academy. For now, however, their impact can only be limited — current travel and social distancing measures mean that they cannot take physical ownership of the club. Staveley first attempted to buy Newcastle in the winter of 2017-18 and renewed those attempts around a year ago, so this is a long time coming, but with football and so much of normal life paused, a handover period will be necessary. The Athletic has been told of a number of developments: A mission statement is being worked on, which would be released either when the Premier League gives its approval or earlier (in the unlikely event that Ashley releases a statement of his own). This would set out the new ownership’s aspirations. Original plans had featured the block-booking of specific hotels in the city ahead of a media blitz but, for obvious reasons, that has now been shelved. Newcastle’s non-playing staff would be taken off the government’s furlough scheme, mirroring U-turns already made by Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur. Doing the right thing will be about more than words. Lee Charnley, the managing director, will be asked to remain in his post for the time being, to coordinate the handover and maintain dialogue with the Premier League and other authorities over the coronavirus. In these exceptional circumstances, some form of continuity, however temporary, will be vital. Steve Bruce would stay in charge of the first team. There has been no contact with the head coach, either officially or otherwise, but with nine games still to play this season (theoretically, at least), there is no need to make a decision on his future now. For all the speculation about the hiring of a more-illustrious manager — Rafa Benitez was an integral part of Staveley’s previous bid, but is now tied to a £12 million-a-season contract with Dalian Professional, the Chinese club — nobody is lined up. There is appreciation for the job Bruce has done and the way he has handled difficult circumstances, although whether he is the man to take Newcastle forward is another matter. In any case, potential candidates may become available in the summer. There is no rush. Informal overtures have already been made to some supporters, former players and other key figures in the city. Staveley did this last time. After 13 years of limited communication between Ashley, the club and the wider community, this is another indication of change. There is a desire to make the club better and more in tune with its surroundings and history. That dialogue is taking place. A gesture in support of the local NHS hospital is being considered. What form this would take is still to be decided. A root and branch reform of Newcastle’s operation will take place. As part of the process of buying the club, Staveley’s group have conducted due diligence and studied the financial situation. In that sense, there should be no surprises. They do lack knowledge on how the club has made decisions and who takes on certain responsibilities. Do staff need to be supported? Will some need to be moved or replaced? What about contract negotiations? Notes and employment files will be released on takeover. The same applies to other staffing decisions. They cannot make offers to people already in jobs or with contract notices to see out at other clubs until they are in situ. They have already received contact from player agents. This is not surprising. But, again, too much is unknown, not least when the transfer window might reopen and what the market will look like when it does. Will financial fair play rules be relaxed? Will wages and fees be depressed? Two years ago, when she admitted to having financial backing from sovereign wealth funds, Staveley planned to invest £100 million on players over the first two transfer windows and the same again on infrastructure. But Saudi involvement and COVID-19 have changed the environment. Remote meetings are being held regularly. This a long-term investment and there is an understanding that Newcastle will not be able to go toe-to-toe with Liverpool and Manchester City from the outset. What they can do is work quickly and work smartly, although how they do that efficiently with their complex ownership structure is not straightforward. Streamlining their decision-making is being discussed. There is huge excitement about what they can do and how they can do it but, as with everything else, it is tempered by the coronavirus crisis. Staveley’s group have always had a clear idea about how they want Newcastle to look under their ownership, and yet that vision must now be a little more fluid. Football, like society itself, may be forced to change beyond recognition and they are working to change with it. Newcastle Takeover, Arteta Targets Defender & Young Player Award Shortlist Mark Chapman and David Ornstein are joined by The Athletic's Senior North East football writer George Caulkin to bring the latest on the proposed takeover of Newcastle United. David brings the detail behind Arsenal players and coaches agreeing to take a 12.5% cut to wages and the centre half targeted by Mikel Arteta once the transfer window opens. Michael Cox & Tom Worville take a deep dive into the numbers that make Trent Alexander-Arnold a hot favourite to be crowned The Athletic's Young Player of the Year and counter with reasons why other players would also make worthy winners. https://theathletic.com/podcast/144-the-ornstein-and-chapman-podcast/?episode=66

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-8249273/Extraordinary-rap-sheet-former-Liverpool-Senegal-winger-El-Hadji-Diouf.html Now, Florent Sinama Pongolle has recalled the time the pair almost came to blows at half-time during a pre-season friendly, with Diouf asking then manager Gerard Houllier to tell Gerrard he'd 'fuck his mum' before adding: 'I'd do him in straight away.' Their tit-for-tat exchanges continued long after Diouf moved to Bolton in 2005. In his 2007 autobiography, Gerrard wrote: 'Diouf was just interested in himself. His attitude was all wrong. I felt he wasn't really a***d about putting his body on the line to get Liverpool back at the top.' Diouf responded five years later, saying: 'Gerrard was jealous of me back then as I had the world at my feet. There's no one more selfish… he doesn't care about anyone else. 'Gerrard would rather Liverpool lost and he scored. The old Liverpool guys can't stand him.' In 2015, Diouf was reported to have claimed on Senegalese radio that Gerrard 'has never liked black people' which the former Reds captain immediately rebuked. And in 2017, in a BBC interview, Diouf took a swipe at Gerrard's international achievements. 'People like him in Liverpool but he never did anything for his country,' he said. 'I am Mr El Hadji Diouf, Mr Senegal but he is Mr Liverpool and Senegal is bigger than Liverpool and he has to know that.'

Messi and who else? The Athletic’s La Liga Team of the Season https://theathletic.com/1759352/2020/04/23/laliga-team-of-the-season-2019-20-messi-casemiro-courtois-berchiche/ Normally, the major concern when picking a team of the year for La Liga comes down to striking the right balance: how many players from Real Madrid, and how many from Barcelona? Or might some Atletico Madrid players force their way into the Clasico-centric XI? This time, the task was difficult in a different way. The big three have experienced tricky transitional seasons and suffered plenty of lows to match the usual highs across 27 games. Such a levelling-out affords the chance to spread the net wider around the clubs, and has also brought a redemptive feel to this XI. Getafe’s Uruguayan right-back might not have had a chance in other seasons — nor a former Cheltenham Town left-back. But their inclusion does not mean 2019-20 is better or worse than past La Liga campaigns. Just different… Goalkeeper — Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid) Courtois did not enjoy the early weeks of 2019-20, when his most dangerous early opponents were backers of former Real Madrid No 1 Keylor Navas. Whistling from the Bernabeu stands when Club Brugge went 2-0 up in September’s Champions League group game was the nadir, followed by unsubstantiated claims that he had suffered an on-pitch anxiety attack. Since then, he has shown very impressive fortitude to come through and establish himself as La Liga’s most reliable goalkeeper. His claims have been helped by the first signs of fallibility from Atletico Madrid’s Jan Oblak and lapses in concentration from Barcelona’s Marc-Andre ter Stegen. Standout moments from the former Chelsea man include three excellent saves with the score at 0-0 at Getafe in January (Madrid eventually won 3-0) and crucial one-on-one stops from Lionel Messi and Arthur Melo early in March’s clasico victory. He capped an outstanding display in the Spanish Super Cup final against Atletico Madrid with two decisive saves in the penalty shootout to win a bittersweet trophy against his former club. He even showed up in Valencia’s penalty box in December to cause havoc at a corner, leading to Karim Benzema’s late equaliser. Twelve clean sheets and just 16 goals conceded in 24 games put Courtois on track to be just the second Madrid goalkeeper since 1992 to win the Zamora trophy, awarded to the goalkeeper who concedes the fewest goals in La Liga. Not a bad way to bounce back. Right-back — Damian Suarez (Getafe) There were double takes at Athletic Bilbao’s San Mames in early February, as Getafe right-back Damian Suarez played a series of one-twos with team-mates before cutting past two defenders on the edge of the penalty area and arrowing a low finish into the far corner. The Maradona-esque strike was unexpected given 31-year-old Suarez’s previous career record included just six goals— but more than 100 yellow cards. It was not an isolated incident — just a few weeks before, he had pulled off a “sombrero” flick over an opponent during a derby at Leganes. Such frills did not mean that Suarez and his team-mates were neglecting their primary jobs, with Getafe keeping clean sheets as they easily won both games. The extra flourishes just showed how their amazing rise under Jose Bordalas had provided an injection of confidence. When football hit pause last month, Getafe were fifth and about to face Inter Milan in the Europa League. Suarez has not neglected his bread and butter through it all. And nobody in La Liga has bettered his tally of 11 yellow cards so far, either. Centre-back — Felipe (Atletico Madrid) There was more than a little concern at Atletico Madrid last summer when the apparent replacement for departing cult hero Diego Godin was a 30-year-old from Porto who few around La Liga had heard of. But Felipe has outshone fellow new arrivals Kieran Trippier and Joao Felix to become a big favourite at the Wanda Metropolitano, especially due to his Godin-like willingness to put his boot (or head) where it hurts. Atletico may not have not been as watertight as recent seasons, but the quietly imposing Brazilian has done more than anyone to hold them together at the back. Off the pitch, Felipe’s “bespectacled grad student” belies a cynical streak, which Diego Simeone’s fresh-faced team needs to thrive — as Liverpool discovered during their Champions League clash. He also unveiled an impressive spinning somersault goal celebration when heading the winner against Levante in January. He is now so established that Jose Maria Gimenez, the anointed heir to Godin’s throne, has been unable to get a look in at centre-back. Centre-back — Diego Carlos (Sevilla) Another Brazilian centre-back to arrive under the radar last summer was Diego Carlos, whose £13.2 million signing from Nantes now looks like another of Sevilla sporting director Monchi’s famous coups. The no-frills defender settled quickly under coach Julen Lopetegui, whom he knew from a brief time together at Porto. The 27-year-old added steel and leadership to a backline that had a tendency to crumble, especially away from the Sanchez Pizjuan. “He’s stronger than vinegar,” said Nolito in a cryptic but somehow understandable description of his new team-mate’s sting. Diego Carlos also also contributed crucial goals in victories against Leganes and Mallorca to help Lopetegui’s team to their current position of third. Liverpool, Real Madrid and Barcelona are now said to be willing to offer Sevilla a quick profit on their investment whenever the next transfer window opens. Left-back — Yuri Berchiche (Athletic Bilbao) The most notable moment of Yuri Berchiche’s spell on the books at Tottenham as a teenager was a two-footed challenge on Arsenal starlet Henri Lansbury in April 2009, when the pair were on loan at Cheltenham Town and Scunthorpe respectively. It did not work out at Spurs, so Yuri then took the long route to regular top-flight football via Real Valladolid B, Real Union and Eibar. Eventually, he established himself at Real Sociedad before spending a season at Paris Saint-Germain. From there, he joined Athletic Bilbao in 2018. Berchiche, now 30, has found his feet at San Mames, fitting neatly into one of La Liga’s strongest defences, while also bringing a constant attacking threat down the left. He has shone in this season’s Copa del Rey, scoring four goals in six games, including a dramatic late winner in the semi-final at Granada. That strike set up a final against his former team — and local rivals — Real Sociedad. Central midfield — Jose Campana (Levante) Another former London resident now excelling in Spain is Levante midfielder Jose Campana, who played six Premier League games for Crystal Palace in 2013-14. Campana also has Sevilla, Nuremberg, Sampdoria, Porto and second-tier Alcorcon on his CV, but finally settled after arriving at Levante in 2016. Likened to Xavi Hernandez as a youth, Campana captained a Spain side including Kepa Arrizabalaga and Saul Niguez to victory in the European Under-19 Championship. At 26, he has settled into a deeper playmaking role in Paco Lopez’s entertainingly positive Levante team, where he shows his technical quality in controlling games through his passing, but also the hard edge of a player who has been forced to make it the hard way. He clearly still likes the big occasion — he scored a fine goal and assisted another in November’s 3-1 win over Barcelona — but his consistency has shone through all season. Another shot at the big time will be coming around soon. Central midfield — Casemiro (Real Madrid) It says a lot about Real Madrid’s 2019-20 midfield that Casemiro — viewed by many as “just” a holder — has been by far the stand-out of their season. The Brazilian tops the numbers among all La Liga players for tackles attempted, successful tackles, loose balls won and passes intercepted, while coming a close second in total fouls. This shows the amount of work Casemiro has had to get through, with more creative players around him nowhere near their best form. His three league goals have all been key to picking up points, while the Brazil captain’s dedication on and off the pitch has been copied by emerging team-mates Fede Valverde and Rodrygo Goes. Maybe most impressive of all is Casemiro managing to miss only one game all year through suspension. As it proves, he has now clearly taken over from Sergio Busquets as the midfielder most skilled at avoiding yellow cards for the most blatant of tactical fouls. Central midfield — Martin Odegaard (Real Sociedad) There were some who thought that Odegaard’s story was already written. The Norwegian was hit by a blaze of publicity when he made his international debut aged 15, then became Real Madrid’s youngest ever player a year later on May 2015. Promising loan spells in Holland were largely ignored, however, and Odegaard faded out of sight. News that he had joined Real Sociedad on loan last summer piqued some interest, before a dominant performance in September’s 2-0 victory over Atletico Madrid made everyone take notice. A dazzling run of form also included the best assist of La Liga in 2019-20 — a slide-rule pass which took out seven Alaves defenders, plus goalkeeper Fernando Pacheco, for team-mate Mikel Oyarzabal to score. Still just 21, Odegaard’s technical ability and passing range might not come as a surprise, but the way he has led a young Sociedad team has been impressive. Hampered by some niggling injuries, his level dipped through the autumn, but he returned to form after the winter break to lead his side into the Champions League qualifying spot. Applauded on league and cup visits to the Bernabeu in recent months, Odegaard is once again looked upon as a future superstar for Real Madrid. Right wing — Lionel Messi (Barcelona) Barcelona dropped eight points in the five games before Lionel Messi returned from injury to make his first start of 2019-20. Ever since their No 10 got up and running, however, they have looked likely title winners, despite all the ongoing turmoil at the Nou Camp. Maybe Messi has had more spectacular individual seasons, but the 32-year-old still tops La Liga for goals, assists, shots on target, successful dribbles, key passes and through balls. Even more impressively, he’s done all that while spending more time in midfield, filling the jobs previously held by Xavi and Andres Iniesta, and in the boardroom, leading negotiations to ensure non-playing staff are paid during the COVID-19 shutdown. It seems strange that the influence of a five-time Ballon d’Or winner might be underestimated, but that is just what team-mates like Frenkie de Jong have argued. With Messi in this XI, they would stroll to the La Liga trophy. Pit this side against Messi plus 10 others, however, and the title race would likely go down to the wire. Centre forward — Karim Benzema (Real Madrid) Eden Hazard, Luka Jovic, Gareth Bale, Vinicius Junior, Rodrygo, James Rodriguez, Isco and Marco Asensio have 11 La Liga goals between them so far this season. Madrid fans and pundits should be thankful, then, that Karim Benzema has scored 14 times, as well as assisting six more, because otherwise Zinedine Zidane’s team would be mid-table at best. Against Levante at the Bernabeu in October, Benzema gave a striker’s masterclass when scoring two and making the other to have his team 3-0 up by half-time. He then watched as his team-mates contrived to give up two sloppy goals and almost blow the game. Madrid have become more solid as the season has gone on, but chances have become even more precious. Recent winners include composed strikes in 1-0 wins over direct rivals Atletico Madrid and Sevilla. The stats show he sits second behind Messi in goals scored, total shots and shots on target, and tops the list in total touches in the opposition box and shots against the woodwork (five). It is true that his contribution has dipped since he turned 32 late in December, but he is in desperate need of help from his supporting cast. Left wing — Fabian Orellana (Eibar) It is difficult to argue that any player has a bigger personal influence on their team than Messi at Barcelona, but Fabian Orellana at Eibar this season might run his fellow South American close. The Chilean is another to have had his fair share of clubs — seven in three countries — but is having the most productive season of his life at 34. Seven goals and six assists mean he has been involved in almost half of Eibar’s 27 goals this season. More than the stats, however, Orellana’s contribution from a variety of positions across the attack and midfield has been impressive. With Eibar currently sitting just two points outside the bottom three, they would be in deep relegation trouble without him. His 94th-minute winner against Villarreal in October was a rare headed goal, but showed a dedication to the team which has not always been evident over his wandering career. His quirky personality and individualistic style of play have often brought clashes with coaches and team-mates, but he has found a home at Eibar under the avuncular Jose Luis Mendilibar. Orellana is out of contract in June, and there would be mourning at Ipurua if he has already played his last game for the Basque club.

Inspired by you: How can someone with bad stats be a good player? https://theathletic.com/1763286/2020/04/23/bad-stats-but-good-player-analysis/ This week, we’re writing a series of articles inspired by questions from our readers. Thank you to Muhammad S for inspiring this piece after he asked us to explore the use of statistics in football analysis and how they can be subjective. More specifically, Muhammad asked for a piece that looked into a few topics to do with stats and football: “How statistics is not the definitive viewpoint in football, how stats don’t measure everything, how they can be subjective, with examples of how someone can have apparently poor stats and be an integral part of the team.” That’s cheating slightly as it’s three articles in one, but that’s fine because we like Muhammad as he raises some great points about data in football that are worth exploring. Stats aren’t the definitive viewpoint in football Football is a complex sport. The prevalent school of thought for years posited that it was too complex to reduce to dry, boring, soulless numbers. In recent years, that narrative has died a bit of a death — xG stats being discussed on Match of the Day, Liverpool’s well-documented use of data powering best-in-class recruitment and, well, one of the premier places to read sports journalism hiring a dedicated analytics writer are all testament to that. I’ll put my trumpet down now. The increased use of this data doesn’t change the fact that football is complex. Statistics are still used to formulate an opinion or win an argument because it’s the best way to succinctly provide evidence to back up an opinion. The reason why there is widespread stats usage in football (and sport in general) is because there’s no better medium to back up (or falsify) an opinion about a given team or player in an objective manner. Maybe the world would be different if footage of games was easier to come by and rights holders didn’t exclusively have the keys. Stats might be the best tool we have at our disposal to properly analyse and discuss the game in an objective manner, but that doesn’t mean we should take them as gospel. For a start, there will always be things that can’t be measured precisely using stats. For example: Who has the best first touch in the Premier League? You could try to create a proxy that measures something similar, such as the proportion of passes received that are miscontrolled. Using data from fbref, I calculated Aston Villa defender Bjorn Engels (0% of his pass receptions were miscontrolled) as having the best first touch, slightly ahead of Liverpool counterpart Virgil van Dijk (0.1% of his receptions were miscontrolled). Not a metric that passes the eye test, you’ll likely agree. This measure doesn’t tell us anything about the types of passes received, or the context in which the player receives the ball, such as where they’re facing. Callum Wilson’s “miscontrolled rate” of 16 per cent for Bournemouth is the highest in the Premier League, but he is receiving passes under far more pressure and further upfield. It’s also hard to distinguish between those touches that are “killed dead” versus “came off shin, knee and finally brought under” — the miscontrol datapoint here is a binary “yes” or “no”, so even if pass type or pressure were taken into account, the output would still be too blunt to find out who has the best first touch anyway. Some debates are better left to opinions, and in this case, more fun to resolve in that manner anyway. It’s also worth pointing out that although we take the data collected by companies as “objective”, it is (currently) collected manually, by people. The issue here is that humans are biased, irrational and error-prone, all the things that data should not be. For that reason, there will always be some amount of error present in the data that is collected, no matter how advanced your quality-assurance processes are. It’s not just that the data being collected is at the mercy of human error at times, but the different definitions used to collect data are prone to some level of error too. At some stage Opta or Statsbomb or whoever else it is collecting the data need to decide upon a definition for each event they want to capture. What is a pass? What is a through-ball? What is a take-on? What’s the difference between a block and a save? These choices aren’t always black and white, and at some point a line has to be drawn. If you were to do an archaeological dig on the decisions made when creating a data collection process (football or otherwise), at some point you would always find some subjectivity at play somewhere. Data is never completely impartial, and subjectivity — whether intentionally or not — is an inescapable part of data collection. This isn’t to question the data providers, or say that the data isn’t trustworthy. Data collection is hard, and the limitations of the data that is collected mean football can never be reduced to statistics that are purely objective. You can have “poor stats” and still be a good player The notion of a player having poor stats, at times, is down to misinterpretation of the numbers to begin with. Take Sebastien Haller of West Ham United, who has lost the second most aerial duels in the Premier League this season (187) but also won the most (186). This could easily be spun either way to show he is good or bad in the air, but the more accurate interpretation of these figures is that he’s involved a lot in aerial duels and wins them at a high rate for a Premier League striker (an aerial win rate in open play of 82/99 per smarterscout, which you can think of as FIFA ratings for players, but using real-life data). Lies, damned lies and statistics, as the phrase goes. Additionally, part of the reason players have “poor stats” is that the output they produce on the field is not considered within the context of their role in the team. Much was made of Jorginho’s lack of assists for Chelsea last season under Maurizio Sarri, but few noted that this wasn’t really his job. As a deep-lying playmaker, it’s important for him to connect defence and attack, dictate the tempo and get the ball forward to those who are tasked with creating chances. He did that really well — Jorginho was involved in the build-up to more open-play goals, which is where everyone in the possession chain gets credit apart from the shooter or assister, than any other Premier League player last season. He also did make a lot of passes that, on average, would have returned five assists according to Opta’s expected assists model. Luck should be accounted for where possible, and players should be rewarded only for things that they have control over. The best example this season of a player whose stats aren’t the best reflection of their overall abilities might be David McGoldrick of Sheffield United. Yes, he’s scored a grand total of zero goals from chances worth 6.2 xG. If he was being picked based on his goalscoring prowess, he’d have been dropped a while ago. McGoldrick’s constant hustling off the ball — no other striker makes more defensive actions than him — is what justifies his place in Chris Wilder’s squad, and makes him a valuable asset to his tactical system when called upon. Stats don’t measure everything, and that’s OK The whole point of using statistics is to try to attach meaning and insight into something as intricate as 22 bodies chasing a bag of wind around a field for an hour and a half. The most common datasets you see around football are the aforementioned events on the ball. They’re great at telling you what happens to the ball (passed, passed, cleared, recovered, passed, shot, goal!) but not a lot about the 21 other players (or 20, in the case of duels) who aren’t in possession. Due to this, we’re going to miss out on capturing events on the pitch that take place because of the ball, but not with it. Think off-the-ball runs into pockets of space, defensive midfielders blocking passing lanes into the strikers, and so on. Statistics at this point aren’t able to fully capture everything on the field because of the limitations of the data collected. One of the biggest deficiencies of football statistics at the moment is the inability to properly measure the defensive side of the game. The volume of defensive actions (tackles, interceptions, recoveries, etc.) don’t tell us if one defender is better than another, they purely tell us how active they are and are also a reflection of defender and team style. As noted in my 10 commandments of football analytics, these figures are usually influenced by the amount of possession a team has too; more of the ball means less time required to defend. Aston Villa’s Tyrone Mings attempts just one tackle per 1,000 opposition touches, the lowest mark of any centre-back in the league. This isn’t to say he’s a bad defender, but one that doesn’t actively look to win the ball back. We learn something about his positioning too from the fact that Mings leads all Premier League defenders in blocked shots this season. Villa manager Dean Smith prefers to use him deeper as a shield in front of the goal instead of having him hunting to regain the ball. There might not be the statistics that tell us how good a defender is, but the raw data those statistics are built from is incredibly useful here. The best way to use this data to evaluate defenders from a quality perspective is to use it as a signpost, pointing to situations in a game where a defender is likely to be tested. While the defender might not make an action every time the opposition puts a cross into the box, a trained eye can still evaluate what a good response looks like. Efficiently finding these clips means scouts can run their eye over how well a defender performs in different situations, and can form a subjective judgement on the quality of defender. Currently, there are subjective measures for errors leading to a shot or a goal that are collected, and of all outfield players this season, Jan Bednarek has earned the wooden spoon, helping Southampton’s opponents score three goals due to his mistakes. These are usually errors which help the opposition score out of a situation where it never looked possible — a weak back-pass to the goalkeeper that is intercepted, leading to a one-on-one, for example. These mistakes are few and far between, and either happen at random, or not enough of them happen in a season, such that they are a reliable means of comparing all defenders through this lens. An ideal measurement instead are the subtle moves (or lack thereof) that lead to an opponent being able to score. Somewhere in the chain leading to every shot and goal that is conceded, someone has made a mistake. It could be a defender switching off and losing his man, or a midfielder failing to close down an open passing lane, or other such errors that are only really apparent to the trained eye. These are useful clues that tell us why a shooting opportunity was carved open by the opposition, but these insights aren’t available in any sort of statistical form right now. It’s also likely that goals aren’t conceded due to one single event, but a combination of failures. Nevertheless, the merge of event data and tracking data (which tells us where all the players, the ball and the officials are at any given moment in a game) should open the doors to answering this question and others like it — but the game’s not there just yet. Now for a thought experiment. Imagine a data provider had fully cracked football. They have managed to collect every single data point imaginable: all of the passing options available to a player, how much pressure they’re under, whether they’ve got their head up, when a team-mate has initiated a run, whether they’ve got a bootlace untied — the lot. With this much data, the issue is no longer deciding what to measure but out of that which has been measured, what matters? In reality, we don’t have everything, we have a tiny sample of the actions that take place on the field, but that requirement to measure only the things that matter remains the same. The prevalence of expected goals in recent years is because it has plenty of descriptive and predictive power — it tells us something new we didn’t know before about teams and players, and can treat this information as a signal as to what future performances might have in store.

Chelsea pay cuts explained: Why not a deferral? What does it mean for transfers? https://theathletic.com/1766419/2020/04/23/pay-cuts-chelsea-abramovich-azpilicueta/ Chelsea players have agreed to take a 10 per cent pay cut starting in May for four months to help the club cope with the effects of football being shut down during the coronavirus pandemic. But why and how was this move made? The Athletic look to answer some of the key questions… Chelsea have a multi-billionaire owner in Roman Abramovich, so why the need to turn to the players for help? Chelsea pride themselves on being a business in their own right and attempt to live within their means. Despite suggestions from UEFA that Financial Fair Play rules might be relaxed for a period due to the crisis, it is still a practice the club want to adhere to. Like all teams, Chelsea are suffering financially without matchday revenue and there are no guarantees when that will return. Even if football resumes in June as is the target in England, it will start off behind closed doors. There is no time frame as yet for when fixtures can be played in front of fans at Stamford Bridge again so the hierarchy are having to respond accordingly. Chelsea’s last accounts for the year ending June 30, 2019 showed the club made a £96.6 million loss despite Abramovich providing another £247 million of capital. The club’s wage bill has climbed to £285 million, which took a significant chunk out of the annual turnover figure of £446.7 million (57.8 per cent). Chelsea will have revenue from the sales of Eden Hazard and Alvaro Morata to include in the next set of accounts, but clearly this break in play — and the potentially significant loss of broadcast revenue should the season not resume at all — is being taken into consideration. So how did the negotiations start? It is understood that Chelsea director Marina Granovskaia made the first move. She stated the club’s stance to captain Cesar Azpilicueta and he then relayed the information to the rest of the squad via a WhatsApp group already in place for players to communicate. The initial request from the club was for the players to take a 30 per cent reduction, which was a figure Premier League clubs set as the benchmark following a meeting between all 20 members on April 3. At Stamford Bridge, the plan was set for the scheme to last four months. After raising the club’s proposal of a 30 per cent cut with the players, sources told The Athletic that Azpilicueta said he would go back to the club with a counter-offer of 10 per cent. If anyone had any further questions they were to raise them on WhatsApp. There was no conference call set up for the whole faction to talk things out and little resistance to what was being proposed. It is understood some players spoke between themselves over what course of action they were planning to take but everyone was keen to stay united and reach a group decision. Head coach Frank Lampard was not involved. The initial story that players were bargaining over a 10 per cent figure was leaked to a newspaper last week. This came to the attention of Azpilicueta and the defender highlighted to everyone the importance of keeping the negotiation process private. Did anyone have a problem with a 10 per cent pay cut? The Athletic can reveal more than one individual questioned why taking a deferral wasn’t a possibility, as has been the policy adopted by Southampton, for instance. But the club made it clear, via Azpilicueta, that this wasn’t an option and nor was earning the money back — as Arsenal have promised players who have accepted a 12.5 per cent cut — should they qualify for the Champions League this season (or next). Chelsea are currently fourth place in the Premier League table with nine games to go and have a three-point lead over Manchester United in fifth. With Manchester City currently banned from the Champions League for the next two seasons, albeit subject to appeal, fifth place could be enough to play in Europe’s premier club competition. There is a further two-point gap to Wolves and Sheffield United (sixth and seventh respectively). One agent remarked that he is surprised Chelsea have taken such a stance on wages at this stage and not put something in place like Arsenal have done to repay players should certain targets be met. Another suggested the shortfall could be used by players in future contract negotiations instead and that one of the demands will be for the sum to be paid back then. It is believed some individuals shared concerns with each other about the possibility of Chelsea spending big on new players in the transfer market whenever the window reopens despite asking the current squad to make this sacrifice. However, at no point did the issue become acrimonious and everyone voted unanimously in favour of the motion. It helped that the club has done many positive things during the lockdown, from not furloughing non-playing staff, providing free rooms at the Millennium and Copthorne Hotels for National Health Service staff and paying for 13,000 meals a week to be sent to five hospitals. Will Chelsea still be active in the transfer market? Certainly, but there are still so many unanswered questions about COVID-19 right now which could have an effect on the budget. That will inevitably have a say in what players they attempt to buy. Chelsea were planning to invest significantly before the crisis hit having been unable to do so in the previous two windows owing to their transfer ban. The early acquisition of Hakim Ziyech from Ajax in February for an initial £33 million was an indication of their intent to bridge the gap to Liverpool and Manchester City. But without knowing when football will be played again, whether broadcasting rights will have to be repaid or if Chelsea are in the Champions League next season, it has made the process far more complicated.