Vesper

I think we can officially pull the plug on ever getting him. He signed a new 5 year contract with Napoli 10 days ago, and I do not think there is even a release clause for non Serie A teams now (there never was for Italian teams after Juve took Higuain a couple years ago). http://www.goal.com/en/news/koulibaly-pens-new-contract-to-end-90m-chase-for-chelsea-man/17qcg0aie0ho81mgouo1v41env Even if we did buy him next year, we only get 2 seasons out of him before he hits 30. There is zero reason anyone should pay £90m or £100m for a player you only will get 2 sub 30yo years out of, especially a CB, which after DMF is the hardest, most taxing position to play, especially in the EPL. Fernandinho is literally the only over 30yo DMF in the world who is remotely even close to world class, and I predict he was issues starting this year (as he turns 34 in the spring). Busquets (still second best DMF in world after Kante) and Matic (less so)are the only 30 year olds who are WC, or near, so it really is a young mans position far more than any other. CB in the EPL is almost as bad, but not quite.

Madrid looked a shell of former selves. Zidane never gave up 4 goals ever as a Real manager, Julen Lopetegui did it in his first real game, lolol. They certainly lost their swagger now with CR7 gone. I am positive they go after some on this list still (even if window for inbound is closed in EPL) Perez is under insane pressure from the biggest fan base in the world. They will deffo take a serious look at all in January and next summer. Kylian Mbappé Neymar Eden Hazard Mohamed Salah Harry Kane Mauro Icardi Antoine Griezmann Paulo Dybala David Alaba Sergej Milinkovic-Savic N'Golo Kanté Paul Pogba Marco Verratti Robert Lewandowski Thiago Kalidou Koulibaly Marquinhos Christian Eriksen Anthony Martial Miralem Pjanic Nabil Fekir Timo Werner Matthijs de Ligt Kingsley Coman

Granovskaia will continue to take the lead over player transfer and contract negotiations.

Same knee, the right one Kevin De Bruyne could be out for four months after suffering knee injury in training https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2018/08/15/kevin-de-bruyne-could-two-months-suffering-knee-injury-training/

Oh, I thought that image was from some sports blog, lolol cool

I am all in on Morata until January window, he needs to come good in a big way. I am going to just be patient, as we really have no choice, I dont think Giroud is anywhere near good enough and Abraham looks a bust. Flat track bully in Championship, shit in EPL.

Kevin De Bruyne suffers major injury blow for Man City Manchester City midfielder suffers knee ligament problem in training https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/kevin-de-bruyne-injury-knee-15034190

Laurent Koscielny is out injured until December and is 33 in a few weeks. Ridiculous he is there over AC.

The Average Player Salary And Highest-Paid In NBA, MLB, NHL, NFL And MLS NBA. Average salary: $6.2 million (2016-17 season) ... MLB. Average salary: $4.4 million (2016 season) ... NHL. Average salary: $2.9 million (2015-16 season) ... NFL. Average salary: $2.1 million (2015 season) ... MLS. Average salary: $308,969 (2016 season) And half that is gone to taxes, agents fees, etc. So many, even BIG earners, end up bankrupted. They are so often victims of predatory agents and hangers on and they have been so poorly educated they just completely fuck up. How Vince Young racked up millions in debt by 2014 https://www.si.com/nfl/2017/06/27/vince-young-debt-chapter-11-bankruptcy Just seven years after Vince Young signed a $25 million contract with the Tennessee Titans, the former NFL quarterback filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2014. In Greg Bishop's Where Are They Now profile of Young in the latest issue of Sports Illustrated, Young details how some of his exorbitant spending led him into debt.

Average career of an NFL player** 3.3 years Kickers & Punters** 4.87 Quarterbacks** 4.44 Cornerbacks** 2.94 Wide receivers** 2.81 Running backs** 2.57 It's madness IMHO.

Average career of an NFL player** 3.3 years Kickers & Punters** 4.87 Quarterbacks** 4.44 Cornerbacks** 2.94 Wide receivers** 2.81 Running backs** 2.57 It's madness IMHO.

Christensen and Rudiger are our 2 best CB's. They need to start. AC wasn't bullied in the WC and he looks to have put on a wee bit of muscle in last 3 months. Also, it really is a shame we didn't get Rugani. I know he got a lot of hate here but he is the real deal. Sarri and Juve are not idiots. Juve chose him over Caldara and Caldara would start for most EPL teams. If Lpool had plucked Caldara and had not backed out of the Fekir deal, they would have an excellent shot at taking out Shitty for the title. If Joe Gomez plays yearlong at CB like he did last game, they still might, but their attacking depth is missing, especially with Ox out for the year. Lallana is one of the most overrated players in last 10 years. Never rated him. Another option for us at CB (I do grant he is only 19, 20 at end of October, but wow what a player already) would have been Dayot Upamecano from RB Leipzig. Good on the ball and a real thumper already.

Their American football is horrid. It just grinds the players into dust over the course of their short careers. It is so incredibly violent and 99% of the millions who play never make a dime off it, or very little. Many in their university do not even earn a degree, which is free for them. The big schools literally profit tens of millions of USD and the players get shite other than ruined bodies in thousands of cases. It is like modern indentured servitude.

Yes, I saw US telecasts, especially last year, where they had preseason games in NYC and it was crazy how many Juve and AC Milan, and Inter, and Napoli, and Roma fans there were at the pre game parties. This year, over 109,000 people watched Manure v Real Madrid in Michigan for a friendly! 109,318 soccer fans filled Michigan Stadium to watch Manchester United and Real Madrid https://ftw.usatoday.com/2014/08/more-than-100000-soccer-fans-filled-michigan-stadium-to-watch-manchester-united-and-real-madrid

Unlike De Bruyne and Salah, Morata has been given every opportunity to succeed. It is not my fault the board was so stupid and didn't include a buyback clause in both their contracts. They were younger too than Morata is now, so it was even more disastrous to not put one in. I suppose they could insert one in a Morata sale, but after this year, unless he finally comes good, I fail to see much of a point, as his value will already be shot so low by then it really wont matter much, as if we did sell him, 2 years from next summer (so summer of 2021, when a buyback clause normally kicks in, 2 years after sale) he will be on the verge turning 29. We wouldn't give him a 5 year contract then, as he would be 33, and soon 34 at the end.

It isnt our fault when we were born. And it doesn't change the fact Morata has been shit in almost all of 2018.

Sod off troll, I was 12 when he signed with us and had already been to over 50 Chelsea games with my father. I was literally Chelsea Blue since birth a few miles from the Bridge. You can take yer Manc slur and stick it up yer arse.

Next year is the last year I will even bring up Alex Sandro. He turns 29 after the summer 2019 window, so the 2020 window will be too old to interest me. I already was pissed we didn't get him last year, as even this year we would only get 3 years, 4 years MAX or so of top, top play out of him. Fucking Bayern, lolol, they have the 2 best fullbacks (regardless of side) on the planet in Alaba at LB and Kimmich at RB.

I remember when Juve fucked us hard with no reacharound the last two summers over Alex Sandro (devasting blow, moreso than even Napoli with Koulibaly and Roma with Nainggolan IMHO, although KK is close) and Telles was then the default target. People lost their shit, saying he was a scrub,lolol. I laughed at them and said watch, in a year or two he will be seriously wanted as an upgrade if we fail for a third time with Sandro. LOLOLOL I still want Alaba above ANY other fullback on planet. Even at £80 or £90m. Bayern will never sell him until he is 30yo I wager.

Let's get Mbappe and Griezmann in January!!!!!! LOLOLOL A girl can dream.....

He played like shit in almost every game since spring, this one he was marginally acceptable, and it was against Huddersfield, ffs. He has been a massive flop, and you simply cannot finish in the top four with a cocked up striker. It is not rocket science. Either he improves to a point that I fear is now beyond all reasonable expectation, or we will have to rely on Giroud yet again, who is hardly a scoring machine at this point in his career. It is not like we have the French WC team backing up Giroud.

You assume Telles wont move before August 31st. He is by far the best available LB, unless Juve bought him and sold Alex Sandro, which I cannot see them doing unless PSG wanted Sandro, which they do, but I still dont see Juve selling him. RM, PSG, Barca and others are all sniffing around Telles, as they have sold LBs or need upgrade. There is another option as well. Another Portuguese team. Benfica LB Alejandro Grimaldo. 22yo with massive upside. Spuds wanted him badly and they wanted to sell Rose, but no one matched their valuation of Rose. Finally, an expensive option, as they do not want to sell him, José Gayà from Valencia. I can see it costing at least £40-45m for him, plus he just signed a new 5 year contract and has given multiple interviews in Spain saying he doesn't want to leave Valencia.