Vesper

not sold on Neto never was he simply doesnt produce enough goals never has

Enzo Maresca says coaching Chelsea during January transfer window a ‘disaster’ https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6069624/2025/01/17/Chelsea-january-transfers-maresca/ Enzo Maresca today described being in charge of Chelsea during the January transfer window as a “disaster” because of the unsettling effect it is having on his squad. Chelsea have picked up just three points from their last five Premier League games but it is not the disappointing form which is providing him with the most concern. A number of Chelsea players have been linked with a move away this month. For example Renato Veiga is wanted by Borussia Dortmund, Bayern Munich have made an enquiry for Christopher Nkunku while Tosin Adarabioyo has been linked this week to Brighton. When asked how he is finding January so far, Maresca replied: “A disaster. It is normal we judge results and we are in a business where we all judge results. But if we judge the performance of the team, I am happy because we create, we play… “On the pitch for sure I would like to win more games but I am okay. Off the pitch it is a disaster because there are so many noises which I don’t think help us, but I don’t think they help any club.” GO DEEPER Chelsea might sell Nkunku and are interested in Tel. Would doing a deal for both make sense? Pressed on how unsettling it is for members of the squad who are subject of enquiries from other teams, he added: “It is not just for us, it is for every club, every manager. In this moment when there is noise about any player it is not easy because even if you think the player can be focused on us, in the end he is a human being. So if there is any noise about some different club, probably he is not focused 100 per cent so this situation does not help. But we need to adapt because it is like this.” Chelsea take on Wolves on Monday night with doubts over Cole Palmer (ankle), Levi Colwill (knock), Enzo Fernandez (muscle fatigue) and Romeo Lavia (muscle fatigue).

Phase 1 - assfuck, with promises of chocolates and flowers afterwards, but they do not arrive Phase 2 - assfuck, again with the promises of chocolates and flowers afterwards, but they do not arrive Phase 3 - assfuck, again with the promises of chocolates and flowers afterwards, but they do not arrive Phase 4- sorry, no chocolates, no flowers,............... now bend over

well, you can always read my targets (but we will never move for the ones I push for)

The Sporting Directors MUST be held accountable Their treatment of Trev and failure of the summer window are examples of their poor decisions https://siphillipstalkschelsea.substack.com/p/the-sporting-directors-must-be-held I wrote an article recently on our sporting directors, Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart. I said in that article that they’d done a good job rebuilding the football infrastructure of the club and made some good signings. That remains the case. It doesn’t change because of what’s happened this week. I’ll always give credit where its due, and I’ll never get into dehumanizing labels or personal attacks as others do sometimes. They may well be good men who work hard at their job and have some expertise, and I’m not gonna dispute that or ever disrespect them as people. But the situation with Trevoh Chalobah might be the final straw for me as regards their suitability for their current jobs. Looking at Twitter, about 90-99% of fans there now want the sporting directors gone, and I don’t blame them. This, to me was the final straw in many ways. Frozen out in the summer, they publicly briefed he was for sale, that we wanted him gone, didn’t fit Enzo Maresca’s system and he was made to train with the kids teams. Now he is welcomed back with a phone call - still unclear whether that was Behdad Eghbali or Winstanley - and we’re told he’s important to the first team and he can suddenly, miraculously fit with Maresca’s system. That volte face is not only a sign of awful man management and disrespect to the player, its also clearly demonstrating their squad building skills are poor. Its incompetence and its unprofessional, and not fitting for a club the size of Chelsea. There’s basic standards of decency and respect, and honouring someone’s service to a club, and I don’t believe Trev, nor Conor Gallagher, have been shown that. And as a fan, I’m not ashamed to say it makes me really angry. Trev’s loyalty has been shoved in his face too many times, and now its being used to bring him back. That’s just shocking behaviour from the Sporting Directors. Players are people, human beings, not commodities. Outside of this, the Sporting Directors spent a billion of the clubs and owners money on this squad and we’re 4th. That IS progress, many didn’t predict that last summer and some of their signings have been successful. I’m not going to back down on my previous points about some signings and appointments being good ones. However, the last summer window now looks more and more like a shambles. Two of the players we signed then, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall (surely a candidate for the Chelsea worst signing squad), and Renato Veiga, who I think has done well for us so far, could both depart this window. Even Tosin Adarabioyo, who I think has been a really smart signing who’s done relatively well and added some leadership and experience, has been linked with a move. Where’s the planning with all these? Looking further back, Axel Disasi, a Laurence Stewart signing, looks to be moving on after 18 months, and Benoit Badiashile, another Stewart signing, could be in the summer. The club have signed countless goalkeepers in the last two years, none of whom are yet good enough to be Chelsea number one. That’s at least 6-7 signings which either haven’t worked or could be gone relatively quickly. There’s a good chance one of the wingers will depart in the summer as well, and other signings are under scrutiny. To be balanced, the sporting directors have made some good signings. I’m not here to make personal attacks or be unbalanced and rude. They deserve credit for Andrey Santos, Lesley Ugochukwu, Estevao Willian, Cole Palmer, Jadon Sancho, Enzo Fernandez, Romeo Lavia, Malo Gusto, Aaron Anselmino, Noni Madueke, Pedro Neto, Tosin and even Renato Veiga, who I think has been a shrewd signing, and extending Levi Colwill and Josh Acheampong. They’ve also sold very well, bringing in over £430m and getting huge fees for Kai Havertz and Mason Mount, which now look excellent deals for Chelsea. However, their overall squad building has been poor. We have a first team, but our squad isn’t strong enough in depth, and they’ve made consistently bad decisions in some areas and their treatment of Trev - and also Conor Gallagher last summer - is simply unprofessional. Recalling him after trying to force him out of the club brutally last summer is embarrassing, shameful and undermines any credibility or trust they had with the fans. Not only that, it also undermines their credibility with the players and outside of Chelsea too. It gives the impression they have no idea how to manage players and no idea how to build a squad. I know there is an overall plan for the long term, as I’ve said many times here, but the execution of it hasn’t been top class at all. We cannot keep blaming the manager for failures in the squad (we’re into their second appointment now) and not hold those above him to account. They built this squad, they spent the money, they made the decisions, they treated players poorly, so like in any job, they should be held accountable for what they’ve done. I won’t judge Enzo Maresca too harshly until he’s given a full squad he trusts and suits how he wants to play. Right now, he doesn’t have that. The other failure is this continued unwillingness to sign some good experience in the squad. We need more established players of requisite ability, with experience, who have leadership qualities. Our inexperience is showing in recent games, and again, that’s down to the squad composition. The sporting directors have spent about £1 billion in two years, and although there’s been improvement, there’ve been too many mistakes and bad decisions, and poor man management. How is it after two years of the sporting directors, we still need a proven CB with leadership qualities, still need a top GK and a powerhouse striker and elite finisher? Nicolas Jackson is one of their successes, but he needs proper support and we need a different profile up front, and its still not been properly addressed. Surely the owners expect a better return on their investment than so many being sold on so quickly and still not having a deep squad two years later? We were told in 2022 during the takeover we would appoint best in class, and respectfully, Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart aren’t acting like “best in class” at all. Best in class means someone like Luis Campos, Monchi, Michael Edwards, or Andrea Berta (pictured above), who just left Atletico Madrid after many successful years, and is available. It was rumoured Todd Boehly looked at Berta during the takeover. You need elite people to run elite football clubs, winners who command respect, have historically built successful, trophy winning squads, who not only can spot talent but know what's needed, both in talent, profile and intangibles, in a squad to win major trophies. Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart have some positive qualities and have done some good work in specific areas, as I’ve outlined. This isn’t an agenda driven article, I’m tying to be fair and balanced. But the evidence is clear, squad building is clearly not a strength of the Sporting Directors, and quite frankly, man management isn’t either. If they want us to give credit when it goes well, they need to hold their hands up and be held to account for their failures. If they are to remain at Chelsea, it should be in roles which suit their skill set. We need a best in class sporting director who can build an elite squad and manage players and staff well and gain their respect - even the ones who end up leaving - and has respect in the wider football community. The majority of the fanbase have had enough of mixed or bad decisions with a constant lack of accountability. This is our club, we deserve the best, we deserve some accountability, and we’re not getting either currently. Its simply not good enough, and fans are tired of excuses and PR talk. We need action, and answers. The Score

Juma Bah is LaLiga's great unknown The 18-year-old defender has had little exposure to professional football, yet already looks to have captured the attention of clubs across Europe. https://www.lapausa.digital/p/juma-bah-is-laligas-great-unknown Central defenders are, in comparison with most other positions, pretty challenging to find and accurately assess. Particularly in the data age, you can’t rely on the numbers to guide the first few steps as much as you can when looking for, say, a creative midfielder or a wing back. It’s a process that requires a whole lot of perception. Where we can all see the physical titans who dominate in the penalty area, batting away crosses and ragdolling strikers in the ultimate shows of resistance, it’s misplaced to expect the great defenders to hit you in the face via those scenarios alone — especially in the modern game. Elite defenders on elite teams have to play with an increasing acuity, even if they are built from stone. Logically, the more subtle traits that surround bullyball inevitably take a while to discern. And it’s especially the case for central defenders, who tend to peak closer to their 30s and are often guided into those prime years by fundamentals acquired through experience. There’s a reason why attacking players get more opportunities than centre backs in their teen years. Consider, then, the case of Juma Bah. The Real Valladolid defender was born in 2006, has started 10 professional matches in Europe, and hadn’t played outside of Sierra Leone until September of last year. On top of that, his team are in the relegation zone and the defence he’s part of has the worst such record in LaLiga. Everything says Bah should be an enigma to assess with any clarity. Nevertheless, it already looks like a raft of European clubs are preparing to act upon their spiking curiosity. From Sierra Leone to the big leagues Before touching on anything remotely related to performance, it’s worth recalling Bah’s backstory. The 18-year-old has gone from playing in the streets of Sierra Leone to the big stage of LaLiga in remarkably quick time. Indeed, when Bah was initially spotted and invited to play in an organised format in his home country, he recalled the experience as “stressful”, owing to the fact that he didn’t then own a pair of football boots. Then one day, Pachu Martínez – the scouting coordinator at Real Valladolid – went to see him play in Freetown. The ex-player is currently leading a long-term project for the club in scouting across Africa, and had received a tip from the player’s agent, Patrick Mork, about a young defender that could be of interest. Pachu, inevitably, liked what he saw. Bah soon arrived in Spain and began with his new club’s juvenil side. In the confirmation of his signing, Valladolid stated that he would spend the season on loan playing for the under-19s. That announcement was on August 26, but he would play for the B team, train with the first team, and then make his professional debut against Real Sociedad, all by September 21. The 18-year-old may have admitted to nearly having a heart attack upon being named in a LaLiga starting XI, but once there, any sign of game-influencing nerves has been hard to detect. Quite simply, Bah has looked collected on the pitch – and given his age and where he’s come from, having been launched into a radically new world, that counts for plenty early on. Listed at roughly 6-foot-4 inches tall, Bah cuts a solid immediate impression. It’s not until you see how he moves, however, that that impression starts to change beyond that of a default, well-sized centre back. Though Bah has played most of his minutes in a two this season, there’s plenty of early evidence to suggest he’s a player who’ll be eligible for the outside of a three in the future, owing to that combination of size and relative athleticism. Of course, it doesn’t take a particularly keen eye to identify Big and Fast, nor does it tell you much about a defender in isolation. It will always spike one’s intrigue though, and put a much better spin on whatever else is later uncovered. Taken in consideration of where modern football is at, too, it’s hard not to be immediately gripped by the teenager. Big-bodied defenders like Bah, who have the agility to move on the outside and in the channels, are becoming increasingly valuable resources in the game. And besides, even if you’re not looking for a behemoth who can run on the outside of your back three, having an orthodox central defender who can is no less valuable. Here he is extinguishing a transition opportunity for Getafe, showing his agility against Carles Pérez (one of the quicker wingers in LaLiga), along with plenty of strength in the process: Bah has shown nice flashes of speed and strength within smart defensive decisions too. The clip below is from the Betis victory last time out, up against another of the quickest wide players in Spain, Ez Abde. While moving backwards towards his own goal, Bah measures Abde up well and gets his feet in order, before matching him step-for-step and taking away the ball back across goal, having ushered him onto his weaker foot. Despite the natural difficulties of being an 18-year-old rookie, suddenly playing at a much higher level, and doing so in one of the worst three teams in LaLiga, Bah has rarely looked overstretched in his defending. Inevitably, there have been subtle errors of misjudgement and the moments of over-aggression. To defend well is to limit errors — not avoid them completely — and Bah hasn’t gotten everything right. But he hasn’t looked flustered by his environment or swept up by the dynamics of play. At this very early stage, Bah’s flashes and relative consistency in the open field are among the most promising news. Whether he’s been in a central pair of on the right of a central three, he’s performed well in the balancing act of defending at different heights on the pitch, where your positioning is tested and where you always run the risk of either being over-aggressive or not aggressive enough. (Just before the winter break, there was a video published from Atlético’s win at Barcelona where precisely that topic was being aired after conceding. While Oblak, Griezmann, and De Paul lobbied for the back line stepping out more, the only defender in the argument, Giménez, argued that they couldn’t.) Not to mention, the defensive line he’s played in so far has been a turnstile of different players, combinations, and systems. There hasn’t been much by the way of sturdy foundations surrounding Bah, which speaks further to the way he’s evaded the ragged moments you’d expect from a young defender in such a context. Bah’s ability to hold up in the open field is important for the fact that his defensive prowess in deeper areas looks a pretty safe thing (that being said while knowing it’s impossible to be certain at this point, and with plenty of nous in the box still to be naturally acquired). Being able to defend on the move and when the game is in its most dynamic phases, as well as stand out when its time to defend the box, is any centre back’s ticket to moving up the career ladder. At the very least, it’ll get you noticed — as appears to have happened. On that note, Bah has made a pretty formidable start as far as presential defending goes. Among centre backs with 600+ minutes played in LaLiga this season, he currently ranks in the top five for both aerial duel success (71%) and clearances per 90 (6.3). As touched on earlier, that’s not to say he’s a top-five box defender in the league, but it is instructive on an individual basis. When married up with the eye test, it’s pretty clear that Bah is a forceful presence inside the area. Especially when we’re talking about an 18-year-old. In a game against Valencia back in December, Bah racked up 13 clearances and won 6/8 aerial duels in his side’s eventual 1-0 victory. Their opponents crossed the ball an astonishing 64 times over the course of 98 minutes, which was the most by any side in a LaLiga game since 2019. However, they only put up 0.85 xG and landed just two attempts on target overall, in a second half that was typified by Bah’s dominance of the penalty area. (Side note: The last defender aged 21 or younger to make as many clearances in a LaLiga game was Mohammed Salisu, over five years ago, who also just happens to be a player Valladolid once recruited directly from African football. And was later sold to the Premier League…) Flickers of distributive talent Playing in a team merely trying to stay in LaLiga, the opportunities for Bah to stand out with the ball aren’t exactly abundant. Valladolid aren’t looking to go through the thirds from the back very often, nor do they have much weight in the possession battle. The recent managerial change isn’t likely to improve anything on that front either. Diego Cocca hasn’t arrived to initiate a ball-playing revolution. Suffice to say, you won’t find Juma Bah’s name at the top end of any distribution stats in LaLiga. Within what’s reasonable or possible in his current context, however, there have been things to like. Overall, the teenager has shown good reliability in deciding when and when not to play. As mentioned before, Valladolid aren’t always spacing the pitch to be able to go through the thirds, nor is there an abundance of midfielders looking to make themselves available when the ball is at Bah’s feet. In that environment, his smartest decision is often reduced to playing over the top of midfield. With that said, it’s clear that Bah has a better vision of the game than his pass completion numbers would otherwise tell you. He’s not in a hurry to bypass the midfield and loft one into the channel. Bah could certainly make his life easier on the possession front, what with the grind that Real Valladolid are engaged in to try and stay in the league. It’s hard to imagine his side spending hours and hours on build-up play, choreographing patterns to evade opposition pressure and arrive to the attacking half in control. Diego Cocca would probably trade five of those a game for his defenders not losing the ball in their own half. Not content to simplify things entirely, however, Bah keeps hunting his opportunities to play. He refuses to let attackers off the defensive hook; instead, looking for his moments to keep Valladolid’s possession alive. Even in their relegation six-pointer against Valencia, when all anyone in the ground seemed to be thinking about in the second half was when the full time whistle would sound, the teenager was still thinking there was football to be had. Bah’s poise when finding solutions from the defensive third might not be massively impactful in the grand scheme — Valladolid still have a long way to go to arrive to goal and opposition defenders are usually better than their attackers — but that doesn’t figure in his natural approach on the ball. Quite simply, there’s more that Bah is capable of than what Valladolid’s current context requires. Another promising aspect of Bah’s play is being able to make a defensive action and then follow it up with another positive one, or flip from defensive to attacking thinking with little waste in general. There was that moment where he stripped Nico Williams in November, and the clip below from the recent Betis game stands out as one where he added a lot of (unexpected) value. Betis have been one of the top counter-pressing sides in LaLiga this season, but watch how sharp Bah is at spotting the opportunity and feeding the pass through a tight window into Kike Pérez — in turn, setting Valladolid off on attack where every Betis midfielder was caught ahead of the ball. Like everything attached to Bah’s game at this early stage, clubs are looking for glimmers rather than absolute certainties. Moments like the one above stand for much more than a couple of misplaced passes, as they show a good sense of place and being able to appreciate the wider game situation. The paradox of all that’s related to Bah and his development is that despite probably needing to see more of him to be absolutely sure, there isn’t going to be a whole lot of time left if you’re a club weighing up whether to act upon your interest. Throw in the fact that Valladolid are currently in the relegation zone and probably thinking about their economic situation in the worst case scenario, and the urgency only grows for those taking a look. With rumours swirling and scouting departments no doubt already well down the line in their work, they will very quickly have to ask themselves: have we seen enough to override the fact we aren’t going to have enough time to see more? Then again, that’s essentially the book on deciding whether you want to sign a young player or not these days. It’s never been easier to become aware of players across the globe, meaning you have to be quick on the trigger. Then, as much as anything, it becomes a battle to secure the rights to the development of said player – a process that can then be shaped in the way the winning club sees fit. Bah might be great. He might not. But there’ll be plenty who want to take ownership of finding out which one it will be.

£10.9m? they can fuck right off why the fuck would we take a 7m euro loss on him??????

would rather Arse get Vlahovic than a pretty large number of other CFs: Lautaro Martínez Victor Osimhen Alexander Isak Viktor Gyökeres Marcus Thuram Omar Marmoush Loïs Openda Ollie Watkins Samu Aghehowa Benjamin Sesko João Pedro Matheus Cunha Jonathan David Jhon Durán Liam Delap

atm this is a good comparison to Nico they both cannot shoot to save their lives far too often

how SHIT is SOTON??? one of the worst EPL sides I have ever seen

delete

Hat trick for Amad 3 1 wow

of course 2 1 smdh Amad is their best player now

arfff 1 1 ffs

Slabhead coming on

even Manure are getting fucked by the refs just wow

2 nil FT

2 nil Brighton

Chelsea chiefs should be ashamed as unforgivable announcement exposes transfer disaster Chelsea transfer news as embarrassing Trevoh Chalobah U-turn puts co-sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart in an unwanted spotlight https://www.football.london/Chelsea-fc/transfer-news/Chelsea-sporting-directors-left-under-30789005 Considering the importance placed on Chelsea's summer 2024 plans, which marked the final window of four laid out by the sporting hierarchy in a bid to transform the squad, it is deeply worrying and concerning that with every passing game the business conducted is more and more questionable. Starting in January 2023, the methods taken to rip up the playing staff and restock have been well documented. One of those windows - 12 months ago in January 2024 - saw Chelsea complete no incoming transfers at all in a rare moment of reflection and calmness. Strangled partially by the threat of punishment for breaching profitability and sustainability rules (PSRs), the entire footballing world took a step back. In the two bigger windows either side, Chelsea have been all action. The culmination was Enzo Maresca inheriting a richly talented group in need of cohesion. For three months it seemed as if Chelsea, following the direction of their American-based ownership consortium headed by Clearlake Capital and Todd Boehly, might have found a new way to approach things successfully. Led by co-sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart, the noises around the club leading into this month were not to expect too much. In reality, the club have been plunged into emergency action. No team wants to boast about having to make significant changes over the winter as it is often a sign of desperation, but the promise of focusing on outgoings at the club in comparison to what has actually happened, is stark. Chelsea are yet to finalise (or get particularly close) to seeing any of their unwanted players moved off the books and have instead been called to action elsewhere. It is no clearer where Ben Chilwell will play his football after the February 3 deadline. There are options, it is suggested elsewhere, but nothing tangible so far. The same is true for Carney Chukwuemeka, Cesare Casadei, and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall. The quartet are all waiting to find new homes. For Chukwuemeka, Chilwell, and Casadei, the same was true in the summer. Chelsea failed to offload them and instead left Maresca with a bloated squad of aspiring first-team players that has been turned into separate XIs for Conference League or early-round cup matches and then the Premier League. He is now managing around 25 bodies across competitions. It is a number far too big to keep large portions motivated or within a realistic distance of actually playing the meaningful games domestically. The aim heading into January was to get those on the fringes of the squad away from the club for their benefit and Maresca's. That is yet to be achieved, meanwhile, entirely predictable circumstances have seen the head coach now left short in other areas. The little push for Chelsea that has caused the biggest ripple has been an injury to Wesley Fofana. The prognosis that he could be out for the season - or at very least another six weeks plus recovery time, which for him will be lengthy and needs extreme care and caution - has seen plans change dramatically. Josh Acheampong has overtaken both Tosin Adarabioyo and Axel Disasi in the pecking order at centre-back despite being banished from playing or training with any of the club's teams for two months earlier this season. Trevoh Chalobah, another who was cast aside over the summer, is now the emergency answer. The humble pie that Winstanley and Stewart have had to eat says it all. He was recalled by Chelsea to act as cover for Fofana and Benoit Badiashile (also injured) whilst Disasi, signed in 2023 to replace Chalobah, is now up for sale in a remarkable turn of events. Whether unfortunate or not, it is an awkward and fundamentally stupid position for the club to find itself in. Adarabioyo was the free alternative from Fulham and is now attracting interest this window as well. Some will argue that failing to factor in fitness issues for three injury-laden players (Reece James has also left a gap to be filled at right-back) does not meet the criteria for luck. That ignores the wider picture, which is that Chelsea were open to letting Disasi go over the summer but still took him to the pre-season tour of America and included him in the squad. The sporting directors judged that he was suitable to continue where Chalobah was not. His deficiencies were clear for many to see from the start even if a strong first half of 2023/24 did get things off on the right foot. Meanwhile, Chalobah wasn't even afforded what is pretty much a basic professional right in this instance. Instead, a player who has spent more than 15 years of his life at Chelsea, working through the academy and on multiple loans, found himself axed (like Acheampong recently and also Conor Gallagher before) from Maresca's squad, not even afforded the grace of being with his teammates whilst a more amicable exit was found. The decision was made that the versatile then-24-year-old had no role to play. Chalobah, who had outperformed all of Chelsea's defenders in the three-month stretch upon his return from injury at the back end of last season, was once more unwanted. This is nothing massively new for him after Thomas Tuchel also nearly let him go before a late change of heart in 2021. That has been the Chalobah story. His performances across the past three-and-a-half years are of someone more than solid enough and reliable enough to be part of a team aspiring to finish in the top four, yet he is constantly pushed out. Chelsea did all they could to cut ties with Chalobah last year. Without him, they would now be accelerating plans to try and sign another high-profile centre-back permanently because Maresca is not happy with what is currently on offer. His move to promote Acheampong so soon after seeing him re-integrated with the squad - another decision going above his head - is evidence that what has been signed is not up to his requirements as coach. The buck must, then, ultimately fall at the feet of those in charge. Every manager has their own changes that they wish to make to a side but considering Chelsea have committed more than £1billion on new transfers since 2023, it is a deeply embarrassing state of affairs for those who have put it all together. Winstanley and Stewart, specifically, have the keys to Cobham and whilst using academy prospects across the road at the training complex for financial gain to repair damages made by reckless spending, have been forced back to someone they wanted to sell as a pawn in that system. The total outlay of their tenure is offset to around £750million when sales are taken into account but that does little to account for the size of the error here. Having spent £39million on Disasi, also going to great lengths to secure Adarabioyo, Chelsea have had to crawl back to Chalobah because three players with increasingly worrying injury records are once more out. The failure to see this for what it is might just be the biggest problem because the activity this week suggests that Winstanley and Stewart wrongly judged not only the quality of Disasi and Adarabioyo but also the overall depth and profiles in the position, all the while acting disrespectfully towards Chaloabh. They acquired both new players actively in a heartless swoop that isolated one of the club's own and have now been forced to backtrack hastily within six months. That Winstanley was the one to call and speak to Chalobah before he was recalled is one of the most toe-curlingly horrifying things. It is he, along with the recruitment department, who played such a role in exiling Chalobah in the first place. There was no excuse for that treatment in such a manner. Chelsea will argue that the circumstances arising here are highly unfortunate and that this move demonstrates adaptability as well as humility. In reality, a giant mistake has been exposed. The decision to try and sell Chalobah, like with Gallagher and Ian Maatsen - to a much lesser extent Lewis Hall - had some sporting justification, even if they weren't overwhelmingly popular. The way in which Chelsea carried out their exits is despicable and should not be tolerated. It is cold and calculating, except that the calculations still weren't conducted correctly, otherwise this U-turn would not have been necessary. They did not see this graduate as capable of operating in Maresca's possession-based system. Chelsea are also now in need of more midfield support and might be pushed towards bringing in another left-back, depending on how the window pans out. Listed above, and straight from the academy, readily available to use and always reliable, are a midfielder and two versatile left-backs. Mistakes are made in the game but when made on this level they warrant genuine evaluation on a professional basis and analysis of those who have carried it all out. The same is true of Gallagher, who Chelsea sold to solidify their position with regards to PSR, but also to buy Joao Felix. Eighteen months on from his initial loan spell, he has a grand total of three Premier League starts (all against newly promoted teams) and one goal in the league. That came as a substitute in a match Chelsea had already won. He has been limited, like Dewsbury-Hall, to Conference League outings for the bulk of his action. So far, the player-for-player output has not been worth the trade, even accounting for the different positions and roles they play. Chelsea, under Winstanley and Stewart's guidance, had the benefit of working with Felix previously and deemed his signing this summer worthwhile. The evidence so far suggests otherwise, especially after Jadon Sancho and Pedro Neto were also brought in. Felix's arrival in 2023 was just as confusing and wasteful, ultimately. Unfortunately for Winstanley and Stewart, the summer criticism does not stop there. The core pillars of a team that Chelsea needed at the end of last season are still the case now despite more turnover in the squad and sizeable spending, especially in attack. It means that the much-heralded four-window plan which was used to explain the mass outlay and restructuring of the playing squad has proven unsuccessful. That timeframe ended over the summer and was a brief often used to give context to why such drastic steps had been taken to change almost every member of staff on site. What is left is a squad formed entirely with Winstanley and Stewart's fingerprints all over. It is something they are only too happy to take credit for when it comes to buying Cole Palmer but less responsibility has been taken over the protection and care for someone like Chalobah. In fact, clear attempts have been made to cover for the Chalobah decision. People do not forget, though, and Chalobah's reception at Stamford Bridge on Monday when Wolves visit will be telling. Ever since his first game for the club in 2021 - coincidentally against Crystal Palace - which was marked with a goal, he has been a favourite of the match-going support. That was best summed up in May when Chalobah scored the opener against Tottenham in a crucial match in the race for the top four. On that day, Chelsea fans in the Shed End unfurled a banner pledging their adoration for Gallagher. When Chelsea needed it most, two Cobham graduates stood up. When Winstanley and Stewart found themselves lacking once more, it is no surprise that Chalobah comes to the rescue. It was known at that stage that Chelsea wanted to sell Gallagher and Chalobah. The pushback from supporters had little impact, though, and both exits eventually went through in controversial and messy ways. The bigger picture is that over the summer, the sporting directors' two-year cycle also ended with question marks around Chelsea's quality of goalkeeper, centre-backs, midfield, and striker options. All were debated as key points to be addressed in the window but here we are and Chelsea's biggest shortcomings are the mid-table No.1, lack of regular commanding presence in defence, depth in the centre of the park, and support for Nicolas Jackson up front. These are all massive problems for a squad to have, let alone one that has been so heavily invested in and changed. The answers that the Chelsea recruitment think-tank came up with have hardly paid off. Renato Veiga, signed for only £12million, is already pushing to leave. He has made it into the Portugal national side in no small part due to now being a Chelsea player but he is keen to be used at centre-back more. Chelsea cannot offer him those minutes due to Levi Colwill's presence and so a permanent exit is already being discussed with Borussia Dortmund. Although blame must also lie with Veiga, Chelsea's failure to identify his positional preferences before a transfer does not reflect well. He was not signed to be a starting player immediately and could see a quick profit turned, that is true. Yet Maresca's lack of game time when the schedule ramped up last month says a lot for just how he is viewed. If issues with depth come back to bite Chelsea then again, more than just a portion of accountability must be taken by those who constructed this group. The goalkeeping scenario is no stronger than it was at the start of the summer either. Christopher Nkunku, who is not and has never been an out-and-out striker, is not providing Jackson with any genuine support. He is wanted by Bayern Munich now and Chelsea have made an approach in the opposite direction for Mathys Tel, a deal which would see one of Europe's best players since 2020 replaced by more potential and raw risk. Chalobah, the most public humiliation of poor decision-making and horrendous treatment towards a player, is still not seen as the long-term answer to the defensive part of that equation. He is being used here as cover because across four windows Chelsea have been unable to allocate funds effectively or efficiently The choice to outcast him was misguided and a disgusting, disgraceful and unacceptable way to deal with any player. That the club have been left to go back to him is one of the biggest PR blunders imaginable and is the sort of thing that should bring extreme attention onto the positions of those behind it. They are fortunate that Chalobah has developed into such a fine person through his time in the academy, nurtured by true experts in the field, that he has taken the chance to come back and not caused more of a fuss. He was made to train with the Under-21 side in the summer because of the club's actions and now he is saving their skin and saving them money in the January window. That is a turn of class and respectability that Chelsea, throughout, have lacked for some time. The announcement of his return is an acceptance that a mistake was made of some sort. Either Chalobah was a better player than they had realised or the squad was not constructed in a manner to cope with the demands of Premier League football. Elsewhere and Chelsea, after spending big on Mykhailo Mudryk, loaded their attack with not only the patchy Felix but also Neto. The most goals he has scored in a single league season in England since 2019 is five. There is little evidence of reliable output even when he does stay fit. This is an egregious sporting error but nothing in comparison to the way Chalobah was discarded and now called back to save some face. In reality, all this has done is turn up the heat on Winstanley and Stewart, who are now on rocky ground. The pair have never been the most popular, used as evidence against the new ownership's structure and plans across an ambitious but somewhat arrogant metamorphosis of the club. This latest action will do nothing to get them any goodwill and instead cannot be ignored for the sheer magnitude and scope of ineptitude.

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that option better be £30m or more no fucking clown offer of half that or so Veiga is the type of player who can become a beast in the Bundesliga we are NOT here to help Dortmund develop young talent on the super cheap and then sell for 50m plus