Vesper

Osimhen’s £109million release clause he had in the summer has expired and will be replaced with a much lower £68million clause that becomes active in January. Next summer, it will drop further to £63million. https://www.corrieredellosport.it/news/calcio/calcio-mercato/napoli/2024/10/09-133883406/napoli_quanto_puo_puo_incassare_da_osimhen_a_gennaio_tutte_le_cifre?primo-piano Khvicha Kvaratskhelia e Victor Osimhen, i gemelli dello scudetto, sono legati da un filo sottile che continua a unirli anche a distanza. Comunque piuttosto ridotta: Napoli e Istanbul sono separate da 1.233 chilometri in linea d’aria, e tutto sommato Khvicha fa scalo nella capitale turca ogni volta che torna dalla Georgia. Insomma, sono vicini. Più che mai in vista del prossimo mercato, collezione autunno-inverno: Kvara è sempre il protagonista di una trattativa di rinnovo fino al 2029 che ora farà tappa a Milano, sede del prossimo appuntamento tra il ds Manna e il suo agente Mamuka Jugeli, probabilmente già a fine ottobre, a ridosso della trasferta con il Milan o al massimo di quella con l’Inter (una decina di giorni dopo). Osi, invece, è stato ceduto in prestito al Galatasaray a inizio settembre, ma già a gennaio la nuova clausola rescissoria inserita nel suo contratto potrà essere attivata. Con un valore diverso rispetto a quello di giugno 2025: 81 milioni di euro, contro 75 milioni.

https://www.thechelseachronicle.com/news/league-winning-manager-turned-down-the-Chelsea-job-before-it-went-to-enzo-maresca/ snip Chelsea tried to hire Simone Inzaghi before Enzo Maresca The Italian won Serie A last season, and has made an appearance in the Champions League final too. It looks as if Chelsea took a real interest in Inzaghi, with Il Corriere Dello Sport claiming that the Blues made an approach to make him their manager before they eventually hired Maresca. A number of Chelsea players have been full of praise for the current manager since he joined the club, with Levi Colwill saying the boss is behind his good form this season. Maresca doing well with big squad The England international is an example of a player the new boss is getting the best out of, with him featuring in a centre-back role that he very rarely occupied last season. Maresca faced a tough job from the off at Stamford Bridge due to the magnitude of the first team squad, and the quality players that he was going to have to leave out of the matchday squad every week. He has been praised for how he has dealt with this mostly though, with him being pretty ruthless when it came to how he managed Raheem Sterling at the start of the season. There is plenty of excitement over watching Chelsea amongst supporters at the moment, and that has been a result of Maresca’s impressive start to life in West London.

lol at Cech

left-footed CBs the ones in bold will be crazy hard to pull in January Gonçalo Inácio Sven Botman Jarrad Branthwaite Murillo Piero Hincapié Castello Lukeba Dávid Hancko Jorrel Hato Jakub Kiwior Facundo Medina Abakar Sylla (R. Strasbourg player, so do not know if we can buy him) youth Jeanuël Belocian Yarek Gasiorowski (£37.5m release clause) El Chadaille Bitshiabu Christian Mawissa Nathan Zézé

Journalist tips Chelsea to sell £35m player and sign his replacement in the January transfer window https://www.thechelseachronicle.com/news/journalist-tips-Chelsea-to-sell-35m-player-and-sign-his-replacement-in-the-january-transfer-window/ Chelsea ensured they were busy over the summer in order to give the best possible backing to their new manager. Enzo Maresca was gifted a host of new players, however so far only Jadon Sancho has nailed down a regular starting role in the Premier League. With the money they spent on new players over the summer, it could be believed that they would be in for a quiet January transfer window.However, there are a number of players who have really struggled to break into the starting side that could be surplus to requirements when the opportunity arises again. This has been the case for Benoit Badiashile so far, with the Frenchman failing to impress when sporadically featuring this season. Benoit Badiashile predicted to leave Chelsea There was interest in signing him back in the summer, however the Blues were unable to find a deal that would see him leave. Journalist Graeme Bailey has exclusively predicted to The Chelsea Chronicle that they will sell the Frenchman in January, whilst also completing a deal to bring his replacement in at the same time. He said: “When the January window comes I think they’ll be active, I do. I think we might see a left-sided centre-back come in, and Badiashile will go. “I wouldn’t rule out a right-back, they’ll see what’s available. If we don’t see Reece James before January, I think that’s more likely.” Levi Colwill performing really well Badiashile has found it very difficult to displace Levi Colwill from the starting side this season, with the England international taking his game to a new level. It is fair to say that this has come in tangent with him being played in his more natural position, rather than the left-back role that Mauricio Pochettino was keen to play him in. After joining the club for £35m, injuries and recent poor form seem to have spelt the end for the Frenchman at Stamford Bridge.

easy commute (Los Angeles and NYC area residents would laugh in your face if you tried to tell them it was too far)

sounds like we are now really looking at Liam Delap and Marmoush

Chelsea could be interested in another striker addition in January, who is currently smashing it in the Bundesliga. https://www.footballfancast.com/Chelsea-want-to-sign-jackson-upgrade-marmoush-outscoring-harry-kane/ snip According to reports from CaughtOffside, Chelsea are among the interested clubs in Frankfurt forward, Omar Marmoush. The fee it would cost is believed to be around €40m (£33.5m) according to the reports. The 25-year-old has scored nine goals in nine appearances for the German outfit, also providing four assists in 747 minutes played. The Egyptian has been labelled a "late bloomer" and "electric" by Sky Sports' Dougie Critchley, praising his versatility as a forward who can play as a striker, a number ten, or even from the left. Marmoush has now made 50 appearances in all competitions for Frankfurt since joining the club in 2023, scoring 26 goals and providing 12 assists in 3,892 minutes played. The 25-year-old has also played for Wolfsburg, St Pauli (on loan), and Stuttgart (on loan), having come through the Wadi Degla academy, and Egyptian second-division team. Frankfurt's number seven has been showing his ability to impact games, with some lovely 1v1 finishes, lovely ball manipulation in the box to create half a yard for himself, and blistering pace on the break to help get his side forward, creating for both himself, but also his teammates. Marmoush is now outscoring Harry Kane in the Bundesliga this season, and if Chelsea went after him, where would that leave the in-form Jackson? Marmoush vs Jackson comparison The first thing to compare is the two player profiles here. Jackson is 22-years-old, has a 6 foot 1 frame, is a very wirey runner, and was developed in the academy as a left-winger, and therefore possesses some winger-like traits, such as his dribbling. Comparatively, Marmoush is 25-years-old, is 6 foot, and as mentioned earlier, is considered something of a late bloomer. FBref's "similar players" feature actually notes that Jackson is one of Marmoush's top most similar players which tells you their styles aren't too dissimilar, both liking to run the channels, use their pace and power in transition, and can manipulate the ball in tight spaces. You can see from these metrics, even though Jackson is having a strong start to the season, Marmoush is on another level right now, scoring over a goal per 90 with 1.08, also assisting 0.72 goals per 90, whilst actually generating fewer xG than Jackson. Expected Goals (xG) is a metric designed to measure the probability of a shot resulting in a goal. His shot volume is high, taking 4.46 per 90, and getting 1.93 of these on target, but this does affect his goals/shot ratio slightly, as he scores at a rate of 0.19, which is 0.02 fewer than Jackson's 0.21 goals/shot ratio. But Marmoush isn't just a clinical box finisher, he also has 5.97 shot-creating actions per 90, showing that ball manipulation ability we mentioned earlier, and how he can use it to create shots for himself, but also for others. This is matched by his 3.89 progressive carries and 2.36 progressive passes, which allow him to drive his team forward, something Jackson does very well too. The dynamic of having both Jackson and Marmoush competing for that striker spot would be very interesting for Chelsea, maybe even pushing each other to get even better, or even playing so well, that you could play one of them from the left-wing, and transform the Chelsea attacking unit.

Stats show perfectly what Chelsea team is missing to become title winning level https://Chelsea.news/2024/10/stats-show-perfectly-what-Chelsea-team-is-missing-to-become-title-winning-level/ It’s a refrain you hear a lot at the moment about Chelsea. Despite their good start to the season, there’s still something missing when comparing the Blues to the top teams in the league, and the Chelsea teams of the past which won titles. A ruthless goalscoring number 9 is often mentioned, despite Nicolas Jackson’s improvements over the last year. A top goalkeeper is another thing that often comes up, despite Robert Sanchez’s great showing at the weekend. But one thing that’s been talked about for a long time is the need for a really dominant centre back. Levi Colwill, Wesley Fofana and even Tosin Adarabioyo all have their qualities, but none display the sort of hyper-alpha, John Terry style domination of their own box that takes a good defence and makes it great. Some of this is intangible – just the “aura” and the leadership that top defenders have. But you can also measure it to some extent in terms of their “duel success.” Chelsea still lack final defensive piece We’ve had some really pretty easy fixtures compared to most of the top teams, yet we’ve got nobody in the top 5, as you can see above. Players like Virgil Van Dijk and William Saliba are exactly who you think of when you talk about these sorts of defenders, and they’re on the list despite having played harder games. Of course you can still be a great defender and not make this list, and you can have a great defence and not have a player on this list. James Tarkovski is on the list and Everton have conceded the joint second most goals in the league. But we still think it should be a stat that the club look into very closely next time they look to buy someone for the back line.

Player Comparison: Liam Delap vs. Nicolas Jackson https://fbref.com/en/stathead/player_comparison.cgi?request=1&sum=0&player_id1=dd897ee7&p1yrfrom=2024-2025&player_id2=9c36ed83&p2yrfrom=2024-2025

Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson out until after November international break with hamstring injury https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5824726/2024/10/09/alisson-hamstring-injury-liverpool/ Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson has been ruled out until after the November international break. The Brazil international, 32, suffered a hamstring injury in last Saturday’s 1-0 win over Crystal Palace in the Premier League and scan results have since confirmed the worst fears of head coach Arne Slot. Alisson will miss at least the next seven matches in all competitions, with Caoimhin Kelleher set to deputise. Kelleher sat out the trip to Selhurst Park due to illness, with third-choice goalkeeper Vitezslav Jaros coming off the bench to make his Premier League debut after Alisson was forced off with 11 minutes remaining. However, the Republic of Ireland international has now recovered and is away on international duty. Alisson is set to miss a crucial stretch of fixtures for Slot’s side, including a home clash against Chelsea, away games at RB Leipzig in the Champions League and Arsenal in the Premier League, a Carabao Cup tie at Brighton, followed by matches at home against Bayer Leverkusen and Aston Villa. GO DEEPER Jaros steps up as Alisson injury means another twist in Liverpool's goalkeeper situation Whether the game against Southampton at Anfield on November 24 after the next international break is a realistic target for his comeback will depend on how his recovery goes. That clash is followed two huge home matches against Real Madrid in the Champions League and Manchester City in the English top-flight. It’s a painful setback for Alisson, who missed 10 league matches last season due to muscle problems. However, it represents another extended opportunity for Kelleher to showcase his talent. He had sought a move this summer but Liverpool turned down interest from Nottingham Forest as they wanted him to stay put as high-quality back-up. Liverpool agreed a £29million ($37.9m) deal for Valencia’s Giorgi Mamardashvili but the Georgian shot-stopper won’t arrive at Anfield until next summer.

Former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp to become head of global soccer at Red Bull https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5830469/2024/10/09/jurgen-klopp-red-bull/ Jurgen Klopp is to become the new head of global soccer at Red Bull. The 57-year-old will start his new position on January 1, 2025 and will oversee Red Bull’s international football network, marking his first appointment since stepping down as manager of Liverpool at the end of last season. Klopp will not be involved in the day-to-day operations of Red Bull’s clubs but will provide strategic guidance. His focus will be on supporting individual sporting directors, alongside global scouting and the development of coaches. “After almost 25 years on the sideline, I could not be more excited to get involved in a project like this,” Klopp said. “The role may have changed but my passion for football and the people who make the game what it is has not. GO DEEPER Klopp's move to Red Bull seems surprising - but it shouldn't be “By joining Red Bull at a global level, I want to develop, improve and support the incredible football talent that we have at our disposal. There are many ways that we can do this from using the elite knowledge and experience that Red Bull possesses to learning from other sports and other industries. “Together we can discover what is possible. I see my role primarily as a mentor for the coaches and management of the Red Bull clubs but ultimately I am one part of an organisation that is unique, innovative and forward looking. As I said, this could not excite me more.” Red Bull’s chief executive of corporate projects and investments, Oliver Mintzlaff, added: “We are very proud of this outstanding and certainly the strongest signing in Red Bull’s soccer history. “Jurgen Klopp is one of the greatest and most influential figures in world soccer, with extraordinary skills and charisma. “In his role as head of soccer, he will be a game changer for our involvement in international soccer and its continued development. We are hoping for valuable and decisive impulses in key areas to make the clubs even better, both collectively and individually.” Klopp left Liverpool at the end of last season (Clive Brunskill/Getty Images) Red Bull have a number of clubs worldwide, which include RB Leipzig, Red Bull Salzburg and New York Red Bulls. Klopp is expected to play a key role at all of these sides. Klopp has been one of the most sought-after figures in football since his eight-and-a-half-year tenure at Liverpool ended at the end of the 2023-24 campaign. The Athletic reported in July that Klopp rebuffed an approach from the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) to take over as the men’s national team head coach following the dismissal of Gregg Berhalter. Mauricio Pochettino has since been appointed. During his time at Anfield, Klopp guided Liverpool to the Champions League in 2018-19, the Premier League in 2019-20, and the FA Cup in 2021-22. He also added two League Cups, the FIFA Club World Cup, and the UEFA Super Cup to their trophy cabinet. His side also reached the Champions League final twice and were runners-up in the Europa League. Before his success in Merseyside, Klopp led Borussia Dortmund to back-to-back Bundesliga titles and secured a domestic double by winning the DFB Pokal in 2012. He also steered Dortmund to the Champions League final in 2013. Klopp is set to be officially unveiled in his new role at a press conference next year. GO DEEPER The Real Jurgen Klopp: An Athletic special series Is this a surprise? Analysis by Liverpool correspondent James Pearce When an emotional Klopp waved goodbye to Anfield in May, he was adamant he would be taking a full year off to recharge his batteries. Klopp brought the curtain down on his eight-and-a-half-year reign at Liverpool because he was “running out of energy” after more than two decades in management. The German coach has spent the past five months recharging his batteries at his house on the Spanish island of Mallorca, playing his beloved padel, and attending major sporting events like the European Championship in his homeland and the Paralympics in Paris. Given his passion for football and the number of job offers he’s received, it’s little surprise that the 57-year-old has decided to cut short his sabbatical. It is a major coup for Red Bull to secure his services and the attraction for Klopp is clear. As their head of global soccer, he will oversee their international network of clubs, giving support and advice to sporting directors and helping to develop coaches. There will also be an input in recruitment without the pressure and strain of day-to-day management. Klopp will be reunited with his Liverpool No 2 Pep Lijnders, who is head coach at Red Bull Salzburg. Vitor Matos and Andreas Kornmayer, who were part of Klopp’s staff at Anfield, also work alongside Lijnders at the Austrian club. How will this appointment be perceived in Germany? Analysis by Sebastian Stafford-Bloor This will be incredibly divisive in Germany, where no footballing personality comes close to challenging Klopp’s popularity. Nine years after leaving Borussia Dortmund, he still enjoys a celebrity title that transcends the sport, with an appeal described by advertising deals across German television — for beer, for fitness equipment, even for financial planning. Klopp is inescapable during advert breaks. Conversely, nobody is less popular in German football than RB Leipzig and, more broadly, the Red Bull network. Leipzig were founded in 2009 and were artificially constructed in a way that allowed them to conform to the Bundesliga 50+1 rule, which mandates that ultimate control of a club remains in the hands of its members. As a result, many supporters find Red Bull’s influence in Germany not just to be an affront to a culture which prizes authenticity and fan-influence above all else, but also an unwelcome vision of a future that they do not want — one where commercial interest drives the game, not fan democracy. The strength of feeling around this issue is intense; on any given weekend, there will be banners in stadiums protesting Red Bull’s presence — regardless of whether Leipzig are playing or not. Klopp was successful during his time at Dortmund (Martin Rose/Bongarts/Getty Images) So, the culture clash is obvious. Beyond the success of his football teams at Mainz, Dortmund and latterly at Liverpool, Klopp has always enjoyed an unvarnished like-ability and, more importantly, has often shown himself to be aware of the role of supporters and a protector of their agency. At Dortmund, before he brought success and helped to create a new image for the club, one of his first steps was to engage with supporter groups. At Liverpool, he always seemed keenly aware of local issues well beyond the scope of his job. To British fans who likely see Red Bull’s influence in Germany as trifling in comparison to the challenges of state ownership and sportswashing, this must seem like melodrama. But locally, it will be different. Many fans will feel let down. Many will see this as Klopp swapping sides and, in the abstract sense, taking a role that will put him in direct opposition to fan interest. That will obviously be the case in Dortmund, where this will be felt acutely, but well beyond the Ruhr Valley, too. Klopp’s popularity was presumably a factor in his hiring, with Red Bull perhaps seeing the value of infusing their brand with his personality. Given his lack of experience in his new role — Klopp has never worked beyond a coaching level — that seems especially likely. That will also not make this move any more popular.

Uncapped Curtis Jones and Tino Livramento called up to England squad https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5830624/2024/10/09/curtis-jones-tino-livramento-england/ The uncapped Curtis Jones and Tino Livramento have been called up to the England senior squad ahead of October’s Nations League fixtures against Greece and Finland. The additions bring Lee Carsley’s squad up to 24 players following Monday’s withdrawals of Kobbie Mainoo, Morgan Gibbs-White and Ezri Konsa due to injury. Liverpool midfielder Jones and Newcastle United full-back Livramento both reported to St George’s Park on Tuesday evening, with Livramento moving across to the senior team from the under-21 squad. Both players have received senior call-ups before. Jones, 23, was first selected by Gareth Southgate for the 33-man preliminary squad ahead of the 2024 European Championship, while Livramento, 21, earned his first call-up from Carsley last month. However, neither has yet made their senior debut. The pair have worked with England’s interim head coach Carsley in his previous role with the under-21s, and Jones was part of England’s 2023 Under-21 Euro-winning squad. Ahead of Thursday’s fixture against Greece, captain Harry Kane has continued working on an individualised programme after having tests on a knock he picked up in Bayern Munich’s 3-3 draw at Eintracht Frankfurt on Sunday. Manchester City’s Jack Grealish also sat out of training with a minor knock. Carsley’s team will then travel to Helsinki to face Finland on Sunday. England started the group stage with victories over both the Republic of Ireland and Finland last month. GO DEEPER Palmer, Kane, Watkins, Saka, Bellingham, Foden... who starts in England's attack? England squad in full Goalkeepers: Dean Henderson (Crystal Palace), Jordan Pickford (Everton), Nick Pope (Newcastle United). Defenders: Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Levi Colwill (Chelsea), Marc Guehi (Crystal Palace), Rico Lewis (Manchester City), Tino Livramento (Newcastle United), John Stones (Manchester City), Kyle Walker (Manchester City). Midfielders: Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid), Phil Foden (Manchester City), Conor Gallagher (Atletico Madrid), Angel Gomes (Lille), Curtis Jones (Liverpool), Cole Palmer (Chelsea), Declan Rice (Arsenal). Forwards: Anthony Gordon (Newcastle United), Jack Grealish (Manchester City), Harry Kane (Bayern Munich), Noni Madueke (Chelsea), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal), Dominic Solanke (Tottenham Hotspur), Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa).

Credit to Enzo Maresca for strong start at Chelsea https://thedailybriefing.io/i/149996680/credit-to-enzo-maresca-for-strong-start-at-Chelsea It’s been a really strong start to the season for Chelsea and I think Enzo Maresca deserves credit after his arrival this summer in what was not the easiest moment. Mauricio Pochettino had also done well towards the end of last season, but the club decided to go in a different direction, though it now looks like it’s proved to be a smart call, even on an inexperienced name in his first Premier League job. I’m told that Maresca is having a very good impact on these players on the tactical point of view, and also the results of that have clearly been good. But most important part is the feeling he created with the players; they’re all very happy with Maresca, how direct and clear he is, also the fans are appreciating that and you can feel a different atmosphere at Stamford Bridge this season. Full credit to Maresca for the job he’s done so far - the start has been excellent but this project is obviously a long term one, so there might still be a few ups and downs, but let’s give him time to continue his impressive work.

Lewa is tracking to a massive season at the age of 36

only Boca Juniors (62) have more players under contract than we do (54) these are all the teams with 40 or more players under contract

every team with an average player valuation of 15m euros and up we are 9th, Real Madrid's average (€50.8m) is basically double ours (€25.7m) in order:

https://football-observatory.com/WeeklyPost475 The 475th CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post presents the 100 clubs worldwide whose footballers under contract have the highest aggregate transfer value (including players on loan to other teams). With a squad featuring many young stars bound by long-term contracts, Real Madrid clearly leads the way with the highest aggregate transfer value ever recorded for a football club: €1.728 billion. Manchester City ranks second, with an 'owned-players' valuation of €1.471 billion. Another English club, Chelsea FC, is third: €1.388 billion. Despite recent results that have not always lived up to expectations, the Londoners have a squad that is both rich in numbers and young talented players tied by long-term contracts. In terms of the average value of players owned, Real Madrid are in first place, followed by three English clubs (Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool). The estimates were calculated on the basis of a statistical model developed exclusively by the CIES Football Observatory, using a methodology explained in this peer-reviewed paper recently published in the International Journal of Financial Studies. The estimated transfer values of the best-valued player by club in over 60 leagues worldwide are available free of charge in this online tool. Estimated transfer values of players owned (€ Million) Top 100 per club - 01/10/2024 - Number of players - Average transfer value per player - % of the highest transfer value

Noni Madueke on Cole Palmer partnership: ‘He’s got a killer pass, I’m very dynamic’ https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5829128/2024/10/09/noni-madueke-cole-palmer-england/ Noni Madueke believes “the sky is the limit” for his close friend and Chelsea team-mate Cole Palmer as they prepare to play for the England senior side together for the first time. Madueke and Palmer have played together since they were in the same England Under-15 team, and were reunited at Chelsea last summer where they now have an excellent partnership. Madueke, speaking in a press conference at St George’s Park on Tuesday afternoon, talked about how there were no bounds to what Palmer could achieve in his career. “I think the sky’s the limit for him,” Madueke said of Palmer. “I don’t know if he has a ceiling, I don’t know what his ceiling is. But I feel like the form that he’s showing now is incredible. And I just hope he can continue that.” Madueke spoke in detail about Palmer’s remarkable calmness on the pitch, which has seen him score 28 Premier League goals since joining Chelsea. Palmer also scored England’s equaliser in the Euro 2024 final in Berlin this summer, although he has yet to make himself a regular starter for the England senior side. Thursday night’s game against Greece could be Palmer’s first England appearance under Lee Carsley, after he withdrew from September’s squad through injury. “Cole Palmer’s a very unique player,” Madueke said. “A type of player that doesn’t feel pressure, in the most pressurised situations. I admire that about him. He’s a great footballer. And I’m sure he’s going to produce for England, just as he does for Chelsea.” GO DEEPER How Palmer went from schoolkid to superstar - by the scout who found him Asked to explain how Palmer could be so calm under pressure, Madueke said: “It’s just his demeanour really, he’s just relaxed. He’s just as relaxed off the pitch as he is on the pitch. That’s just him. Some people are just like that. That’s his character. And it works for him on the pitch. Cole’s just unique in that sense, where he can just go on the pitch, play the game, have fun, play the game to enjoy it, and he’ll produce anyway. That’s just him.“ Palmer and Madueke have been together in the England system since they were playing for the Under-15s, when the former was at Manchester City and the latter at Tottenham. Their relationship on the pitch is there for all to see — Palmer has assisted all four of Madueke’s Premier League goals this season. “It’s a good connection.” Madueke said. “Firstly we’ve been playing with each other for a very long time now, since we were Under-15 here at England. I feel like that’s one thing. I feel like we’re very good friends off the pitch, so he probably looks for me a lot, just as I look for him. He’s got a killer pass, and I’m very dynamic, so I think it just works.” GO DEEPER Madueke faces a battle to prove himself once again as he tries to impress a fourth head coach

Does Enzo Fernandez fit into this Chelsea team? https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5828173/2024/10/09/enzo-fernandez-Chelsea-enzo-maresca-analysis/ No player at Chelsea divides opinion more starkly these days than their captain on the pitch. It has taken less than two years for Enzo Fernandez to lose the shine of a World Cup triumph and a £106million ($139m) transfer fee in the eyes of many supporters, to the point where his continued presence in Chelsea’s starting XI is becoming a topic of increasingly fierce debate. The lingering memory of him live streaming what team-mate Wesley Fofana subsequently labelled “uninhibited racism” on Argentina’s team bus after last summer’s Copa America victory does him no favours, but the bulk of the current criticism coming his way — some of which manifested audibly at Stamford Bridge against Nottingham Forest on Sunday — relates to his merits as a footballer. Does he add more to Chelsea’s midfield than he takes away and what even is his best position? Both questions are startling given Chelsea’s level of investment in Fernandez, but his critics are not the first to ask them. Last season, Mauricio Pochettino privately queried whether his countryman was destructive enough to be a No 6 or creative enough to be a more attacking midfielder and doubted that he and Moises Caicedo possessed the size and power to be a dominant pairing in the Premier League. Enzo Maresca has a markedly different view of Fernandez’s importance to his Chelsea team and laid out his thinking in a press conference last month. “I think it’s very difficult in the way we play to find a midfielder that can attack like an attacking midfielder and defend like a holding midfielder,” he said. “For instance, Arsenal are using Declan Rice as an attacking midfielder on the ball and as a holding midfielder when defending. Manchester City, in the past, have done this with Ilkay Gundogan. “In our case, we are trying to find the balance and find the players who can give us this kind of solution. At the moment, Enzo is the only one. When we have the ball, he is playing like an attacking midfielder and is dropping next to Moises when we don’t have the ball to help us and give us defensive balance. “In the first game (against City), we used Romeo (Lavia) and Moises as holding midfielders, but Enzo in this moment is playing on the ball as an attacking midfielder and off the ball as a holding midfielder. He is doing very good with us and the idea is to continue with that.” Why have one position when you can play two? In the graphic below, you can see that Fernandez took the bulk of his touches in the centre of midfield under Pochettino, while operating more on the left side of the middle third of the pitch than the right. So far this season, as the left-sided No 8 in Maresca’s system, Fernandez is getting more of his touches slightly higher up the pitch and even more focused on the left side. The shifts in where the ball is finding him are subtle but clearly noticeable. The biggest change is that Fernandez is touching the ball a lot less overall: he is averaging 66.3 touches per 90 minutes in the Premier League this season according to FBref, down from 86.9 touches per 90 minutes in 2023-24. That is a big drop, which is due to him being far less involved in Chelsea’s possession build-up in the defensive and middle thirds — his attacking third touches per 90 minutes are virtually identical this season and last. Maresca’s preference for a full-back to invert into central midfield alongside Caicedo means there is far less need — or indeed space — for Fernandez to drop deep and contribute to Chelsea’s ball progression before they cross the halfway line. He does still occasionally move into his favourite left-back position to receive the ball and from there his sharp switches of play to the right flank can be an effective way to beat opposition pressure. Fernandez’s single best attribute might be his ability to identify and play progressive passes, so it is fair to ask if moving him higher in midfield — and giving him the ball to feet much less often — truly maximises him. As a No 8 underlapping Jadon Sancho (a pass-first winger who is best surrounded by runners than other passers), he often looks awkward; in the below sequence he is not quick enough to create separation for a first-time cross, so instead attempts a blind backheel that results in an immediate turnover. That particular combination is much more dangerous when Sancho decides to be the runner. Here against Brighton, he beats a man and then initiates a one-two with Fernandez, who stops to create space for himself after shaping to underlap and is fouled as he tries to dart onto a perfectly weighted return pass, winning Chelsea a penalty. Maresca appears to be trying to focus Fernandez’s incisive passing instincts in the opposition half. His 5.4 progressive passes per 90 minutes are way down from his average of 8.6 per 90 minutes last season, as are his passes into the final third per 90 minutes (six, down from 7.2) and his passes into the penalty area (0.5, down from 1.8). His key passes (passes that lead directly to a shot attempt) have remained relatively consistent, up to 1.4 per 90 minutes from 1.3 in 2023-24. His shot-creating actions per 90 minutes have dipped from 3.3 last season to 2.8 so far under Maresca but, considering the big reduction in the volume of his touches and passes, these more decisive attacking actions represent a higher proportion of his overall contribution to Chelsea’s play. Yet it is not as if Maresca has reinvented Fernandez as a Gundogan-style goalscorer from midfield, or even a hub of attacking creation: he has had only four shot attempts in 511 minutes played in the Premier League this season, with a cumulative expected goals (xG) value of 0.3. He does not have any assists either, an underperformance on one expected assist (xA). There have still been sensational passing flashes from Fernandez in these opening weeks. Here he drops a little deeper to counter Brighton’s high press, receives a sharp pass from Levi Colwill on the half-turn, and slips Cole Palmer clean through on goal in a matter of seconds. This one is classic Fernandez, manufacturing a great scoring chance out of nothing for Noni Madueke with a measured golf shot that drops into his stride in the six-yard box: But too often it feels like Fernandez is simply occupying a plot of space in Chelsea’s attacking system, receiving the ball with his back to goal rather than with the game in front of him. This was a big problem when it happened under Pochettino because when the ball was lost, he was too far behind the developing opposition counter-attack to offer any form of assistance to Caicedo or the defenders behind him. That is still the case this season, but Maresca’s deployment of a full-back in midfield next to Caicedo makes Chelsea less immediately vulnerable in transition. Fernandez can instead focus on helping win the ball back higher up the pitch and he has had some good moments in this regard — not least this tackle which led directly to a Madueke goal against Wolves. Fernandez’s effort and energy are not in question. He presses as hard as his body will allow as part of Chelsea’s broader structure without the ball and he generally works hard to regain a more defensive midfield position nearer to Caicedo when the situation requires him to do so. But he remains somewhat of a liability defensively. No player has been dribbled past more times than his 13 occasions in the Premier League this season. His body position often disadvantages him and he lacks the athletic explosiveness to keep up with most opponents in space. Here is an example from the opening minute against Brighton. Fernandez makes a half-tackle without winning the ball, does not give up on the play and closes down the impressive Carlos Baleba, who easily wrong-foots him with a deft first touch and leaves him in the dust as he spins away upfield into space. It is still preferable for Maresca to have Fernandez pressing higher up the pitch than guarding deeper areas because he too often provides insufficient resistance. Here, he moves across to confront the advancing Pervis Estupinan, but the Brighton left-back simply slips the ball through him into a dangerous shooting position for Baleba. Fernandez is averaging more attempted tackles per 90 minutes (3.9) in the Premier League than any Chelsea player not named Caicedo this season, but his success rate is 40.9 per cent, only marginally better than Madueke (40 per cent). Caicedo, by comparison, wins the ball 70.4 per cent of the time. Chelsea did not buy Fernandez to be a defensive force. In six months at Benfica and a handful of World Cup matches with Argentina, he appeared to be a highly polished deep-lying playmaker, capable of controlling matches for his teams at the highest level. That has not yet transpired consistently at Stamford Bridge, though it is fair to point out there has been very little control around him in his first two years. In the early weeks of Maresca’s tenure, the challenge of accounting for Fernandez’s considerable strengths and significant weaknesses in midfield has become no simpler and the conversation about his importance to this team — and even his place in it — is unlikely to go away.

Why Man City’s legal case means they have incredibly strange relegation odds https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5808985/2024/10/09/manchester-city-legal-case-relegation-odds/ Manchester City have won the Premier League four times in a row and are unbeaten after seven matches this season. But they are more likely to be relegated than Brighton & Hove Albion, Fulham and West Ham United, according to bookmakers. City are 12/1 to be relegated this season, with Arsenal and Liverpool, their two most prominent domestic rivals, priced at 2,000/1 to drop into the Championship. This has nothing to do with their consecutive draws against Arsenal and Newcastle United, nor is it down to Rodri being out for the season with an anterior cruciate ligament injury he sustained against Arsenal in September. There is no correlation between what they are producing on the pitch and the possibility of them playing in the English Football League next year. Betting companies have shifted their odds due to City’s legal dispute with the Premier League — concerning the 100-plus charges levelled against the club — and the prospect of a significant points deduction if they are found guilty. There is an ongoing case between City and the Premier League (Michael Regan/Getty Images) “From an industry point of view, the usual way of forming your relegation odds is to take the title odds and flip them the other way,” explains Alan Alger, a gambling consultant. “This is the first time it hasn’t happened. “It is unprecedented that you would have a very short price for the title and then also what is a relatively short price for relegation. That can only be because the threat of relegation exists because of a relegation sanction or because of a big enough points deduction that puts them in the mix to be relegated.” What is the latest regarding Manchester City’s 115 charges? The hearing that will decide whether City broke any of the Premier League’s financial rules started on September 16 and is taking place in London. It took more than 18 months to get to this stage, with the Premier League announcing the charges in February 2023. The hearing is expected to last around two and a half months. The club is accused of multiple alleged breaches of a financial nature, including accusations they injected revenue by inflating sponsorship deals, while also hiding some costs by not declaring certain salaries and image-rights payments. The charges range from failing to provide accurate financial information, breaching the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules, failing to cooperate with the Premier League’s investigations, not providing accurate details for player and manager payments and not complying with UEFA’s FFP regulations. When a verdict is delivered, City and the Premier League can mount an appeal if they are unhappy with the decision. City have maintained their innocence and strenuously deny all the charges. GO DEEPER Manchester City vs the Premier League: The APT verdict (briefly) explained How has this impacted their relegation odds? Ordinarily, Manchester City, like Liverpool and Arsenal, would be priced at 2,000/1 to be relegated. This is a general price that makes clear bookmakers think there is no chance of it happening. But in May, the market shifted and serious thought needed to be given to the likelihood of City receiving a points deduction that could lead to relegation. “We were the first out in the industry in putting a price on Manchester City,” explains Bet365’s Steve Freeth. “We discussed whether we should offer a price because, quite clearly, the liabilities running out on 2,000/1 would be astronomical. “It was a case of some heads getting together, putting our fingers in the air and saying, ‘What’s going to happen to Manchester City and how do we see it?’, because it is so extreme. “The price we fell on was 33/1 because you can’t know whether they will get nothing at all or be deducted 100 points. We went out in the market on May 19 with 33/1 and it has been a steady flow of business ever since.” Manchester City vs the Premier League Separating Guardiola’s wonderful team from the club’s reputation The season everything might change How could they be punished? Are people placing bets on City being relegated? Yes, which is why their odds have shortened from 33/1 to 12/1. “The kind of people backing it are your regular punters in the street, placing bets of £1, £5 and £10,” says Freeth. “They are the sorts of bets we are laying. “We are laying quite a considerable amount of those bets, hence why the price has dropped from 33/1 to 12/1 over those months.” Freeth noted that Bet365 has “built liabilities into seven figures”, meaning if City are relegated this season, their payout to customers totals more than £1million. “We have to protect ourselves because it is such a volatile situation and that’s why we haven’t been offering 2,000/1,” Freeth adds. “Manchester City could win the next 10 games on the bounce but the 12/1 price wouldn’t move a great deal. It is not about results on the pitch, it is about results in the courtroom.” City have been in good form in the Premier League but this will not impact odds (Shaun Botterill/Getty Images) “It is purely a case of bookmakers protecting against the chance of a large points deduction that puts them in the relegation market,” Alger says. “And in such a high-percentage market in terms of profit for bookmakers, because you have 20 teams and three winners, you can overload the percentage and there is no upside in going 500/1 for Manchester City. “But the fact you can go 12/1 and only take a small amount of margin out of your overall market, there is no upside to going any bigger than those prices because you won’t get any prizes for doing so. As the season plays out, you will continue to see them at a false price for relegation in terms of the chance of it happening.” Have legal cases influenced sports betting markets before? Everton and Nottingham Forest received points deductions last season, which has helped inform bookmakers on how to price in legal cases and potential punishments for relegation odds. However, the cases involving Everton and Nottingham Forest pale compared to what has been levelled at City by the Premier League. “Sometimes you can get a steer but there is such little information out there about the City case,” Freeth explains. “There was a steer last season that Everton would get a deduction of some sort, so that wasn’t as difficult to model. We didn’t think Everton would get more than 10 points, likewise Nottingham Forest. “But just like everyone else, we haven’t got a clue (regarding Manchester City). That made us better prepared last season, but we have to stay vigilant and manage accordingly.” Has a potential points deduction impacted City’s odds of winning a fifth consecutive title? Pep Guardiola’s side are no longer favourites to win the Premier League, with Arsenal being viewed by bookmakers as the most likely club to end the season on top. “The difference between being 4/7 favourites and then being 8/11 favourites at the start of the season, it looks minimal, but the percentage difference is about the same as the difference between 12/1 and 500/1 for relegation,” Alger says. And, according to Freeth, people are still backing City to win the league, with the market most recently being impacted by Rodri’s season-ending injury, as well as Kevin De Bruyne missing the last three matches through injury.

The Manchester City APT verdict hasn’t changed anyone’s mind https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5826502/2024/10/09/manchester-city-apt-decision-verdict/ The thing that everybody has in common when it comes to legal battles between Manchester City and the Premier League is a desire for a line to be drawn under it all. There are extremely polarised views over the 115 charges: City’s rivals may want them “wiped from the face of the Earth”, as Pep Guardiola put it recently, whereas the club are hoping for, possibly expecting, a huge victory. Everybody wants to know which of the two outcomes it will be. It most likely will not bring an end to the arguments but, at some stage, there will have to be an actual winner. A losing party cannot spin, for example, exoneration or relegation. The issue with Monday afternoon’s verdict from City’s legal challenge to the Premier League over associated party transaction (APT) rules is that there was room for both sides to claim victory. Even trained legal professionals could not reach a consensus on who had got the better of things, if anybody. GO DEEPER Manchester City vs the Premier League: The APT verdict (briefly) explained On Monday, a Premier League statement said that City were “unsuccessful in the majority of its challenge. Significantly, the tribunal determined that the APT rules are necessary, pursued a legitimate objective and were put in place to ensure that the profitability and sustainability rules (PSR) are effective, thereby supporting and delivering sporting integrity and sustainability in the Premier League”. City had released their own statement highlighting the five significant blows they had landed on the league, and actually provided a direct link to page 164 of the independent panel’s document, which summarises the independent panel’s findings to back up their stance — although it is almost impossible for anybody, especially a layman, to understand it without the context of the other 174 pages. City are the first club to win the English league title in four successive seasons (Jess Hornby/Getty Images) On Tuesday, there was another development: City are so sure that they didn’t just win, but win convincingly, that they wrote to the league and the 19 other clubs in the division to insist that the Premier League’s version of events is wrong. In that letter, City say that a statement released by the league on Monday afternoon “is misleading and contains several inaccuracies” and “is a peculiar way of looking at the decision”. GO DEEPER Premier League clubs to meet next week to discuss APT case fallout The club’s executives also conveyed their concern that the league intends to update its rules within 10 days — one of the fundamental reasons that City brought the case against the league’s APT rules in the first place was that they felt the legislation, adapted in 2021, was done in a hurry. “The tribunal has declared the APT rules to be unlawful,” City’s second statement reads. “MCFC’s position is that this means that all of the APT rules are void, and have been since 2021. In recent correspondence, the Premier League agreed with MCFC that this is an issue that will need to be resolved by the tribunal. It is, therefore, remarkable that the Premier League is now seeking to involve the member clubs in a process to amend the APT rules when it does not even know the status of those rules.” While the hearing into the 115 charges goes on, City’s rivals are hardly going to take that at face value. Privately, the Premier League has said it completely rejects City’s assertion that their findings are misleading, although it is thought that there are no plans to vote on any of the findings at next Thursday’s league meeting. That is one of the problems when it comes to finding answers here: a 175-page document is available to the public, but your average person (or journalist) will not have the appetite or stamina, let alone understanding, to digest it all properly. There are far more people who have already made up their minds that no matter how convincingly either City or the Premier League put their case across, it is not going to move the needle too far. That is likely to be a factor even after the 115 charges are dealt with — not everybody will accept the final decision — but at least there will be evident winners and losers. With the APT case, there is still ample room for claim and counter-claim. City are right that they had some big successes, even if a lot of their arguments were dismissed. When the legal challenge came to light in June it was reported that they had submitted to the panel that ticket prices would need to go up because of the impact of APT rules, something that rubbed fans of the club up the wrong way in the first place, and gained no traction during the hearing. There can be no doubt, though, that the panel stated that the Premier League’s laws are, in places, unlawful and unfairly applied, specifically when it came to City, and that is a major victory for the club. Two previous Premier League decisions on Abu Dhabi-based sponsors were also voided (a third was dropped before the hearing) because the league took too long to act. With City insisting in its letter that all of the APT rules are now void, it plays into the idea that the club launched the legal challenge in a bid to scrap the rules entirely and have nothing replace them. The insinuation from some rivals being that City could and would inflate sponsorship agreements to help circumvent spending rules. Although City had a long list of issues with the rules — how they were written, the scope of them, how they were applied, their implications, why they were brought in in the first place — and certainly seem very keen to point out that the rules are no longer valid, they do not expect or even hope for a Wild West scenario where anything goes. They still expect regulation, just in a different guise. It is not clear what that guise would be, but given City were unhappy with how long the Premier League’s procedures took to analyse sponsorship deals, how costly the regulations were for clubs, how broad the league’s definitions became when looking at sponsorship deals (the rules changed from ‘related’ parties to ‘associated’ parties in 2021, and the word ‘evidently’ was also dropped when it came to determining what was fair market value), it is fair to say they wanted a model more in line with previous regulations — in place between 2013 and 2021 — and the current UEFA regulations that clubs would have to adhere to regardless of the ruling on Premier League rules. Manchester City vs the Premier League Explaining the 115* charges and what happens next Separating Guardiola’s wonderful team from the club’s reputation The season everything might change How could they be punished? One undisputedly big win for City relates to the finding over shareholder loans. Part of the reason City successfully argued that the APT rules were unfairly applied was that they pointed out that the Premier League ignored instances where owners have loaned money to their clubs. Deals between, say, Middle Eastern-owned clubs and Middle Eastern sponsors are heavily scrutinised, but clubs that simply receive money from their owners — which would be repaid, sometimes without interest — were not considered a problem. That issue is now in the spotlight, and it is easy to imagine City laughing their backsides off at the thought that several of the clubs that have pushed for them to be punished in recent years could now be at risk of breaching spending rules themselves. For those who mistrust City, it may be a bitter pill to swallow but the club undeniably have a point here: loans obviously have to be repaid, but clubs that receive them can benefit from financial relief on very agreeable and often flexible terms. That surely has to be factored in when thinking about PSR. As the panel found, the “effect on competition is the same whether the money is received transparently from the owner or in a non-transparent way from a third party”. Given so many clubs could be affected (nine have received loans from their owners) and a majority of 14 clubs need to pass a motion, it is hard to imagine what the regulations would look like, however. It is like turkeys voting on how they want Christmas to be delivered. There is also a subtle but pretty significant piece of legalese in the verdict, too. The panel found that, by overlooking shareholder loans, the Premier League were found to have breached competition law ‘by object’. This means that the league actually set out to do it, rather than did it by accident. It is similar when it comes to abuse of power by the league. The verdict also opened up the potential for City and other clubs to pursue damages from the Premier League relating to any deals that were unfairly recalculated, which might not result in eye-watering sums being handed over, but could prove another industrial-sized can of worms. The Premier League has already spent significant sums on legal fees with other clubs in the recent past, and while much is understandably made of the amount that City can and will spend on legal counsel, the league has found itself outmanoeuvred by Everton and particularly Leicester City, despite those clubs using a significantly cheaper team of lawyers. GO DEEPER Leicester's PSR case hurt them this summer - now they have a fighting chance of staying up Another thing that Monday’s verdict proved was that this was far from a frivolous appeal by City. When news of the legal challenge came to light in June, it was regarded by many as the end of football as we know it, a diabolical flexing of the muscles by the Premier League champions to show that they would stop at nothing to get the bigger win later down the line. City will certainly throw their full weight behind their bid to beat the Premier League over the 115 charges, but the APT verdict shows that City had genuine reasons for bringing the case in its own right. Not all of their arguments were accepted, but some important ones were upheld and any tweaks to rules relating to shareholder loans could actually make the league fairer overall — as well as delight City’s executives. The wait for the big winners and losers goes on.

Cole Palmer crowned 2023-24 England men’s Player of the Year, edging out Bellingham and Saka https://www.malaymail.com/news/sports/2024/10/09/cole-palmer-crowned-2023-24-england-mens-player-of-the-year-edging-out-bellingham-and-saka/153010 Wednesday, 09 Oct 2024 9:39 AM MYT LONDON, Oct 9 — Cole Palmer has been named the 2023-24 England men's Player of the Year, the Football Association said yesterday. Chelsea midfielder Palmer, 22, was voted Three Lions' fans' favourite player ahead of Real Madrid midfielder Jude Bellingham, in second, and Arsenal forward Bukayo Saka — the winner of the previous two editions — in third. Palmer made his England debut in a 2-0 home win over Malta in November 2023 and earned nine senior caps, including five appearances at Euro 2024, scoring twice in that period. One of his goals came in July's final defeat to Spain in Berlin, after he set up Ollie Watkins for a late winner against the Netherlands in the semi-final. Palmer, who has scored six goals in seven Premier League games this season, became the first Chelsea player to win the award since current England assistant coach Ashley Cole in 2010. — Reuters

Chelsea and Nottingham Forest charged for failing to control players, no action against Nicolas Jackson https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5828330/2024/10/08/Chelsea-nottingham-forest-fa-charges/ The Football Association (FA) has charged Chelsea and Nottingham Forest with failing to control their players following a mass confrontation during their Premier League match at Stamford Bridge on Sunday. Chelsea striker Nicolas Jackson will not face any disciplinary action for his involvement in the brawl. The 23-year-old was part of an altercation in the 1-1 draw, during which he appeared to thrust his hand into the face of Forest defender Morato amid the melee. The heated melee was sparked in the 88th minute when Levi Colwill squared up to Neco Williams after the Welshman shoved Marc Cucurella into the home technical area, sending Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca tumbling to the ground. A statement from the FA said “both clubs failed to ensure their players didn’t behave in an improper and/or provocative way around the 88th minute”. Chelsea and Forest have until Thursday to provide their responses. Following the result, Maresca said: “These things can happen. In terms of emotion, the team is fighting altogether and I don’t think some of them lose their heads. They were, all of them, in the game. I was happy with that.” Asked specifically about Jackson, Maresca added: “In that moment, I think not only Nicolas was inside the pitch. If you look, more players from the bench were inside the pitch. “If you ask me if I prefer when something like that happens, players from outside involved or not, I like the spirit of the team. I like the spirit of our team. I don’t see any problem.”

Brand new Cole Palmer/Burberry 9 minute film