Vesper

Chelsea are ‘in talks’ with PSV Eindhoven winger Noni Madueke’s agent regarding a potential move to the Premier League, according to journalist Simon Phillips. https://thisisfutbol.com/2023/01/blogs/premier-league/Chelsea/Chelsea-noni-madueke-latest-transfer-news-rumours-updates/ Graham Potter’s side have recently signed Atletico Madrid forward Joao Felix on loan until the end of the season, but Todd Boehly isn’t showing any signs of slowing down when it comes to wanting to make even more attacking reinforcements. The Times have claimed that the Blues are contemplating a move for the 20-year-old Madueke, with Fabrizio Romano confirming that the club hierarchy are huge admirers and are keen to bring him to Stamford Bridge. Speaking to GiveMeSport, Phillips revealed that Chelsea are currently holding discussions with Madueke’s representatives, but admitted that the club are worried about his consistent previous injury problems. “I was told that Chelsea are in talks with his agent as well to try and sign him. “But he has a bad injury history, and obviously, this is something that Chelsea are concerned about. So, I don’t really know what stage those talks are at right now.” TIF thoughts on Madueke to Chelsea… Chelsea already have a significant number of players sidelined and they won’t want to add any more casualties to that list, but recruiting Madueke is a no-brainer of a decision should the opportunity arise. The London-born talent has posted 34 goal contributions in 80 Eredivisie appearances and currently ranks in the 99th percentile for most shots and dribbles completed by wingers. Madueke also has two trophies to his name so would be able to add a much-needed taste of success to the squad this month with the aim of helping the Blues secure a top-four finish.

The staggering hypocrisy of Wimbledon’s ban on Russian and Belarusian tennis players https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2022/06/28/bmay-j28.html Play began at the 135th edition of the Wimbledon tennis tournament in London on Monday without the participation of Russian or Belarusian athletes. The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club (AELTC) announced in April that it was going along with British government’s demands, part of the chauvinist hysteria aimed at justifying the US-NATO proxy war with Russia. The ban on Russian and Belarusian players means that five of the top 100 male players, four Russians (Daniil Medvedev, Andrey Rublev, Karen Khachanov, Aslan Karatsev) and one Belarusian (Ilya Ivashka) will not be in attendance. Medvedev, reigning US Open champion, is currently ranked number one in the world and Rublev number eight. Eleven of the top 100 female players, eight Russians (Daria Kasatkina, Veronika Kudermetova, Ekaterina Alexandrova, Ludmilla Samsonova, Varvara Gracheva, Anna Kalinskaya, Anastasia Potapova, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova) and three Belarusians (Aryna Sabalenka, Victoria Azarenka, Aliaksandra Sasnovich) have also been blocked from competing. Sabalenka, a semi-finalist at Wimbledon last year, is ranked number six in the world, Kasatkina number thirteen, Kudermetova number nineteen and Azarenka number twenty. The prohibition on the tennis players has been widely criticized even within the elite tennis world. In order that the Russian and Belarusian players will not be penalized, the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals), the worldwide tour for men, and the Women’s Tennis Association, the equivalent for women, along with the International Tennis Federation, have stripped Wimbledon of ranking points this year, effectively reducing it, in the words of one commentator, to an “exhibition” tournament. However, the 40 million pounds (US$50 million) in prize money has continued to draw most of the top players. Current and former tennis stars, including Novak Djokovic, Billie Jean King, Martina Navratilova, John McEnroe and Sloane Stephens, have opposed the ban. Describing himself as “a child of war,” in reference to the bloody conflicts in the Balkans in the 1990s, Djokovic, a Serb, has said that he does not see how the Russian and Belarusian players “have contributed to anything that is really happening. … I don’t feel it’s fair.” Stephens, a member of the WTA Player Council, former world number three and 2017 US Open champion, defended the decision to strip Wimbledon of its ranking points on the grounds that “discrimination will never be tolerated.” The hypocrisy of the All England Club decision is almost supernatural. Chairman of the board Ian Hewitt told ESPN that the ban of Russian and Belarusian players was a decision that was “beyond the interests of tennis alone” and was “influenced by the directive guidance which the government gave us in relation to the matter.” Hewitt went on to tell ESPN that given the profile the tournament had, “it was very important to us that Wimbledon … should not be used in any way, by the propaganda machine which we know the Russian government employs in relation to its own people and how their position in the world is presented and … we just would not countenance Wimbledon success or participation in Wimbledon being misused in that way.” The crimes of the Putin regime are considerable, including its reactionary invasion of Ukraine, which has provided the US and its gangster allies in Europe the occasion to intervene in the conflict, massively increase defense spending and bring the world to the verge of nuclear war. However, what is the record of the Wimbledon tournament in relation to “tragic situations” (Hewitt) like the one in Ukraine? First of all, one needs to point out that black players were not allowed to play at the All England Club until 1951, and Jews were not accepted until 1952. Angela Buxton, the British Jewish former Wimbledon doubles champion in 1956 (as the partner of African-American Althea Gibson), told a reporter that 50 years after her triumph she had not been invited by the Club to join. She observed that she had been on the “waiting list” since she applied in the 1950s. Since the first Wimbledon tournament in the 1870s, the British ruling class and its military have carried out invasions, occupations, massacres and assorted atrocities in so many parts of the globe (India, Ireland, Kenya, etc.) that it would take a dozen articles of this length merely to identify them. As the great Marxist Leon Trotsky once noted of British imperialism, “bribery, eloquence and deception, and colonial methods of sanguinary oppression and hypocrisy, along with every other form of vileness, have entered equally into the rich arsenal of the ruling clique of the world’s greatest empire.” In more recent years, reduced to the status of a subordinate power, the British powers-that-be have acted as willing allies of the US in further massive crimes, in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Syria and elsewhere. Has the All England Club ever spoken out against or acted in regard to a single one of these horrors? The question is purely rhetorical. The Club, whose board of directors includes the expected assortment of multi-millionaire businessmen, wealthy lawyers and lords and ladies, spiritually presided over by the Duchess of Cambridge (Kate Middleton), has turned itself, eagerly, without a whimper, into an arm of the despised Boris Johnson government and its filthy foreign policy. There is not much more to say.

'I really do': Ornstein says there's another signing he expects Chelsea to make soon, in talks with £10m star https://www.thechelseachronicle.com/transfer-news/i-really-do-ornstein-says-theres-another-signing-he-expects-Chelsea-to-make-soon-in-talks-with-10m-star/ David Ornstein has told The Athletic’s Football Podcast that he expects Chelsea to sign a striker this January. The Blues have enjoyed a busy and fruitful Janaury so far, as Todd Boehly continues his spending spree as the new club owner. They have invested for the future with the signings of David Datro Fofana and Andrey Santos, with Benoit Badiashile also impressing in his first start for the club at the weekend. Joao Felix and Mykhailo Mudryk represent two big name additions this winter, as they look to rescue somewhat of a respectful finish to the campaign. However, plenty of reports suggest that they are still looking to add to their ranks in the next two weeks. Chelsea could sign Thuram They have been linked to a right-back to compete with Reece James, as well as a midfielder in the face of a potential exodus in that role. There have also been links to further strengthening the attack. The Blues are reportedly interested in Marcus Thuram as the desired option, with Ornsetin claiming they have already been in talks over potentially signing him. He said: “I think they will take a striker. I really do. They have been in talks with Marcus Thuram, let’s see how that develops. They see Kai Havertz as a number 10, not someone leading the line. There’s been interest in the likes of Osimhen and Vlahovic. They consider so many players.” The Chelsea staff will certainly be making any signings safe in the knowledge that they will be bringing in Christopher Nkunku in the summer, With Mudryk and potentially Felix also at the club next year, it will take a lot of thinking and a few departures in order to get the club in a position where they’re back competing.

Report: Agent of £53m player jets into London this week, after claims Chelsea want him https://www.thechelseachronicle.com/transfer-news/report-agent-of-53m-player-is-in-london-this-week-after-claims-Chelsea-could-try-and-sign-him/ Denzel Dumfries’ representative will reportedly be in the English capital this week, amid claims Chelsea could make a move for him. According to GiveMeSport, the agent of the Inter Milan player is set land in London some time in the next few days, potentially to organise a transfer to ‘The Big Smoke’. Of course, Dumfries’ delegate might just be doing a bit of sightseeing. A touristic tour that could take him to the offices of Stamford Bridge, where his client reportedly has several interested suitors. The Inter defender has been linked with a possible transfer to Chelsea throughout the campaign, as the club attempt to strengthen their full-back options. Particularly at right-back, where Cesar Azpilicueta is the only senior player available to cover that position currently. Reece James’ remains on the side-lines through injury, whilst Trevoh Chalobah’s recent performances in this area of the field have not been ground breaking. Denzel Dumfries could possibly improve Chelsea Dumfries would represent a formidable right-back, who can also be deployed as a wing-back if the formation requires. He is a proven attacking weapon as well as a defensive force, having contributed 17 goals in 68 appearances for Inter in just under two seasons. His Serie A employers are said to be willing to sell the Dutch international to help balance their books. They value the 26-year-old between £44m and £53m.

surely we must be looking for a RB as well

now going with condescending misogyny as a mode whatever

no mo fro

Spuds epic 2004 choke In 2004, both Tottenham and Manchester City were the flakiest of outfits. In this fourth round replay, Spurs charged into a 3-0 half-time lead and City's bad boy midfielder Joey Barton was dismissed at the interval for behaving like... well, Joey Barton. Hordes of City fans headed for the exits. But in the second half, 10-man City launched an epic comeback. Sylvain Distin reduced the arrears on 48 minutes, then Paul Bosvelt struck No.2 with a deflected effort 20 minutes later. With 10 left, a marauding Shaun Wright-Phillips pulled City level at 3-3, before substitute John Macken headed home a dramatic winner for Kevin Keegan's men seconds from time. As the jubilant City team celebrated with the supporters who'd stuck around, Tottenham fans disappeared sharpish into the north London night. "I'm speechless," admitted Kevin Keegan, possibly for the first time ever.

Club announce they have paid final instalment of deal with Chelsea – No longer owe Blues money https://sportwitness.co.uk/club-announce-paid-final-instalment-deal-Chelsea-no-longer-owe-blues-money/ With Brazilian clubs often drowning in debts, it’s normally a big deal when they manage to settle some payments. This seems to be the case with Atlético Mineiro, who officially announced they no longer owe money to Chelsea. On Twitter, the Brazilian side confirmed that they’ve settled the debt for the signing of Nathan, who joined the club back in 2020. It’s said Atlético paid Chelsea the final instalment from this deal, which was worth R$7m (£1.1m), and are now free of that debt. Nathan belonged to Chelsea for five years after he joined the club still in 2015 in a €4m deal from Athletico Paranaense, but was never given the chance of making a single appearance for the Blues. The midfielder was then involved in several loans during that period, having featured for Vitesse, Amiens, Belenenses and Atletico Mineiro until his permanent €3m sale was done. Nathan is still only 26, and now tries to make a new path in Brazilian football, even though his stay at the Galo is not guaranteed for the current season. In yet another step towards cleaning up the Club's finances, Atlético paid off, last Friday, January 13th, the remaining portion of the purchase of midfielder Nathan from Chelsea, from England. The amount paid was 7,096 million reais.

thank fuck Elon Musk did not buy us!!!!!

please stop broad-brushing collective guilt onto all Russians

we shall see as I said before I have faith

I mentioned no names you are the one having a go and getting personal in terms of insults I mentioned no specific names and it was not a direct 'quote reply' to anyone ironic that you are positing that I am putting words into people's mouths when you just did exactly that with me this is what I said

lol Yep, that's me, thick as a brick. 🤪 They even wrote music about me 22 years before I was born, cuz they knew I was coming.

you know, the true PR win is us in the West stripping Russia of their best (by far) young outfield player I think another club should also move for the only other Russian player who interests me much atm

I find it hilarious that a few here who apparently had no issues with supporting a team owned by a Russian billionaire who literally was helping to fund Putin and Russian governmental entities for decades, are now developing cases of virtue signalling, tongue clucking, and moral compartmentalising over us trying to by a Russian teen creative MF for £12m smdh

we shall see you sound giddy at the possibility of us being blocked in a SPORTING TRANSACTION smdh

it's going to a bloody football team, not into the Russian war budget and £22m of our money IS going into the Ukrainian war budget, via Shakhtar's commitment what is actually funding Putin is the hundreds of billions being spent on Russian oil and gas

British tabloid and telly media culture is toxic shite ignore it

that Copa America field was one of the weakest in the past 50 years I talked about it back when it was happening

Exclusive: Why Mykhailo Mudryk joined Chelsea not Arsenal – by Shakhtar’s CEO https://theathletic.com/4096686/2023/01/17/shakhtar-donetsk-ceo-why-mudryk-Chelsea-not-arsenal/ Chelsea poached Mykhailo Mudryk from under the noses of Premier League leaders, and London rivals, Arsenal over the weekend. At €100million (£88.7m, $108.2m), the deal is a record for a Ukrainian player and for Shakhtar Donetsk, who sold him. The 22-year-old winger was paraded on the pitch at half-time during Chelsea’s 1-0 win over Crystal Palace on Sunday, after signing a seven-and-a-half-year contract. Here, Shakhtar chief executive Sergei Palkin tells The Athletic’s Adam Crafton: How Arsenal first made contact with the player “in October or November” last year — a month before their interest was formalised with Shakhtar That the two London clubs offered the same amount for Mudryk, but the add-ons built into Chelsea’s bid were more “achievable and realistic” Why Shakhtar suspected a sale might get pushed back to the summer until Chelsea’s interest crystalised last week How Chelsea’s new owners are overseeing a project to “build one of the best clubs in the world” Chelsea co-owner Behdad Eghbali proposed a future friendly against Shakhtar in Donetsk. Adam Crafton: A lot of supporters of Premier League clubs are fascinated by this transfer. It looked like Mudryk would go to Arsenal but then, in the space of 24 hours, he joined Chelsea. When did you realise Chelsea would be the destination? Sergei Palkin: I realised two days ago (Saturday) when Chelsea arrived here — the co-owner Behdad Eghbali and (director of global talent and transfers) Paul Winstanley. They came to Antalya in Turkey (where Shakhtar have been at a training camp during their domestic season’s winter break). Before Chelsea arrived, I did not know they were close, because I communicated with Arsenal in the same way as I had with Chelsea. Even I can tell you more: I met Arsenal more times than Chelsea. Therefore, before this last meeting, Arsenal was close, or a little bit closer to this deal than Chelsea. https://theathletic.com/podcast/144-athletic-football-podcast/?episode=512 How many times did you meet Arsenal? If you don’t count telephone conversations, it was three times. From our conversations with sources close to the deal, the impression I have is that Arsenal were confident you would have found a compromise with them, and we had even seen the player himself on social media watching Arsenal matches. What, in your view, changed things? Was it the willingness of Chelsea to fly to Turkey and to meet the figure? From my point of view, (this) is why everybody talked about Arsenal. It is because Arsenal contacted the player almost one and a half months before they contacted us. Can you imagine, for example, to have (the Arsenal coach) Mikel Arteta, (Arsenal’s Ukrainian player) Oleksandr Zinchenko and the sporting director (Edu) calling you, to have Arsenal calling you almost every day, every two days, every three days? You can want or not want the move but you follow this kind of reception and contacts. If you talk about Chelsea, they called me at the end of December and asked if they can contact Mudryk because they are interested in him and want to talk with him. I said, ‘No problem, you can contact him’. The first time they contacted him was around the end of December or the start of January. They contacted the player and the agent of the player and they met the financial conditions. Therefore, why did many people around it have the impression that Mudryk was going to Arsenal? It is because Arsenal contacted him and then Mudryk started to watch some games of Arsenal. But negotiations are negotiations. When you didn’t close everything, when you did not (close) the last dot, then you cannot finish the deal. Therefore it was just an outside visual impression that Mudryk is close to Arsenal. GO DEEPER Is Mykhailo Mudryk - Chelsea's prospective new striker - really worth the hype? Were any other clubs close to a deal? There were some contacts but not serious. So it was just two clubs. Did you ask Arsenal whether it was right for them to contact the player before they spoke to the club? Normally, clubs make a complaint when that happens. When I met Arsenal and they mentioned they had already talked to the player and they had contacted the player, to be honest, I knew beforehand that they had started to contact him. I said, ‘OK, you start to contact him but first of all you should close it with us’. But OK, we have what we have. So you didn’t make a formal complaint to FIFA? We didn’t do a formal complaint. They did what they did. Our understanding is that in the final offers from the two clubs, the total figures were basically the same but the difference was the speed of payments. Is that correct? Overall, it was the same. Not approximately the same — it was the same figure. The fixed part, variable part, bonuses. But if you look inside the fixed part and bonuses, it was completely different. In what way? Different time (schedule) of the payments, different kinds of bonuses. Yes, we can talk about bonuses, but these bonuses should be somehow achievable and realistic, let’s say. Therefore, in this case, Chelsea was much more serious and fair in some points. When we met Chelsea, we stayed all together. For you to understand the context, it was for nine or 10 hours. They invited the player and explained to us the whole project. We realised that, yes, if you look right now, Chelsea have some kinds of problems but it is normal because they have a transition period from one owner to another. It is understandable. They would like to change a lot. So when they explain to you the whole story and you look for the next two, three, four, five years, then you see they have a serious project. I believe they will build one of the best clubs in the world because I am telling you, they are very serious in all directions: sports science, the stadium side, the commercial side, on all things. For us, they looked very ambitious. Our information is that the Chelsea deal includes add-ons if they win the Premier League or Champions League. Is that accurate? Yes. It has these kinds of bonuses. Is there a clause relating to Mudryk winning the Ballon d’Or? Chelsea’s offer has no Ballon d’Or (clause). It is achievable bonuses that we feel, and they feel, can be reached. Maybe not this year but in the next two, three or four years. There’s no deadline then? If they win the Premier League or Champions League in 2029, the bonuses still apply? It’s eight years, or seven and a half. The length of contract is eight years — seven plus one. Did Mudryk ever say to you, ‘Let me leave in January’? Or would he have waited until the summer if you had not permitted a transfer? We had no detailed discussions with Mudryk. He was professional, he did not push us. He did not want to meet us to ask why we had not sold him or complain he had not been sold for €50million, €60million. We just said, ‘Mykhailo, we are running negotiations. We want to help you and we believe that we will finalise it, so just relax, train properly and that’s it’. There was no pressure from his side or the agent’s side. Maybe you even saw his agent do an interview to say Mudryk is professional, training well and that they respect he belongs to Shakhtar. Did he speak to Chelsea head coach Graham Potter before joining the club? Mykhailo spoke with him this weekend. On Monday, Shakhtar president Rinat Akhmetov announced that his team will play a friendly with Chelsea in Donetsk (when and if that area of Ukraine is no longer occupied by Russian forces). Can you clarify if this is actually written into the transfer agreement? Yes, it is written into the contract. But actually, we did not even need to read it in the contract because Behdad spoke with our president. Behdad supports Ukraine a lot because he is American and it is an English club, so for us this is a positive triangle because when you say England and Ukraine, it is important for our war support at this moment. They spoke very well and shook hands. I know because I translated. I liked the conversation very much and I believe that it does not matter if it is in the contract or not. It was Behdad who proposed (the friendly), because he said he wanted to help Ukraine, to help Ukrainian refugees and to support Ukrainian people. For us, this match (in Donetsk) would be like a miracle (having not played in their home city since 2014). We would have this match every weekend if we could. Was their conversation with Akhmetov by phone? Yes, on the phone. He has never left Ukraine since the beginning of the war. It has been reported that $25million from the deal will go directly to assist the medical and psychological needs of soldiers who have defended Mariupol in Ukraine, or the families who have lost loved ones. No, it is our president’s own money. He will donate it himself to the fund. They are organising a fund to help the defenders of Mariupol and the families of the defenders who lost their husbands and fathers. From the wider reporting, it appeared that Arsenal made a final offer on Thursday or Friday. Did you speak to Arsenal to tell them it was all done with Chelsea? Before Chelsea arrived in Turkey, we almost agreed with Arsenal that there was no chance to close (the deal). When they proposed the final offer of €70million plus €30million (in add-ons), we sat down and started to talk internally about how it will be fulfilled in terms of the payments, the fixed part and the bonus issues. We realised we will not close this deal (with Arsenal). I said to Edu that I did my best but it was not possible. So it was a relief when Chelsea then came? When Chelsea arrived, they just called and said, ‘OK, we know you negotiated with Arsenal, we know you are close with some kind of figures. We want to meet’. I said, ‘OK, let’s meet’. I told Muydrk, ‘If I do not sell you in winter, we will definitely sell you in the summer’. I said, ‘Maybe you will cost even more in summertime’. We were ready to accept different scenarios. We would not be rushed. So while meeting Chelsea, did you need to keep a poker face to say Arsenal are still involved? But this football world is quite close. I know for sure that everybody knows what is going on. From (the) Arsenal side, Chelsea side, these kinds of negotiations involve a lot of people. A lot of journalists are around it, too. A lot of guys who can provide some kind of info. So, everyone knows what is going on. It’s a record deal for a Ukrainian footballer. What does this mean for Ukraine right now? To have somebody promoted globally in the biggest league in the world, to have an ambassador with the Ukrainian flag (which Mudryk wore as he greeted the crowd on Sunday) at Stamford Bridge… For social media alone, the coverage was something like 60 million across those platforms. I am not counting newspapers or TV channels. Ukraine got absolutely top-level coverage across the world, and for us it is positive promotion of our country. Mudryk became an ambassador of Ukraine across the world. I like very much that he went to the Premier League because it is the best league in the world, and also England supports Ukraine a lot. It is one of the best countries for that, which is very important for us. For the whole world and Ukraine, it is an important transfer. We have context in this transfer: American owners, England, Ukraine – this triangle. Today, we are as close as ever. It is an important point. This time last year, Chelsea were owned by (Russian oligarch) Roman Abramovich. He faced sanctions from the British government before Chelsea were sold to the new ownership. Now the club is a very different place. Is that important as well? I think yes, because if there was no new owner of Chelsea, there would be a lot of critics in respect of us, because of these kinds of connections. Probably impossible (to make this deal in those circumstances)? Maybe even impossible. GO DEEPER Mudryk deal a statement of intent and shows Chelsea owners are fully behind Potter

Mac Allister too their MF was just crazy better than anyone else De Paul has been so underrated his entire career, I was glad to see him get a huge trophy the only players on France I feel sorry for were Aurelien Tchouameni Olivier Giroud Antoine Griezmann (unbelievable change of role, was probably the 3rd best player at the WC, after Messi and Mbappe, Gvardiol 4th, and Sofyan Amrabat 5th, Enzo 6th) Kylian Mbappe Argentina gets extra points for winning the world cup with Otamendi as a potential nightmare CB every game, lolol minus points for Emi Martinez being a FUCKING CUNT from hell the using the Golden Glove trophy like a dildo, the horrible, classless taunting of Mbappe, and being the main leader of the 'Fuck England' bullshit so was hoping Messi would shut him down, smdh

he was just exposed, simple as that

absolutely agree with this that said I never wanted Sterling off those massive Citeh teams I would have always taken Sane or Mahrez over him, other than that one insane year he had, but he never kept it up I think he is a wonderful human being though, for his right for racial justice, so I cut him some slack