Vesper

that is NOT the issue for me it's the duplicitous short-arm play, talk up paying the RC, then when its time to shit or get off the loo, have the cheek to toss in an official offer that was 35m less than a price we knew was basically etched in stone (the wiggle room was on the instalment terms, but that is now blown to fuck for good) you and some others may be all good with that I think it is fucking disastrous way to try and do business

I am deffo pulling Dembele off any 'even remotely available'-based lists

Anyone who thinks the entire Benfica organisation (who are amongst the more straight dealers in the big 10 leagues) is just making shit up is delusional we fucked up badly, and I can see this becoming an ultimate 'split the TC board' event, where you have some hardliners who refuse to admit we fucked up badly Boehly's word is now tarnished across Europe to a point, and if we nightmarishly do this again, we are WELL FUCKED in the transfer market as long as he is involved with us and it. Marina did not do this type of shit, she didn't play games and lead clubs on in monster deals (and I have some gravitas backing me up on that, as most know I was far from her biggest fan) PLUS, we are not getting a profoundly needed player who had a damn good chance of of being quite transformational a good summary: https://www.express.co.uk/sport/football/1717465/Chelsea-transfer-news-Enzo-Fernandez-Benfica-Premier-League-latest Chelsea have reportedly had three meetings with Benfica this month to try and lure Fernandez to Stamford Bridge. But the Portuguese giants quickly made it clear that the 21-year-old wouldn't be going anywhere unless any suitors triggered his £106million release clause. Rife reports earlier this week claimed Chelsea were willing to offer £112m to persuade Benfica to part ways with their most prized asset, but in instalments to adhere to FFP rules. However, Fabrizio Romano later reported that the Blues only offered £75m, significantly less than the demands that would've made Fernandez the most expensive Premier League player in history. And Schmidt has backed up that revelation by revealing an interested party were 'disrespectful' by offering lower than the release clause, despite indicating an intention to pay the full amount. He said: "We don't want to sell Enzo [Fernandez]. There's a club that wants him [and] tempted him, but they know the only way is [by paying the] £106m (€120m) clause. "They're disrespectful. They're leaving the player crazy. They acted like they wanted to pay clause... then wanted to negotiate [a cheaper fee]." The Benfica boss also heaped praise on Fernandez, stressing his desire for the World Cup's Best Young Player to remain in Lisbon beyond January. "Enzo is a good guy and an extraordinary player. We want him to stay," Schmidt added. "The situation is not easy. He played in the World Cup, won the World Cup, had proposals. There is a lot of money at stake."

last season 20 goals in only 2630 minutes the Barca portion tracks to over 30 goals in a full seasons minutes I would kill for that kind of production from a CF of ours

Is Chelsea target Enzo Fernandez worth £105million after so few senior matches? https://theathletic.com/4054592/2023/01/05/enzo-fernandez-worth-transfer/ Breakthrough seasons don’t get more dizzying than the ride Enzo Fernandez has been on since signing for Benfica from River Plate in a deal worth €14million (£12.3m) in July. Within the space of six months, the 21-year-old went his first 22 matches unbeaten with his new club, announcing himself on the European stage by shining in midfield as Benfica topped a Champions League group featuring Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus, then broke into Argentina’s starting XI during the World Cup and immediately established himself as an indispensable contributor to a historic triumph in Qatar. Having deservedly walked away with the FIFA Young Player of the Tournament award, Fernandez is now second only to the Borussia Dortmund sensation Jude Bellingham in the ranks of the most-coveted young midfielders in the world. Chelsea have been particularly proactive in the early days of January as they search for a high-level successor to Jorginho, who is set to become a free agent in the summer. Benfica, who are under no obligation or financial duress to sell, have made it clear they will not part with Fernandez for any less than the value of his €120million (£105million) release clause. Even by the standards of aggressive spending that Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital have set since their acquisition of Chelsea last May, it would be a jaw-dropping outlay on a player with little more than 100 professional appearances for club and country to his name. So the key question is: just how special is Fernandez? Is he really worth that kind of transfer fee? Any data-led analysis of Fernandez quickly runs into the issue of small sample size; he simply hasn’t played enough high-level football for clubs to comprehensively model his strengths and weaknesses and confidently predict the player he can become. With that important disclaimer noted, the advanced numbers from his 14 Primeira Liga appearances for Benfica indicate a talent that merits the close attention of Europe’s elite teams. Using Smarterscout, which can create a statistical profile of a footballer using ratings from zero to 99 to show how often they perform a specific action compared to others playing in their position or how effective they are at it, we can see that Fernandez projects as an exceptional progressive midfield playmaker who has the ability to impact matches defensively. Many of those attributes were on display in the World Cup final against France — by far the biggest match of Fernandez’s career. For more than an hour, he provided the passing foundation and defensive balance for Argentina’s total control against the defending champions. Then, once momentum shifted and Kylian Mbappe led a remarkable fightback, he played an integral role in weathering the storm and powering a thrilling extra-time push. Fernandez was helped by the fact France under Didier Deschamps do not often hunt the ball high up, but he also gave them little encouragement whenever they did try to press. Here, with six French players near him in the Argentina half, Fernandez recognises that Angel Di Maria will immediately be pressured by Mbappe and Adrien Rabiot if he receives the obvious pass — so, instead, he skips him out, clipping the ball into the space ahead of Nahuel Molina… When given more space to receive the ball in midfield, Fernandez showcased the ability to quickly turn defence into attack. Here, a sharp pass from Cristian Romero finds him free behind Antoine Griezmann… … and with minimal touches to control and pivot, he swiftly looks up and floats a precise ball out towards an unmarked Nicolas Tagliafico on the left touchline… Later in the game, with a resurgent France now level, he advances over the halfway line with the ball at his feet and uses the presence of two team-mates to his left to disguise a pass through the opposition midfield to Julian Alvarez. The aim here — as it was with virtually every Argentina attack at the World Cup — is to get Lionel Messi involved as quickly as possible… On this occasion, Messi is stifled and France counter quickly but, 10 seconds later, Fernandez has worked back effectively enough to help pressure Marcus Thuram into the least immediately dangerous option — a pass out to Mbappe on the left flank… Fernandez never neglected his defensive responsibilities at the base of Argentina’s midfield, and his contributions without the ball became more important as fatigue grew for both teams. His reading of danger was evidenced early in the first half. Here, Ousmane Dembele lays the ball back and Fernandez anticipates that the next pass is heading towards Griezmann… … and he closes the distance quickly to make a perfectly-timed tackle… In the opening minutes of the second half, as Nicolas Otamendi’s loose touch pops up into the air, Fernandez is already on the move towards Mbappe, who is well positioned to capitalise if the French substitute Randal Kolo Muani wins his header… Kolo Muani does just that, but almost as soon as Mbappe brings the ball under control, Fernandez gets in front of him, eventually conceding a corner kick… In the manic exchanges that followed in extra time, Fernandez is dispossessed inside his own half, under pressure from Thuram and Kolo Muani… Kolo Muani races away to the edge of the Argentina penalty area but, before he can threaten the goal, the recovering Fernandez hooks a leg to take the ball away… Then there was Fernandez’s most-important defensive contribution of the match: popping up in his own box in the final seconds to brilliantly poke the ball away from Mbappe who, having already scored a hat-trick, has beaten two Argentina defenders and is shaping up to score the winner… Argentina’s triumph will be remembered primarily as the definitive affirmation of Messi’s greatness, but it isn’t an exaggeration to suggest that Fernandez’s introduction from the bench against Mexico in the group stage — and the subsequent re-balancing of Lionel Scaloni’s midfield around him — changed the trajectory of their World Cup, providing the platform to deliver the ball to the game’s greatest player in positions where he could be at his most decisive. Perhaps it should have been more obvious to Scaloni from the outset that Fernandez was ready to play this role, given his performances for Benfica in the Primeira Liga — they top the table by five points ahead of Porto — and an impressive Champions League group stage in the first half of the season. Benfica emerged unbeaten from Group H, edging out PSG for top spot after two 1-1 draws with the French champions and beating a jaded Juventus team home and away. Fernandez started all four of those matches, operating in a double midfield pivot alongside Florentino Luis, providing a blend of control and creativity in possession and defensive diligence out of it. These meetings with Juventus and PSG also offered useful indicators of how Fernandez might cope with more intense, sustained midfield pressure; contrasting the slower pace of international football. Here, in the home match against Juventus, he receives a pass from the right touchline with two opponents ready to pounce on a poor touch… Fernandez instead uses his first touch to chop the ball away from the advancing opponent, before sending a quick pass left with the outside of his right foot, enabling Benfica to advance the ball into space and send their opposition into retreat… Mixed in with Fernandez’s shorter, more subtle passes are incisive longer ones. His accurate switches of play from left to right have become a feature of Benfica’s possession this season and, perhaps aware of that threat in the same game against Juventus, he instead floats a pass over the right of the opposing full-back into the path of a runner… Fernandez’s most eye-catching performance of all might have been in the 1-1 draw with PSG at Parc des Princes in October. Benfica had just 38 per cent of possession and were required to defend for long periods and make the most of their limited time on the ball. Their star midfielder was crucial to them achieving both. Here, 10 minutes in, Fernandez reads that Sergio Ramos is about to win the ball — and that the lightning-fast Achraf Hakimi has space to attack… Fernandez shuffles quickly to cut off the wing-back’s run, standing up his opponent and ultimately winning the ball cleanly when Hakimi tries to knock it past him… On the ball, Fernandez completed 90 per cent of his passes, and they were not all the safe option of going sideways or backwards. Here, he spots and executes a first-time pass with the outside of his right foot through a narrow gap between two PSG players, taking four opponents out of the game and giving Benfica the platform to attack… In the second half, Fernandez is on the ball facing away from the goal and appears as if he is about to pass back to one of his defenders — something the PSG attackers are certainly expecting… But, having sold them the backwards pass, Fernandez quickly steps over the ball, spins and rattles a sharp pass between two more PSG players into the feet of his more advanced team-mate situated between the lines… Fernandez also demonstrates good instincts in finding advantageous situations for his team. Receiving a pass from the left touchline against Juventus in Turin, the standard play for a lot of midfielders here would be to open up the body and play to the right, either with a short pass or a longer switch of play… But, before the ball comes to him, Fernandez anticipates an onrushing opponent is giving his team a potential two vs one on the left. So he simply steps onto the ball, rolls it under his right foot and quickly sends it back where it came from… Fernandez looks like an elite midfield playmaker in the making, and a comparison with positional peers outside Europe’s top five leagues over the past 365 days on fbref.com places him in the 90th percentile or above for assists (0.2), expected assisted goals (0.22), shot-creating actions (4.67), passes attempted (97.4) and progressive passes (9.4) per 90 minutes, as well as the 77th percentile for tackles (2.5) per 90 minutes. These stats, on top of impactful performances against high-level Champions League opposition and a key role in the emotional cauldron of a World Cup final, show why Chelsea and other elite clubs are casting admiring glances in Fernandez’s direction. But the key question remains: how much is Fernandez actually worth? The best answer, though hardly satisfying, is that the market will determine his value. Right now, Benfica are in a strong position to insist on no less than the full amount of his release clause — though Fernandez appears to be doing all he can to weaken their stance. It will take a high level of urgency (or desperation, depending on your perspective) to prise him away. Look down the list of football’s most-expensive transfers and the fees tend to tell you more about the buying clubs than about the quality of the players involved… It also reads like a litany of disappointment. This is in part because the finances involved often set the bar for success almost impossibly high. In a sport consisting of 11-man teams, how many individual players are impactful enough to be worth in excess of £100million? If paid, Benfica’s asking price would make Fernandez the most-expensive Premier League player ever. His rapid rise to international prominence means there is nowhere near enough data to be anything close to certain — but there is a real chance he could be one of the finest midfielders of his generation, capable of influencing every aspect of top-level matches for the next decade or longer. Yet, the problem will be that if Chelsea agree to pay €120million for Fernandez, they can’t afford for him to be anything less.

Why Brentford signed Kevin Schade from Freiburg – electric pace, flexibility and strong in the air https://theathletic.com/4057435/2023/01/05/kevin-schade-brentford-bundesliga/ There is one simple statistic that explains why Brentford have signed Kevin Schade on loan and why they are prepared to make him their club-record signing. When the forward was playing for Freiburg against Greuther Furth in the Bundesliga last season, he recorded a top speed of 22.6mph (36.4km/h), making him the seventh-fastest player in the league’s history. Brentford’s plan is to refine Schade’s technical ability and combine it with his explosive pace to create a clinical forward capable of terrorising defences. The 21-year-old is only on loan at Brentford for now but he will join permanently, on a contract until 2027, if certain performance-related criteria are met. Brentford have agreed to pay Freiburg €25million (£22.1m; $26.3m), including add-ons, which would represent the fourth time they have broken their transfer record since they were promoted to the top flight after Kristoffer Ajer (£13.5m), Aaron Hickey (£14m rising to £18m) and Keane Lewis-Potter (£16m rising to £20m). The club’s interest in the Germany Under-21 international stretches back to last summer. There were six Premier League clubs monitoring Schade but Brentford got in contact with Freiburg first and presented the best vision and sporting fit as their playing style suits his strengths. Brentford pushed hard to complete a deal before the season, but the two sides failed to agree on a price while Schade was struggling with a persistent abdominal injury, which complicated the situation. Brentford got back in contact with Freiburg in November and discussions progressed fairly smoothly throughout December. Schade completed his medical and flew to London on Tuesday evening to finalise the paperwork. He spoke to Brentford’s German midfielder Vitaly Janelt during the process. It is an excellent start to the January transfer window for Brentford, who are ninth in the Premier League after an impressive 3-1 victory over Liverpool on Monday, and Schade’s arrival will reinforce the belief they can finish in the top half. With so much uncertainty around Ivan Toney’s future (he has been charged by the Football Association for allegedly breaching betting rules and could be suspended from playing matches if he is found guilty), signing another forward should help to ease concern. There is a lot of hype and excitement around Schade, but it would be unfair to place too much pressure on him. He only made his senior debut for Freiburg in August 2021, as a substitute in a 2-1 victory over Borussia Dortmund, and went on to make 36 appearances for them, scoring six goals. He played only eight times for Freiburg this season as he recovered from surgery on the abdominal issue that kept him out between March and September. Brentford’s plan is to build up Schade’s fitness and strength and slowly integrate him into the starting XI. We have seen with Lewis-Potter and Mikkel Damsgaard that it can take time for new players to adjust to Thomas Frank’s demands and style of play. “He is a young, promising talent that we see big potential in,” Frank told Brentford’s official website. “We have been following him for a while and we think he will suit our style of play. “He can play anywhere across our front three positions. He could play for us on either wing or as the central striker. He has great pace and is very promising in the way he runs behind defences.” You can find a great example of what Schade will offer Brentford in Freiburg’s 5-1 loss to Borussia Dortmund last season. He picks up the ball next to the touchline under pressure from Thomas Meunier. He effortlessly spins away from Meunier, which prompts Manuel Akanji to confront him. The forward skips past Akanji with ease and Dortmund’s defence has suddenly been carved wide open. Schade has several options in front of him and decides to pick out Roland Sallai, but his pass is slightly under hit. Sallai comes under pressure from Raphael Guerreiro and manages to get a shot away. Gregor Kobel palms the ball straight into the path of Ermedin Demirovic who has an easy finish to make it 3-1. Freiburg had been given a brief injection of hope from Schade’s dynamism and bravery on the ball. When Freiburg played RB Leipzig in November, Vincenzo Grifo’s through ball triggered a race between Schade and Amadou Haidara. Schade breezes past Haidara to reach the ball first and drives towards the box. Willi Orban comes over to block the winger’s path but he is determined to reach the byline. Schade could have shown better awareness and picked out Maximilian Eggestein, who was free on the edge of the box. Brentford’s coaching staff will help to improve his decision-making. However, Schade produces a stepover to trick Orban and whips a cross into the box, which Sallai fails to convert. Schade is not a prolific goalscorer, but the quality of his strikes is impressive. During Germany Under-21s’ match against Italy in November, the right side of the pitch is heavily congested, so Tom Krauss passes it towards Schade. The pass is overhit so Schade eventually collects it around 30 yards from goal and spots an area of space opening up. Nicolo Rovella and Lorenzo Pirola attempt to shut Schade out, but he cleverly chops the ball and wriggles between them. The forward remains composed and fires a low effort past Italy goalkeeper Marco Carnesecchi. Schade is comfortable shooting with both feet, which makes him unpredictable and difficult to mark. In this German Cup tie between Hoffenheim and Freiburg last January, Demirovic sweeps the ball out wide to his team-mate. David Raum steps off Schade as he expects the winger will try to run past him towards the byline. But Schade catches Raum off guard by shifting onto his left foot and firing a powerful strike past Oliver Baumann. Frank believes Schade, in addition to his pace, “is very good aerially” and can develop “to be a real threat as an offensive option with his head”. During the negotiations, Schade requested Brentford provide him with a header pendulum so he can consistently work on his heading and his stability when it comes to jumping and landing. The 6ft (1.83m) man demonstrated his impressive ability in the air on his debut for Germany Under-21s against Israel in a qualifier for the Under-21 European Championship. In the 87th minute, Noah Katterbach picks up the ball on the left and floats a cross towards the back post. Schade leaps above Doron Leidner and powers a header past Omer Ya’akov Niron to draw Germany level. It is easy to imagine the forward rounding off similar moves for Brentford by latching onto a delivery from Rico Henry or Aaron Hickey. For now, Schade will be mainly competing against Lewis-Potter, Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa for a place out wide in the starting line-up. However, do not be surprised if Brentford transform him into a centre-forward who is equally comfortable at running defenders ragged with his speed or towering above them to score a header.

he already is on the first team https://www.chelseafc.com/en/teams/men

play the youth!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! CuCu and Azpi can fuck off and ffs, wake Kepa up

I cannot believe we are becoming even worse at transfers AND contracts than we were the last few years of Roman and Marina regime, but here we are (other than the U21 buys) FUCK

they had discussions over payments based off the €120m (£105m) release clause, or perhaps a little added to compensate (€127-130m or so) but then, when we did make an official offer, it was for €85m (£74m) there is no way to spin that in any way that doesn't make us look like arrogant and untrustworthy cunts we embarrassed ourselves by making an offer €35m under what was told to us for the minimum (i.e. the RC) sale price

indeed we do disagree Reece is not a 'play every minute in every game' type and Azpi is a black hole, attack-wise at RB, has been for ages Dumfries is the only one who would have game time issues of all the ones I have tossed out Mæhle can play both fullback positions and would so come here Atalanta have FOUR right backs Joakim Mæhle Hans Hateboer Brandon Soppy Davide Zappacosta Jeremie Frimpong can also play winger and wide MFer, and has crazy pace Vanderson has a big upside Malo Gusto 19yo, 20 in May, has a large upside

it's madness! this has been going on for years! Azpi has been shit at RB for ages

can we PLEASE buy a fucking RB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

we cannot beat Manc teams (other than the big one, the CL final) lost 4 in a row to Citeh now and we all know how we are v Manure

well fuck at least we did not get blown away and the young lads looked good

Zakaria has been great our best player

still cannot get over Kepa leaving that ball to go through as well wth was he thinking???

Auba needed to have never been purchased

come on Omari!!!

£62m for a semi shit backup LB smdh THEN we offer only £12m more for Enzo (knowing DAMN WELL his exit clause was €120m) clown ownership clown players