Vesper

Chelsea set to loan out Datro Fofana, Andrey Santos, Gabriel Slonina in January — report https://weaintgotnohistory.sbnation.com/Chelsea-fc-transfer-rumours-news/2022/12/23/23524530/Chelsea-set-to-loan-out-datro-fofana-andrey-santos-gabriel-slonina-in-january-report Chelsea are close to finalizing two deals for the January transfer window, with teenage talents Datro Fofana and Andrey Santos set to join the club from Molde FK and Vasco da Gama, respectively. Given their ages but also the non-trivial amounts that Chelsea are spending on their acquisitions — in the low teens, with some add-ons (€12m reported for Fofana; €13+7m for Andrey Santos) — we had been wondering what the club might be intending for them in the immediate future. Would they join the first-team? Would they train with the Development Squad (like Cesare Casadei and Omari Hutchinson have been)? A few years from now, once the Boehly-Clearlake “multi-club model” masterplan has made some tangible progress, they might be heading out to one of our affiliates, but right now, it sounds like they will be hitting the dusty old loan trail, with all of its usual pitfalls and caveats. Joining them could be goalkeeper Gabriel Slonina, who came over from the Chicago Fire after their MLS season ended last month. That’s the story from Nizaar Kinsella at the Evening Standard anyway, adding that these players are “seen as players for the future” ... which is fine for now, though we do have to be careful in keeping these players happy and challenged in the process as well.

well, as Skriniar is likely leaving on a free in 6 months, the fair play would have been a straight swap Lukaku for Skriniar plus Denzel Dumfries

Liverpool negotiates with Benfica the hiring of Enzo Fernández The English club already has an agreement in principle with the Portuguese entity to incorporate the young midfielder of the Argentine team from June 2023 https://www.lacapital.com.ar/qatar-2022/liverpool-negocia-benfica-la-contratacion-enzo-fernandez-n10035584.html Liverpool accelerated the efforts to incorporate Enzo Fernández and has already signed a pre-agreement with Benfica, the Portuguese club that has the federative rights of the young midfielder of the Argentine national team, who earned a place among the starters of Lionel Scaloni's team during the World Cup in Qatar . The English club in this way anticipated two other greats in the Premier League, Manchester United and Manchester City, institutions that had also planned to add the former River and Defense and Justice since June 2023. Enzo Fernández is ratifying in the World Cup what he had already developed in the first part of the European season, standing out in Benfica's midfield, a level that did nothing more than ensure a place in the list of 26 called in Qatar 2022. The young midfielder started on the bench in Qatar, but already with Mexico he became a starter and even scored a great goal, and from there he maintained his presence among the starting eleven of the national team. This auspicious filming only confirmed the interest of the big European clubs, which is why Liverpool, which seeks to incorporate new talent thinking about the next season, did not hesitate to go for Fernández.

let's hope Santos gets at least halfway to their level (he is a MFer of course, and Romario, Edmundo, and Bebeto were forwards)

Inter To Negotiate With Romelu Lukaku To Accept Lower Wages To Extend Loan Over Next Season, Italian Media Report https://sempreinter.com/2022/12/23/inter-to-negotiate-with-romelu-lukaku-to-accept-lower-wages-to-extend-loan-over-next-season-italian-media-report/ Inter will try to negotiate lower wages with striker Romelu Lukaku when they negotiate an extension of his loan spell from Chelsea next season. This according to Italian news outlet Calciomercato.com, who report that the Nerazzurri could look to lower the Belgian’s wages in addition to asking for a lower loan fee from Chelsea. Inter are still considering how they want to approach the future with Lukaku. The 29-year-old’s performances over the remainder of the current season will play a significant role in any decision that the Nerazzurri make. Should Inter decide to try to extend Lukaku’s loan, they are likely to ask to renegotiate the fee with Chelsea, on the basis of the striker’s injury troubles this season. Meanwhile, if the 29-year-old is not able to contribute at the same level that he once did, the club could also try to negotiate a reduction in his wages to reflect this.

Blaise Matuidi announces his official retirement from professional football.

wish to shit we could find a DMF like

Chelsea ready to step in to sign Milan Skriniar https://football-talk.co.uk/177006/Chelsea-ready-to-step-in-to-sign-milan-skriniar/ According to Calciomercato.it, Chelsea are ready to step in to sign Inter Milan defender Milan Skriniar on a free transfer next summer. The Slovakian international was fancied to leave the Serie A giants last summer, but they decided to keep him as they were no suitable offers on the table. He will now enter the final six months of his contract in January and Calciomercato claim that Inter have yet to convince him over a renewal. The £53 million star has not accepted their latest contract offer of £6.2 million per year. It is reported that Chelsea could capitalise on the situation to sign him on a free transfer at the end of the season. Experience Chelsea lost two key central defenders in Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen last summer. They replaced them with Kalidou Koulibaly and Wesley Fofana, but the duo are yet to have a significant impact on the club’s performances this season. Fofana suffered a serious knee injury within a few matches for Chelsea while Koulibaly has looked out of his depth in English football. Despite his vast Serie A experience, he has had troubles adapting to the Premier League due to the high intensity. Koulibaly will be aiming to prove a point when the season resumes, but Chelsea should be wary of signing Skriniar for the same reason. The 27-year-old has been an outstanding player for Inter with his strong concentration and distribution skills. However, the transition from the Serie A to English football has not been smooth for many players including Denis Zakaria, who is still awaiting his Premier League debut for Chelsea. The Swiss midfielder joined them from Juventus on loan in September. Hence, there is the risk associated with signing Skriniar but the opportunity to land him on a free transfer could be hard to ignore. Chelsea obviously need another central defender for next season as Thiago Silva is already 38 and could call time on his career soon. Skriniar would fit into the club’s requirement for an experienced replacement but whether he would succeed in the Premier League is left to be seen. Paris Saint-Germain could be Chelsea’s main competitors for the Slovakian, having failed to sign him last summer.

I still cannot believe THIS 2005/2006 AC Milan side blew a 3 nil lead in the CL final to the bindippers what the fuck! still one of the biggest CL final upsets in the past 25 or 30 years (us in 2012 is similar) every player in their starting XI was a monster with a great career aged a bit by then for some, that was a key AC Milan (I will not count 1995, when they lost to a SUPERB Ajax side) also had a huge upset in 1993, when they lost to Marseille but Milan did win in 1989, 1990, 1994, 2003, and 2007, and would have won in 1992 as well, but their best team ever (the unbeaten 1991/92 Gli invincibili), were banned from the CL for 91/92 for walking off the pitch the year before against, ironically Marseille, in the 'Lights Out' game) the 1993 upset game (Deschamps' first massive trophy, he won more with Juve, CL, Super Cup, and the Intercontinental Cup, ie the old club world championship):

Edouard Mendy Kalidou Koulibaly Thiago Silva Trevoh Chalobah Marc Cucurella Reece James (maybe Azpi if Reece is not 100%) Jorginho Mason Mount Raheem Sterling Kai Havertz Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang or maybe Kai at CF and Pulisic at winger, with Auba dropped

two sort of different type of players Martín Zubimendi is almost exclusively a deep holding DMF who almost never scores (4 total topflight goals in 116 games). like a shorter Busquets with more pace but less finesse He is a very solid player, I rate him. Enzo is like Bellingham to a point, as he can play anywhere in the MF, and already has 17 top-flight goals in 118 games, despite also playing at times as a deep playmaker I expect he will become a 8 to 12 goals a season (all comps) scorer (maybe more if he plays more of an attacking role), besides his creativity and defensive nous

£53m (€60m) release clause so basically almost exactly half of what Enzo will cost (€120 RC, so £105.86m atm)

that 40m is in euros zero chance he was only worth £35m, come on, let's be realistic here! Enzo was going to cost (in terms of what he would cost to buy) at least double that (or more) before the World Cup the WC ensured they will hold out for his release clause or damn close Benfica 'reject an £88m offer from an unnamed club for Liverpool target Enzo Fernandez with the Portuguese side holding out for his £105m release clause' after the Argentina star's value soared thanks to World Cup glory https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-11565827/Benfica-reject-88m-offer-Liverpool-target-Enzo-Fernandez-World-Cup-win.html

€60 million release clause

Kante has to be let go he is perpetually injured at this point

non sequitur you cannot infer that Potter is a yes man simply because Tuchel clashed with ownership and we were playing horrid football at the end of Tuchel's reign I am not going to hit the panic button at thsi point the decisions made under Roman's last 5 years all combined to get us to this point yes, we won the CL again in that time, and the World Club championship (finally) and the Super Cup (for the first time under Roman), but transfer and contract-wise we were in the mud, plus the new stadium was shelved, two long term issues that will fuck us for years (and already have)

Chelsea to be without seven first-team players for Bournemouth game — Graham Potter https://theathletic.com/4031218/2022/12/23/Chelsea-team-news-bournemouth/ Chelsea head coach Graham Potter expects to be without at least seven first-team players as the club attempt to kickstart a Premier League revival when the top flight resumes next week. Potter confirmed neither Mateo Kovacic nor Hakim Ziyech will be available for Tuesday’s visit of Bournemouth to Stamford Bridge with the pair having featured heavily for Croatia and Morocco through to last weekend’s third-place play-off in Qatar. Chelsea have lost Armando Broja for the remainder of the season after he ruptured an ACL in a friendly against Aston Villa, while Wesley Fofana hobbled off in a behind-closed doors fixture against Brentford B earlier this week after suffering a slight issue in his recovery from his own knee problems. “Wesley had a little set-back which can sometimes happen at the very last stage of rehab, so (he’ll be out for) a couple of weeks,” said Potter. “Armando is a big loss in terms of the time he’s out… We’re still waiting on Hakim and Mateo. “They went the distance in terms of the third/fourth place at the World Cup and played the games as well, so there’s been a big demand on those two. They won’t be available next week and it’s important to give them time.” While Reece James should return from his own knee ligament injury, Chelsea will have none of their long-term absentees back for the foreseeable future. “Reece is back,” added Potter, who confirmed Edouard Mendy has only just returned to training. “He’s been training with us and completed 65 minutes in the week. But we’re still without Ruben (Loftus-Cheek) and Ben Chilwell. “N’Golo Kante, obviously. He’ll be a while – the end of February or the start of March. He had surgery (on a hamstring injury in late October) so it’s a minimum period of four months, pretty much. “My focus is to get him back fit as soon as possible. Everyone knows the quality he has. It’s about getting him fit and on the pitch, doing it the right way and getting him on there because we haven’t seen him.” Kepa Arrizabalaga is also a doubt after struggling with his calf during the World Cup break. Chelsea lost their last three Premier League games before the break for the World Cup. They have not lost four top-flight games in succession since 1998.

he said he wants to equal Maldini and play topflight Euro football until he is 40, which would mean 2 more seasons, as he would turn 40 a couple months into the 2024/25 season. atm I see no reason why he could not do that Maldini's last match was on May 31, 2009, 4 weeks before he turned 41 (Beckham started in it too, lol) and for total symmetry, the CB who replaced him the next season, in 2009/10, after 25 years at AC Milan, was............................. Thiago Silva

Barcelona wanted to sign Bundesliga prodigy in January, but were denied by La Liga https://barcauniversal.com/barcelona-wanted-to-sign-teenage-striker-in-january-2023-but-were-denied-by-la-liga/ According to the latest reports from Gerard Romero, Barcelona were very keen on signing Borussia Dortmund striker Youssoufa Moukoko in the upcoming January transfer window. However, the Catalans were denied the move by La Liga due to the lack of Fair Play margin. Moukoko has been in splendid form in the ongoing campaign, having managed a return of six goals and four assists from just 14 Bundesliga matches prior to the World Cup break. On the back of his performances, the 18-year-old also earned a call-up to the German national team for the Qatar World Cup. With his contract with the Black and Yellows expiring at the end of the ongoing season, the striker has become a man-in-demand in the transfer market. Barcelona have been gunning to sign Moukoko, although it was reported that the club would only consider signing him on a Bosman deal in the summer. At the same time, there has been interest from the likes of Chelsea and Manchester United. Now, though, Romero is reporting that Barça were intent on pushing through Moukoko’s transfer in the winter window itself. To that end, they even approached La Liga to assess whether they can carry out the move because of their Fair Play issues. However, the journalist reports that the Blaugrana were given a firm ‘NO’ by the Spanish top flight. As reported by Mundo Deportivo, Barcelona are currently exceeding the Fair Play margin by around €30 million. It means that the club are no longer in a position to operate on the 1:1 rule in the market either. So, signing Moukoko would be difficult in the winter as they would not only have to pay a transfer fee but also accommodate his wages. However, a summer move for the 18-year-old striker is not off the table, with Barcelona still in the hunt in what is described as a very open race for the Borussia Dortmund forward.

I think a lot of those youngsters have a great shot at being super players Carney Chukwuemeka (18) 🇺🇸 Gabriel Slonina (18) 🇮🇹 Cesare Casadei (18) 🇯🇲 Omari Hutchinson (19) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮Zak Sturge (18) super size for a LB, and pacey as hell 🔜 🇨🇮 David Datro Fofana (19) 🔜 🇧🇷 Andrey Santos (18) 🔜 🇩🇪 Youssoufa Moukoko (18) 🔜 🇷🇺 Arsen Zakharyan (19) plus toss in (hopefully, as I do not think we can pull Bellingham or Enzo) Romeo Lavia (DMF) and/or Moises Caicedo ..........screw dumping £120m or so on Rice Manu Kone (hybrid DMF) HOPEFULLY Gvardiol (so tough) or if not, one of the 3 left footers (Evan Ndicka or Piero Hincapié or Gonçalo Inácio) and perhaps Mohamed Simakan (who can play RB too)