The Skipper

No, but why are we bidding for him if this is the case?

I'm done man. We can't even secure Oxlade. He'd rather stay at that mess of a club (Arsenal) or go to Liverpool than join the champions of England. A weak transfer window, yet again.

He wouldn't be as high up the pitch as Hazard though. At RWB you naturally have more space to exploit - on counters, even in possession. Oxlade is good in tight spaces. He's actually pretty decent in the final third too - ok he hasn't got the stats to back him in that essence (assists/goals) but honestly, his crossing technique is good. His finishing technique isn't too bad either. He needs a different environment to showcase it effectively though. I can't prove it with stats for example but I think he's got the right attributes to be a very successful wingback at Chelsea. He's much more effective and comfortable in the final third than Moses too because he's naturally good in tight spaces. He hasn't hit his ceiling yet with effectiveness in the final third which is the most exciting bit. In a clear system such as Conte's I think we'll see more production. Heck, I was saying that he should play there before Wenger even played him there. Even Arsene himself recently said he can see Oxlade developing into one of England's best players soon. He sees him in training every week. Even pushed Bellerin to left back to accommodate Oxlade to keep him.

I mean at £25m it's a low risk gamble. The guy needs to sort out quite a few things but he has some interesting ability. At £25m it's not a bad deal. If he sorts out his issues we have a good player in the squad who can meaningfully contribute. If not, we can probably sell him on for £20/25m.

Oxlade is an exceptional 1v1 dribbler and has a nice cross on him. Fantastic athlete, great speed and strength. This is a good video highlighting his strengths (about a minute in where real footage starts) - now imagine that more consistently at wingback.

I don't put Drinkwater who's older than both by a bit under same umbrella as Oxlade and Barkley. There's a clear difference between the former and the latter. Drinkwater never had a high ceiling and won't improve as a player - he's set. Oxlade and Barkley still have untapped potential and have shown flashes of high level ability. They are two of the better English talent out there. The only ones that are better than them are the Spurs lot (-Dier), Rashford, Sterling. They can still improve as players - they aren't "set". We're an English club so we need some good English talent. Maybe they aren't the best but they are at least Chelsea acceptable level. They'll be part of a strong squad in the future. Aurier is only going on the cheap because PSG desperately need to sell and he isn't a main 11 player - if he was starting there he'd be costing Spurs £50m imo. It doesn't quite work like that. Barkley at £25m isn't too expensive. Oxlade at £35m - a bit overpriced but Wenger really didn't want to sell so put up an overpriced tag. Drinkwater I've already said a lot on before, don't think he's a good buy - he is not needed if we're signing two English players as well. Honestly, for English talent? They're both good players with some interesting qualities. Barkley in particular still hasn't got a set position at all - Conte gets a blank canvas to work with. Both good signings in a crazy market.

Name them? 23/22 year old players in these countries that'll go for 15m at their quality. Go on. They're both good players with untapped potential. A move is what they both need. Honestly, for them being at least squad players they'd both be good sensible signings.

Barkley can adapt and play CM imo. Would rather him than Drinkwater if we're signing players because they're English. For example I'd much rather we get Ox, Barkley and Sanches on loan for a year to cover/compete for CM than buy Drinkwater.

Only an option? Weird as hell man. Anyway, Neymar/Mbappe/Cavani front three is something.

Had a top game overall as well. Great player. Italian league has 2 of the best strikers in Icardi and Belotti.

I would take a few Arsenal players tbf. Think a lot of them would be better under a different manager.

Nothing wrong with the Belgian call up for Eden in my opinion. He needs as much game time as we can get him. It'll help his match fitness and he'll return more ready after the break for us.

He's getting better every game to be fair. Still finding his feet. Will be interesting to watch how he grows this season.

He's better than Chalobah.

But then again, with trophies comes scrutiny. He knows he'll have a better chance of adding silverware at CFC.

Ornstein is better but yeah, he clearly has sources at Arsenal.

Would be a good backup striker, don't think I fully trust Michy to the job yet.

Simon Johnson from The Standard is now my go to guy. Seems to have a much better source than Matt. He's on twitter too.

We can have Pedro as our tactical winger whilst Mahrez starts against teams we expect to dominate possession against.

To knock down the price for Ousmane? Essentially Barcelona saying that they'll spend the money elsewhere.

Barcelona "leaking" Willian rumours to force Dortmund's hand on Ousmane imo. Can't see it happening.

Sure. Plenty of other top clubs manage to keep a high quality competitive squad but for Chelsea it's an absolute myth I guess.

And this is why we should bring a midfielder that'll challenge for a starting spot imo.

We have AC and Rudiger...