The Skipper

His goal yesterday was incredulous though.

#DYCForManager

He's going out on loan. He hasn't been assigned a squad number this year. He was meant to go to Frankfurt but has got offers from PL clubs so has rejected that, now we've offered Frankfurt Hector on loan instead and he is currently in Germany.

Michael Hector off out to loan, which leaves us with 5 fit defenders. Azpi, Aina, Ivanovic, JT and Cahill.

Thanks for this. Think it was @nadavTKL who did a mini version a few days back, and asked him to get a more detailed look over the last 5 seasons if he could be bothered. This is exactly what I envisioned.

I was thinking this as well. Sure he has a decent release clause? edit: found out he signed a new contract this summer. 65m euros release clause.

No one is saying that he's good because he's Brazilian though... You'd have to be daft to rate a player simply because he's Brazilian, especially when Brazil haven't been one of the top international teams for almost a decade now. He can easily play with Chalobah. If anyone needs to leave it's Mikel. A midfield collective of Fabregas, Kante, Matic, Chalobah, Maia and RLC is pretty impressive. Also, with rumours that Matic has Juventus interested he'd be a pretty sound replacement.

I'm not saying he's talented because he's Brazilian. That'd a daft thing to say. He's actually just a talented young player. I would say he's a bit like Zouma when he signed him - massive potential for a nice price, just needs to develop a bit more and have game time and he could be a huge player. He has all the tools as a midfielder. He's very nice on the ball, and has all the tools to become a very good defensive midfielder. Think a more defensive Modric or Verratti. That sort of player.

He's a bigger talent than all of those though. That's like saying let's not sign a young Neymar because Brazil's talent pool is thin. It's ridiculous to judge a player on his nationality, you know maybe try watch him play before making assumptions.

I actually think he'll develop very well under Pep.

Useless? The guy is one of the most talented youngsters in the world. It would be a great signing. Just because we sign him before we sign defenders doesn't mean he's useless. Some flawed logic. It's like saying "hey, let's not sign Lewandowski because most Polish football players aren't top top level". Have you ever seen him play to even call him useless, or a flop? Just because you've never heard of him doesn't mean he is a random player. He is a very highly rated young man. Also, surely you know clubs can negotiate for more than one player at the same time? Come on.

Figured it was net spent. Could you do one with Liverpool, Arsenal and Spurs too? From this season back to 10/11. That'd be amazing.

We are heavily linked with Kalidou mate...

Wow. Source?

Everton have just got Ashley Williams so they aren't in for him anymore, and Napoli just rejected a €50m bid.

I'm with @Tomo. We really shouldn't be signing for the sake of signing. We need big players in the back, and they're difficult to sign.

Well, if this is what it came down to then Jose still failed. It's a manager's job to keep his team grounded and focused. Jose failed massively in that aspect. Whatever happened, going from champions to 17th in the league when he left is utterly unacceptable. The team of players we had is certainly better than that. Your argument would have a lot more merit if we were hovering outside the CL spots under him. Even top 8. But we were 17th when he left.

Well, it's official. The PR and hype job that adidas have created in relation to this signing is outstanding though, must say.

He's had better games at LB IMO.

Exact same height as Ricky Carvalho .

Isco. Marquinhos. Ricardo Rodriguez. 3 signings that would take us to the next level. Starting 11: Hazard - Costa - Isco Fabregas - Matic - Kante Rodriguez - Marquinhos - Zouma - Azpilicueta Courtois

That figure is inaccurate as it looks like it includes the Torres and Luiz transfer deals in them. Emenalo became TD in the summer, not the winter. Poor, poor article with clear bias.

Far too sensible for this to happen. Honestly. If we ship out Oscar and sign Isco I'd be over the moon.

If anything, it means that we're definitely signing defenders.