Slam Dunk

...Because they're on holiday. Theres no rush. The board should be taking their time to assess what's best for the club.

Seeing as he isn't allowed to give interviews, seems logical that Chelsea will announce the transfer before then. Finally, we can close this thread... ...And open another.

He's on holiday, isn't he?. Besides, nobody knows what's going on behind the scenes.

So close to being decent. Lose the sash and the gradient on the stripes on the arms and it'd be fine.

Sagna, on his day, is quality. Walcott, on any given day, is not. Both are about as unlikely as each other. Typical media nonsense.

That photo is so old. Getting ridiculous now.

What are you talking about? It's been well documented from every credible source there is that he is definitely joining us. If he signs today, tomorrow or next week, what difference does it make?

Would imagine Vertonghen.

Belgium have such a talented group of players, looking forward to seeing how they play as a team.

I think you're talking about players in completely different moulds. Mata, Hazard, Kakuta, KdB all prefer to be the no.10, Sturridge a CF, meaning only Malouda and Marin are genuine wingers (I mentioned in another thread that there is a huge decline in the number of true wingers in the modern game). There is a huge difference between having a player that is able to cover a position, and having a player that naturally suits a role. Hulk provides a genuinely different option to any of the players mentioned above, I wouldn't say he's a true winger, but he is a different type of wide player than anyone else we have. I'm not arguing with you, I understand your scepticism, I myself question his defensive abilities, but I think we need a genuine right sided player, and Hulk seems to be the most viable option for the club.

He wouldn't cut it all off. He's trolling us.

Which is why he hasn't succeeded as a winger, because he hasn't adapted his game to the role.

I find it baffling that you've deflected my criticisms of Sturridge towards Torres in the first place, but hey-ho. As I said, Sturridge needs to spend more time working on his game as a winger, which he doesn't seem to do. There was a reason RDM dropped him for the 2nd half of the season, he was a winger still playing with a centre forwards mentality. I agree, it's a lot of money and a big risk, but he's been a long term target of the club even before AVB arrived, and clearly the board sees him fitting into the team. Wide forwards is slightly ambiguous in my opinion, Ramires isn't a forward, Kalou will be leaving, as mentioned we have Sturridge who i've explained my concerns about, and nobody else for the right side. I don't buy the argument of the quality of the league he's playing in, he's succeeded in the Portugese league as far as i'm concerned, he deserves a chance to progress.

Disagree on epic proportions, Fellaini is so much more accomplished. He gave some outstanding performances last season (vs. City & Utd especially), and while I wouldn't necessarily say that we need to sign a player like Fellaini at this time, if Essien/Mikel/Meireles were to leave, he'd be my first choice over promoting Romeu, and I'd imagine it'd be a more realistic scenario knowing our board. I certainly believe that Romeu could develop into a great player, I have my doubts about his ability to progress at a club like ours, we don't give time for players like him to develop. Sad, but true.

Not sure on what kind of barbers you visit mate...

Frankly, considering the way he conducted the transfer (the cryptic tweets/interviews), he was always going to end up riling fans no matter who he signed for. Let's be honest, if he'd have signed for United or City you can guarantee that some Chelsea fans would have sent those kind of tweets. Unfortunately every team has a small minority of cretinous fans. Luckily none of them hang around here.

As soon as I saw we were linked with Hulk again this year, I did have my concerns about Sturridge, and whether Hulk arriving would see Danny leaving. The conclusion i've come to is, Sturridge has come out to the media numerous times saying he wishes to play CF rather than RW. If he is spent half the amount of time he spends complaining actually working on his game, he'd be a nailed on starter on the right side. If he wishes to play CF, he is going to be back up to Torres and Hulk, a player who is happy to play on the right, takes his place in the side. I'd say he is forcing himself out of the side, after such a promising start to the season, which is really disappointing. I'd rather have a player happy to be playing in the position he's told to, than someone with a poor attitude, so, in my opinion, yes, Sturridge is worth sacrificing for Hulk.

No, I believe the guy behind him is /badjoke.

The first goal Hazard scores in that vid posted above is sublime. Such an exciting talent.

Roberto's son. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrea_Mancini

^That's because a deal hasn't been agreed. I believe we are talking to VdW/his club however.

As a shirt, the design is lovely. But as a PSG shirt, it doesn't work.

Last time I checked he is apparently on €550,000 per month which is around £110,000 per week? Can't see him being on more than that myself.

The deal is not done yet. I believe it's very close however. Twitter is twitter, some sources are good, some are bad, you have to know where to look. First major indication will be the Portugese Stock Exchange website, who, by law, will have to publish details on the transfer fee.

£100M? We should try to win it more often...