Pizy

Keep in mind we’re also a much better team than Fulham and he’ll have MUCH better players around and in front of him. It’s fine to be skeptical, guys. But damn, he’s FREE! And his on-ball ability is a huge upgrade on what he’s replacing. I’d get the hesitation if he was costing us a monster fee with huge wages. But damn, how often can you sign a physical beast of a CB, WITH PL experience, with great ball playing ability, and on a free? Complete no-brainer.

Trev is and has been very solid as a back 3 CB where he has had Thiago Silva next to him and other players that can mask his weaknesses. But I don’t think he’s good enough to be starting in a back 4 for a top club. Maybe for West Ham or Everton but not here. And Maresca likes playing 4-4-3 or 4-3-2-1, right? In which case I don’t see how selling Trev is this big loss that a\some of our fans think he is. He’d be purely a bench player if all of our CB’s are available.

Definitely not “maybe” better on the ball than Trev, he’s miles better. He can ping the ball around and distribute to the same degree that Colwill can. Trev doesn’t have that in his locker at all. Tosin to my eyes looks like a an 8/10 level CB whilst Trev is a solid 7. I think we improve slightly in defense with Tosin whilst improving massively in buildup play. On a free I see literally ZERO downside. If we were buying him as a £50m, “this guy has to be a superstar” deal then I’d be weary.

This potential Tosin signing would save us a ridiculous amount of money this summer. Money we can then use to throw at a top keeper. Extremely smart and sensible transfer. I know people will be sad to see Trev go and I will be too, but Tosin is jus as solid defensively as Trev is but looks much better on the ball and on a different planet in terms of initiating attacks from the CB position. If we can bleed Man United or whoever else for £40m or more whilst getting an upgrade for free I think it’ll be incredible. I’d rather they sign Chalobah who is a solid 7 out of 10 CB than a genuine world class one. I don’t think he improves them at all, really.

Using his age as a turnoff is silly and kind of concerning as well. The dude is 25. Not even in his prime yet. He ain’t 30. The meme’s about our ownership only wanting to buy 17 year olds is starting to becoming reality. They are (and should be) mandating a top 4 finish this coming season. And yet they want to give a brand new manager some unproven 20 year striker who will have to hit the ground running? It makes no sense. I don’t want Osimhen as I’ve say for the past couple of weeks but his profile in terms of age and expericend is exactly what we should want. Someone 23-25, proven at a high level, and someone we can be confident in coming and scoring straight away.

By similar I just mean a striker who can get on the ball and dribble, beat a player 1v1 if necessary, and someone who will willingly press and harass defenders. All of which Nico does. I wouldn’t want us to get someone who is “just” a finisher. Other than Haaland you don’t really see that kind of striker being super successful these days. Guys who can go like 70 minutes barely touching the ball but still end the season with 30 goals. We need a Harry Kane-like.

I think it’s smart not to go for another 80-100m range striker like Osimhen. It’s just too risky for a striker in particular who can take who knows how long to adjust to a brand new team and brand new league. And although I think his physique would suit the PL, from a technical POV I’m not 100% certain he’s a superstar if he joins us. And for the kind of money it would take you want certainty. Another mega expensive, Lukaku level flop of a striker would set us back years and years with the new financial rules. Sesko I’m not fussed about either. Rather Arse get him than Gyokeres or Isak. The ideal striker profile we should be after is someone who offers a similar skill set and work rate that Nico Jackson does but with much more clinical finishing. Who that is I have no idea.

Agreed. For me Tosin looks better than Trev, though. Much more physically imposing and MUCH better forward passer. Take sentiment out of it and Trev is merely a solid squad option for us. We need a beast of a CB to come in.

Not that o actually care that much about yet another teenager who may be years away from being first team ready, but I wonder what the deal is with Estevao. Thought it was a done deal and was supposed to be announced a week ago?

If Lavia is fully fit I guess I’m one of the few Chelsea fans who wouldn’t be all that sad if we sold Gallagher. Should he stay? I guess. But if Lavia, Enzo, and Caicedo are all fit I don’t see where CG plays. He’s not a DM like Lavia, he’s not a playmaker like Enzo, and Caicedo is an easy pick in any starting XI. Gallagher is kind of a victim of his own abilities in that he’s decent at a lot of things but not great at anything. He doesn’t have a specific position. Ideally, we line up match week 1 with Lavia at the base of midfield anchoring it with Enzo and Caicedo as “roaming 8’s.” We have Leslie what’s his name as well as Andrey Santos who was excellent on loan who can come in, too if we want. Gallagher is the sensible FFP sale if we need to do so. We’re very well set in CM between what we have here and what we have on loan.

I’m also not all that impressed with Sesko. And that’s even watching his YouTube highlights where almost anyone can be made to look amazing. Looks kinda clumsy. Still think the Swedish striker from Sporting would be the best fit for us.

I see one of the most commonly talked about areas that we are targeting is a new LB. But I’m hearing zero talk at all about Chilly or Cucu being moved on. So do we actually need a new LB? And if so, why not just bring back Maatsen?

I was all for us getting him a year ago but definitely think it’s not a risk worth taking now. I want us to target someone more technical and who can play more between the lines. As for Omari Hutchinson, I think he’s already as good or better than Sterling and Madueke based on all of their seasons we just saw. I really, really hope we don’t sell him permanently. Another great loan would do him well and benefit us in the long term. But this kid has the potential to catch the eye of all the big English clubs if he has another great season. We’d be kicking ourselves for years if we sell him only for him to end up at City/Liverpool/United or back at Arse two years from now.

Yeah, literally every quote I’ve seen from those who have worked with him say he’s great. I guess that’s promising. Let us now hope the club provide him with the last few tools we need to compete.

I can see Lavia being the lone DM sitting deep in a 3 man midfield with Enzo and Caicedo being the roaming #8’s that go box to box that people are saying Maresca likes. We know Caicedo can play well in a Pep-like system since he crushed it at Brighton under De Zerbi. Enzo is super technical too so should have no problem. Lavia will definitely be the wildcard but the guy is only 20 years old. His body should be able to get over the injuries after such a long period out and rehabbing. I have faith it isn’t a Fofana type of injury with a knee that’s always going to haunt him. It was more of a muscle issue with him, right? I can’t imagine he’s just a permanent crock.

I find the way Pep’s City play incredibly boring with their walk the ball around the pitch with 1000 passes style. But I’d take that any day of the week as long as we can perfect it like they have. Being able to completely dominate the ball and own most of the pitch territorially is how you stop small clubs like the ones we’ve struggled against for years from pulling shocking upsets against you. You can completely demoralize and wear down your opponent if they barely get a kick as we’ve seen from City for years now. We were halfway there under Sarri but were blunt up top. So obviously we’ll need a clinical new forward to make it work this time. I’d much rather us play like this even if it’s kinda boring than the way we’ve been playing where you can’t even depend on how we’ll look from match to match. The issue is whether Maresca can implement this style over the course of the preseason and if our players can take to it immediately. Thankfully, we’ve got a squad of players who are highly technical and should be able to quickly adapt. Except for keeper, that is.

Reporter from Sky says we’ve made a contract offer to that Fulham CB Tosin who’s a free agent. This guy genuinely looks amazing. An absolute TANK who is also smooth as hell on the ball. A Rolls Royce of a CB. Would be a mega smart deal if he chooses to come here. Perfect Thiago Silva replacement.

Same stupid thing they did with Potter, isn’t it? They really must be convinced this dude is the next Pep.

The owners will probably have a couple of big transfers ready to push through early this summer to placate the angry fans after this silly appointment. In fact, they probably kinda need to before some average players light it up at the Euro’s and we dramatically overpay for them on the back of 2 good games. 🤣🤣🤣

I will be absolutely STUNNED if we go and spend another big amount on a keeper after just buying Sanchez and Petro within a year. Who would even take Sanchez? We’d have to basically give him away after spending a silly amount on him. I think Petrovic will remain the starter.

There are rumors that Ederson wants out at City. Maresca has worked with him… Can’t imagine City will sell him here, though.

I mean, he seems like a good coach in the same way that McKenna seems like a good coach. But it feels like both are at good clubs and should stay where they are. If they performed well over this entire upcoming PL season then they’re probably ready for a massive job like Chelsea. Big time risk, this. A Potter level risk.

Guess we’re gonna be linked with like 5 Leicester players soon… 🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️

Watch us pass on De Zerbi when we’ve got a free run at him and he then goes on to replace Pep… Or United replace ETH with him and gets them playing dominant football.

Ornstein names only Maresca and Thomas Frank. No De Zerbi… What a fucking disaster if we choose Frank. His Brentford team are basically the modern day Stoke with the way they play. By far the worst name I’ve seen us linked with. I feel like there will be a supporter revolt if we’ve actually sacked Poch for Thomas Frank.