Pizy

I’m saying they play in the same general area of the pitch. Not quite a pure, creative #10 but kind of a hybrid who is box to box.

SMS is an awesome player but we literally have no room for him. We have 3 very good players who occupy the same area of the pitch he does in Mount, Kova, and Gallagher. That sort of hybrid #8/#10 area. No idea why we’re still being linked with him.

Yeah, 120k per week sounds very low for such an expensive transfer. If that’s all we’re offering I think Arse would surely double that. I believe they just gave Eddie Nketia something close to that and he’s nowhere near Raphinha’s level.

Koulibaly + de Ligt in addition to Sterling and Raphinha would instantly make us title contenders.

Think it’s abundantly clear now that Tuchel’s vision this summer was to target attacking players who are already performing at a high level in the PL. He has witnessed firsthand how Chelsea are repeatedly burned by wide attackers coming in from other leagues and struggling to adapt. Must admit, I never in a million years would’ve thought that a couple of super expensive attacking players would be the first order of business for us this summer. The desperate need for CB’s had me convinced that we’d want to wrap up a couple of deals ASAP. I hope we can get de Ligt or Skriniar in really quickly before another club wakes up and starts a bidding war.

Got really excited for a moment there but now the journalists are saying that we still need Raphinha himself to choose us over the others. Not done yet.

Okay, I see. I’m still very skeptical that Tuchel will suddenly switch to a 4-3-3, though. The back 3 system suits so many of our personnel so well.

We ain’t spending £65m to take one of the leagues best wingers out of attack and moving him to wingback, ffs. 🤣 If we are after another wingback we could get a top quality one for a hell of a lot cheaper than what Raphinha will cost. Borna Sosa for example. As for Mount moving deeper in midfield, that’s another bad idea. His best work is done around the box. Moving him further back takes away all his best qualities.

That’s what I’m curious about. But if we buy 2 new CB’s for huge money and switch to a back 4 where does that leave arguably our best defender over the past 2 years Thiago Silva? In a year with a midseason WC he’ll want to be playing every match in order to stay ready and sharp. He has been publicly dreaming about his final WC for a while now. Would be cruel to bench him now.

Dembele or Raphinha? I would probably slightly lean Dembele myself because his potential is outrageous and he can play on either wing. But if we end up with Sterling & Raphinha, two PL proven players who would need zero adaptation, I’d be more than content.

Considering. Plotting. Thinking about. It has been pretty widely reported what sort of fee Leeds are seeking. Just offer around £60m and they’ll sell.

Seems like all the top Italian clubs are the same. They demand mega fees when you want to buy their players but then they’re unbelievably cheap bastards when they’re trying to sign players themselves. It’s always loans or payment installments.

Looks like United will win the Battle of the Tortoises against us and sign players before we do. 🤦‍♂️

De Jong is being hugely overrated by United fans. Reading RedCafe or Twitter you’d think they were signing prime Busquets or Kroos. He’s a solid player but nothing more right now. Maybe he can take the big step up everyone expected when he moved to Barca now that he’s with Ten Hag. That being said, even if De Jong is merely solid he’s still a massive upgrade on McTominay/Fred/Matic.

I’d assume as a rotation option behind Chilly. But in that case I’m not sure why he’d want to come here and be in the same role he’s at with City. He surely thinks it’s time for him to go somewhere and be a starter. He’d be in the bench just as often here as he was at City. Anyway, in regards to potentially signing both Sterling & Dembele, I just wonder how that would work with the formation we play. It leaves our player of the season Mason Mount the odd man out. That’s something we haven’t really thought about. And if we switch formations to a 4-3-3 to fit him into the team we screw up the CB situation. Playing in a back 3 has been the primary reason Silva has been so comfortable even at age 37/38.

Koundé for sure. Much higher ceiling I think. Aké is perhaps less of a risk since he both knows the league and knows the club but I don’t think he’s got world class potential like Koundé does.

Oh, wow. The City fans on Bluemoon are adamant that Aké should stay. Apparently he came into their side last season and was extremely good? Must admit I didn’t watch them at all when he was in the team.

True, that’s why we’re in the drivers seat for sure. Maguire would be basically impossible to move unless they practically gave him away for peanuts. But if for whatever reason Ten Hag didn’t fancy Varane there’s always a chance de Ligt would be an option if we haven’t sealed it.

The optics just look shit. As you say, he’s behind better defenders at City. A club whose level in the league we’re trying to reach and yet we are going to buy a defender who can’t get into their side? I was one of those people who was keen on buying him back from Bournemouth before he went to City. But buying him now after he has stagnated in the bench for ages sounds so risky.

Really hope we get de Ligt done quickly (as in this week) before United sew up de Jong. They’re so focused on him for now but if they wrap that up I could see them going hard for de Ligt. He’s probably great mates with Frenkie and with the obvious Ten Hag/Ajax connection, de Ligt would probably give them very serious consideration over us. All of that and United would be silly enough to offer him wages we probably wouldn’t touch. If we can have Sterling & de Ligt done this week and also finally have complete clarity one way or the other in Dembele’s situation that would be lovely.

Preparing Offer FC

It would be pretty hilarious to see two of the most physical and aggressive CB’s around in de Ligt and Skriniar beat the hell out of opposition attackers. In terms of their playing styles they’re tailor made for the PL. But they are also both kind of slow and lumbering.

Other than that random, inexplicable line across the chest area I actually don’t mind it. And as always, these kits always tend to look much better when they’re actually on the players than they do in grainy pics on hangers. Strange collar apart I appreciate how clean and simple it is. After last seasons utter abomination I’ll take it.

What an unbelievably poor summer that would be 🤣 That reads like a list of targets for Everton.

Speaking of kits, wtf is up with our new ones? They’re normally unveiled during the previous season and worn on the last match day, right? The sanctions ended ages ago now and there have been leaked photos of our shirts for weeks, if not months. What is the club waiting for I wonder? Main kit sponsor isn’t changing so that’s not it.