Pizy

I see the Dybala-Lukaku swap is heating up. I think it's funny how loads of English journalists and all the United fans are hyping themselves up as though Dybala is this world class superstar who will take them up a level. He's not anywhere near the very top level and I think he's pretty overrated. Isn't top class at any particular thing. He's not a pure striker and he's not a wide player. Really, he'd have been a good signing to play with Lukaku as a second striker. If they plan on depending on him as their main source of goals they're going to be let down. Everyones losing their minds like Dybala will come in and score 20 goals and be a world beater. I think he'll look solid but not anything special for them if he signs. Not really bothered at all. I will say however, if United can get Dybala, Maguire, and Bruno Fernandes in addition to AWB who they've already signed all while keeping hold of Pogba they'll have had a fantastic summer window. They'll have significantly improved all their weaknesses. Much as it's painful to accept, I don't think we're getting near the top 4 this season which I've long since accepted. This year will be a free hit. By the end of the transfer window I fully expect all 3 of our rivals we finished above last season to have significantly improved while we have taken a bit of a step back. I think we're finishing 6th. For me it's all about taking our best shot at a deep CL run. Focus on that as our main competition because anything can happen as Spuds proved last year.

So these last 2 games we'll see what his idea of our absolute best formation and lineup is. He hinted there that Barkley and Mason can definitely play together but I'm not sure it's wise against a top team.

And that Real Madrid with almost their best XI yesterday conceded 7.

What's really nice about Mount is that not only does he have great attacking instincts, but he also presses nicely and has a high workrate. What a bonus and great coincidence that he and Lamps know each other so well just as everything lines up for their return. For all the hype Foden gets at City, I bet Mason will turn lots of heads if he keeps this up. He'll certainly play much more than Foden will.

While annoying to concede 3, I'm not that worried yet. Their first goal was a total, lucky fluke. The second and third were laughable gifts that we put on a plate for them. I'll put those 2 down to lack of focus during preseason. We saw just last week against Barca that we can look very solid at the back when focused. Positives outweighed the negatives. What a choice Lamps has between Barkley and Mount for that #10 position. Both will play a lot this season and we still have RLC to return there, too. Thought Michy looked nice. Great touch, good holdup play. Tammy got into great areas but isn't sharp yet. Emerson 100% HAS to be first choice without question. For me, if Luiz is going to continue being undisputed staring CB on the left side, I'd play Zouma next to him until Rüdiger returns. His pace, strength and athleticism can hide David's weaknesses better than Andreas can. AC is kinda soft and not very commanding. Zouma is a beast physically and needs to start these last 2 preseason matches to get ready for United.

Kenedy is the weirdest player. He's clearly very skilled and tricky but he's so awkward. Looks like he's going to fall over every time he gets the ball. I thought Alonso was his usual poor self and thought Bakayoko grew a bit as the half went on. Not sure I like where Pulisic has been playing. He's basically been a second striker. We need him to play wide and use his pace and skill to beat defenders. Basically what CHO does. Having him play in the congested middle of the box negates his abilities.

You mean to tell me you don't wanna see Kenedy shoot 6 times from 30 yards?!

What an ugly lineup. 😂 Hopefully this is the "last chance to prove yourself before a loan" match.

So have/will these preseason matches be available on the usual streaming sites or only through the Chelsea app? I actually wanna watch this one since I think Frank will start to play what he thinks is our best team.

I guess. Wonder why Lille have here. Surely some other club would've paid up front. Or maybe all the other links were bullshit.

If they had silly money to throw at a single player like this I wonder why they didn't go and target the best CB possible.

Arse will do what Arse always do this season. They'll smack a bunch of the midtable and lower table PL sides, they'll smack most of the rando Europa League sides, and they'll have a stretch during the seasons where all their fans and some journalists ask "are Arsenal actually title contenders?" But unless they address their defense with about 3 new, top players they'll get nowhere near Liverpool or City and will probably be on the end of some beatings by top teams. Their attack will be great as it always is. Their defense will be comedy as it always is.

Apparently Arse have bid for Nicholas Pepe. So much for them only having a tiny budget.

He's the kind of player who I think Klopp would shape into a monster, so hopefully he stays away from there. Napoli sounds good to me.

He's a nightmare to play against for opposition defenders. At Palace he's really the only threat teams have to worry about and was given the Hazard treatment last season. Fouled, stamped on, hacked down at every opportunity. I feel like he'd be even more effective at a big club where other great players take some of the attention away from him. He has matured as a player since his United move which came too soon. I would absolutely hate to see him at Arsenal, not only because he one of my favorite players, but because I think he'd kill it playing alongside the likes of Auba and Lacazette.

Everyone here knows I love Zaha. This would be fantastic for both Chelsea and Palace. Really, really hope we can do it. Palace get a year more of Zaha and a year more to plan for his replacement. Zaha will be at peace knowing his future is sorted and would likely play his heart out. Then we get a top player sewn up before a potential bidding war starts next summer. 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼

Oh, I'd certainly say we've had a better window than Arse so far. They've brought in a bench player from Real Madrid on loan after bringing in a bench player from Barca on loan who flopped last season. Then they buy a teenaged defender who they loan back and won't even see for a year. Meanwhile, they don't appear even close to addressing by far their biggest weaknesses in their defense. United have been decent thus far and will surely make a few more mega money moves. Seems Pogba will stay now. Been pretty weird that City and Liverpool have been so quiet but I guess they already have ridiculous squads.

Hey, now. We never expected those two to be stars or anything but we were plenty excited to see what they'd become. We were gonna see the return of the Kante/DD partnership, remember? 😂

Just feels super strange to go through a whole summer window without any transfer links for Chelsea. Seeing Arse, Spuds, and United linked with all these players and signing some of them makes me envious. Don't think anyone has got dramatically better yet, but seeing your club buying new players is always fun. Though I suppose having a few very talented loanees return does sort of feel like making new signings.

Couldn't watch, how did Mason and Pulisic look? Have they shown enough in their brief appearences so far to convince you they can start against United?

Outside of Bayern, the Bundesliga is essentially a stepping stone league. Players know they can go to a medium size German club, develop well, and then move to a bigger club elsewhere. Seems the clubs are using that to their advantage. They want top English talent to develop and turn a major profit on.

Linked with some of Europe's biggest clubs just 12 months ago for £60-70m and now goes to Betis for a fraction of the price. What happened?

Dunk going there surely means Maguire off to United for silly money. Don't know where their goals are going to come from with Lukaku likely leaving, but United should be significantly more dynamic this season. Assuming they get Maguire and now that they have a proper RB in Wan Bissaka their defense won't be as shite. No more relying on Smalling, Jones, and having Ashley Young out of position. I guess Rashford may play up front? Think they'll make a couple more attacking signings at least as well. I think United will be the most improved coming into the new season out of the big clubs simply because they were starting from a lower point and will probably make the most signings.

It's been pretty obvious for a while now that our club view Willian completely differently than the fans do. They think he's this big, star player. That's why they repeatedly refused big time bids for him and that's why they now hand him the #10 shirt. Oh, well. Not something I really care about but it would've been cool to see CHO get it. Probably would've meant a lot to him.

Hope the commentators doing our games and the pundits don't start the whole "he's a direct replacement for Hazard" bullshit. They will hopefully be smart enough to realize that that's not what he is and that's not was the club intended him to be when we bought him. He's still a young player with loads of potential. He isn't expected to come in and immedietly destroy the league and carry the side like Eden was. I don't really feel like hearing the comparison all season long. Our fans as well need to just let him be his own player. We need to keep our expectations in check.