Pizy

Well, who could've foreseen this happening? Almost no threat going forward, Willian and Barkley continuing to be bang average, and Alonso absolutely dreadful. Painful to watch us when it's plain to see the obvious voids in our XI that are crying out for signings.

Much as I'm glad to see CHO start, I think we may struggle in the final third today. Also, Morata out of the squad completely after just actually doing something useful for once. Offski?

Premier League is literally the only league I pay any attention to.

I could be reading too much into this, but it seems as though Willian only tweets out his "come on Chelsea" messages when he's starting. So I think we can expect him straight back into the XI tonight in place of CHO.

The hell would I read about the French league that PSG will win by 30 points or somethings? 😂 I get all my football news via journalists on Twitter, almost all of which is PL focused.

Mate, I don't live in Europe! Ligue 1 gets absolutely zero play here in the States. Only time I see French teams is in the CL.

I knew Monaco were struggling this season but I haven't payed any attention at all to Ligue 1. Since Cesc is on his way there I just had a look at the table and was expecting to see them just outside of the CL places or somewhere in the middle. They're fucking 19th!? WTF! How have they managed that?

This. I mean, Sarri appears to realize now that he deserves more minutes. If even that isn't enough for CHO then he can go. What else can be done?

What's sad is that he isn't some arrogant, entitled kid who's always moaning to the press about lack of playing time. You don't see him sulking and kicking up a fuss. He seems to genuinely just get on with it, keep his head down and work. He just must see other kids his age playing consistently and wants that too. My guess is that he wants to stay at his boyhood club but has agents and other people around him pressuring him to move.

Hope so.

I didn't want to believe that the club doing business now in January had anything to do with an impending transfer ban. But wow, if we buy another £50m player this month and loan them back to their club until the summer what else could be happening!? I mean, it would be fantastic work by the club but we need help now, too!

Signing both would be crazy. While it would be sensational from our (the fans') perspective to have such a gluttony of quality midfielders, it would seem strange from the players' perspective. Paredes in particular is so damn similar to Jorginho. Couldn't see the two playing together so he'd purely be cover for him? Can't see it. Barella is the one we really want.

Willian deinitely seems like he'd kick up a stink if he was dropped abruptly. Did fall out with Conte, remember. Sarri probably doesn't want to cause a big drama so will (hopefully) start to ease Willian out of the XI.

They probably can if they are aware other big clubs are interested and will come for him in the summer. An advantage we have of course is that we have an Italian manager who will be familiar with him, we have Jorginho who is familiar with him, and we have an opening now in our squad. He perfectly fits the profile of player the board loves. Super young, super talented, his value only goes up and up.

Injury list piling up and fatigue clearly showing in several of our key players. Is treating this like a massively important PL match truly wise? I'm not so sure. We always want to beat this lot but I'd honestly rather we have a rotated side similar to the one we just played against Forrest. Let Jorginho, Hazard, etc be as fresh as possible for the next PL match. Unfortunately, I think Sarri will play our strongest XI. Also probably means Willian straight back in for CHO.

Let us now hope the club see it the way he does, then. Wouldn't be shocked if they told him to just use Drinkwater and Ampadu there instead...

Just watched a bit of him. Can certainly understand the link to him if it's real. He has the same skill set as Jorginho and Cesc in terms of his long passing but he's certainly more athletic. For the amount of money we're talking about here, though, I'm not sure Paredes makes sense. I don't see how he and Jorginho play together since they occupy the same area of the pitch. Would we really spend tens of millions of pounds on a backup? Can't see it. Barella on the other hand seems more versatile. More of an all arounder who can play across midfield.

First thing that comes up when I google this dude is that he's desperate to return to his boyhood club in Argentina.

You know how those old farts like Souness and Roy Keane always moan about how soft and entitled modern footballers are? Normally I roll my eyes because they go overboard, but Morata is actually the perfect example. He's been utter shit for ages and then has the audacity to moan and sulk in plain view of the world as if it's our/the clubs fault for his struggles. Do me a favor... If only their was a viable option available this month so we can ship his ass off the a smaller club where he'd actually fit in.

I had literally never heard of him before yesterday and now I'm almost obsessed with him. 😂 Been watching videos throughout the day. Exquisite first touch, tenacious workrate, great eye for a pass, excellent in tight spaces. He really looks like he was trained the "Barca way." I really fucking want us to buy him now! Before some other big team does.

Body language is atrocious. They way he sulked today made it seem like he thinks the fans are against him or something,

Bayern think they're pulling a fast one trying to turn CHO's head. They know that he'll be a mega expensive player within a couple of years if he plays. Hopefully they haven't succeeded. You can 100% see him going there, exploding in development, and then City or United buy him for £80m or something 3 years from now. He really must be convinced to stay. He may be raw and have much to learn, but as someone said here he already looks more dangerous in space than Willian and Pedro.

Morata pouting all night as if it's someone else's fault he's been shit! 😂😂😂

Be sad to see him leave. Could've been very useful in the EL and non-PL competitions the rest of this season. But it's clearly his choice to go and play regularly. Must be painful to be like Cesc, Moses, and Christensen who played nearly every week one season and just never playing at all the next. Don't blame them at all for wanting out.

Having just watched his highlights, he does indeed look super talented. Great dribbling and bursting forward. Actually reminds me a bit of Kovacic on the ball but plays from a slightly deeper position. He's got that same tenacious workrate as Kova as well. Unlike Kovacic, Barella appears to be much better at playing Fabregas-like long balls. I think the closest comparison is Arsenal's new midfielder Torreira. An all arounder who looks perfect for the PL. This only seems like it would make sense if Kovacic returns to Real Madrid. Don't see where he'd fit otherwise. He's too good to come sit on our bench and is highly sought after by other big clubs.