Blue Armour

I doubt that, if he were to stay. World cup will be coming in a few months time from then, and I don't think he would disrupt things at that time. The only way that's going to happen is if he were relegated to the bench permanently for the first half of the season.

The crazy thing is...Aubameyang and Lukaku are both completely different players, not to mention their respective ages. It would be silly to think that he was actually a real plan B, in case the Lukaku transfer failed. We might have expressed interest, but I still think its just more smoke stirred by the media. I still think Belotti and Morata are the more likely targets, even though Aubameyang would make a very exciting signing.

Well...we've done reasonably well with other types of forwards like Anelka, and to a lesser extent, Eto'o. Its just that none of them were consistent enough to thrive

Keep Costa, sign a good striker to challenge him, hold onto Batshuayi,...that would be ideal. We need a strike-force of 3. Even as good as our potential targets, Aubemeyang,Morata and Mbappe, are as forwards and all round play...we need the goals to come from somewhere. Without Lukaku, Costa is our best bet for now.

That's assuming Costa leaves. I still think there's a good chance that there will be some form of reconciliation and he ends up staying. Morata, Costa, Bats > Morata, Bats, Llorente

No worries,.. was doing a bit of searching myself but was unable to find anything. I don't think its anything to lose sleep over.

Source?? and date?

Lol @ Hazard

Ideally we could keep Costa and secure a deal for Mbappe. But,..definitely not going to complain if Lukaku's all we're going to get for a forward from this window.

Really agree with that bit about Costa, which is why i'm still hoping for club, player and manager to eventually sort out all their differences in the summer.It will be forever before we can find another striker to fit that bill.

Hope he stays, especially if Matic leaves. With the number of games we'll have next season, we will need him more than he needs us.

Hope he keeps the same hairstyle. Should contrast well against Blue shirt, haha

Him, Bakayoko and Lukaku. 90% sure that these deals are done, and only a matter of when they announce it. Hopefully the Sandro deal gets sorted out as well on Monday. As good as Alonso is, Alonso-Cahill isn't going to cut the mustard against the big teams in the CL.

Wish he had never got that knee injury.

I hope there's a silver lining after all this shit storm settles down.. The fact is, we are at risk of losing a proven striker and 1 of the 2 main pieces for Chelsea's attack force. And we're linked with Lukaku, Mbappe and Morata...all being interesting youth talent with great potential to succeed in a team like ours, but still...just potential. instead of building on what we achieved last season for the next, we're ending up with a lot of uncertainty before it even begins.

Yes, those clubs spent silly money...and yes, like you said there's little chance we can do the same even after this successful season... We have a stadium expenditure coming up...and while we won the PL, the earnings aren't too much greater than what PL clubs below us got. Besides, foreign clubs will always demand more transfer fees from English clubs. This is the new trend....In this climate, what are the odds that we go and get exactly the type of player we need> This is supposed to be the season to sign plenty of strong reinforcements to make an even stronger squad...Not spending silly money to replace key players.....

Mate...Costa's only been here for 3 seasons. And he's only ever wanted to leave during the 3'rd season...Yes, once at the start of it, and now the two most recent attempts (Jan, and following). But mind, the only bit that was ever confirmed by the player himself was the move he tried to make before the start of the season. I'm not making Costa to be innocent...I'm pretty sure there's more than meets the eye, and Conte wouldn't have just texted the player in such a naive manner. My point is, this is just the baggage that we have to deal with when having Costa...For all these antics of his, I still don't think we should hasten his departure without making sure we have good cover for his position.

My point is players like Drogba were a rarity back then...and are a rarity right now. And honestly, the reputation of the club has nothing to do with it...How do you think City got so many superstars within a short span of time? How are the Chinese clubs luring players? I'm glad we're linked with the likes of players Mbappe and Morata. But how easy is to get them? We're having to face a battle with the likes of Everton to get someone like Lukaku, and for what? 80mill plus?

No. No. No. And no. No. No. Okay

Thing is...we've made allowances for contributing players before... Drogba has thrown tantrums,..after Mourinho left.., when Phil was here and not to mention the red card in the CL final.. We stuck with him and see where that got us... If Conte sees someone better than Costa coming in to do a better job, then that's fine....but otherwise, I think the club bosses should just bite their lips and do everything in their power to hold onto him. Its not just a case of a player leaving. Costa gets along superbly well with his team-mates, the Spanish/Brazilian contingent, and not to mention Hazard. Granted it was a low blow to make this public, but I don't know how this would affect the team chemistry when they learn of this revelation... I think this situation could have been handled more carefully by the player and his bosses. All said and done, Costa's season is FAR from bad as a player. 20 goals, a lot of them really crucial to our points tally, and earned us our PL title, and nearly got us back in to the FA cup final. If Conte's idea of replacement is just Lukaku, I will be extremely worried going ahead into the new season.

Hmm....2 up top next season with Batshuayi and Lukaku? Could be deadly, but not sure how they would accommodate both Belgians in the squad

I like how the media tries to stir stuff up like this...like in the video below...Former greats like Thierry Henry (like in the vid below) don't give a hoot about the substitution...its mostly just media and opposition fans finally letting their frustrations out...its like most of them were squirming throughout this entire season watching the top of the table....Normally we have something controversial accompany a good season,..these guys finally got something to chatter about towards the end of this season....the only people who should have any right to complain, should be the traveling Sunderland fans, and I doubt most of them cared either. [media]

Hazard goal hands down. I know the Matic goal looks beautiful in the highlights and one to seal victory in the semi-final against Spurs, but come on....it just came off a well hit shot. You see a couple of goals like that every season. When Drogba and Lampard were around you were almost guaranteed to see a blockbuster shot like that fly into the net at least once a season. The Hazard goal is just something else...the buildup and the footwork. You can just see the highlights with the commentary...the excitement keeps building up.

One of his best qualities is when he commands the box the ball comes flying in...plucking crosses from the air and what not. The game against West Brom was a good example

I really hope Hazard can go as far as he wants to in his career. Like Conte said, he's a really special player and he must never forget this..any game, and any moment in a game.