Blue Armour

Thanks for sharing the info about the clauses. Its the first time I'm coming across this information.. If its really true, then the purported transfer fee doesn't seem as bad. And yes, no one really has the right to tell another person how much they should or should not spend. However coming back to your own example, I can understand why you would want to spend 300 Euros on genuine kits. Because they are the real deal. But I can't say the same for Lukaku.

Hell...if you thought that the Pogba transfer fee was ridiculous, this one tops that or at least, comes pretty close. Its not a surprise that Mino Raiola is a common factor in both of these transfers. For that kind of money, clubs like Madrid have gone after the likes of Ronaldo and Kaka...players who have proven themselves at the highest level. Even our own big money transfers in the past, such as with Torres and Shevchenko, involved players of that mold.

The most important thing to note for now is that these kind of situations always happen, at any club. Even in Chelsea's recent history you'll know that its happened before with Drogba, Lampard and Terry as well... Drogba wanted out almost soon after he arrived, and he really wanted to leave around the time when Mourinho first left.., there was talk about Lampard to go to Inter Milan to reunite with Jose, and then there was the Terry to Man City saga in 2009. Granted the Costa saga has now gained more visibility because of people eavesdropping on his conversation with Ramos, but that's just how it is in football. Its up to the manager to bring the player back around, by convincing them that things can work out well off the pitch, and more importantly ON it.

The worst thing about all this is the transfer fee involved. For 50m+ you should be getting someone who is nailed on to perform week in and week out for the club. He can score, but when he's not in scoring form he hardly offers anything to the team...I remember that period in the middle of last season where he was an almost complete no-show for Everton. Granted they were playing terrible as a whole, but this doesn't exactly fill me with confidence.

Still have to remember, at 22 this guy is even younger than Lukaku. He will have shortcomings in matches for sure, but there are a lot of positives to look forward to. Even though he didn't seal two chances, he was a nuisance to the RM defenders, and threaded a great ball to Hazard under pressure.

Not saying its going to happen, but if Cuadrado stays...having Cuadrado and Willian on opposite wings, with Hazard in the center along with Michy/Costa would be pretty good based on current evidence. Might also solve our problems with defense when you have one CM less because of the formation....(Not all our problems, mind)

Yeah it was Burley. They were going on and on about ridiculous transfer rumors as well,...sometimes I wonder whether these guys even pay attention to the managers' press conferences, or whether they just repeat what news channels tell them to do like parrots.

Well a Belgian combination up front would be interesting to watch, I'll admit, but we already have one with Michy and Eden. Plus Hazard+Bayshuayi is more of little striker-big striker combo, which IMO works better than having two big guys upfront. We saw some of this combination at work today against Madrid. It was not for too many minutes, but I liked what I saw.

The only reason this player has a "sudden longing to return to his old club" is because no other big club is in the market for him.

Well neither DeBruyne nor Hazard could make him look good at the Euros. Bringing Lukaku back especially for silly amounts money is one of the worst deals we could pull off. Would probably make people forget about the Torres fiasco.

EXCLUSIVE: Chelsea's Diego Costa decides transfer fate DIEGO COSTA has finally accepted he is staying put at Chelsea. Published 30th July 2016 http://www.dailystar.co.uk/sport/football/533917/Diego-Costa-Chelsea-Atletico-Madrid (Its all just papertalk at this time, but just wanted to offset the talk about selling the player)

On a side note, 40m for Costa and spending 60m on Lukaku would be one of the worst ever deals....the sale itself would kill some of the momentum we're trying to build going into the season

Think Adidas had something in mind when they posted this recently...

I feel you man...and I'm about 4 hrs away. Feels weird not being there when Chelsea are so close.

Really did not expect him to leave the club the way he did...wish he had more game time as well. Its almost as if his sole purpose at Chelsea was to help secure its first CL.

I get what you're saying Barbara, and that kind of player can be bothersome... but I think Moses deserves a bit more credit. For starters he's more direct compared to our other wingers and having him on one wing can bring more variety in our play. A lot of wingers (barring Pedro) tend to run to the byline and just end up with a backwards to the central midfield or full-back. You keep doing that and we'll have a wait a long time to unlock the opposition

Haha, if it was a Llama ...then we're talking.

Haha...that always worries me a bit. We have had (and still have) plenty of defenders like those.

Lol...Costa definitely has something to say about this selfie

"Unfinished business"....these media outlets really like to regurgitate their own crap.

That's why his squad number couldn't be anymore appropriate In a lot of games, he was the team

But .....Lacazette,,,! That's such a cool name, how could he not get any more attention.??.. But yeah on a more serious note, have to agree with your post. Its probably why he hasn't gathered much attention. You see how guys like Railoa making the headlines and seemingly calling the shots on deals between big clubs, and its difficult to think otherwise... I think it might change if he moved to a league that has a bigger spotlight on him.

Heh...why should we sell anything to Juventus. Its not like they've been generous towards us with their players.

It'll be a shame if he's shipped off again after another pre-season like this.. Honestly think he deserves some real game time especially if we can afford the same to others like Pedro. But then again with so many wingers waiting in the wing, not sure how we can keep everyone happy.