Blue Armour

He could come back as a coach, not player-coach. That won't feel right.

Pre-season-Yes, its only for fitness- Yes... but I'm saying it again, we will see the best of Josh only when the players in front of him make good movements. That's why he's better off playing with Chelsea's first team rather some team in Middlesborough, and I believe the recent friendly is a testament to that.

I still feel we are lacking the player that can actually dominate the central midfield...Both in the attacking and in the defensive sense. Essien was good enough for both when he was in form and Makelele could dominate in the defensive sense. Now Lampard no longer has much influence and Mikel is woefully inconsistent. I feel we are going into the season relying heavily upon Essien to return to form, as well as expecting youngsters Van Ginkel and Oscar to step up. One might mention Ramires, but I feel he's more like an excellent supporting option in midfield. We really need to bring in another player to bolster the center.

4-1-4-1, with just Mikel in front of the defense? No.

Have we been linked with Yilmaz?

Ha, cute. But I doubt its going to be that straightforward.

If its true..Mikel damn well better step up his game. Hopefully he plays alongside someone who is capable of dictating the flow of the game, or our midfield is going to be pegged back, and we'll be experiencing the same problems from last season.

Well he did put an article just now about Jose saying JT will have to fight for his place (and hence a new contract). Could be just that.

Speaking of Mikel, did he play in the recent friendly? Or is he still on break from the Confed cup?

That's a great fee, BUT I guess a lot of Chels fans are pissed with them for scuppering our other transfers deals. I know I am at any rate

Hope to see his overcoat again during the PL season.

He was pretty good during last year's pre-season as well. Hopefully it carries on into the new season and he can keep his fitness throughout. Its better to have Essien AND Mikel as options, instead of just Mikel.

They're re-tweeting a random guy's post..lol

True, CM should be the biggest priority this season.

Just because its quiet doesn't mean its empty...

That Palmolive guy might be the one to do it to.

I don't think its exactly a case of having a "Mourinho-type" of player. I think he would definitely like his squad to have good options and someone who has incredible vision, an excellent touch and a good finish would definitely figure into his plans in some form. From what he has said in the press, he'll be creating a new identity for his Chelsea team and I wouldn't be surprised if Mata became an integral part of it.

Lol...I wouldn't rule that out myself.

True, you can look at some of the stories published by The Sun, or Goal.com etc. and tell its fake by the way the article is worded. But there are clues that indicate whether other articles carry substance.

You can say all you want about goals coming in from midfield, and while they count A LOT during a campaign, I feel an in-form striker is the best thing that a team can rely on to win crunch fixtures. Like others have said, our options are still open as the transfer season has just started. I wouldn't rule out Cavani or Rooney at this point, but if we didn't achieve either target I wouldn't mind going into the season with Torres, Lukaku, Andre and Ba.

Zlatan's worth his transfer fee no doubt, but he seems to be high maintenance, and plus he's already 31?

Hopefully he can be the one to stick around

Its been a while since we've had this type of player in midfield:

Honestly as long as we can fix our central midfield with someone like De Rossi, I couldn't care less whether we got Rooney or Cavani. Rooney's English and commands a lower transfer fee, and Cavani is currently the best striker out there who has it all. I certainly don't think anyone will complain about either transfer, unless they start fearing for the youth players.