CHOULO19

Never heard of the bolded two but I know Yokohama very well. It really depends on the market and how much advertisement they've done there.

I think you're right about Reus. But Pogba will lost likely prefer other options and Varane may well want to stay if Rafa is guaranteeing him a starting spot, why would he leave?

Really? How much is JT available for? Thibaut? Hazard? Costa? If a player doesn't want to leave, or if he has offers from other clubs he prefers then "he is not available".

Here's the issue with your analogy, though: Your view is completely subjective, as is mine. I thought that Mikel and Matic were pretty similar in terms of long ball ability and then looked up the stats that seemed to confirm it. I've seen Mikel play a lot of long balls, usually either directly to the striker or diagonally to the LB (for some reason more than the RB). I did not base my opinion on those stats, I merely used the stats to back it up. Now you have your own subjective view on the matter as well and even though the stats may not be definitive you can't, without backing it up with any supporting evidence, claim that your subjective view is closer to the truth than mine that is backed by the stats I've provided. As for rotating with Matic, your idea is flawed by the very fact that Jose in this past season has almost literally ALWAYS went with his best team. Apart from Schurrle and Willian in the first half of the season, there was never any rotation. In fact, Mikel was probably the player he felt most comfortable with bringing into the team occasionally. He came off the bench very regularly and even started a few matches in the league over fit Matic in the first few months of the season before he got a series of injuries and was unavailable for over 2 months of the second half of the season.

My kind of humor!

For goodness sake, he is NOT homegrown!

Excellent piece of business. Simply the best back up in the league at the moment. Hopefully our transfer window picks up now.

How do you know the bullets were aimed specifically at your eyes?

Of course you're free to believe your own subjective judgment over facts but obviously don't expect that to be as convincing over something backed by stats. I don't think anyone sane is arguing that Matic is not the superior player, he's one of the best in his position in the world, but Mikel is not very far behind apart from dynamism and mobility on the field. Also 'every aspect' is an exaggeration. For example, Mikel is slightly better in the air and at ball retention under pressure. Literally burst out laughing! :lol:

That's just out right false. Him and Matic are very similar in that area. A few quick stats from Squawka to prove that: Mikel plays a successful long ball every 34 minutes with a 58.3% accuracy while Matic plays a successful long ball every 26.5 minutes with a 64.5% accuracy.

@didierforever,@Pacquiao, drop it? You two are getting very boring and annoying. You're single-handedly destroying threads you 'debate' in and its starting to genuinely harm the forum. If you can't stand each other make use of the forum's ignore option. You two are on VERY thin ice, here.

Or we gave Fener a number we knew would scare them off because we don't want to sell. BBC don't usually 'make up' stuff... It makes complete sense that we block a Mikel exit, I predicted it before there we even exit rumors. Jose trusts Mikel a lot and he sees him as an experienced player who gives a lot of stability as a backup. He's a reliable option whenever needed. To rephrase Jose: "We don't have duplicates in any of the positions, our squad is not built that way, but defensive midfielder is a position we are very stable in because the differences between Matic and Mikel are very small."

City just took a very risky 100m gamble. As Chelsea fan, I'm delighted.

The story says both, is how I understood it.

As I expected, Jose has blocked Mikel's exit and wants him to stay: http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/football/33477349

Very interesting choice if true. I think he could surprise many here. He's technically obviously excellent, he has a lot of winning experience, he can play tactical roles when needed and he's joining us for his prime years. I think the rumored buyout clause is fair. Certainly beats paying 50m for Sterling.

This ia a brilliant signing for them. Hr brings great ability and incredible experience. I think he'll take to thr EPL like a duck to water. It's undeniable that United are now solid title tivals for the coming season.

Oh for goodness sake, you two! Stop bickering or I swear I'll make you stand in the corner...

Should do that with all loanees to be honest...

His father confirmed he signed an extension: http://weaintgotnohistory.sbnation.com/2015/7/10/8927649/andreas-christensen-contract-extension

I really like Gladbach. They're a very interesting project. I hope he can break into the starting XI. I have a lot of confidence in Andreas. Best of luck to him.

To be fair to Frank, yeah he did lie to all Chelsea fans and put on a huge play, and yeah he did always put his best interest ahead of the club's and the supporters' unlike Mikel who (till now) has always been loyal to the club and fans, but Frank did play A HUGE part in a lot of our success so yeah, I'd still put him on par with Mikel. Call me a glory hunter for it if you want...

That says more about our own supporters thank Mikel, tbh. We're talking about a guy who's helped us win literally everything, from EPLs to FA cups to league cups to a CL and an EL. Since he's arrived here he's played in every cup final except the EL final in 2013 and the League Cup final this season which he was not available for. For me, personally, Mikel is only below JT, Zola, Cech and Drogba and on par with the likes of Ash, and Lampard. I don't own many original Chelsea shirts but I have the 2012/13 blue and gold shirt with Mikel on the back to commemorate his performance in the CL final.

75K/Wk is not at all a lot now. Josh McEachran makes 40K/Wk. Very hard to find players as good as Mikel in Europe's top divisions who earn more. Also, Mikel costs nothing on amortized fees because he's been here for ages. He's currently our second least expensive first team player on our books after only Salah (if he stays). Financially, Mikel is great for the club.