OneMoSalah

But are they gone? Pulisic is out so can’t sit a medical anywhere so he isn’t going to be gone anytime soon. Probably be the summer. And supposedly, bar loan interest from Newcastle, has there ever been any real interest in Ziyech? Again, not so much by sounds of things. I mean if our transfer strategy is just overload the squad with attacking players, which we have plenty of (despite some of them being poor) and neglect key needed positions we have needed investment in for 2 seasons now, ie. a good back up RB and another good level CM, then so be it. But it will only end one way.

He’s not that good. Not even at Brighton but I think he did what a lot of these guys do and had a few good games against us so instantly people thought he was better than they were. He is so so middle of the road. I am actually surprised he hasn’t improved under Conte he seems like the sort of profile he would want in a MF player. If we were to pinch anyone from Spurs midfield it should be Bentancur. Who is pretty fucking good.

Signing the kid from PSV right now regardless of his injuries or how good he is just a dumb dumb move. Mainly because now we have to get rid if a few this window or its gonna be tough. If we agreed a deal for the summer then I could see the point but we cannot get rid of Pulisic as hes injured, will struggle to get rid of Hakim permanently this window, and then throw in the fact we have Mount, Havertz, Joao Felix who are capable of playing on the sides/as floaty attacking midfield players too. Plus Raheem who is out injured, Hudson-Odoi out on loan who will probabpy now not see a future at Chelsea at all regardless of if he was good enough or not. There really really really is no strategy at the club at all. Absolutely baffling. Its Just stockpiling players. Plus we are still in the race for Thuram apparently another fucking attacker. When we urgently need a RB and another CM. No faith at all that this new infrastructure is going to be any different from Boehly and co in the summer. Is there too many people involved?

He cant go on loan, he’s already played for 2 clubs this season. Molde & us. Or I thought that was the FIFA/UEFA ruled anyway.

Hopefully we can get a better look at Fofana upfront then. Would rather see us throw him in than use Kai atm.

So that means Colwill likely to be going out the door in the summer if we make this move happen? Granted he would still have to come here and get in the team but I think most are hopeful Colwill would be a part of the squad next season. These sort of deals where we go and buy 2 or 3 players under 23 of the same profile is going to block the pathway for some of our more promising academy kids. The irony is, for us its fine to criticise when other clubs breach it but now we could be in a situation where we do the exact same. Its intriguing to see what happens with no CL football because I have no doubts we will be finishing in and around 7–10th place this season. Theres too much to do to catch the other teams and the manager has hardly made a good impression to show that we can catch these teams.

I severely doubt it. Whats the source for this?

Fantastic upside? Really? Where are you seeing this? He has done next to fuck all for the last 2 years nearly and even then barring maybe a little spell with Tuchel, the majority of his time here is heavily questionable. When you consider the cost, the hype, he’s not convinced. At all. He is 23 and nobody here can be 100% sure if he is a CF or a number 10. Some may say that it makes him flexible, but for me, thats not always a good thing as he doesn’t particularly seem to excel at anything you would associate with those positions. There’s rumblings the club see him as a 10 long term but our past 2 managers, including the one who is supposedly here for the long term plan, have been using him as a CF. Thats a story in itself about him as much as any other attacking players we have too. What I don’t get is that people are quick to throw guys like Mount under the bus but still hold out hope for Kai despite the fact Mount has definitely done much much more in the same time Kai has been here.

Personally I think its more on Boehly trying to make a splash in the first window, I just have this feeling he seen City wanted him (similarly to Arsenal with Mudryk) and just felt he had to triumph them to stop them getting him first and foremost. Although we did need back up in the position with Chilwells injury. But mainly re City wanting him & Boehly wanting to make an impression and be competitive, I think this is why we had no issues to splurge the fee they wanted without hesitation where as City did. Or perhaps City had more reservations about the player? Whilst they also were/are statement buys - people probably thought not often Chelsea beat City & Pep to their top target in recent years or a team at the top of the league to theirs (Arsenal & Mudryk). So theres that element too. Without considering the players qualities as I don’t think any would of considered the pair of them elite players. I do think Tuchel liked the player though, but I am more convinced this is one of the lessons Boehly and the club have reportedly “already learned” from this summer. Or I’d hope so.

True but it depends on a lot, the manager, the formation we play, if we sign anyone else in defence etc. I mean aye if both develop well, then it means we are strong for that category/profile and gives us flexibility/options. Colwill has to come back, earn a place in the squad and perform here when called upon first though. I get that we’re seeing him do well at Brightom but doing it at Brighton isn’t necessarily going to translate as easily when playing for us. Just look at the difference in Cucurella and also look at Graham Potters struggles as our manager too. I’d imagine Caicedo if he were to come in this month may also have a similar adjustment period as well. Its a totally different environment so he will have to cross that bridge when he comes to it but really we should focus on the guys we have here at present before going and thinking for sure that Colwill will come back and need to be accommodated in the starting 11, so someone will have to play RCB or LCB or LB or RB or whatever to accommodate him now or then. I mean who knows, he might even stay at Brighton for another season (although I do doubt it)? I think he will be in the squad next season as long as we don’t go daft and chase the Croatian lad from Leipzig but lets see how much Colwill ends up playing when we get to next season. If we sign that Croatian lad he will be offski though. Can see this situation arising with some of the other younger lads in the future too, this Boehly 2030 project thing will have a few casualties. Lets just hope one isn’t Colwill as he can be a very good player for us in the future.

Last one we should sell? Really? Most of them not been up to it true but still, Kai’s basically been masquerading as a top level footballer for the last 18 months. I don’t see what he’s done barring a little spell under Tuchel to justify him staying here in the long run. If someone offered £50-60m tomorrow I’d hope the club would bite their hand off because he isn’t going to be worth anything like that at this rate. I mean is anybody here really any closer to knowing his best position? Is he best as a striker or a number 10? And to be honest, I don’t see him contributing much here as any of those 2 positions. Not due to his team mates being poor/average too but mainly due to the fact he just doesn’t look as if he can. I mean Felix and Nkunku are effectively similar types of players to Havertz in terms of they can play as forwards and as 10s/second strikers, who would be more a like for like swap for Havertz than a Mount, Ziyech, Pulisic etc.

Can see this being another tough tough game for us. They’ve looked pretty meh against Wolves but they will be able to go up a few gears if they need to. Not sure the game v Palace was entirely convincing enough to say we will come away from this with anything but who knows? I do think they’ll beat us though. Even if they aren’t overly convincing they’ve got goals in Salah, Nunez and no doubt Gapko will start firing at some point more than likely v us. Not sure where Firmino and Diaz are fitness wise.

Surely it makes sense for him to play as a left sided centre back be it in a 3 or a 4? I mean its not as if there are a huge amount of top quality/young, promising players in this position so I find it a bit absurd people are intrigued if he can play as a RCB when we already have Fofana (who was apparently signed with the view of being a wide right sided centre back in a 3), Azpi, Chalobah and even Koulibaly (although I think he prefers the left side and how comfortable he is on his left foot). Although suppose we might as well be asking if he can play upfront also based on current attacking options 😂 Also wasn’t this signing not specifically for the fact he fitted the profile of a younger, mobile, left sided central defender?

Tbf unless this kid is going to add something right now, why really push for his signing? Has any club else been linked with him as extensively as we have? Again, this move if it were to happen, seems like Boehly & co are going towards an unnecessary stockpiling of younger players which 1) we did this under Roman and people criticised it in terms of the progression of these players, they cannot all come through and play at the same time so we have the opportunity of guys like Salah/De Bruyne/Livramento etc all going elsewhere and doing well and 2) I thought the club wanted to avoid this by having a multi club model like Leipzig/Salzburg and the City group? This isnt up and running yet so maybe they should prioritise players who can come in and give this squad and 11 a much needed boost this season, next and the one after before thinking lets sign 10 18 year olds who could maybe play 2 or 3 years at a feeder club on loan then come back. We need to keep one eye on the short and mid term as well as just the long term. I mean is anyone sure that Russian kids good enough to come in and contribute to our first 11 ATM? I doubt it. Not saying there’s no potential but we need a CM who can contribute at a high level now more than in 2025/26/27. Kante is older and not been right fitness wise for a while, Jorginho and Kovacic are inconsistent and prone to some spells on the sidelines also. Zakaria also out injured. I mean on our books at present the amount of attackers we have in the squad and on loan is a joke too which isn’t being addressed at all by the looks of it. We should be trying to get some of these out the door this month if possible or definitely get clubs trying to make deals for the summer. I think we should probably prioritise a CM who is ready to come in and play at a big PL club and a decent back up RB then stop spending this window. Unless something absolutely outstanding comes up. Then the next priority is going to have to be to try and shift 3 or 4 players this window at least be it loans or sales. Guys like Ruben, Puli/Ziyech, Andre Santos (loan?), D. D. Fofana (loan?). Or even the likes of Aubamayang if possible to go back to Barcelona? We can sign as many players as we want but until we start shifting some too its going to be a very complicated situation come the summer. These sales/loans may be very protracted, I would also of thought Boehly & co would want to move away from this us loaning out experienced players and move towards selling them like he did with Werner. Lukaku, Ruben, Pulisic, Ziyech… we cannot just keep loaning these guys out forever. another thing also on signing every talented youngster out there is that again our academy, who have got top prospects coming through it for years now, are going to leave due to concerns about coming theougy the system to the first team.

If he needs competent attacking team mates to resemble a half decent footballer then ultimately he cannot be a half decent footballer. He has been abysmal this season. Atrocious.

Tbf just a daft Chelsea twitter account probably making an accusation with no real substance. Plus they just got beat off Barca so emotions will be high.

Maybe my words were a bit strong. I’d imagine there was a small percentage on here perhaps as usually there is for some of these players but I get the feeling that a lot of the hype/want of him was mainly from the World Cup performances. But again, I don’t think its necessarily wrong to assume that, as it would be the main opportunity for a lot of people to see him. Unless your following Portuguese football or Argentine football beforehand.

His mentality has hopefully shifted from what I’ve read about him early doors at Shakhtar. The current Brighton manager apparently had a big influence on Mudryk when he was there although it was also heavily reported that the player had issues with other coaches before because he felt he knew better than them/didn't want to listen to them. Lets see, I think he said the right things but actions speak louder than words. Generally these joining interviews seem to be pretty scripted. I do like what I have seen in the CL games from him but still think the fee and 8.5 year deal is madness.

We wouldn’t be fucked with Rice. Thats a bit overdramatic. I would say he’s a good player but his price will likely be inflated heavily. He’s improved other facets of his game, physically would offer something we don’t have in MF also as well as being a combative player who’s developed leadership skills at West Ham. Yes he’s not a player who is going to control a game but he would still be a decent signing if the fee isn’t incredibly high (ie £80m and above and theres only one club getting the best deal and it would be WHU). And again with Kante’s injury troubles/aging, Rice could do some of the things he would do. Any club dealing with us, never mind a London rival such as West Ham, will expect big money with Todd Boehly’s approach of excessively firing dollar bills at clubs like he’s in a strip club 😂 but this will be the same for a lot of players we go for now - regardless of their nationality. I suppose though any MF player who isn’t Enzo Fernandez is going to be treated as a downgrade despite the fact nobody outside of Portugal and Argentina even cared about Enzo Fernandez prior to the WC.

Yeah Mounts going to end up playing more centrally in midfield. He's not a wide player. Pulisic, Ziyech and maybe even CHO gonna be on the chopping block I think. I mean it would he stupid to assume any of them will stay after we signed a near £90m wide player on a 8.5 year deal. Sterling wont be going anywhere either.

Big issue with that team, there is no way GP is going to go back to a back 3 after playing a 433 for a good while now. Would imagine thats his preferred system. Plus that MF would be brutal on the ball, Jorginho and Kovacic are much much smoother on the ball and better at progressing it than Kante and Caicedo. Kante can do enough but Caicedo is also more in the mould of a ball winner than someone who’s going to go out and put his foot on the ball, controlling games. Plus where are the goals coming from? Felix and Mudryk are also not exactly players with hige goal records. Neither is Havertz? or have I missed something and they’ve been banging lots of goals in all season?

Still think Ziyechs profile is harder to replace though. A wide playmaker of sorts. Granted hasn't done it for us often enough but decent right sided players who are left footed are hard to find. Yet alone someone with his track record in Holland/the CL is capable of scoring and making foals. Has been a huge disappointment on that front for us.

Hopefully this signing spells the end of Pulisic or Ziyech here. Preferably Pulisic. Surprised he came here giving how he seemed so desperate for Arsenal but he’s here now so lets see how he gets on.

Yeah Gvardiol moves dead in the water. You don’t sign a similar age and profile of player on a 7.5 year deal. To go and spend 100m on the same type of player.

Still a lot of work to do. Win will keep the wolves at bay for now, but we have to play much better and quickly.