Superblue

Zaha always does well against us which is usually a good indication of our interest in Premier League players. He's clearly got talent but at times watching him he reminds me of Kalou in that he seems regularly not in complete control of the situation and I don't think even he knows what he's going or trying to do at times. Sometimes that unpredictable style can be really beneficial but can also be extremely frustrating when things aren't working. I think the money being quoted, he would be a risky purchase. Having said that we do need to look next summer at that part of the squad with Willian and Pedro not getting any younger.

As I said it's probably not so much a 'demand', more a topic of conversation which has been raised during the contract talks. With the Willian interview though, it will be interesting how this pans out and who ends up with the number 10.

No problems with this from me. It's actually just a year's extension to his existing deal and is not really much different to last season when Pedro signed a new one year deal very early in the season (August/September) I think to basically keep him for 2 seasons. I'm hoping he'll thrive off the additional responsibility he'll have without Hazard at the club anymore and I also think he'll get more opportunities to play wide left or even centrally sometimes as opposed to wide right which will also hopefully improve his raw output. If he performs well then we have him for another season beyond this one to help ease the pressure on CHO and Pulisic as they mature and develop. Or if we decide to sell him next summer he'll still have a pretty decent transfer value, probably around £20m.

I doubt it's a demand, but it's more than likely a discussion point which is more than respectable because that number is available. If another player already had that number I don't think this would be an issue. Now if it's a case of, for example, CHO and Willian both wanting the number 10 shirt I would be inclined to give it to Willian who will likely be here only for another season or two and dangle the carrot to CHO to pay his dues and perform and that shirt will be available again in the near future. The club however may view it in a different way and feel that CHO is more marketable longer term than Willian and would benefit as a result from that shirt number.

Sarri definitely didn't help matters but the media were largely at fault. So many journalists and more worryingly 'pundits' (and I use that term extremely loosely) moaned about Chelsea not playing Kante in Jorginho's position and it became an extra vehicle with which fans could vent their anger at Sarri. Kante wouldn't have worked in that position last season under Sarri, it would not have played to his strengths but most of the British pundits are so brutally archaic and simple in their analysis that they just assume Kante is the best player to play deep because he's the best midfielder at the club at doing the defensive work. I'm not sure whether 4-2-3-1 is Lampard's preferred formation but instead of having a rigid idea of formation and style he wants to impose on the team, it appears he has observed what he has at his disposal and is looking for a way to play to the strengths of the majority involved which is highly promising.

He got a real bad rub of the green last season being so closely affiliated with Sarri and I hope this season is a fresh start for him without that 'baggage'. If Lampard perseveres with this formation I think it will actually benefit all of our main midfielders - Jorginho, Kante and Kovacic all benefit from playing in the '2' and Barkley and Mount both benefit playing further up field. I firmly believe if Jorginho had moved to City like expected last season everybody would have been full of praise for him and us fans would have been moaning why we couldn't snap him up with Sarri joining as manager. We're lucky to have some serious talent in our ranks in midfield and lots of different skill-sets which should mesh well. The area of the pitch I'm least concerned with next season (unless they all get injured and we're left playing Bakayoko and Drinkwater together).

Of course the club had no obligation to cough up but it would be stupid not to. We're being offered around £30m for an 18 year old with 12 months on his contract and would lose him next year for minimal compensation. Signed up for 5 years, as an asset he suddenly becomes worth £80-100m. I would expect in September/October when we first wanted to renew him we would have been looking at £40-50k possibly as a contract anyway. If we're paying an extra £2.5-3m per annum in wages to him but increased his market value by about £50m it makes complete financial sense. I completely agree with you that wages should be earned on performances and not hype or potential but its not as simple as that and quite frankly I'd rather we overpay him a little and take that chance that he'll realise his potential and be worth the money as opposed to not paying up and losing a player who could become a serious talent given the platform.

The other way to look at it would be his current standing within the squad. If he didn't get injured he likely would have finished the season with a few more starts under his belt and is at the very least considered very much a part of the first team squad and a solid rotational player. At best he is similar to RLC whereby he is 15-20 games or 3-6 months away from potentially being first choice in his position. If you compare his standing in the squad to the likes of Giroud, Barkley and Alonso who are solid trusted rotational options but not definite first choice then those wages are perhaps fair because they are on a similar parity to these players. Or compared to the likes of Drinkwater and Bakayoko who are further down the pecking order in their positions than CHO is, again the wages don't seem as much of an issue.

I think you could be right. I'm sure there was a big deal made about a contract Loftus-Cheek got early days too when he was nowhere near the first team. It's big money and its important Chelsea don't get a problem with their young players moving forward like United and Arsenal have with their first team squad at present where one or two big money earners distort the whole scene. However in this instance for Hudson-Odoi to have played the amount of games across all competitions he did last season (and in a short period of time too) and made his England debut at just 18 years old shows he is a special case. On the flip side too in normal circumstances he probably would have been looking at £40-50k contract anyway which would likely need renegotiating in a year or two as he plays more. This ties the boy down and immediately makes a £30-40m asset worth £80-100m minimum and hopefully beyond that we'll enjoy CHO becoming a mainstay and key player in this Chelsea squad. The floor is now his...

The wages being rumoured are so wildly different, I believe that it will initially be around the £100k mark and there are likely incentives regarding appearances, goals, trophies, international appearances, as well as inflationary annual increases that at some point during the contract he will likely be up around that £180k figure. As usual with anything like this though, the media will spin the highest figures possible to make it sound better for them. Either way it's a lot of money but Mason Mount has just signed a new contract which apparently is around £75k and not played for Chelsea or at the highest level yet, it's just the way the game is going. I think it was key to get these young players signed up and committed long term to the club. They have a huge amount of potential and with Lampard they hopefully will have a manager ready to back them and show faith and confidence in them to help realise their potential.

I could be wrong but I don't think you can sign a long term contract until you turn 18 which he didn't do until during last season which is the reason why this has happened and really beyond the control of the club. By this point he would have seen that despite impressing in pre season he wasn't getting a look in and Sarri had no interest in rotating the squad, hence why I think he was initially hesitant to commit. Then Bayern came knocking in January and we got to the point we are now.

I think both have shown that they can be trusted and counted upon this season.

Lots of pleasing aspects to the first half performance. I think it should be noted that there are some positives to what Sarri worked on last season with this squad that Lampard is benefitting from, namely a much improved group of players that are comfortable on and retaining the ball and in particular calm and composed playing out from the back against the press. Added to that a more aggressive pressing around the pitch and more intent and directness with our passing from Lampard and there is some definite promise there. I thought Kovacic and Jorginho looked very good, Kovacic in particular who I think we will see a different player in a double pivot role next season (assuming Lampard plays this way). Both also seem to be looking to thread the ball forward quicker and more often which can only benefit us trying to create more chances this season. Mount looked bright again and watching him the last couple of games he's actually got a solid, low centre of gravity and doesn't seem to get bullied off the ball easily which was my concern with him this coming season. Pulisic too looked lively and has some serious pace and a very direct mentality which we can hopefully make the most of this season. Tammy took his goal well too which will give him confidence. He actually works much harder than I thought he did, and his link up play does seem to be improving and will hopefully come with both experience and confidence. Second half became disjointed as expected. I still think initially Giroud will be given the nod, his hold up play is superb and will allow players to play off him. Barkley was the other bright spot of the second half, like Kovacic the role he's playing more advanced suits him and with RLC out long term it will be good to have Mount and Barkley fighting for that central role and hopefully pushing each other on to perform and score goals. With regular game time and playing in that position, we need to be looking for 10-15 goals minimum from that position this season.

Mount and Barkley will play an advanced role. As Barkley has got older and a bit more disciplined tactically he could possibly play the pivot at a push but realistically you're looking at 2 from Kante, Jorginho and Kovacic and probably either Drinkwater or Bakayoko being a 4th choice option this season. The alternative would be if Lampard sees Reece James possibly as a utility player next season that can play across the backline and act as the backup midfielder. It would provide him with more chances to play next season for sure.

Yeah that's just as crazy as the Maguire numbers. Based on these deals and how hard we usually negotiate with our sales I think we should be pushing closer to £50m, even if that includes some add-ons. It is one of the positives we can take from our transfer ban, we're in no hurry to ship players out with no incomings and can "hardball" as much as we feel like.

I won't be distraught if he leaves. His lack of ability and composure on the ball will be what stops him from becoming elite and when Rudiger is back fit (which hopefully will be fairly shortly into the season) he'll be almost certainly 4th choice. It is also probably the best time to sell him in all honesty as Everton will be desperate to get him back after a successful loan spell and be prepared to pay big money for him. Add to that what Maguire is seemingly going for (which is quite frankly a joke), and we should surely be looking to cream £40-50m out of Everton for essentially a 4th choice centre back for us. I also see more potential upside in Tomori too, who is far more comfortable on the ball and comes with the benefits of being homegrown. In this season where Luiz isn't getting any younger and Rudiger may need to be eased back in, games should be available for him to still play and continue his development at the highest level.

Whilst on the face of it some players getting chances this pre season would appear "unusable" for most of us fans, it makes complete sense for Lampard and his staff to make their own assessments on every player. He'll have his own ideas of what he wants to do this season and a player we may not expect may suit his requirements. I'm sure most people would have felt the same when they saw Moses back in Conte's first pre season and he then became a vital cog for a couple of years. Having said that I must admit I haven't seen anything from the likes of Drinkwater and Bakayoko that makes me think there might be a new example of Moses!

I'd expect he already has his mind made up on some and those not in his plans will be marginalised when we get back from Japan. By then the main players will be needing to get more minutes into their legs anyway.

Probably not worded that too well. That wasn't aimed as a criticism of the club, I agree with what you say I'm sure they more than analyse all options and select which is best. It was more an opinion that from what I had seen he seems a potentially very promising striker and at 18 years old there's so much more development potentially. Just surprised the club are prepared to sell him whether their own decision or influenced by Redan himself.

Surprised we don't look at something similar to the Christensen loan. A 2 year deal would be ideal for development purposes but also acts as a bigger incentive to the club loaning to aid the players development knowing they can plan that bit longer with that player in the side. The deal seems pretty cheap, you would have to believe there's a buy back clause included in this.

He hasn't played huge quantities of football this season and I'm sure someone mentioned he had a 2-3 weeks break between the end of the German season and playing for America so I can't see this burning him out. Agree with the winter break, although the Premier League is bringing some form of equivalent in this season. I'm sure Lampard will manage and rotate where necessary to keep things fresh this season.

No but even in years prior he was backed with his own players, even if they weren't necessarily his first choice target. The likes of Mane and Wijnaldum were seen at the time as a 'reach' with the money they spent on them and it wasn't like either was ripping up the Premier League at Southampton or Newcastle. But they were Klopp's choices and suited perfectly to what he wants. If Klopp left, would some of these players be able to adapt and still excel to a new manager with new ideas? Some of our transfer failings are the direct result of managerial changes that don't offer a consistent evolution in style and philosophy. So whilst Drinkwater and Bakayoko may have suited Conte's style of football, they were never going to suit Sarri and I don't think either will get much, if any gametime under Lampard either. The days of a Fergie or Wenger reign I just think are gone, especially at the elite clubs. But it would be good if Lampard can be successful and stay here for 4-5 seasons to provide a much more solid structure and base from which the club can continue from even after he has gone, similar in a way to the first Mourinho reign here.

I would agree with this, I'd much rather see him playing in the Championship and playing regularly every week, getting that rhythm and experience to his game that he needs compared to possibly a Premier League role where he's not a regular fixture. The club also needs to make a decision on where they see his future, whether its as a defender or midfielder because ideally he should be playing for a team that need him for the position we see him likely to develop in.

It didn't help last year that Sarri didn't really start rotating until about March. He even admitted that he picked a core group of about 14-15 players and just focused on them. Once he started backing his squad Emerson started putting Alonso under pressure for his position, Christensen improved as the season wore on and RLC and CHO were arguably first choice for Sarri by the time they got injured (RLC definitely was). I think Lampard will back the squad as a whole far more and be prepared to use it. He understands the intensity and overall slog of an English season which I don't think Sarri was fully prepared for and from what it appears he wants his team to play with a lot more energy, pace and pressing compared to last season which will likely take it's toll if players aren't managed properly. The idea that Lampard will start bringing through all sorts of academy players I think just isn't going to happen. Someone like Billy Gilmour I could potentially see making the bench the odd time or even getting a game in the league cup before going out on loan possibly in January to get some experience. What Lampard will do however is offer a pathway for the ones that have good experience and are ready to play some part - Tomori, Mount, James, Abraham. If these players can get 20 games next season across all competitions then that is a big positive and they kick on from there very much like how I think RLC would have done had he not got injured. Christensen, RLC and CHO have shown the club that the talent is there and is good enough to represent the club. If this next group can break through in much the same way I'm certain more will follow in the future.

Liverpool's net spend is not much higher than ours. The difference is their transfer policy has been based on 'less is more' bringing in a smaller pool of players that are more expensive and of high quality. They have also benefited in that time from having Klopp for most of the period and therefore their purchases have been focused to fit that policy. The squad then is filled out with youth and cheap deals when they come up (Robertson, Milner, Shaqiri) but again its focused to fit entirely with Klopp. Our transfer policy has been erratic at best in that period and we've also been handicapped by buying players for one manager and then a new one comes in with a different philosophy and ideas. The purchases of Bakayoko and Drinkwater particularly emphasised this. I do think over the last year there does seem to be a shift in what we're looking to do. Last summer we were linked with Seri and Butland (probably as cost effective options because we were looking at other options to add to the squad) and instead we decided to go for top quality and the best available at the time in Jorginho and Kepa. If Lampard can integrate some of these younger players this season we'll have an excellent base to kick on but it will take some time and patience because obviously at the moment we're starting behind City and Liverpool.