Superblue

They have Vasquez too don't they? I'm not a huge fan of Asensio from what I've seen of him but apparently he is highly rated at Madrid and by Lopetegui. Last season Ronaldo played predominantly as a striker and with Benzema in decline and likely to leave too, their priority is surely going to be a top class striker who can replace a large proportion of the goals Ronaldo scored them. They also have to start planning ahead to replace Modric eventually. I've heard a few rumours that they are interested in Milinkovic-Savic and he won't come cheap either. To me Hazard seems like a luxury and not a necessity for them.

I don't see the point in Kovacic when we've just spent big on Jorginho. If we get another midfielder I'd far rather someone who operates higher up the pitch like Golovin.

This to be fair is far softer than the shortened quote given which almost sounded like a transfer request. As some have said on here, i think he'll assess his options and see if Madrid come in first. They'll have to be quick mind because there is no way we're selling once our transfer window closes.

Yeah I've thought this a few times. Look at the numbers somebody like Insigne has put up for Sarri, and obviously Mertens as well. It's not ideal by any stretch but if Sarri can get us going I do think the blow could be softened somewhat.

I think he is genuinely torn over the situation because there are positives and negatives to both situations: Chelsea - where he is already loved and worshipped by the fans and will remain the main man, but does he need something new to push himself Real Madrid - his dream club but one where there is far more pressure and he's starting from scratch in the shadow of one of the greatest players ever London - Well settled with family, quiet private life Madrid - New start for his young family and doubt Madrid media will leave him alone as much Future at Chelsea - Potentially exciting new brand of football which will get more out of him, but how long would it last? Future at Real Madrid - Best club in world football at present, but you feel they are towards the end of a cycle needing to replace soon the likes of Modric, Ramos, etc and they've lost their main player. Is it potentially the worst time to join them? I do think Sarri needs to get hold of him and have a meeting with him first. Give Hazard his ideas and sell him the dream and see where his head is at afterwards. Also as you have said, Madrid have yet to suggest a big is coming in for him.

I think Chelsea's position would be £200m. When Madrid have sold us Morata for £70m and apparently value Asensio at around £150m. The way fees are escalating, replacing him with a big name would be a nightmare. To be honest with a manager who is supposedly creative and innovative and prepared to coach his players, if this did happen I would prefer the club buy a couple of hot young talents to replace him as opposed to a ready made replacement. Lozano and Bailey for example.

Pretty sure they've denied approaching them. Could it be that they don't want to mess up future negotiations with them directly if its seen they've approached either player first?

Real Madrid have to negotiate with our board first. Apparently we're holding our ground with getting absolute top dollar for Courtois. I still think Real Madrid would prefer neymar or mbappe over him too.

The more I watch how Napoli played, the more I think Morata could work quite well in that Mertens striker role providing he's committed to staying at Chelsea and he improves his mental and physical strength which disappeared the longer the season went on last year. By all accounts he's looked sharp in pre season and you would expect and hope his mentality is to come back and prove himself after his world cup snub. He is still our most naturally talented and most well rounded striker at the club at present, and hopefully someone like Sarri who will hopefully put his arm around him and also set us up in a far more attacking way playing more to Morata's strengths will get the best out of him.

The club not spending any money anymore is a myth, we spent loads last season it was just on the wrong players and our budget was spread out too much across too many players. Not being bullied around anymore because we're seen as an easy money train though is the correct approach. We now refuse to overpay, which is completely different to being prepared to splash out as we've spent big money on Morata and Jorginho in back to back summers. And our work in the last couple of seasons getting big money for player sales has been excellent and should be commended. There's always room for improvement but I do feel the board get unnecessarily panned at times because some fans were spoilt with how we went about things 10 years ago, which resulted in us getting burnt quite a few times.

I wonder if Man City are still confident of getting him?

The one thing I have read which is a little bit of a worry is that he doesn't rotate his squad very often. Whilst I'd much prefer a settled side to constant tinkering, I do think a manager needs to have faith in a core group of about 18 players and use that group at key times to keep things fresh. The Premier League isn't just insanely intense and competitive every game, but with Europa League, domestic cup competitions, festive period, etc it's key that he understands the need at times to keep the squad fresh, especially if the team is playing high intense football. Hopefully he'll acknowledge the squad as a whole is stronger and deeper than he had at Napoli and can utilise it accordingly to his advantage.

Agreed, that is one thing that the board cannot be bashed about is that they've made a lot of efforts to appreciate and celebrate the legacy of the club before Roman was here. A number of the old boys that Bates fell out with have been welcomed back and bridges built, and a few of the players in the 90's sides have come back and played a role in the club such as Newton, Morris, Flo, Myers, Cudicini, etc. In fact I believe I read that Cudicini would be staying on after Conte which makes sense as he had no ties to him before Chelsea and could help the settling in of Sarri.

I've already mentioned it on a previous thread and perhaps it's false optimism but I get the feeling that the club will give more time, patience and resources to Sarri. It's always been mentioned throughout the media that Roman was desperate for Guardiola and wanted to play an exciting brand of football. The way that Sarri plays is very unique and I think that is intriguing to Roman that if it works, could set Chelsea apart from everyone else. The time and patience they've showed to secure Sarri and Roman getting involved personally to sort out the appointment suggests a big support for him. The club could have easily taken the simple and cheaper route and appointed someone like Blanc who still is a big name with pedigree. The signing of Jorginho for me also suggests the club are prepared to significantly back Sarri by bringing in main components to help his style. I can't remember the last time Chelsea decided to go head to head with one of our main rivals and make an effort to outbid them.

Anything from the club yet on Zola?

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Yeah and I can also understand the links with defenders too because that I think will be the hardest area to adapt to this new style, being more expansive and learning to play out from the back. The attackers should be very willing to buy into a style that is more attack minded and play to their own strengths, especially after this last season.

I think like any manager he is going to give his recommendations to the board, the difference being that he isn't expected to be as difficult as Conte was if he doesn't get the first choice players he wants. I do think the Jorginho signing is a big statement though and it would suggest the board are prepared to back him and understand that to change the mentality and philosophy of the current group of players so drastically will take a few new players in key areas to help smooth the transition.

Really stoked for Zola to come back where he belongs. He holds a particularly special place amongst my favourite Chelsea players simply because growing up watching that early - mid 90's team which was nothing more than average, to suddenly be watching someone as naturally skillful and talented as Zola was unbelievable. Gullit was a similar feeling too to be honest but he was in the twilight of his career whereas Zola was the gift that just kept on giving! I was at the 97 cup final and his flick for Eddie Newton's goal still is one of the most beautiful pieces of skill I've seen from a Chelsea player, particularly given the stage it was on. An absolute gentleman to round it all off too.

We need Mertens to put in a glowing reference for Sarri.

Pretty sure the manager would have asked for jorginho.

I worry about them far less, but there still is a potential pull there. To dismiss them as not a big club I think is wrong because they've managed to attract a lot of players to them and don't forget they're a team touted and expected to do well in Europe, whereas we're not even in the Champions League. I would be much more confident of keeping players from PSG than I would be from Barca or Madrid though.

Neymar seems the logical choice with regards to somebody that Real Madrid can throw their marketing behind, and I think Neymar has the mentality that he would thrive in replacing Ronaldo because it only enhances his own brand. The PSG move always felt like a placeholder for him to move to Madrid without it being directly from Barca. The next worry would be if PSG lost Neymar, would they move for Hazard or Kante, or even both?

Good to hear, given his age too he could be the man here for a long time (although we would have thought that with Courtois) And I believe you, even I'm far superior to Bravo!

What about his goalkeeping ability - handling, shot stopping, coming for crosses, command of the area, etc. Say in comparison to Courtois? I understand in Sarri's system that everybody needs to be comfortable on the ball and possibly even more so for the keeper and centre backs in order to be able to play the ball out from the back, but it's just as important to have the usual qualities of a solid goalkeeper. The last thing we need is the equivalent of Claudio Bravo.