Superblue

Ok that's interesting, could be some creative ways in which to help them do this whilst extracting a nice benefit ourselves. To be honest if we could get Bastoni or Skriniar from them in a Lukaku deal and Dembele on a free we'd be going some way to strengthening the squad before we'd even dropped a transfer fee on a player. The further our budgets can stretch this summer without the compromise in quality of the additions we're making, the better.

Very true, although I believe that was set up in a way to side-step FFP by having a huge transfer income in the year of sale, whilst amortising the purchase across the next few years. For Inter they actually need the cash to repay the loans they've been provided with.

The issue is they've said they'll sacrifice a player on the basis that they'll sell them for big money to help cover their financial situation so anything that involved a swap deal for Lukaku isn't going to benefit that. Agree he'll be a hard pull, he's been in Italy for a good few years now. But the Italians are similar to the English, very few like to venture away from their own league, country and culture. Unless Inter implied they were receptive to selling him, I just can't see Bastoni pushing to leave.

Not sure how easy it would be to sort and how the financials would stack up, but a swap loan deal for next season might make sense between Lukaku and Skriniar. I'd personally like Bastoni but I just don't see him being as willing to move as Skriniar I think would be. It fills a pressing need for us next season with, on paper, a very good defender whilst not having to use a huge chunk of any transfer budgets. It might just turn out to be an opportunity for a try before buy. If he proved to be an excellent signing, and looked like he was worth a £40-50m purchase, it may make things easier perhaps next summer to facilitate a swap transfer between the two players.

I'm a huge fan of Tuchel and I want him to be given genuine time and backing to rebuild the side and establish the team in his own image and philosophy. But he can't just be given complete control. There are so many aspects to not just scouting but the financial dealings of a transfer and its affordability. It takes a team effort to make this work. From reports that I have read in the past, whilst the manager at Chelsea is part of the discussions and transfer strategy, they don't necessarily get the final say over the club and there are also club transfers which are made over and above the manager. I believe Lukaku was in this bracket and I also feel that Havertz was also in this bracket when Lampard was manager. For me, Tuchel should have the voice and control to veto signings that he doesn't want or feels don't fit into what he is building. I actually doubt the report anyway. In today's day and age, managers rely on stats and data to help drive training, tactics, etc and scouting is no different. He may have some players he 'likes' but I would fully expect him to want scouting reports and data to be provided on a number of different options to help make recruitment decisions anyway.

For me, Lukaku has to quite literally put his money where his mouth is. If he is that desperate to facilitate a move back to Inter then he moves back there under wage terms acceptable to and agreeable with them and that is it. Absolutely no way should we be subsidising his wages in this deal, the sacrifice should be made by him. My understanding is also that the deal was done in instalments. Not quite sure what the terms of this are and the length of the instalments - there was talk when we got sanctioned that we still owed Inter around £70m. If this year's instalment was say £15-20m then the sensible deal is to negotiate foregoing that payment this year in exchange for loaning him back. It's important though we try and do what we can to prevent this from being an annual problem. Even if it's at a significant loss, we need to try and build some sort of obligation into the deal whether it's at the end of a year or 2 year loan, just to know we can essentially wipe our hands clean of him.

Fair play to him. I didn't actually think he was a terrible player and once he settled he looked a much more trusted option in midfield. He could easily have fallen apart and given up after the first couple of games but he kept on pushing and I remember he played excellent in one of the Spurs games. Having had a year to settle in England now, if he wasn't on such a ridiculous wage at Atletico, he'd be an ideal player for one of the teams a level below to pick up.

Completely understand that risk too. The situation is different however due to our own personnel. Last summer would have made sense to bring Tchouameni in and give him the season to acclimatise as if he struggled we still had Jorginho, Kante and Kovacic. Our defensive options are much thinner and inexperienced beyond Silva. We're relying on a near 38 year old to anchor everything next season and hope his body holds up again. If Silva got injured or started showing serious signs of decline, I'd feel more comfortable with another player in there that can lead that defensive line. It would be unfair on Gvardiol or Kounde to do this if we did bring both in.

I still think for the right price Koulibaly could be a really smart buy this summer if we could add him to the squad. Anything around £20-25m I think has to be considered. He'd provide a lot of experience in a critical position at a time when we could lose quite a bit and I think could rotate between LCB and CCB if we retain the back 3. He could be the perfect player to transition away from Silva and then next year perhaps then we could move for Gvardiol or someone similar to add to the squad then. I think if we added Kounde and Gvardiol this summer, potentially to Colwill and Chalobah it leaves us very young across that backline as Silva can't play every game.

I don't see it being a slow or inactive window, but I am prepared to accept that we are unlikely to get everything done we want to this summer and it's like going to take this and next summer's window to get the squad where we want it to be. Kounde and Dembele would make a good start, and I could possibly see another three beyond that. I think the club will want to see who can be moved on before they crack on with too much activity, and I also think Tuchel will want to see the likes of Broja, Gallagher, Colwill before making decisions on their futures for this coming season, which depending on what happens there may mean one or two come in a little later in the window. I do hope the core of the work is done however by the start of pre season, it'll be important in particular for Tuchel to work on what will essentially be a new defence over the pre season in America.

A couple of links this morning with Gabriel Jesus, although they seem to be emanating from Spain.

I'm not too concerned with the stat. The idea that we're giving a manager credit for throwing a player into a dead rubber game proved pretty meaningless over the years because those players that did get that rub never really amounted to anything. I actually think they were better served being played in the Carabao Cup game in December by Tuchel and he will have seen more from that than an end of season game. I've read that Tuchel has planned to integrate Harvey Vale and give him some minutes a couple of occasions this season and he's ended up falling ill or getting injured. Ultimately though unless an exceptional talent, a teenager seeing minutes in a Chelsea shirt or any of the top clubs is usually nothing more than a taster. Most of these players will go on to loan spells, etc and develop and gain experience before being in position to actually be a useful, reliable option for the manager. Broja is 21 in September and Gallagher is 23 later into next season. They are a bit more seasoned now. There's been talk too that Tuchel wants to look at the likes of Nathan Baxter and Dujon Sterling too in pre season. Again, both comfortably now into their 20's with some good experiences out on loan. I'm more interested to see what Tuchel does with players like these and whether he feels he can integrate them into his squad next season, as opposed to whether he gives 15 minutes here or there to a teenager. I've said it on multiple occasions, the academy is not going to produce a conveyor belt of players like Reece James and Mason Mount. But what should be produced is players good enough to fill a role in our squad, and then others who aren't quite good enough and/or don't fit in but can command a reasonable transfer fee. In both instances this allows us to concentrate and afford better quality players for our first XI - XV in our squad.

Personally I'd take a chance on Bissouma if he didn't have the sexual assault charges ongoing. He's a dominant, physical presence in there that is also very comfortable on the ball and has proven to be an important cog in a possession heavy side already. I think he'd be capable of making the step up and wouldn't cost the earth. Besides him though I don't see anyone standing out at the moment as an obvious and realistic option and the worry is reaching for someone because we've done enough of that in the past and we've been burned badly as a result. I agree with you the midfield does need to be addressed amongst other positions, but we're no longer in a position like we were under Roman to write off poor transfer decisions. Unless the club have someone scouted under the radar for this summer, I'm reluctant to see us spend huge money on someone who clearly isn't one of our top targets for that position.

I'd like to see us address the midfield this summer but when you have to start questioning who really is out there who can come in and be almost a guaranteed improvement on what we currently have, there has to be concern. There are a number of positions we need to improve in not just this summer but likely a project over the next 2 or 3 years. What we cannot afford to do is fall into the same trap as last year where we went and spent a fortune on Lukaku who wasn't the elite player we wanted for that position but was the best available player for that position at that time. The sanctions not withstanding, had we not bought Lukaku last summer we may have had a really good chance at Haaland this summer having done some leg work into the transfer last summer. If our first choices are available for defenders, wing backs, attackers this summer then that's what needs to be concentrated on and midfield will need to be addressed in a later window when maybe we have a chance of buying someone like Rice or Bellingham who would be top tier targets on our radar. We have to start being smarter with our transfer activity. When Liverpool couldn't get Van Dijk they waited for him. When City couldn't get Kane last summer they didn't panic buy and now have Haaland. The last thing we should be doing is buying for the sake of buying.

Ah, I don't think it would cause a situation whereby they wouldn't deal with us. You just asked why Bayern hate us, and I offered a couple of reasons why they might. I think if a potential transfer between the two teams were to arise, I don't think the relationship between the two sides would hold anything back.

I think the issue is keeping him fit. His attitude can be debated but ultimately he's had some horrific injuries at Barca but during his time at Dortmund and in the patches at Barca where he's stayed fit to get a proper run of games under his belt he's looked good, and there is an enormous amount of natural talent there. I think he's a risk but one that could become an enormous snip if it works out. We're talking about a player who has just turned 25 last month and cost over £100m just a few years ago. Yes he's going to be commanding some big wages but being able to sign a player of that calibre and at that age on a free transfer in my opinion is a risk worth taking, especially when the best time of his career was with the manager we have in charge right now who still speaks highly of him as one of the very best players he's ever coached. One of the big things I think he could bring is he has the potential to be a crowd lifter which we haven't really had since Hazard. Someone who has the natural ability and confidence to take a player or two on with a bit of skill that immediately lifts the crowd. Tuchel said himself a couple of months ago, the atmosphere between the team and the supporters is a two way thing where one needs the other, but at times one is also waiting for the other to provide a lift. I think in the latter part of the season, especially at home, it was clear to see how flat both the team and the support was at times and it became a huge struggle for both. I think Dembele is one of those type of players that can lift the atmosphere around a game by creating something out of seemingly nothing.

The Bayern directors never liked Abramovich and the way in which he came into football prepared to pump millions into Chelsea. The club as a whole will also never forget or forgive losing the Champions League trophy in their own backyard.

If the second point happened why would you want to see that. I think that's certainly the concern for any Chelsea fan, that in the last few years Liverpool have got very few transfers wrong (of all the big money signings they've made I'd probably argue Keita is the only real disappointment and poor buy they've made). They probably see the same thing that most Chelsea fans see in Pulisic - the potential underneath, it's just incredibly frustrating that he doesn't produce consistently. I wouldn't be selling Liverpool anyone at present.

With the way contracts are going, it is urgent. It needs sorting this summer. You don't want this going into next season because the longer the delays, the greater the opportunities that present him. We shouldn't take it for granted the likes of Mount and James will just be loyal to the core to Chelsea due to their academy roots - they will need to be compensated with wages fitting important players within the club. I don't think the 2023 crop of contracts expiring are too much of a worry. Jorginho and Kante at present I'm not sure what will happen with them but I wouldn't be hugely disappointed if next summer one of them left at the end of their contract as we've had the peak of both players. Thiago Silva I think will happily sign another year later in the season if he's still performing at the highest level. But the 2024 contracts need consideration this summer - Mount, Pulisic, Kovacic and Hudson Odoi in my opinion all need extending this summer to retain their market values. If any weren't willing to extend, we will need to start considering their positions at the club. Loftus Cheek is probably the only one at present that we can hold off on as he is paid a huge amount and still needs to justify any sort of extension.

If we were to sell Pulisic, I'd move him abroad for less money. Unless Liverpool were to make a stupidly large offer, which they won't. The longer it goes on, the worry is his form post lockdown was nothing more than a purple patch, but he's still young and that form is more impressive than the likes of Werner and Ziyech have produced in a Chelsea shirt. I've changed my mind a few times about this in recent months which is probably more of an indictment on how poorly inconsistent our attacking players have been, but I'd rather we looked at moving Werner and Ziyech on before Pulisic.

It is possible. There does seem to be a few players we've signed during his tenure that feel more like his signing as opposed to a club signing. It is one of the reasons why I'm so intrigued and to an extent, excited to see what the new ownership of the club does over the next couple of years. It's easy to draw an impression that things will be worse for us because the new ownership will want to see a return on the investment they've made but on the flip side we could benefit hugely from a situation where it's imperative transfers have to be well thought out and made to work because we can't just write off multi million pound mistakes in the market. We're not suddenly going to be Burnley, the new ownership are buying us at a premium rate and need success to continue on the pitch to grow the brand and overall value of the club. Money will be spent, it's just become that much more important that the money is spent in the right way now.

I'd go a step further than that and say laziest. All the journalists, pundits, etc would say the same thing that if Chelsea bought a goal scorer they'd be a different animal and Lukaku was the missing piece of the jigsaw, etc completely ignoring how parts of Tuchel's system that was working and causing teams problems and how bringing in a player with a completely different skill set would potentially disrupt the overall dynamics of that system. It almost felt like the club were listening to all of this and just felt that buying the best possible goal scorer they could find at that time would simply work.

It's difficult to compare era's, and even more so when the sort of money is involved nowadays with transfers, wages, revenue, etc. But I still struggle to look beyond the signings of Robert Fleck, Paul Furlong and Chris Sutton before considering where this Lukaku transfer falls under worst ever signings in my lifetime. Robert Fleck and Paul Furlong were both club record signings at a time when Chelsea were still establishing themselves as a top division club again and both transfers absolutely bombed. To consider in both cases we'd go from these two to the likes of Mark Hughes, Vialli and Zola over the next couple of years is pretty incredible. Sutton was an absolute disaster too just at a time when we needed one or two additions to come in and keep the momentum going for another push at the title. It's always a matter of if's and but's in football, but getting Hasselbaink a year earlier than we did instead of Sutton might have been the impetus we needed at the time for one last hurrah with an ageing side but an experienced one that had come so close the year before. Lukaku has no doubt been a disaster but at the very least there is a pedigree about him as a goal scorer at the highest level. We shouldn't have been naive to sign him after his United stint but his overall CV is more than reasonable and I'd argue at the very least from that above graphic justifies his price tag a lot more than Grealish and Maguire at the very least.

Goldstein and Cundy together in the evenings, especially after big games are pretty good but you have to accept it as pure entertainment rather than anything particularly informative for footballing purposes. That's probably wearing my Chelsea hat too because Cundy is one of the few real pro Chelsea pundits around and so a lot of the banter and wind ups that he throws around are quite amusing from a Chelsea perspective. I could definitely see how a lot of opposition fans would hate him though. Jordan is definitely the stand out though. Too many people will sit on the fence and try to appease the masses when it comes to radio and TV, but he has an opinion on anything and everything and his arguments and views are always well thought and articulated in an impressive way. And there has been times when he hasn't spoken highly of Chelsea, but I can accept it when the opinion and reasoning are explained well even if I might not agree with it. One thing of note, he always spoke well when it was put to him regarding the Chelsea takeover. Jim White would regularly regurgitate the usual rubbish from Sky or the papers about the takeover being on the brink of collapse or what would happen to Chelsea if a deal doesn't get sorted and he would regularly shoot these notions down and also question why the Government couldn't put simple things in place like allow Chelsea to sell out home games during the sanctioning period. I respect his opinion highly.