Superblue

In fairness to Talksport it is less scouse than Sky and BT so that is going for them. I still think it's hit and miss a lot of the time and I couldn't sit there listening to it all day but that simply is to do with the people they have on and whether they're 'my cup of tea', similar to what you said regarding Alan Brazil. As an example, I've got no time listening to Gabby Agbonlahor who I'd dump in the Paul Merson category of footballing understanding, whereas despite his Arsenal and Spurs connections I think Darren Bent is blossoming into a very good radio presenter and pundit on the station and at least is very knowledgeable it seems when it comes to football. Jim White is abysmal, but I think Simon Jordan on his show is overall excellent, albeit he gives the impression he likes the sound of his own voice, but at least he gives an opinion which is largely validated by his experiences in both the footballing and business world. He does hate Sky too and will always relish an opportunity to berate them in front of White which is enjoyable.

Haven't we operated like this for the last few years anyway? Usually an attempt is made to either move players on or at least broker a deal for a player to be sold before we press ahead with a signing and set the chain off?

They also fell out with Tuchel who, for me, is probably the most personable and likeable manager we've had in the Roman era alongside Ancelotti. I think in this situation the big thing is how highly Tuchel thinks of him and what he got out of him in their time together. I know the wages will be high but the risk is mitigated somewhat by a free transfer and when fit, there's no question in my mind he's a game changer, the likes we haven't had since Hazard.

Dembele is a serious talent, the risk is getting him out on the pitch. Tuchel has already worked with him before and got the best football out of him so I'm not concerned regarding managing him. His injury history is the real concern. But in a similar way to Robben back in the day would you rather have half a season of Robben or a full season of SWP?

Surely those conversion rates aren't as high as that. I thought I saw somewhere that Salah was relatively comparable, around 17-18%.

I'm in Turkey and I know the kits are fake but the Chelsea one they have here for next season looks vile with that collar. They can mess around with stripes, colours, etc on the away or third kit but the home kit should always be just royal blue and at most maybe changing the trim, Nike colour logo, etc each season between gold, white and black if they feel the need to differentiate each season.

Bearing in mind the first half of last season Lampard moved him around multiple positions and towards the end of his tenure havertz barely looked a pub player, I would say he looks significantly better than that yes. He's far from the finished article and does need consistency because he dropped levels towards the end of the season (although a number of players did). But he also missed large chunks of last season either as backup to lukaku or through injury/illness. I believe next season if he's first choice in the 9 role he'll get 12-15 goals which I think is a good return so long as others also contribute.

It may well be a different philosophy to squad building. Pep and klopp both came in and immediately focused on their teams attacking play. It left both very susceptible defensively for a while (took pep a full season and a number of keeper and defensive additions and klopp struggled for first couple of years before bringing van dijk then Alisson in). Tuchel's first steps were creating a solid defensive base and I'd say that was fully vindicated with the champions league win which we looked nowhere near capable of under Lampard. Maybe Tuchel needs the same opportunities afforded to pep and klopp where he's given time and resources to adjust and improve the attacking elements to our game. City and Liverpool looked pretty ordinary with a number of the players klopp and pep inherited.

I think it's easy to forget how young Havertz is and that he will continue to develop. He has looked significantly better this season than last which is the first good sign and I think that has a lot to do with (1) becoming more accustomed to the league and (2) Tuchel having a clearer idea of how to use him than Lamps did. His goal record in Germany suggests he will be a good source of goals throughout his career and some of his goals here have shown the technique and class that I think the likes of Werner and Pulisic struggle to show. In the current system the striker role is his best. Maybe in a back 4 formation he could operate deeper as an 8 or 10 but that would depend on Tuchels overall plans. I think if havertz played as first choice through the season up front he'd be capable of 12-15 goals. If Mount can get something similar which he's roughly at already and we can find another player that offers the same we won't be far off. City have shown in recent times you don't need 1 player bagging 20+ but are better positioned with 3 or 4 getting 10-15.

He'll have a say with regards to the overriding budget but make no mistake he'll be leaning on Tuchel to back him. If Tuchel turns round and says he'd rather one £80m player and he'll use an academy or loan return compared to 2 x £40m players, I believe that is what Boehly will do. If Kounde ends up being the most expensive player of the summer so be it, we've proven over the years more expensive doesn't necessarily mean better suited

You do know Boehly won't be choosing the players we sign.

If it was a 2 year commitment whereby say they pay us £15-20m each year as a rental and we don't have to cover any of his wages (if he takes a pay cut with inter to make it happen that's up to him so long as we're subsidising nothing). That I guess isn't horrific as it would cover most if not all of the amortisation costs for him for FFP and get his wages off the payroll for next 2 years. At end of the loan he'd have just turned 31 and hopefully if he's performed well for inter he'll still carry some value to maybe sell somewhere for £20-30m and get rid that way.

The problem with a loan for Lukaku as mentioned is we all know how Italian teams operate and with no obligation they rarely follow through which will leave him being a problem to deal with again next year. For me it needs to be either an obligation after the loan or a sale now, even if that sale was half the price of a year ago. There has to be clarity in a potential departure with him.

He is a Chelsea fan, I've heard him before in an interview saying how he would have loved playing for Chelsea but they had a little Italian magician in his preferred position. He's stated it numerous times and talked about celebrating when winning the champions league in 2012. There will always be an arsenal connection and affinity to them too as a result of his career. He's not the first player with connections to multiple clubs. Unfortunately his support for Chelsea doesn't protect him from being pretty clueless in his views on football.

He's reportedly filed a lawsuit against the EU for the sanctions placed on him.

I read somewhere Spurs are paying him 175k a week, pretty big commitment from them as they don't like paying big wages.

Could be completely wrong but I'm pretty sure they were well above the salary caps, etc and are only being covered by the fact they're trying to make significant efforts to fall back within these.

The biggest gripe I have is the limiting effect the sanctions have had on the club during this period and how much of a blind eye the government have taken to this both from a sporting integrity perspective and the effect the situation has had on a number of employees and stakeholders who rely on the club for their living. How hard could it really have been to have an independent regulator working alongside the club to verify where money is coming in and going out to ensure it doesn't "fund the war" but carries on allowing the club to continue as normal as possible with full stadiums, megastore and hotel being open and available, etc. No one would have batted an eyelid if we were given the ability to continue as normal in that way. In my opinion it's been a thoroughly embarrassing episode from the government which won't get the real attention it's deserved because we're not media darlings and in general a disliked club around England through jealousy.

There's a few rumours Barca may struggle to complete the Kessie and Christensen transfers due to their financial situation. I assume its a case of them needing to weed a number of players out and off the books. If there is credibility to this though, azpi and alonso deals would be dead.

If Bayern lose Lewa and they back Nagelsmann there's a chance they might look at buying Werner but realistically beyond that I think the market is limited for him. With that in mind I wonder whether the club could explore the feasibility of him going back to Leipzig in some sort of deal for N'kunku (I don't know, say £30m and Werner as a negotiating point). Don't know if Werner would be receptive to that move but besides Bayern they are probably next alongside Dortmund in the pecking order in Germany and established now regularly in Europe. Wages may become an issue but ultimately for some of these players with a world cup on the horizon they may need to decide what's best for their career as opposed to their wallet and in the example of Werner he may have to weigh that up as he's not realistically going to earn the same amount that he does here but he'll also likely remain on the fringes here.

Like you said Labour would have done the same I believe regarding sanctions. For me the sanctions aren't the biggest issue (although the reasoning behind them is so wishy washy), it's (1) the way they were imposed which has felt an almost direct attack on the club and the fans and (2) the thinly veiled threats, through media outlets and in some cases direct quotes, regarding the future existence of the club. If they're expecting gratitude from Chelsea fans I think they'll be waiting longer than a Spurs trophy.

Out of curiosity what was Rio's list, I struggle to watch anything relating to him because he gives me a headache like most of the BT and Sky Sports pundits

Personally I think Tuchel will be quietly excited. He might not be able to change everything this summer but he'll be given the chance to make a number of changes in his own image. If we're all honest Rudiger aside, I dont think any of the other players being linked with moves away we fans are looking at in genuine horror. For some it's been coming and year after year they seem to stay here. I dont expect miracles next season but so long as Tuchel can keep us in the top 4 and challenging/winning in the cups whilst transitioning to a new squad, I'm excited to finally see a manager get a bit more influence on the squad makeup and management moving forward.

Reports in France suggest us and Atletico Madrid are interested in Jonathan Clauss. Around €6-7m, Tuchel apparently a fan from his time in France.

Reports suggest this could be as high as 20m.