BlueLion.

There's a possibility. I can see us selling to Atleti for considerably less than we might to Barcelona or Real, for instance.

£25m is quite cheap... for a goalkeeper of his calibre and potential.

Damn Steve, you've grown since I last saw you man!

Correct, B - as you say, he is by some distance, on a statistical level, the best GK in the history of the Premier League.

That sounds like you need to install a pop-up blocker. It isn't something I've had to contend with.

I can do the second part. GTFO noob.

HAHAHA, you think you're my supervisor Steve? Don't make me laugh! I answer to one man and one man only, and his name is Stingray!

SL Benfica have confirmed to the Portuguese stock exchange that they have accepted a €25 million bid from Chelsea for midfielder Nemanja Matic. The Serbian midfielder, who left Stamford Bridge in 2011 to join the Lisbon-based club, is currently undergoing a medical in London - but his former club have wasted no time in releasing an official press statement confirming his sale. At €25 million (£20.7 million), Matic represents the sort of Hollywood acquisition of José Mourinho's first reign as Chelsea boss, but with financial fairplay regulations to meet, the move will no doubt be partly-funded by Kevin de Bruyne's impending transfer to Wolfsburg for £16 million. The transfer was formally announced shortly after 5pm British time on the official Chelsea website. Matic has signed a five-year deal, and will wear the number 21 jersey that has been vacated by the on-loan Marko Marin. José Mourinho had this to say: 'I am very pleased that Nemanja is returning to Chelsea. He has grown as a player in Portugal and has become a fantastic all-round midfielder. I am sure he will become a very important member of the squad and help us to achieve our ambitions'. Matic - a full Serbian international - is likely to go straight into the squad that faces Manchester United on Sunday. Click here to view the article

Foreseeable is a subjective term, though, isn't it? For me it infers the next month or so, I think it only means a greater distance of time for those people who live in the future rather than the present (blimey, getting very philosophical for a Wednesday...). But enough of the semantics - either way, Essien isn't cutting the mustard, Frank can't play every week and besides he's out for the next few weeks, Mikel is gloriously inconsistent and obviously MVG is a good month or two away from a comeback. Which is why addressing this issue is prudent investment by the club, rather than a luxury signing.

Chelsea's attempts to re-sign Serbian midfielder Nemanja Matic look set to reach a conclusion after it was revealed the Benfica man is currently undergoing a medical at the club. The BBC broke the news this morning after pictures were spread over several social media outlets of the midfielder at Heathrow Airport in the early hours of Wednesday (January 15). Matic played just three times for the Blues in a frustrating first spell at the club, with then-boss Carlo Ancelotti preferring the experience of Michael Ballack and Deco as alternative midfield options to first-choice trio Frank Lampard, Florent Malouda and John Mikel Obi. He was then included in the deal to bring David Luiz to Chelsea from the Lisbon club in January 2011. However it appears José Mourinho has identified the Serb as the man to solve his current defensive midfield issue - with the ageing Michael Essien suffering for form and fitness respectively, and both Marco van Ginkel and Lampard out for the foreseeable future through injury, Matic will help ease any worries the Blues boss may have. TalkChelsea will keep you up to date, bringing you the news as we get it. Click here to view the article

First one I found! Come on Vedran you little bitch, I want a reaction

The medical could have been done in Lisbon or Zurich any time over the last 72 hours, in fairness.

READ IT AND WEEP!

Banned

Doesn't count as it wasn't a clean sheet, but well recalled nonetheless. Spot on, great shout. So that's 2 out of the 3 we've got sorted.

I'm trying to recall the 3 games that CFC have awarded him the clean sheet, but the EPL hasn't. Obviously one is that game at Reading when he went off - CFC award the CS to the starting GK, and then share it with subsequent GKs (meaning John Terry technically has a CS as a GK). and 3. are clearly games where Petr has either been sent off (happened only once, vs Wigan when we lost 3-1) or substituted due to another injury. I can't think of any instances...

You have to consider the fact that his last 40-50 appearances were mostly in cup competitions against lower league opposition, however.

If there is a sale, Benfica HAVE to post the transaction on the Lisbon stock exchange first - it's a legal requirement. So the first acknowledgement of a potential deal will be posted there.

http://www.chelseafc.com/news-article/article/3616192/title/cech-the-clean-sheet-king It's 150 according to the Premier League, who require a keeper to play 70 minutes to claim a clean sheet - which would mean he actually only has 206 clean sheets, which, as we all know, is incorrect. Chelsea have it down as 153 in the league. 153 EPL - 13 FA Cup - 37 UCL/UEL- 6 COC

Well, no. Because Matic was pretty darn average whenever he played for us. He barely got a look in while Josh and Kakuta played a fair amount instead. Shows how much Carlo rated him that he sent him off on loan after we'd just got rid of three CMs in Cole, Ballack and Deco in the summer of 2010.

He will sign, seems inevitable now!

Nemanja Matic looks set to become Chelsea's first signing of the January transfer window - potentially rejoining the club he left in 2011. The Serbian midfielder had a frustrating first spell in West London, making just three substitute appearances under Carlo Ancelotti - before he was shipped off as a make-weight in the Blues' eventual capture of David Luiz three years ago. But it is believed that Blues boss José Mourinho is a fan of Matic, and wants to add the Serb to his collection of central midfielders, with the Serb's representatives supposedly flying into London to finalise a deal. Indeed, Portuguese newspaper O Jogo this morning said a deal was close to being announced. Matic arrived in London in 2009 for a fee of around £1.5 million from Kosice, but after failing to make a case for himself in the club's Double-winning season, he was farmed off on loan to Dutch side Vitesse, where he impressed on a 12-month loan deal. Matic featured against the Blues in both legs of the 2011/12 UEFA Champions League quarter-final clash between the two sides, and again in Amsterdam in 2013 as the Portuguese club were beaten by a Branislav Ivanovic header in the Europa League final. With Michael Essien struggling for form and fitness and Frank Lampard out for the foreseeable future, Matic's impending arrival will help shore up an area where the Blues have been decidedly short in recent times - with Luiz, ironically, the man being required to feature there as a stop-gap option. Though Serbia failed to qualify for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, Matic featured in several of his nation's qualifiers, despite a public spat with coach Siniša Mihajlović, who later left his role due to Serbia's aforesaid failure to qualify. Despite not quite being able to secure a berth at international level, Matic has established himself under Jorge Jesus at Benfica, making close to 100 appearances during his spell. In three seasons in the Portuguese capital, the Serb has developed into one of European football's foremost talents in a defensive-midfield capacity, whilst his eye for a spectacular goal or two - including this spectacular effort against FC Porto last season: The deal is expected to be announced very soon - and you can follow the very latest in Matic's transfer discussion thread. Click here to view the article