Jype

"They have offered £35m, understood to be an initial £15m with £20m in add-ons" Oh fuck off, they're having a laugh.

This guy seems to be under the arrogant assumption that Chelsea should just negotiate any deal that is most suited for what Bayern want out of the transfer. Well here's a newsflash, the kid is under contract for another 18 months and Chelsea are holding most, if not all the cards. Sure the player has seemingly made it known he would welcome the move but there’s really not much he can do but keep his head down if the club tell him they're only open to negotiating any potential transfer in the summer and not mid-season. And if that's the case then Bayern’s only options are to either wait till the summer to come back with a new offer if they still want him, or even try to wait a little longer and snap him up on a free in 2020 when his contract expires. Latter might not really be a good option because he would almost certainly be frozen out from the first team next season if he made his intentions of running the contract down known to the club and that would mean a year’s worth of development wasted. Because let's face it why would any big club be open to keep developing a still unproven 18-year-old youngster if it was already known he would end up going to another club on a freebie and the new club would be the only ones to reap all the rewards? The way I see it, the possibilities are as follows: 1. Bayern pay overvalue this January, making it impossible for Chelsea to say now. I’m thinking like €50M or something, surely that’s too good to decline for an 18-year-old with that little experience no matter the potential. 2. The player stays and doesn’t sign a new contract. He will keep his head down and continue playing whatever games he can between now and the rest of the season, when situation will be re-examined. At that time he will either sign the new contract if he’s happy with the role he’s gotten or is sold, to Bayern or whoever else depending on how he’s performed during the rest of this season. In case of a sale, no matter how good or bad he’s played the price will definitely be lower than it would be now because a) the contract is then only 12 months and b ) getting a replacement in the summer is easier for Chelsea. Either way it's all about what Chelsea are willing to do and not about what/when Bayern want, which I'm sure must be a really tough spot for them having usually been dealing with Bundesliga clubs that just give into their bullying tactics without putting up any fight.

How the fuck is it "unfair" that a player is expected to continue representing the club where he is under contract with?

That's not how any of it works though. For example Pulisic doesn't have any "minimum amount of matches" clause from now till the end of the season, Dortmund are free to do whatever the hell they want with him till he actually joins Chelsea in the summer. And even that's with him already being under contract with Chelsea and merely on loan at Dortmund, but agreeing to a deal that gives Dortmund more freedom was the only way to make the deal happen. The arrogance of Bayern really is unrivaled, even the fans think everyone else will just bend over and accept whatever conditions the mighty Bayern wish to happen with a transfer.

"In professional team sports, tapping up is an attempt to persuade a player contracted to one team to transfer to another team, without the knowledge or permission of the player's current team. This kind of approach is often made through the player's agent. It is expressly forbidden in many professional leagues, but is not illegal." The definition clearly says negotiating is forbidden without the knowledge OR more importantly the permission of the player's club. Really laughable to even think that just having the courtesy of sending a fax letting the other club know you're gonna fuck them over makes it all okey. Informing the player's current club about the intent to negotiate with the player and their agent will not automatically give the right to continue further, it still needs the other club to give their consent to it and I'm pretty sure as fuck that especially in Lewandowski's case Dortmund did not agree to it in early 2013 when he was still contracted with the club for almost one and a half years. If you read the article I linked to you from May 2013, Dortmund executive Watzke clearly said they had not received any formal communication from Bayern up until that time but the player's agent was already happy to say he's most likely on his way to Bayern so surely it's proof that negotiations had already taken place. Bayern were actually hoping to sign Lewandowski already in 2013 for a cut-price deal with only a year left in the contract but Dortmund got pissed about the secret negotiations with Bayern & Lewa's agent and insisted on the player honoring his contract till the end, even if it meant losing him on a free. Comparing the cases of Kante and Lewandowski, really? Kante had a clear release clause in his Leicester contract, the value of which was decided when the player first joined the club in 2015. At the time of the transfer Leicester thought the £32M release clause represented good value for them because they were effectively signing a no-name player from a small French club and thus they were happy to agree to the clause. Of course in hindsight the value was remarkably undervalued and Chelsea got a proper bargain there but that's only because nobody expected Kante to be quite that good when Leicester first bought him. You can't honestly compare paying a release clause to securing the services of the best striker in the league on a free transfer having negotiated behind Dortmund's back for more than a year before contract expiration. I really don't see what's the big deal on just admitting it happened, all that denial is getting you nowhere. Chelsea have been guilty of that in the Peter Kenyon days too (Ashley Cole transfer a long long time ago), I don't have any problem admitting that shady things were done by the club executives there but you seem to live in this fairytale world where Bayern are the best thing to happen since the first coming of Jesus and can't do wrong.

Is this Bayern dude for real? Getting Lewandowski was all fair and square with absolutely no illegal tapping up and bullying done? It was really obvious to everyone and their grandma from about early 2013 that Lewandowski would be running down his contract and sign for Bayern when his deal expired in 2014, well over a year before actually moving so Dortmund had absolutely zero chance in convincing him to sign an extension when the player already knew the offer from Bayern. Sure there were still rumours of some other teams making desperate attempts to signing him but his mind had already been made up after meetings with Bayern while still under contract at Dortmund. Lewandowski even confirmed himself as early as November 2013 what everyone already knew that he would be leaving for Bayern at the end of the season. Don't the rules say that other clubs can only start negotiating when there's less than six months left in the contract, yet this one was already confirmed well before that but they only officially signed the contract when it was legal. Have a read here: https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/transfers/robert-lewandowskis-agent-confirms-the-forwards-transfer-to-bayern-munich-8633301.html Does this seem like all was done by the books? The date is from May 2013 so more than a year before contract expiration. Poaching Dortmund's star players Götze and Hummels is apparently all good too, just because Bayern sometimes sell their unwanted rejects like Rode to them as well. Bayern even had the audacity to threaten reporting Real Madrid, Chelsea and Manchester United on illegal approaches for Lewandowski last year after said clubs got interested when his agent made it public it could be a time for his client to move on. The hypocrisy of Bayern is almost unrivaled in world football.

Oh so after a few saves in pre-season Bulka is now starting quality at the age of 18?

Maybe, but buying Lazio's number one keeper this close to the season is a lot harder than buying PSG's second choice. PSG would survive with Buffon and Trapp as their keepers, but Lazio would have to get a replacement just like us in case Courtois is going. Been zero rumours of Strakosha moving anywhere so I don't think he's on the market.

Areola is a lot better than Cillessen tho.

Is this guy any better than Drinkwater or Bakayoko? I'm not so sure he is.

Hurry up and accept before they change their mind.

José Mourinho on Anthony Martial: “He has the baby and after the baby is born - beautiful baby, full of health, thank god - he should be here and he is not here” Jürgen Klopp on Nathaniel Clyne: “We have exchanged messages and I've seen a picture. A little Clyney! The baby will keep him busy for a few days and then he will start training again, all good. There are more important things in life than football and babies are definitely one of them.“ The difference in man management skills of these two managers is incredible, no wonder Liverpool players give everything they have to their manager whereas Mourinho constantly has fires to put out after falling out with someone again.

Yeah, agreed. Could still be well worth it, because Willian is not getting any younger and this summer is the last chance to really cash in on him. We're not going to win the league this year either way and have no CL football so there's really no better time to get a younger replacement with huge potential. Whether it be Pulisic, Bailey or Martial to replace him I don't really care but selling Willian is still the right move.

Taking the captaincy, signing that new contract and committing to spending the prime years of his career at the club could well end up making Hazard a club legend right up there with the likes of Drogba, Lampard, JT etc. At the moment he's not even close to that status tho. Even if the likelihood of winning trophies is bigger at Real Madrid, he'd still be just one of the regular guys there but at Chelsea he can be a real club icon. If the man has any affection to the club that should at the very least make him consider it.

http://www.sport-express.ru/football/rfpl/news/golovin-letit-v-monako-podrobnosti-transfera-1438791/ Says there he's going to Monaco, medicals and contract signing tomorrow. Not that surprised tbh.

Getting Areola would be fantastic at this point. And unless PSG have an option to extend his deal Areola only has a year left in his contract like Courtois. That would mean if Tibo, a way more proven world class keeper, goes for €35-40M then Areola should be €25-30M at most and even that's being generous. Only downside to Areola would be having to deal with Mino Raiola the cunt.

Well they're still much better in that regard than Chelsea are, and Golovin would have a lot less competition for a starting place there. Coming from the Russian league to any of the European top leagues is always a huge step up in level and many before Golovin have failed to adapt, so he might be inclined to take the "easier" step now and if everything goes well, then in a year or two move somewhere else. And like I said Monaco have a history of allowing their players to do just that without much resistance so it wouldn't exactly be a bad choice for the player. And either way be it through excellent scouting or developing from their own academy, they've still had young players like Mbappe, B. Silva, Martial, Lemar, Mendy, Fabinho, Bakayoko, Carrasco, Saint-Maximin, Kondogbia and Kurzawa in their ranks during last few years alone. Which other club can claim to have had a hand in developing so many good young players in recent years?

Maybe, but Monaco are still a good club with CL football to offer plus they have an undeniable record of developing young players and allowing the club to be used as a stepping stone to the elite teams. If I was in Golovin's shoes I'd give that a serious consideration. If he comes to Chelsea there's a much bigger risk of ending up on the bench and never making it big time.

£55M rejected according to Sky Sports. Either Marina is really expecting to get more from Barca or she's waiting to see if a part exchange including Martial would be possible with Man Utd. Or Willy's not for sale at any price, which I don't believe for a second.

Still he seems to be linked with Milan the most, so they see something they like in him. I think Morata could do well being back in Serie A again and still rate him enough to hope for a second chance at the club too, but if he's the one who must be gotten rid of in order to bring in a new keeper I'm all for it.

If anything it would probably make a move more likely, because with European football coming up I'm guessing they'll now up their chase of Morata and that can be used as leverage if Chelsea were to want Donnarumma from them.

Just quoting Simon Johnson of the Evening Standard, nothing new there.

Ideal scenario would be if Sarri were to convince Hazard to stay and sign that new contract with however much wages he asks for and maybe even containing a 'reasonable' release clause (in the €150M ballpark) for foreign clubs next summer. Kind of like Griezmann with Atletico last year, and as it turns out he ended up not even wanting to move when the time came. That way the club would get to enjoy Eden for at least another year without having to worry about losing him for peanuts next year, but it would be with a written guarantee that the club wouldn't stand in his way if he still wanted to go this time in 2019 as long as someone paid the clause. But IF he's sold this summer, the next couple of weeks are crucial. Bailey, Brandt, Lozano, Pulisic, Dembele would be where I'd look for a replacement and get one (or two) from that bunch, depending on who's available.

Please be true.

Yeah same here. Only reason I'd keep Cahill instead is if HQ requirements need to be met and there are problems with non-HG squad spots. Just did a check and after the signing of Jorginho the club have 17 non-HG players therefore no place left for new arrivals, though Courtois departing would free up one spot if he were replaced with Schmeichel (HG) or Donnarumma (U21). Either way, as things stand room will have to be made for all new signings by off-loading some of the current non-HG players. Bakayoko, Pedro and one of the strikers seem obvious ones to go at the moment, but we'll see.