Jase

Abramovich was not ‘directed’ to buy Chelsea FC by Putin, court hears

https://www.marca.com/futbol/villarreal/2021/07/28/61019d5946163f75898b462f.html According to Marca, Gerard Moreno has returned early from vacation to prepare for the upcoming Super Cup game. Only Pau Torres is missing for Villarreal now (he's at the Olympics)

https://www.marca.com/futbol/sevilla/2021/07/28/6100fef5ca4741c2708b45c8.html Marca claimed that Sevilla don't want to go below €70 million for Kounde, despite his €80 million release clause. Sevilla want at least the amount offered to be €50 million if a player is included. Zouma is an old desire of Monchi and Sevilla. It's not mentioned in the article but apparently Kounde also has a 20% sell-on clause on his contract when Sevilla bought him from Bordeaux.

Better than the home kit abomination.

Kounde reportedly already held talks with Tuchel.

Confirmed.

But it was against a Championship team in pre-season? Can we suddenly trust Drinkwater to not cause any off-the-pitch issues after all his recent problems? Can we trust him to be consistent all season long?

Jokes aside, if you have read my stuff, you would have seen that I had replied to that Jype post last night in normal fashion. No GIFs, just plain text. Also, I'm amused that you were/are annoyed with GIFs in replies. Yes, I am aware that the forum is a place where people debate their opinions but it's also the internet! Why be serious all the time?

Not saying whether he's worth the money or not. All I'm saying there's a difference between spending 70m and 150m+ on someone. Spending around 70m on a player has never been a problem for us but spending 150m+ on someone is a new territory for the club. If we could afford the 150m+ outright, one would imagine we would have put in a bid by now but if reports are to be believed, we haven't done that. So, you do wonder whether we actually need to sell the deadwoods to help fund the deal (our summer spending last year was funded by the sales of Hazard and Morata for example). As Jype mentioned, we haven't been able to sell the deadwoods yet and time seems to be running out to put in a bid for Haaland.

Yeah and I'm not saying that we can't do it but it's still a huge difference in the transfer fee. Spending around 70m for someone is never a problem for us but we've never spent more than 100m or even close to it on a player.

Are we arguing about Kepa's capability or the difference in transfer fee here?

Well, they have to give an answer if they're being asked about it, no? Today alone, you have the adviser said what he said and then their soon-to-be sporting director emphasized again that he's not for sale. So, go figure...

There is a big difference between spending 70m and 150m-200m (and that's just transfer fee alone).

"Dortmund aren't purely a selling club" 🤦‍♂️

Given he's spent that much and supposedly has his own team now, he should be challenging for the title and winning 1-2 cups at the very least. We've spent less than them during the same period and gotten to more finals and won a major trophy. But can't wait to see the excuses the "pundits" out there will make for Solskjaer next season...

You aren't wrong but we won't know until we see how the contract situations play out first. Silva will likely be gone next year but the other 3 could well stay.

Wait, are people really cursing Dortmund for not wanting/trying not to sell their best player? Dortmund aren't purely a selling club, are they? They still want to be competitive, even if they end up not winning anything most of the time. Plus, it's not like we've not been in a similar/the same position before. We got Hazard to stay for one more season few years ago even though we could have likely gotten more money and if the reports are to be believed, then god knows how many bids we turned down for Willian from Barcelona! Yeah but they also just sold Sancho, meaning they aren't exactly in a desperate situation, financially.

Make up your mind, Dortmund...

So one says Kounde earns twice more while the other says they earn around the same? Which is true? 🤣

BEHOLD!

Tuchel seems to suggest that Broja works better in a front two as opposed to being the lone striker... https://www.chelseafc.com/en/news/2021/07/28/tuchel-gives-verdict-on-bournemouth-win-and-prepares-to-make-dec

What's low for us may be high for Sevilla. How much has Kounde been earning there?

Still overkill, unless you're telling me that Tuchel is gonna rotate them endlessly. And Superblue has pointed out the names to fill in at CB. Plus, if we sign Rice, then he's also another option for the CB spot if we're really down on numbers.