Jase

For all the talk about wanting to sell Ziyech, is there even any rumor out there that says he wants to leave or the club are open to selling him? Heck, has he himself even said anything anywhere about wanting to leave? All I've seen so far is former Dutch players complaining about Tuchel using him in a wrong system and asking him to leave bla bla bla.

That could mean Messi will stay at Barcelona. However, it's hard to make sense of Barcelona. I know they are skint and it's Aguero but they have just signed another 30+ year old with no resale value and no doubt on a big wage onto an already ageing squad. Add that with the other rumored incomings of Wijnaldum, Depay? It just makes an absolute mess of a squad.

Inclined to agree but here's the question - it's a new season next season. Will Tuchel have a different outlook on things or will he roughly stick with his tried and trusted players for certain positions? Based on minutes played and how he wants us to play, it then seems Mount and Werner are certainties because those two have played the most minutes out of the attackers. If that were to continue next season, then it leaves only one spot. If you throw in a potential Lukaku there, then what happens to Havertz, to Pulisic? What happens IF everyone is in form? I know there will be rotation and all but he'll also have some first choice with certain players. You can only rotate for so long before it comes bite us in the arse. And that's without even mentioning Ziyech and CHO.

Well, both are facts...

Evra also trolled the Gallaghers.

The problem is a lot of our players would also want to start games. Havertz would want to start (Hazard was already starting every week at 21 when he joined us). Werner would want to start. Pulisic would want to start. Mount would want to start. Ziyech and CHO would also want to start. If Mount remains a certainty and someone like Lukaku becomes one, then there's only one spot left up for grabs. The quantity of numbers isn't necessarily the problem. It's the quantity of players that want to be playing week in week out. None of them would settle for being just a backup (would be interesting to hear Ziyech's and/or CHO's thoughts after the recent exclusions).

Stop trying to defend the English media! 🤣 Seriously fuck the English media!

But would Lukaku accept Tuchel's rotation style? All the rotation this season is fine but at some point, I feel like that's gonna come bite us back in the arse.

Here we go with CHO to Bayern again...

Forgotten about that but it could be cancelled.

This is not related to us but there are unhappy City players over the amount of game time this season - Jesus, Laporte, Sterling. Similar case with Cancelo, Rodri and Silva. Mahrez could also be moved on. This could be us if we're not careful...

Have we actually closed the gap on Liverpool? I mean the points gap is one thing but there is still no telling the difference or disparity in performance level over the course of the season between us and them because of the injury problems they had this season.

It's a much smaller game but there's also the Fulham game and all 3 games saw Werner and Havertz operate upfront together and they did well as a partnership. Werner had someone he can play off with - just like he did at Leipzig - while Havertz had someone who was constantly on the move to create space for him. Inclined to agree. I feel like we should get a striker especially with Giroud AND Abraham looking set to leave but I am just not sure if we really need a big name striker - like Lukaku - at this point. Over the past two seasons (including this season), City and Liverpool have shown winning the league is possible without having a striker, as so as long as the other attackers, midfielders etc contribute the goals, spread them out within the team. Maybe I'm being hopeful but feel like there is more to come from our attackers in terms of converting chances, that this season is not a true reflection of their finishing capability. If we get a big name striker like Lukaku, I feel like he will only get in the way of the others especially if Tuchel is gonna stick with the back 3, not just in terms scoring goals but also the development side of things. Would prefer to get a low key striker like Danny Ings (not necessarily suggesting him specifically but merely throwing an example in), someone that can fit into Tuchel's system (probably more so than Lukaku) and Tuchel's rotation (suspect he'll do the same next season with the packed schedule). Would someone like Lukaku be happy with constantly being rotated? Is someone like Lukaku also suitable for the way Tuchel wants to play, despite his goalscoring record? Will Lukaku's big ego fit in with the rest of the team (@Tomo would be having fits over this)? Tuchel has spoken a lot about the strong dynamic and bond between the players and he doesn't want to disrupt that.

TBF, when have our managers not have wanted odd signings? But my jaw nearly dropped when I saw Tuchel identifies Traore as a target in the article. Better off just keeping Moses for the RWB role instead of selling him away. Hope it's BS.

It was never gonna happen because (a) we are still in the pandemic, (b) no point in going on a tour when we won't have the full squad available as I'm sure those Chelsea fans in the US would also like to see the others and not just Pulisic and (c) it's a short turnaround between the Euros and the new season.

According to Matt Law, we'll have a training camp in Dublin for pre-season.

Because United are gutless? They are supposedly offering Solskjaer a new 3-year deal.

Summary: - Tuchel targeting a striker, midfielder and at least one defender, which includes a right-sided player to provide better balance - Adama Traore believed to be a target of Tuchel for the RWB role (Traore? WTF!?) - Either Traore or a similar player like Hofmann would also help provide cover in wide areas with Ziyech due to play at AFCON next year - Remains to be seen whether the club can negotiate a deal for Tuchel's top midfield target Rice. Tchouameni is a cheaper alternative but Tuchel will prioritize quality - Tuchel doesn't see the need for many additions. Said "Two or three could be very, very good". Also wants to focus on improving the current group of players and not steal opportunities away from them - Club expected to sell Tomori and willing to listen to offers of £40 million for Abraham

It depends. They jumped on Pochettino and Silva because they were relatively unknowns and have not achieved anything of note. Guardiola and Sarri got battered because they wanted to do things their way, things that are unconventional to how English football have seen over the years and let's not forget Guardiola had (still has) a strong CV after Barcelona and Bayern when he came to City. If Nagelsmann is appointed by one of those clubs, I doubt they would question him so much since he's widely regarded as the best young manager out there and the English press seem fascinated by him because on what I've seen.

The point is, they have their flaws as players, just like those players you mentioned previously and yet, they have been here for years.

Just because it was to be expected with the British press, it doesn't mean they are right to react the way they always do. It's tiring and at times, bordering on xenophobia. Off the top of my head, in recent years, I remember they caused a commotion when Southampton sacked Nigel Adkins and replaced him with Pochettino. Then there was Paul Merson and Phil Thompson ranting about Marco Silva on TV when he got the Hull job because he didn't know English football and came from Olympiakos. Guardiola got battered from all direction in his first season in English football because he wanted to do things his way but they then praised him once he got City firing in his second season. Sarri got hammered by the press for daring to play Kante as an attacking midfielder in his 4-3-3 but when Lampard did the same last season, barely anything was said. And of course, there's the nonsense OTT reaction with Tuchel when he first came but then changed their tune once the results started to pick up.

Operating in tight spaces is something I expect Werner to get better at. It's something that Nagelsmann worked on last season at Leipzig (see quote below) and I imagine Werner and Tuchel will aim to do the same. Nagelsmann: "Yeah, it’s part of the reason why we’ve started him a bit deeper, we don’t want him right on the last line, because he needs a bit of a head start, a bit of tempo, in order to really show his pace on the pitch. When he’s on the last line, he often finds himself static when he needs to get going, but with a bit of room in front of him, he can hit top speed. And from this deeper position, he’s much more involved in our build-up play and combinations. In the last few years all his moments have come in transition, whereas now he has his moments in combination play too. He’s having many more touches of the ball than in previous years, and this new position has done his development good, playing in between the lines against teams who sit deep. That’s another trait he’ll need if he wants to be one of the best in Europe. There are a lot of teams who sit deep and defend deep against you, and he needs that second way of being dangerous to opponents too, and he’s definitely developed that this year."

Kinda funny to see people praise Azpi now after abusing (not criticizing) him a lot previously.