Magic Lamps

It’s crazy how we will temporarily been left with just 2cms - arguably our best and worst in Enzo and Conor. RLC is another sad case of someone who had all the talent but was held back by his laid back mentality and underdeveloped passing skills - fatal for a midfielder. But it is testament to his outstanding overall technical and physical ability that he played every outfield position for us without looking out of place. Conor is the polar opposite. 0 skill but great energy and mindset. Always gives his all even when everyone around doesn’t care. This has earned him his place probably. Can see him being kinda useful as a squad player if he bulks up could be a bit of a DePaul for us.

Surely in isolation the departures of Kovacic, Mount, Kante and Havertz as well as Jorgi before look reasonable . but all at once in this short time frame is worrying for several reasons. Disappointing and washed up or not, they were the ones our younger players looked up to. They were mainstays of our teams last few seasons. Their departure will change squad dynamic fundamentally. Remains to be seen if for the better or worse . they clearly want to leave bc the club is in disarray. We have not managed to bind them to this club on an emotional and contractual level. Maybe the Chelsea family spirit of old is gone under the new management. But we also failed to renew when times were better to at least extract more money. Maybe they were not world beaters yet or anymore, they would still have been useful under Poch. the players we are replacing them with are young and unproven players. Higher ceiling or not, it is unlikely they will be better than their predecessors from the start. So yeah, top 4 will be an uphill struggle

From the videos he looks like he has the same crazy pace as Broja and Fofana but better at carrying the ball and playing the crucial pass. Proof is in the pudding. But I for one am excited about this signing.

Koulibaly I was always concerned about his age and fitness. You could see the ability was still there but he just was not able to play his athleticism-reliant game in PL which made him an absolute downgrade compared to Rüdiger who despite only 2 years younger is still in his prime. Cucu was almost on a level with Lukaku, which I detailed in his thread before. Pulisic, Ziyech and even Drinkwater I would say those were just gambles that did not pay off. Drinkwater would have been ok as squad player had he been able to just maintain his Leicester form. We just gave wages too high to shift him as his fitness went downhill. Ziyech was always a 50:50. If he were better at dribbling he might have compensated for his lack of pace like Mata did but he was just too one-dimensional. Pulisic always had the talent but was just made of glass. Don't think he would have ever become the world beater the US wanted him to be but without the injuries he surely would have at least reached consistent international class. On a side note, happy for Kepa to tie the knot. Apparently his self-confidence is very reliant on his private life, so hopefully this makes him come back stronger next season. Granted, his arms wont grow any longer but if he just cuts the stupid errors he should not the main obstacle to top 4 if he just maintains the level of last season.

That’s a good comparison. Mereiles was useful tho. That’s why 60m is a fair price for a useful English midfielder. Moreorles cost around 10m for Liverpool from Porto, then again for us and for Fener. Each time with 2 years left on the contract. Shows you how inflated prices and English tax have become

Not quite right. Müller is back up to Musiala but listed as SS on tm. That's why I think no.10 is out of the question. Then there is AMF talent Paul Wanner who will get more of a role next season. Then your forgot Laimer who is coming on a free. Not sure they are selling Gravenberch either. they usually play with a double pivot. So goretzka, kimmich and Laimer will be sharing the minutes there.

It’s unlikely Bayern are moving for mount there is absolutely no place for him to play there. He is not gonna be their no 10 before musiala, cm they are packed, and wings he is meh.

Vlahovic bc more complete. Lautaro is a flat track bully but when the stakes are stakes are high he is absolutely useless and looks he forgot how to play football. But ideally just save the money. Trust the process with Nkunku and Jackson i think something like Caicedo————-Enzo madueke———-Nkunku———Sterling/mud ————————-Jackson ——— would be worth a try

Not necessarily. They won in spite of letting Cancelo leave on loan but mayb would have been easier with him - who knows afterwards.

Veiga is not more than a rumour at this point tho? If we really want to play him as a striker not as a SS or LA, we will be struggling to break down defences again. Also Veiga is not really that good, far inferior to Havertz. If we really want to play with a no.10 behind Nkunku, selling Mount and Havertz and replacing them with an unproven kid with average looking potential is an extremely stupid idea

worried about that too. Apart from Thiago there is not a single experienced leader in the starting XI anymore. And one leader is not enough usually. Opportunity for Enzo to step up. I would like Chilly and RJ to do so but they do not strike me as that type at all. If everything in this window goes according to plan. We will only have these player over the age of 23: Bettinelli Kepa Silva Chilly Sterling srsly that must be the youngest squad in the PL.

150m to leave 😂 What an absolute parasite that chap is. Luckily we stay away from these mega greedy big ego superstars. Don’t think it makes a difference atm anyway.

No idea what Dortmund see in Gallagher. He is miles off the technical level of Bellingham. Also while they can afford him, we rejected 40m for him so hardly are gonna accept less. Don’t see it happening.

good analysis of his game. Major point is that Nkunku is not really a winger, more an inside forward. He is most effective inside the box, not at progressing the ball. I agree but I think it is more of a mindest issue. Nkunku is accomplished in every aspect of attacking bar heading. I think it is more of a question of set up. Whoever replaces kovacic should be good at progressing the ball from midfield to attack. In the last we had attackers like CHO, Mount, Pulisic who are good at progressing the ball but poor at doing sth with it in the box.

I don’t think the deal is jeopardy. The board is adamant on structuring deals such that they fit the ffp amortization schedule better. So even small deals will be paid in installments .

60+5 could be okish. Marina would have squeezed a few more but whatever. Don’t really see what Arsenal even need him for? To score fewer goals? They scored a decent 88 last season with some injuries to their best attackers . Martinelli, Shaka, trossard, Jesus, odegaard and maybe even smith Rowe are far better finishers. You would have thought Arsenal had learned from the Ozil disaster now they are signing another low energy German known for occasional flashes of brilliance and long stretches of mental absence, poor work rate, passenger mindset and consistent inconsistency.

As good as they are, I think tonali and barella are the exact type of player that will bomb in PL. their technique and vision would never come to full effect in packed PL midfields where everyone gets a free studs up tackle and they won’t have as much time on the ball. Just look at how Tonali got absolutely shut down by Kovacic when our worst team in decades smacked Milan with ease twice last fall.

The fees are indeed underwhelming but given their wages and the small number of clubs willing to afford those it is in our best interest to cut our losses and get the free riders off the bill early. Had we rejected the Saudi offers, Ziyech or k2 would never have accepted to take a pay cut to go elsewhere and probably sat out their contracts here. Which in turn could have resulted in us being unable to shed out for Caicedo & friends resulting in another train wreck of a transfer window and season. Esp K2 is a huge relief as alluded before. What we paid for him was insane enough and pure, inexcusable stupidity. But what matters is that people learn and it looks like our owners eventually are learning. This ruthlessness of cutting half a dozen has-beens in a matter of days is something that has been missing for a while.

Even though we are not receiving more than market value for the deadwood, the Saudis are doing us a solid here. Agreeing to these deals early on despite our disadvantageous position of a bloated squad gives us space and time for our own moves. If only we could get them to take Cucu too that would be amazing.

First time since Hazard we have a player who at least in a somewhat weaker league has demonstrated he can create a goal out of nothing on his own. Very well rounded, versatile attacker . Always sceptical with bundesliga signings but he has been the best in the country for the the last 1-2 seasons . But what I am sure of is that other than Mudryk or Sterling who are only effective under the right circumstances, nkunku does not rely on one specific skill or attribute. This allows him to cause danger from almost anywhere even in tight spaces.

Came here when we needed a reliable stopper, delivered, won CL, then pretty much stopped working afterwards. Proves goalies can have purple patches too. No qualms , always did his best, likeable guy esp with his fairytale story. Now go collect your big pay check.

Just had a lengthy reply typed but I guess we have made ourselves clear here. Throwing racism accusations around like candy at a carnival is just extremely counterproductive in fighting actual racism.

Wtf. Seriously, why are you always insinuating other members here being racist? Just stop it. there is no anti-African conspiracy on talkchelsea. In fact this is overall one of the most diverse and tolerant online communities I have ever been a part of. Are you a Chelsea fan or just some random wind up merchant enacting his pillory fantasies? I could not care less about Auba‘s or Lukaku’s ambitions to play in Europe or wherever. What I care about is this club and its significant economic and sporting interest to get these two cancers out of the club on its own terms.

All this has to be finalised quickly. Surely fifa/uefa and all the other corrupted chels-hating bunch will try to stop us shipping deadwood to Arabia. Rival fans already sniffing a big conspiracy after Todd’s trip to Riad even tho the Saudis are shopping right left center

Was pondering the same. It is worth the gamble I would say. Let’s hope our board have the chuzpe to do so.