Rekin

Any news about the situation with the expiring contract? If we could get him for free it would be a fantastic transfer, Matuidi is an amazing ball-winner and an excellent player as long as he is not expected to contribute too much offensively. I would love to see a central midfield containing Ramires, Matuidi, whoever we get this window and a youth player (Chalobah is propably the closest one, altough I hope for RLC in a near future). I will not say too much about Mikel and Essien except that I don't see them in the future of the club (altough Mikel has not been bad lately)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IaniajSmR9o Kinda fun to watch Eden in his last season at Lille. Ligue 1 defenders must have been happy to get rid of the low-gravity runs which he had already mastered back then.

Out of curiosity, what would people say about Nainggolan? I have been watching Cagliari a bit since my gf is from those parts, and I have to say that the guy impresses me. He is short so will not be winning plenty of aerial duels but seem to be very strong at keeping the ball, plays aggressively but with enough composure to assess each situation and knows how to tackle. He is not a DLP, but he is quite good at passing. He reminds me of a bulldog, tireless and never gives up. He would also fit in Chelsea as he sure knows how to block a ball properly, a very useful talent. He is 25, so neither too young nor too old. He would also most likely be available for a reasonable price, so personally I would take him day and night over Guarin.

Matic was not that good in his first full season at Benfica, but in my opinion he was one of the league's best players in the second one. A friend of mine who follows the portugese league religiously had this to say about him: "After he got out of Witsel's shadow he became immense, better than most expected. Good vision, passing ability, has a good shot and keeps calm under pressure (very good at shielding the ball). He also works extremely hard during games, gives it all he got. One of the better players in Portugal last season. He is however quite a slow player, and it is not certain that he would fit english football very well. Having said that, Ramires would be a good complement next to him." Matic and Zouma would be good transfers. I still prefer Lars Bender though, is there any truth to him having quite a low release clause in the coming summer?

It is propably related to the fact that he was brought in late, have not featured as prominently as other players and last but not least does not have the central role in the team that a player such as Özil might have at Arsenal. I was not completely sold on his transfer, but I am now glad that he is a part of the team. I do understand though that others may disagree, after all it is still early in the season and he was expensive. I guess it will be easier to judge him when he have started more than a handful of games.

Disagree, he have added a lot to Chelsea's game through his offensive passing, could have had an assist against Arsenal if the shooting had been better. There is also skill in being a the right place at the right time, and even though he missed against Cardiff he was alert enough to almost score. I think Schurrle is a great player that will become excellent, but the question is if Willian is not already excellent and can become fantastic.

Is Witsel really the type of player we need right now? He is without doubt a highly talented player, but I would personally prefer a more aggressive, gritty player in his position. I personally love Ramires and do not want to see a replacement bought for him, so the question that remains is who would complement Ramires the most? Personally I would love to see Loftus-Cheek or Chalobah there in the future, but unless we manage to achieve well above general expectations this season I doubt the youngsters will see too much gametime. My personal favourite was Capoue (I'm still pissed that we went to Spurs), but I would not say no to Pogba/Vidal or a similar player. The question is, how many similar players are there that we could realistically get? Lars Bender is an option, wasnt there talk about Imbula aswell (altough Im not convinced he is the same type of player)? Personally I think that should we get a player like that, and say Luke Shaw, the club is set for a looong time.

My MotM. I could not help but think that the perfomance today showed why he has been playing ahead of KDB. Not only was his passing way better, but it was quite clear that Willian provides a lot more defensively and we all know how much this matters to Mou.

Schurrle is a beast when he has space on the flank, really shines when we play against teams that dont park the bus. My opinion is that he should start against the better teams, and act as a super-sub against the weaker teams, that way we would use him in the best way. He had a great game tonight, but his performance was helped by that god-awful right-back that just got every foot wrong in the game. If Schurrle can improve his accuracy (which considering his young age is very possible) he can truly become a world-class player.

Schurrle is on the wings what Ramires is in the middle. Players who work their asses off throughout the game, quick and whom you would expect to make key contributions on both ends of the pitch. I only wish that Schurrle was as good at finishing as Ramires is, then he would be a world-class player. I personally believe that the squad would work better with one AM less, but if I had a free pick of one to remove, it would not be Schurrle.

Are we going to have this discussion each time he scores? He was sent to improve as a player, if he can score a lot and improve in the areas that needed improving then we should just be happy as it is a great sign for the things to come. Remember his age, then remember that he will have two full seasons in good PL-clubs when he gets back. One or two bad games at the bridge and god only knows how much time on the bench that would mean, and the consequences it would have on his development. If he gets back with great records from both WBA & Everton, it would buy him a lot more confidence and patience from the staff.

How many more times are people going to write about Mata leaving for United? The only scenario where it is even remotely possible is where we get Rooney in return, otherwise there is no chance at all that we would sell when they are blocking our every move for Rooney. So the hypothetical situation is that we either sign Willian and Rooney while loosing Mata, or that we get Willian and say Eto'o while Mata stays. Of course, I am certain that we will not get Rooney regardless. Since we are talking about Mata, the question is how he will be utilized in the best way. If Mou feels that he doesnt fit in his plans (and that is a BIG if) then it is mutually beneficial that he moves elsewhere as we would need to get a replacement and could use the money, while Mata deserves much better than to sit on the bench. Personally I would hate to see it happen, but sometimes one needs to be pragmatic (ofc, I would only see Mata going abroad, never ever to Utd). Either way, this talk is premature as Mata joined the pre-season later and have had a minor injury keeping him out, his low involvement is just a natural consequence. We have yet to see any real evidence that he is available to buyers.

Excellent, just the post I was waiting for. How is he in terms of tracking back though? I can not help to feel that it is an important characteristic of any wingers we would be interested in atm, they have to be able to contribute in the defense. I think Mou is going for a starting eleven that contains Hazard - Oscar - Willian if the transfer goes through. Schurrle, Mata and KDB would provide excellent rotation options for each of the positions and we would finally reach a balance there that has been lacking for a while.

One thing to take away from the interview is that while talking about young players benefiting from stability, he specifically mentioned David Luiz as being one of them. While it is by no means a guarantee that he will stay in the end, I think it is a sure sign that Mou have in no way asked for him to be sold. Knowing Mou, I would even say that it is possible that he mentioned him just to end the stupid speculation about him wanting to sell DL. Anyway, Mou might be older and have more white hairs, but I think the circle have been completed for him. I always thought that he saw Real as the endgoal of his career, but considering how things went this season Chelsea will take that role instead. I am delighted that he is back, and even though I live in Australia I will make sure to get som tickets for the early games of next season.

I have no idea why this topic is being discussed in the Lukaku-thread, but you are wrong. I say this as a Pole myself, Wilno/Vilnius have existed much, much longer than since 1897, before the commonwealth even existed. There have been times when Poles were a majority in the city, but that hardly translates into making it Polish. From a historical point of view, it was Lithuanian longer than it was ever Polish, and seniority rules. There is unfortunetely a tendency in modern Poland to see old Lithuania as a region of old Poland, rather than the joint commonwealth they were for a long time. Many Poles dont even know that King Jagiello was Lithuanian, and that many of his successors were more pro-Lithuanian than pro-Polish. Much of this is due to the Polonization of the commonwealth during its late stages, which is very unfortunate as both countries enjoyed their greatest prosperities when they were joined, and much of the tragedy that has afflicted them since has come from the mutual distrust that we see to this day. A shame that people can never learn. Either way, this is hardly related to Lukaku (unless he was born in Wilno/Vilnius and cant decice whether he is Polish or Lithuanian) and surely there must be better threads for this kind of discussion? Perhaps create one in the general talk, and while youre at it, create a thread on the Balkan wars for calm and rational argumentation.

He has 95 goals in 139 games the last three seasons, not too bad. I am not too familiar with the overall quality of the Turkish league, but he seems quite dependable in Europe aswell. The Turkish people I know rate him very highly, they say he is a very strong attacker who is excellent with his head and both his feet and quite quick with the ball. Great player overall, I kinda anticipated that we would be linked with him. I would say that the main drawback is his age, but maybe he is considered to be a short-term option before Lukaku is considered ready. I doubt we will get him for less than £20m though. Profile: http://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/en/burak-yilmaz/profil/spieler_34987.html

Nobody here really knows the status of the transfer, but there is far more pointing towards him being close to signing for Chelsea than the opposite. Tribalfootball has about as much insight as goal.com, and what they write should not be considered at all. As far as Schurrle goes I think it will be a very good transfer. The price might be slightly higher than I would have liked, but I have many friends who follow bundesliga and they are all very sad for Chelsea snatching him away from there. As far as KDB goes I find it quite amusing how much people are complaining of the "treatment" he gets at the hands of Chelsea when we truly have no idea how the negotiations go. So far we only know, more or less, that Chelsea did not want to sell him to Leverkusen, that is a good sign in my opinion. Even if he is being used as a pawn and will be sent to Leverkusen for a loan, is that so terrible for him? Leverkusen has a very interesting team and belong to the top in Germany, that in combination with the Champions League will hardly be a bad experience for him.

Well, we can officially forget about him now. Dortmund has confirmed that he is joining Bayern: http://www.bvb.de/?_%1B%E7%F4%9D Propably a good career move for him.

A goal and an assist for Schurrle so far in today's game. Leverkusen are playing against Hoffenheim, minute 31. Both points were quality, assist from right flank and goal after drifting in from left flank (a placed long shot, very nice).

I dont get some of the arguments against Pellegrini. First of all, he only got one year in Real, one difficult year where influential media such as Marca was constantly working against him. He didnt win anything that year, in spite of a massive signing spree, but surely we cant just look at it like that without analyzing that season more in depth. If we start with the signings, Kaka and Benzema did not exactly repay what they were bought for. Before anyone blame Pellegrini for that it needs to be pointed out that it can be argued that neither has Mou. Ronaldo also had his first season in Real, he has gotten better since (I also recall him being out some time that season with an injury). If we continue to the titles he did not win, I personally only hold the cup loss to Alcorcon against him. Lyon was a better team back then (than they are today, not better as in better than Real), and it is possible for any good team to go out against opposition like that, sometimes luck just isnt on the side of a team. In the league he got more points than Mou in two out of his three seasons, despite an arguably weaker team. He can hardly be blamed for losing the league to one of the best teams in history. As for the cup, it was a horrible result. It is not like we havent seen other shocks like that in the past though, Utd going out against Leeds or Arsenal against Brentford. Sometimes players just dont take lower opposition seriously, even if the manager does. Still, I would say that this loss was the responsibility of Pellegrini. It is harsh to judge him after just one season, it has been said that Real would have kept him if not for the fact that Mou became available. As for the rest of his CV, I think it speaks in his favour if anything. He made Villareal into a force to be reckoned with, and has made Malaga into a Spanish top team aswell. This despite factors such as losing great players such as Rondon, Cazorla and Monreal. Let us not forget that if it was not for an injury-time offside goal, he would be in the semi-finals of CL. I can understand that some people would be against him, no experience in PL, old age, not a lot of titles etc. I think though that he has done generally well with what has been given him, I see no similarity to Scolari whatsoever. Like most people I would of course want Mou back most of all, but Pellegrini is, in tight competition with Moyes (who has hardly been more impressive than Pellegrini), my second choice out of the realistic options for our coach next season

I guess it depends on what you count as an assist, but I have seen the number 31 several times. That goes for all competitions, but it is sick nevertheless. 31 assists and there are still quite a few games ahead of him!

I am a huge fan of the guy, watched him a lot in Chelsea youth games and was almost always impressed. I see him as a star in the future, perhaps even becoming the captain. He fits my vision of the Essien-role in the old 4-3-3 perfectly, and that is why I am keen on seeing him develop as well as possible. The last point is why I do not want to see him with the first team next season. At this point in his career, development is key, and development comes mainly from playing against qualified opposition. He is obviously ready for the next step after the championship, meaning a loan to a club in the best leagues. While from an emotional point of view I would absolutely love to see him play day in and day out in Chelsea starting today, we have to remember that he is after all an 18-year old kid who hasnt yet played a full season. Saying that he is ready for being an important player in the first team at this point is completely unfounded. The championship is a much worse league than the premier league, and we have no idea how he will cope with that step. Adding to that, he is far from a finished player, there are still issues that he can improve. I would like to see a higher tempo in his game and even more strength in his body as two minor examples. Chelsea is not at the moment the best place to be developed in, and most managers that would come here would have an immense pressure on them to achieve success, it is highly debatable whether they would be prepared to take such a huge risk in such an important position, not from the start at any rate. Do not even get me started on how unlikely any playing time would be for him if drifted out of top3. No, I do believe in the kid, but I think everyone in this scenario would benefit if he spent around two more years on a loan, provided that it is in a premier league club where he gets to play regurarly. Preferebly with Watford the first season if they go up, and then in a club like Everton the next one. After those two years we will have three years to judge instead of one, and he will have great opportunities to adapt his game to the PL even more. Win-win if you ask me.

Yes, CL would be a great experience for him, I could not agree more. If he was to be loaned out for two more seasons, then I would absolutely agree that he should stay in Atletico for another year. We do not know if that is the case though, if he is being prepared for being first choice in the 2014-15 season then he needs to be prepared for what is coming. Did you see De Gea's first season? He is an excellent goalkeeper but he was struggling during that time, Utd's defense saved him on a number of occasions. Regarding the last point you are making, there is a large difference between being a goalkeeper in the two places, De Gea said so himself after arriving. I am not saying that Courtois should be sent to Reading, but a loan to a club such as Everton, WBA or similar would certainly prepare him for the league. Did he not say himself in a recent interview that he is expecting that development? Surely he and the people at Chelsea would know what steps to take better than anyone else?

So what though? Yes, he is a great goalkeeper who deserves to play in CL, but that goes for a lot of players. He was bought by Chelsea and it is expected that he does what they ask of him while he is under contract. He strikes me as a guy who is down to earth and smart enough to realize that he isn't being punished by being asked to be in goal for a midtable club in England, but in order to prepare him for being nr1 at Chelsea. He is very young and very talented for his age, so it should be quite obvious that he has a lot of years of CL ahead of him. If he can't take missing out on it for just one year then perhaps he doesnt have the mental strength expected on this level to begin with. De Gea is a great goalkeeper, but he would have benefitted from being on loan at another club in PL first. Utd lost the title that season with the smallest possible margin, it is very possible that it would have gone differently if De Gea would have been more used to the league. Keep in mind that Utd had two disadventages compared to us, first of all they needed a new keeper right away due to VDS retiring, and second De Gea was too big of a name to go on loan. Chelsea have Cech and Courtois was quite a low key signing, so there is quite a large difference there.