Rekin

Good riddance. I guess Conte was not expecting Costa to make this public though, and I hope it doesnt hurt any potential transfer fee. My guess is that the club/Conte got tired of all the antics, both on the field and outside of it. You can tolerate it from a superstar, but Diego has not earned that label. In a way It makes me a bit sad as he he was such an upgrade on Torres, but we need someone more reliable. We are still a few transfer windows and stable seasons away from being able to compete for CL with teams like Bayern, Barcelona and Real, so getting a Lukaku that can help us constantly compete for the PL and cup titles is a good purchase for now. While nothing is completed yet, there have been some loud noises about us signing these players lately: Lukaku (linked with us heavily) Van Dijk (linked with us heavily) Mahrez Tolisso Bakayoko (used to be linked with us heavily) Alex Sandro (mentioned several times from reliable outlets, indicating something is happening behind the scenes) Dani Alves Caballero Based on this list it seems clear to me that the club know its weaknesses, and are working hard to fix them. Sandro, Lukaku, Tolisso/Baka and Van Dijk shows some real commitment to pushing the team forward, while the other names would help us with the width. I have read a theory in a few places that the club would not make any signings official until July due to Nike stepping in then. From a commercial perspective it makes sense to have new signings pose in the shirts that are going to be sold, rather than shortly be made unavailable. The important thing is that things are actually happening in the background, and they seem to be.

While I am not Lukaku's greatest fan, and do not see him as a world class striker worth 80m barring some clauses, I still think he is a logical purchase. Diego has in my opinion outstayed his welcome. He is brilliant on a good day, but at the same time very unreliable. He very often makes the wrong choice when leading a counter, his passing is at time atrocious and a combination of diving and sulking does not help him either. Combine that with him wanting to leave, and you are currently short a long-term solution in the attack. He hasnt exactly been brilliant in CL for Chelsea either (2 goals in 13 starts). This implies that we really need a new striker. Who then? People say Belotti, but its just a flavour of the season. Who here would have said the same name last year? How many have seen 10+ games of him playing? Perhaps he is a world class striker ready to take on the world, but this was his first really good season and it was in Serie A. Lukaku for all his faults has been extremely consistent as a goal scorer for 5 seasons now. How many other 24-year olds do you guys know with almost a 100 PL goals? Players are not static, they develop over time. If Lukaku ends up under a world class coach such as Conte and his team, why would he not be able to improve in certain areas? Morata is a very risky option. Many report him to have poor stamina, he does not have the heaviest frame and his real capabilities are still somewhat under question. I would not mind him here at all, but he is in no way a guaranteed success. Lukaku is the most convenient choice. Let's assume for a second we pay 60m punds straight up, and the rest in performance related clauses. In such a scenario, he has to some degree been covered by the purchase of Oscar. An unreliable bench-warmer for one of the most consistent PL goal-scorers seems like a pretty good deal to me. The most important aspect of this transfer saga to me is that this transfer does not lead to compromising other deals. If we end up getting Tolisso/Baka, a RW backup, and cover for the sing backs together with Lukaku, I would call it a darn good transfer window. I would also like a CB, but I am willing to give Christensen a chance too.

I doubt its a straight cash purchase. 80 mil is in my opinion only going to happen if there are several clauses, and if Rom activates them it should mean he was a good purchase anyway.

Just look at the other threads mate. There has been a full-blown panic ever since Silva went to Man C. Suddenly you need to wrap up your transfers in May or otherwise be considered incompetent. Personally I think Lukaku is a reliable goal scorer with room to improve. He might not be the player that brings Chelsea up a level straight away, but we would not become weaker with him in the squad. If he joins alongside Baka/Tolisso in CM, a decent purchase in RWB and some width in the AM I would be happy. If we would also get Van Dijk that would be an awesome transfer window.

Shame, would have liked him here. I think RW is a position we need to upgrade in, and Silva was my first choice. Still, I would like to think that Conte is in the best position to ID who exactly we need.

We saw a few things today that strongly indicate where our weaknesses lie. Our midfield can not have Matic AND Kante (yes, it has taken us to being close to the title, but I think Chelsea has ambitions outside of the PL as well) in it, we need someone who is either far more dynamic than Matic, or on a similar level but a better passer. I honestly think we are better off playing Hazard as a false 9 than Costa up front. We cant afford having a big oaf than is neither fast nor technical as our main goal threat in the first place, and then when you consider that we play very counter-attacking football, then you will lose so much momentum if Costa gets the ball as he is a poor passer as well. He simply does not fit, he is above average as a striker, but he lacks star quality. Morata would be a better link-up player, while Lukaku would offer more pace. Belotti is a mix of those two in my opinion, with Costa's off the ball movement (which I feel is not even close to being enough to justify his presence). Lastly, without Moses AND Alonso, our wing back system fails. Azpili or Zouma are not even close to being properly equipped for their role. I think our team will achieve great things, it really has the spine for it. However, it does need some smart purchases in the summer. One of the three forwards mentioned, a CM like Bakayoko/Fabinho/Nainggolan etc, a wingback like Sandro/Semedo/Mendy etc are huge priorities. I also think we need a new RW. Pedro is a great player, I have grown to like him a lot, but I dont see him as being well suited to deep defenses outside of long shots.

I dont want this to be seen as a knee-jerk reaction, as this is something that has been in the air for a while on my part. Costa is a remnant of a Mou-era that I would rather fling as far away as possible from the club I support. A player that is moody, often acting in a disgusting way and completely unreliable. Those things should be enough for him to not be our striker, but the worst part is that he doesnt fit our system at all. Players like Hazard and Pedro need quick and smart passes, not strikers who look like Bambi on ice. He can sometimes create a goal out of nothing, but more often than not he stops our attacks, act frustrated and gives away the ball. If we can get what we payed for him, he should in my opinion be let go. One of our weakest links.

Not sure what you are saying. You havent seen much of Bakayoko, but you think they are similar in build and the way they play? In other words your opinion is not really worth much, and I say this without meaning disrespect. Also, it seems that with your logic the only difference between players is whether they get a chance or not, which is silly. What about ability? Bakayoko gets to play both small and big games, Chalobah gets to play 10 minutes at the end of every 5th game, and maybe some easy cup game.

I dont understand how you can say that Chalobah is "a very similar player" to one who regularly starts in the team leading Ligue 1, beat Manchester City in the CL-finals and is pursued by several clubs in Europe. Like how does Chalobah get this status? His biggest achievement to date is having a good season in Watford in the championship a few years ago. Having a similar playing-type does not make players very similar. Also, do you think that if Conte really saw Chalobah as some kind of amazing fantastic talent, he would use him this sparingly? Its not only up to the club to progress players from youth to seniors, but also up to the players to prove that they are good enough. We have maybe 1% of the insight that the club has whether he is good enough.

I think its important to remember that we rarely create chances from the middle. The front three, supported by the wing backs, are our offensive unit. While Bakayoko and Kante arent exactly Fabregas-level in terms of passing, they dont have to be. Their job is more or less to together with the back three ensure that we win back the ball as often as possible, disrupt play and transfer the ball to an offensive player. Their job is to free up the wing backs asap and allow us to attack more. To ensure that, we need as much presence in the midfield as possible. Kante is a machine in terms of tackling and intercepting, but we also need someone who can win the air duels, and shield the ball in a more effective way. As much as I love Fabinho, or even Kessie/Keita, Bakayoko is to me the player who today is the closest to fitting the profile of what we need out of the young CM's. He still has several areas to improve in, but those are supporting areas rather than key areas (which in my opinion is physical presence together with the ability to shield the ball). If he with the help of our coaches and Conte improves his decision-making, passing and shooting, then we would have a true elite player. If he doesnt, he still has the tools to do the job we need. Its a bit unfortunate that Keita or Kessie havent had another season to assess them properly, as both can turn out to be superior to Bakayoko. I am not convinced regardless that this is a done deal, as we know we were sniffing around Kessie in January. Still, there are several very attractive young CM's available this summer, it would be foolish to not try getting any of them as early as possible.

Bakayoko is still young. Working with Conte might unearth some hidden depths. I think he is a great choice and will help us control the middle a lot more than we do now. Is he better than Kessie or Fabinho? It does not depend just on the player, but also on the role he needs to fulfill. Fabinho is clearly the more complete player, but Bakayoko is better physically. If the player is meant to protect the middle, run a lot and act mostly as a destroyer than Bakayoko is the better option. I doubt we have secured him yet though, but he would be a good player for us I believe.

My perfect window would look something like: In: -Bernardo Silva (the RW position has been mediocre for way too long, and the club has been short of this type of player for a long time). - Bakayoko/Kessie (Physically strong and dynamic CM that can do for us what Wanyama does for Spurs) - Nelson Semedo (More attack-minded RWB) - Christensen (free, good passer) - Begovic replacement The rest depends on who leaves. If Costa would go to China, then someone like Belotti/Mbappe or another one should be looked at. I think Kolesinac and Dahoud should be strongly considered as well, with them being out of contract and all. Personally, I think RW, RWB and CM should be our priorities this summer. The money should be there.

Probably the player I would like for our right wing the most. Would cost a fortune though, with heavy competition. Still, too good for Monaco. They have a young exciting team, but I can imagine the players being ready for the next step.

Guardian is report an £8m bid from us to get him this window. Not sure if replacing Ivanovic and Oscar with this dude and Ake is the best approach towards depth, but then again January is very difficult to signifcantly upgrade your team in.

Cant claim to be an expert on Belotti, but the way he is described he sounds like a player that would fit the team. I thought to myself at some point that if/when Costa leaves, Icardi would be a good replacement, but he might be a bit one-dimensional. Belotti is physically very strong, an excellent finisher and works his ass off according to almost every report/opinion on him I have read. Seems like a Conte-type of player. I ran a comparison between Icardi, Belotti, Dzeko and Higuain. They are all on either 15 or 14 goals this season, with Belotti being the youngest (10 months younger than Icardi) and playing in the worst team (also has a lower amount of minutes than Dzeko and Icardi). Outtake on Belotti: Second highest amount of assists (3) second lowest shots per game (3,3) Second highest aerial wins per game (2,1) Good overall defensive stats, especially in tackles (1,1) Highest amount of key passes per game (1,9) Gets fouled more than twice as much as the others (3,2 pg) More or less same amount of dribbles per game as the others Gets dispossesed the most, and take the largest amount of poor touches out the four, even if it is not by much Good overall passing stats In summary, I would not translate these stats to it being a one-trick pony, or one season wonder. While he is a strong finisher, he has a very good all-around profile with being solid in the air, being a good dribbler and a capable passer. These stats do also not show a clear picture of some of his strongest sides, which include strength and hard work. He holds his own compared to the best strikers in Italy, while playing in the worst team and being the youngest. Paying his buy-out should not really be a serious option, but then again I really doubt that it is the price that he would go for. I certainly think that he would justify a high price tag though, and is likely to become a top striker when he ends up in a better team.

Kessie is a very promising talent. He is not good enough to come in and dominate straight away, but could be two years or so from now under the right coaching and circumstances. It does however seem that he will not join before summer according to the latest news. Semedo is considered to be one of the most promising talents in Portugal. Benfica fans say that losing him would be a far bigger blow than Lindelöf. Still, to each their own.

I think we have our sights on Kessie, but are waiting until after AFCON. Maybe it is from our side to make sure he doesnt get injured or something, maybe it is from Atalantas side to ask for more if he does well, and maybe it is from Kessie to make sure he can focus on the tournament. Either way, there is concrete evidence that we bid for him, and since he went away there have been no noise or rumors about another CM. I think we will see him come in. For me, a perfect window would be something like Kessie and Semedo. Let us focus on established stars in the summers, and supertalents now.

You are seriously not making a case for being a smart person. Being a football player is a job, and the footballing world is fickle. One year can change everything, Verratti could have broken his leg, Juventus could have changed their minds etc. It would be absolute idiotic to refuse such an opportunity as going to PSG. Other than that I concur with most other posters, Verratti has a lot going for him. I would love him here, but I have my concerns whether he is what Conte is targeting.

Remember that he was a teenager just a few days ago. The thing that is exciting about him is that he can still develop so much, while already being good.

Alonso is just an average player. He is not terrible, but in no way a long-term solution for that position.It was better than playing Azpilicueta there for the system we use.

We started better in the second half, but they have been clinical. It hurts because of the run, looking at the table its not actually the end of the world. Still, this just shows that we still have a lot of dead wood in the team.

You can see Luiz telling the others to push up before. This is the moments where you see that Moses isnt really a defender. We are losing badly in the middle, we really need to bulk up centrally or else we will keep getting bullied by teams like this.

I only follow a few teams in Serie A, so I cant really say much about the quality of Kessie. However, one of the more upvoted threads (and in my opinion a quality read) over on the CFC section on Reddit was this one: https://www.reddit.com/r/chelseafc/comments/5l59bd/why_we_needs_kessié_conte_tactical_analysis/ It is written by a guy who seems to have followed Conte for a while (probably a Juve fan), and the main point he makes in it is about what kind of CM Conte is looking for. Basically, it is someone like Kante. He wants two midfielders who can run, run and then run some more while being able to defend. His argument is that the CM's are the ones giving our wingbacks the opportunity to run forward more, and that it is enough combined with constant pressure and ball-winning to win games. In other words, we are not looking for players who's best abilities are related to creativity, but ones who are very athletic. Matic is probably considered too slow by far to fulfill his role, and it is therefore we are looking for additions there. Kessie is very raw, but from what I have read he is a physical monster who also shows potential of becoming much more than that. Bakayoko would also fill the description. Regardless, surely it seems like this will be one of our transfer in January? Atalanta might push for more money, but they are not large enough to really resist for too long. If Romano is reporting it, there is clearly interest from our side. The Guardian also reported it earlier. Some comments from reddit regarding Kessie: "Good with both feet, good passer of the ball, good long shot, is all over the place, fast, strong. Modern B2B. A less defensive version of Essien with better technique if I have to draw a parellel with someone from Chelsea's recent history. But I think he will make his own name in the world of football, seems really well balanced as a CM" "A bit smaller, 183, but yeah, he has it all really. If he matures and ages according to what he shows now he will be a great midfielder, capable of just about any role in the center of the park. He already seems to be very calm on the ball, and chooses the right pass or shot a lot of the time. This Atalanta team has some great youth going"

Brilliant. Take a player who: himself asked for the nr 10 shirt this season has been very good as RW and CAM (and is the leading scorer for his club) has never been good as a LWB wants to play an offensive role will cost a very large amount and put him at LWB in a defence that has barely conceded in 13 games, and where we bought a player less than 6 months ago. The stupidity of some people can be breathtaking. If you have nothing to add to a conversation, perhaps take that as a hint? I am done with you, not worth my time.

If you honestly believe that, then we simply have a different perception of his abilities. Let us just leave it at that and see what the future holds.