The Big Drog

That's true and anyway we will get to see Oscar against British opposition on Friday. Personally Id also rather they were at pre season with us but representing their countries at the Olympics obviously means a lot to them. In any case, Marko Marin and De Bruyne aren't exactly the worst replacements in the world.

Most on here know I have huge admiration for the way Barcelona play. I think they have sparked a revolution in football in terms of how the game is played and viewed by fans, coaches, players, journalists ect. and they have made it less about the athleticism and more about the technique. On top of that they have an incredible youth system that churns out wonderfully gifted footballers. They have a philosophy at the club and they stick by it and they stick by their own. They are a special club. They also have a ridiculously catchy club anthem.

Kaka and Ozil work fine together but Di Maria is simply a better option than Kaka. Silva and Nasri also work very well together. Kagawa and Gotze is another one that works.

Brazil play team GB on Friday, being shown in BBC. Oscar should feature, anyone who hasn't seen him play should definitely check it out. So too should the naysayers, he will win you over.

Anderson Silva has a feminine voice, just don't say it to his face.

Ye the potential football we could play with the front 4 would leave any football fan excited.

Because its difficult to know where to include him. Can he really play as part of a fluid 3 behind the striker? I have my doubts. He didn't impress in the double pivot either when he played there. Personally I think that when he does play it will be in the double pivot, occasionally stepping in for Lampard. But again, that's guess work, maybe Di Matteo will want wingers ho stay wide, in which case maybe Ramires and Marin will both play.

I agree with that, until we see how Di Matteo plays him (if we can secure the signing) we dont know for sure what position Di Matteo envisions him playing. Personally I thought it would look like this. Mikel, Lampard Hazard, Oscar, Mata Torres With lots of interchanging of positions between the two behind the striker, with all of them being fairly comfortable playing in any of the 3 positions behind the striker. But maybe Di Matteo thinks he will play in a deeper role. I dont know, we just have to wait and see.

Spot on. Barcelona have a team of creative players, they haven't done too badly. Im not saying we are about to transform into Barcelona but the point is the same, that creative attacking players are so important, especially now when we are trying to change a philosophy we have put into practice since Mourinho's days at the club. I dont think Hazard and Marin would have been enough to change the philosophy effectively but adding Oscar to it aswell gives us a much better chance of beating able to play a certain way each game.

I agree, Lukaku was never going to start ahead of Torres/Drogba/ Sturridge I fully expect Oscar will be a regular in the starting 11 if he joins.

Barcelona famously passed up the chance to sign David Villa a year earlier than they did because they felt he was being overpriced by a club who needed the money. Neither Real Madrid or Barcelona rated Silva highly enough to be drawn into a bidding war with City, the same can be said of Chelsea and Mata, with our main competition for the signing coming from Arsenal 9not exactly known for their heavy spending). Gary is an excellent centre back and could well have been priced at 15 million had he had 3 years to run on his contract, we did pay 24 million pound for David Luiz afterall. Yes, I think Oscar is a better potential player than Reus but as I say, I rate Oscar very highly, Reus is an excellent player, Oscar is the kind of player who usually ends up at Real Madrid or Barcelona, that's the difference. While all of that is true, I dont take stats that seriously and I've seen enough of Oscar to safely say that he is a very special player. If what you are saying is true then nobody should have bought Kaka, Barcelona shouldn't have taken the expensive (by the standard of the age of the player) gamble on Messi, remind me, how did both of those work out? Not every player can be born in Europe (where the leagues are stronger) you just have to judge a player on his own merits, on just how good he is and how good he can become. Why seperate youth and talent when Oscar is both young and immensely talented?

I like your black and white way of looking at things, let me add some colour to your examples. Valencia in debt, were always going to sell their best players (Villa, Silva, Mata) other clubs knew they were in debt and knew they could get the players for smaller fees than they would normally have to pay. Kagawa, a year left on his contract, enough said. Ozil, a year left on his contract. 24 million pounds for a player that is nearly 30, as great as he is, he hasn't much re-sale value and is not a young player. On top of that he was no longer an important part of the Barcelona team when they sold him. Reus, good player but I wouldn't have him ahead of Oscar. Ramires, very good player, industrious but of course the rare talent of Oscar will fetch more money than the work-horse Ramires. What this boils down to is how good do you think Oscar is and how much potential do you believe him to have, I rank him very highly and I can honestly say there aren't many young players I've seen with more potential. Maybe you feel differently which is why you object to the money we are paying for him. Let's not re-write history, we all remember what was being said during Drogba's first season, coming in from an average league, way overpriced, not even that young. He proved to be one of the best bits of business the club has ever done.

Equally some people don't appreciate the cost of players today and constantly complain about the amount we pay even if it turns out not to be that bad. I would have loved to have seen the reaction if these kind of people when we signed 27 year old Drogba from the French league for 24 million.

Very impressive during the under 19 tournament but hasnt established himself in the Athletico first team or earned a senior Spanish cap yet.

Brazilian wonderkid, 20 years old, a phenomenal talent. Of course he will cost big money but he is worth every penny, I can't believe this seems like its going to happen, the club is on the verge of signing one of the brightest young talents in world football, a smile wouldn't hurt.

Sure we dont know what he actually does day in day out, though that equally means that those criticizing him about signings and loan deals cant really do so either as they are no more in the loop than we are.

Ye that's true but most of the top wingers have blistering pace. I think of him as a bit like Schweinsteiger, started out as a winger, ended up in central midfield.

Ye I accept that, though I also think it's important to play a lot of our regular first team players given that this season we are trying to adopt to a completely different style of play, I feel the more match time you give to those players in order to help them adjust, the better.

I dont think blistering pace is something De Bruyne is blessed with. He is more effective from a central position. I think he will eventually end up playing in one of the two deeper midfield positions.

The team Id like to see start is. Cech Ivanovic, Cahill, Luiz, Hutchinson Mikel, Lampard Marin, De Bruyne, Hazard Lukaku With lots of options to come off the bench later in the match.

I think if we manage to get Oscar and Willian on top of already signing Hazard and Marin it will definitely have been our best ever transfer window. I also think it will have been an absolutely essential transfer window if we are to really change our style of play.

Watching a bit of Chelsea TV yesterday and then some of those "The Premier League Years" on Sky Sports, it really hits home just how important Didier Drogba is. Obviously we everyone here knows that already but replacing him and that style that he prospered in really will take a lot. Which is why I think we need at least 1 more big signing, be it Oscar or Hulk. Hazard, Marin and Mata, as talented as they are, I just think with the sheer amount of games we will have this year, the potential for injuries, suspensions, fatigue, I just think it's essential we get 1 more technically gifted player that can play in the 3 behind the striker.

Lets not make this a debate about Carvalho's ever-changing hairline.

It all comes down now to whether the board make the necessary improvement on their bid. A 6-10 million increase is quite steep but I really hope that we do it because at 20 years old for 25 million there is value in the deal for us in terms of how many years he can contribute to the team and his re-sale value. Personally I think he would be worth every penny.

The man is easily the footballer I dislike the most. To steal a quote, he's a "hypocritical, sanctimonious scumbag."