Non-Chelsea Transfer Pub

[Mufassir08 2,400]

I do, he will need that playmaker mentality Fernandinho already has, but he is better at defending, knows how to head and has more pace.

Anyone looking at the DM spot will be completely wrong, however he is one of the best CMs Brazil has. We only have to be careful not to overload the pivot position. We would have Ramires, Lampard, KDB, Paulinho and Oscar (maybe)...

Right now, our priorities are a DM and ST.

Oh so if lampard does leave at the end of the season paulinho would be a good replacement but i agree that a cdm and 2 strikers should be top priority.

[CHOULO19 24,332]

At the risk of getting crucified, I would like to suggest Huddlestone. He's young, can play both positions of the pivot and probably wants to leave spurs. Only problem is that we will have to do business with that cunt.

[Mufassir08 2,400]

At the risk of getting crucified, I would like to suggest Huddlestone. He's young, can play both positions of the pivot and probably wants to leave spurs. Only problem is that we will have to do business with that cunt.

2 years ago i would have agreed but after his injury he has struggled big time at spurs so i dont think he's the solution.

[Superblue 6,344]

Perhaps from our scouting of Schurlle, we will have noticed Lars Bender?

[The only place to be 11,313]

At the risk of getting crucified, I would like to suggest Huddlestone. He's young, can play both positions of the pivot and probably wants to leave spurs. Only problem is that we will have to do business with that cunt.

Same problems Mikel has - application, workrate, defensive intelligence.

Plus he's a fat cunt.

Just remembered that De Jong left City for £3.5 million in the summer (but he's just done his achilles).

Maybe it's worth giving Chalobah a go. It's a massive punt but he's stepped up to whatever's been asked of him. If we're honest our softly, softly approach to youth progression hasn't done much - maybe it's time we started throwing youngsters in to sink or swim.

[JDY 1,290]

I hope Chelsea swing a deal for Diego Reyes in January before Benfica does. Would look really good partnering with Ramires.

Aye, he looks really good, and versatile. I thought Benfica had already sealed the transfer a couple of weeks back?

[CHOULO19 24,332]

Same problems Mikel has - application, workrate, defensive intelligence.

If we do sign a DM in Jan, he will not be Mikel's replacement but rather his cover. We will not pay more than 10-15m when we already have 2 young great DMs.

[The only place to be 11,313]

If we do sign a DM in Jan, he will not be Mikel's replacement but rather his cover. We will not pay more than 10-15m when we already have 2 young great DMs.

Who are these '2 young great DMs' you refer to? The one who has no Premier League experience and the one who is out for at least 6 months? As much as I'm all for giving Chalobah a chance there's absolutely no guarantees he'll be good enough.

Sadly I think that the club won't look for a replacement for Mikel though despite the question marks over him.

[CHOULO19 24,332]

Who are these '2 young great DMs' you refer to? The one who has no Premier League experience and the one who is out for at least 6 months? As much as I'm all for giving Chalobah a chance there's absolutely no guarantees he'll be good enough.

Sadly I think that the club won't look for a replacement for Mikel though despite the question marks over him.

I was referring to Mikel. It's hard to remember that he is still 25 and is yet to reach his peak.

[The only place to be 11,313]

I was referring to Mikel. It's hard to remember that he is still 25 and is yet to reach his peak.

I don't happen to think he is a 'great dm' but that argument is going on elsewhere.

[Sovieticus 743]

Doumbia in, Malouda out either in January or Summah

[TorontoChelsea 4,064]

If we do sign a DM in Jan, he will not be Mikel's replacement but rather his cover. We will not pay more than 10-15m when we already have 2 young great DMs.

It doesn't really make sense to buy any defensive midfielder in January unless he's very cheap. We're talking about spending millions of pounds on a player just to play for a handful of games while Mikel and Romeu are gone. (And that's if we make the buy as soon as the window opens) Then what? We have a third choice DM? Much better to just go without for a few games and spend the money on long-term needs.

[Rmpr 8,977]

It doesn't really make sense to buy any defensive midfielder in January unless he's very cheap. We're talking about spending millions of pounds on a player just to play for a handful of games while Mikel and Romeu are gone. (And that's if we make the buy as soon as the window opens) Then what? We have a third choice DM? Much better to just go without for a few games and spend the money on long-term needs.

Well, let me introduce you: "LOAN"...

However, Mikel might not be the man for our future aspirations!

[The only place to be 11,313]

It doesn't really make sense to buy any defensive midfielder in January unless he's very cheap. We're talking about spending millions of pounds on a player just to play for a handful of games while Mikel and Romeu are gone. (And that's if we make the buy as soon as the window opens) Then what? We have a third choice DM? Much better to just go without for a few games and spend the money on long-term needs.

I'm sure you're well aware that a lot of supporters think the new DM should replace Mikel. To use a term you like, there are questions over his ability to help us be an 'elite' team.

Romeu will have a fairly long road back - this was a great opportunity for him to try and establish himself, but football history is littered with players who miss those opportunities through no fault of their own and never get back.

[OneMoSalah 8,659]

Ryan, that's quite a shopping list for the January window...

No more of these please. We have them coming out the wazoo. Moses and Marin should be enough to rotate. Plus, the one's you've mentioned would be ridiculously expensive for just a rotation player.

A striker and defensive-mid are top of the list and are of equal, crucial importance in my eyes. If we just get them, i'll be a very happy bunny indeed.

Quite a shopping list, but we have Roman Abramovich and his desire to make Chelsea the best club in the world. Also we have tonnes of money haha. Never know we could sign 8 players in January. Chelsea just keep surprising people, including their own fans!

[CHOULO19 24,332]

It doesn't really make sense to buy any defensive midfielder in January unless he's very cheap. We're talking about spending millions of pounds on a player just to play for a handful of games while Mikel and Romeu are gone. (And that's if we make the buy as soon as the window opens) Then what? We have a third choice DM? Much better to just go without for a few games and spend the money on long-term needs.

That's why I said "if we buy a new DM". Our best option will be a loan till the end of the season but I can think of no DM that would be available for loan. Our next best option would be recalling either Chalobah or Josh (it would actually be not extending the loan in the case of Nathanial), but that might be damaging to their development since both are doing excellent at their loan and will probably only manage to play 8-10 games with us that is if they make it into the team. As much as I hate the idea and find it disastrous, I think moving Luiz up is probably the most probable option. The only other option I could think of is buying a CM (since we are lacking in that area) who is capable of covering at DM.

I'm sure you're well aware that a lot of supporters think the new DM should replace Mikel. To use a term you like, there are questions over his ability to help us be an 'elite' team.

Romeu will have a fairly long road back - this was a great opportunity for him to try and establish himself, but football history is littered with players who miss those opportunities through no fault of their own and never get back.

Well those supporters should be aware that the club will not be looking to replace Mikel anytime soon. The club and every manager that has come in has been happy with him, so he is not going anywhere. And although, unfortunately, Oriol might not make a full recovery, it would not make sense to buy a DM who will replace him without seeing whether or he does return as good as new.

[Rmpr 8,977]

Well those supporters should be aware that the club will not be looking to replace Mikel anytime soon. The club and every manager that has come in has been happy with him, so he is not going anywhere. And although, unfortunately, Oriol might not make a full recovery, it would not make sense to buy a DM who will replace him without seeing whether or he does return as good as new.

Mikel will not leave, he will be benched.

Just wait, neither Pep, Jose nor Klopp will be happy with Mikel.

[CHOULO19 24,332]

Mikel will not leave, he will be benched.

Just wait, neither Pep, Jose nor Klopp will be happy with Mikel.

You say this based on what exactly?

Managers like Carlo, Hidink...etc showed complete confidence in him. Even Mourinho himself was the one who bought him and moved him to DM. Not once during his time here did we hear even murmurs that the club or manager are looking to sign any DM to take Mikel's place.