Rumoured Paul Pogba

[Billy. 2,742]

"dont care not our players either." So Roman is free to offload who he wants i guess then and we shouldnt be complaining !

not my quote but hey, if thats how you feel, cool

[Chelsea Legend 11 4,062]

How is making a comment about the unsustainable transfer prices whining?

What you fail to reference in your comment is that our purchases were Pre-FFP...

The majority of clubs agreed to FFP (us included) - PSG and City are both currently 'under sanction' of FFP - for them to be able to splash out €65 million is absurd.

Yes we wasted the same amount (rough pound to euro conversion) on Torres. But that was out of desperation.

There's also no guarantee that a Seria A player will perform in the EPL - remember Uniteds costly mistake on Veron?

I just don't see this happening - it's going against everything the club has been trying to achieve.

Would I want him here? Maybe

Is he as good as everyone is making out? Possibly...

Is it a huge gamble - Yes...

Am I sick of huge gambles - Yes...

Shaw for £30million + Pogba for £55 million and Costa for £35 million = £120 million (less £40 from Luiz) is still a net spend of £80 million... If we can offload some more players it 'might' happen - but that's a lot of money...

Because whining about something when you are apart of the problem is stupid. FFP was implemented to stop teams like Chelsea, City, PSG from driving up market prices... Chelsea agreed to FFP because it basically safeguards them against another team doing exactly what they've done.

Torres was not out of desperation, the owner simply liked him and wanted him... there was nothing desperate about it, luxury buy at its finest.

I really hate when people paint each player from another league with the same brush. I mean its the stupidest argument that can be made... "Player X didn't do well in the Prem so there's no guarantee Player Y will either" Let me tell you something Muzchap, there is no guarantee on ANYTHING, Messi could come here and fail. It has nothing to do with the league just the make up of the player, some adjust and others don't.

What exactly does the club stand for again? I mean according to you of course?

If you can come up with one name that wouldn't be a gamble I would love to hear it. No transfer comes without inherit risk... You basically hedge your bets against risk vs reward and quite honestly, Pogba is the type of player I'd like to see the club gamble on. If he reaches his potential we have a Yaya Toure type figure at the club for maybe 10+ seasons.

I don't want Shaw at £30m, no one knows what Pogba is valued at, I've seen £50m which I wouldn't hesitate to pay. Costa at 32m is not bad if he works out to be the player we need. Chelsea spent 31m on Willian, 20m on Schurrle, 8m on Van Ginkel, 5.5m on Atsu... That was considered a slow summer for Chelsea and we spent something like 63M.... 80M is not a huge amount of money for this club.

[Chelsea Legend 11 4,062]

https://twitter.com/jakefcohen/status/471635799637651456

We can afford that quite comfortably.

The money was never a problem its roster spots. People need to leave before we go out and grab someone else.

[The only place to be 11,313]

You basically hedge your bets against risk vs reward and quite honestly, Pogba is the type of player I'd like to see the club gamble on.

How is spending this much money on Pogba 'hedging our bets'? This amount of money is an insane gamble, much like the Torres deal and that had ramifications much further down the line. You said yourself that last Summer we spent this much money on 4 players - that's hedging your bets/spreading the risk.

The figures being bandied about for Pogba would make him the joint-fifth most expensive player of all time yet that seems acceptable to some?

If you can come up with one name that wouldn't be a gamble I would love to hear it.

Chalobah. He's still a gamble but there's no money attached since we own him.

Similarly Tiago would be a smaller gamble since he's free and a proven quantity in more ways.

[Chelsea Legend 11 4,062]

How is spending this much money on Pogba 'hedging our bets'? This amount of money is an insane gamble, much like the Torres deal and that had ramifications much further down the line. You said yourself that last Summer we spent this much money on 4 players - that's hedging your bets/spreading the risk.

The figures being bandied about for Pogba would make him the joint-fifth most expensive player of all time yet that seems acceptable to some?

Chalobah. He's still a gamble but there's no money attached since we own him.

Similarly Tiago would be a smaller gamble since he's free and a proven quantity in more ways.

funny Shaw is a lock at 30m but Pogba who is already burgeoning world class at 21 is an insane gamble... Dude your English bias is duly noted.

[The Skipper 20,609]

Pogba would be homegrown if we signed him right?

[Chelsea Legend 11 4,062]

Pogba would be homegrown if we signed him right?

Yes.

[The only place to be 11,313]

funny Shaw is a lock at 30m but Pogba who is already burgeoning world class at 21 is an insane gamble... Dude your English bias is duly noted.

Shaw is not a 'lock'. He's a massive gamble. Pogba at more than twice that price is also a massive gamble.

I'm still intrigued by your use of the phrase 'hedging your bets' when you're talking about committing so much money towards Pogba.

As for my bias towards English players, I think we need an English core at this club. I also like Shaw for purely sentimental reasons as well, which I've never really denied.

[Chelsea Legend 11 4,062]

Chalobah who is currently struggling to be a consistent player in the championship is the guy we should hedge our bets on guys. He will come back to Chelsea and save us money(which clearly isn't even required) and perform better than he did at Middlesborough because he's English and that good.

Why spend 50m on Pogba who is considered the next Yaya when we don't have to spend a penny on Chalobah and Tiago???


LOL

[Pizy 18,959]

If we signed Shaw, Pogba, and Costa we'd dominate and win this league at a canter. We have the funds to do so and some are against that. I understand that some of you want to "bring in the kids," but that should be done on merit and not just "because." If the better ones go on Premier League loans for a year or two and stand out THEN they can be given a shot in the first team. Some of you are talking about taking 17 or 18 year old teenagers who have been playing at Championship or U21 level and throwing them into the first team at one of the biggest clubs in the world. Astounding to me.

Send Chalobah, RLC, Lew Baker, Bamford, etc to bottom table Prem sides for a season or two and see if they're ready. In the mean time we need players who are proven at the highest level and can help us win NOW.

[Jype 6,398]

Pogba would be homegrown if we signed him right?

Not sure about that. Checked wikipedia and it says there he joined Man United in October 2009 and like we all know he left for Juve in June 2012, which makes his stay in England less than 36 months.

[Muzchap 8,966]

Because whining about something when you are apart of the problem is stupid. FFP was implemented to stop teams like Chelsea, City, PSG from driving up market prices... Chelsea agreed to FFP because it basically safeguards them against another team doing exactly what they've done.

Torres was not out of desperation, the owner simply liked him and wanted him... there was nothing desperate about it, luxury buy at its finest.

I really hate when people paint each player from another league with the same brush. I mean its the stupidest argument that can be made... "Player X didn't do well in the Prem so there's no guarantee Player Y will either" Let me tell you something Muzchap, there is no guarantee on ANYTHING, Messi could come here and fail. It has nothing to do with the league just the make up of the player, some adjust and others don't.

What exactly does the club stand for again? I mean according to you of course?

If you can come up with one name that wouldn't be a gamble I would love to hear it. No transfer comes without inherit risk... You basically hedge your bets against risk vs reward and quite honestly, Pogba is the type of player I'd like to see the club gamble on. If he reaches his potential we have a Yaya Toure type figure at the club for maybe 10+ seasons.

I don't want Shaw at £30m, no one knows what Pogba is valued at, I've seen £50m which I wouldn't hesitate to pay. Costa at 32m is not bad if he works out to be the player we need. Chelsea spent 31m on Willian, 20m on Schurrle, 8m on Van Ginkel, 5.5m on Atsu... That was considered a slow summer for Chelsea and we spent something like 63M.... 80M is not a huge amount of money for this club.

Ok - my view (and just my view)

A) I'm not whining - I'm making a statement

I have been around long enough to know nothing is guaranteed - so my point is why spend €65 million if nothing is guaranteed? We seem to be falling into the trap that money spent = success - yes it does to a certain extent but like anything there is a natural saturation point...

C) We have invested in a lot of youth and spent considerable sums on a youth Academy that is now bearing fruit - why can't we explore that avenue - yes it's the same risk, but a risk that doesn't cost €65 million - so in essence it's a better risk

I can't name any guaranteed player

Chelsea's philosophy IMHO is to buy young talent cheap and sell high - to balance the books and try to promote youth - now we have a poor record of this, but I do genuinely believe that is the clubs ambition...

Not looking for an argument or anything - that's just my opinion - formed over a number of years and few thousand posts

[Chelsea Legend 11 4,062]

Shaw is not a 'lock'. He's a massive gamble. Pogba at more than twice that price is also a massive gamble.

I'm still intrigued by your use of the phrase 'hedging your bets' when you're talking about committing so much money towards Pogba.

As for my bias towards English players, I think we need an English core at this club. I also like Shaw for purely sentimental reasons as well, which I've never really denied.

I can only go on what I've seen and for me Pogba is about to be one of the best midfielders in the world. I can't say that about Shaw or Chalobah that's why I'm willing to hedge my bet on him. You seem to be hell bent on English talent being the backbone of the club regardless of whether or not that talent is even close to good enough for a top 5 club in the World.

Top 5 clubs need world class talent, if you can say with a straight face that Chalobah is close to being as good as Pogba I would like to know where you see the evidence?

[The only place to be 11,313]

Chalobah who is currently struggling to be a consistent player in the championship is the guy we should hedge our bets on guys. He will come back to Chelsea and save us money(which clearly isn't even required) and perform better than he did at Middlesborough because he's English and that good.

Why spend 50m on Pogba who is considered the next Yaya when we don't have to spend a penny on Chalobah and Tiago???

LOL

Is 'hedge our bets' some kind of phrase of the day or something?

Chalobah hasn't just been around for the last six months. At Watford he was one of the best players in the Championship. He's been voted England young player of the year. He was a star in our FA Youth Cup team up against a certain Paul Pogba....the same Paul Pogba who left to go to Juve at roughly the same age Nat is now for a tiny fee before erupting into this amazing player.

So if you want to tell me that Nat Chalobah doesn't have what it takes to be a top level player for us then that's fine. I'll trust your analytical abilities. If the same goes for Ruben Loftus-Cheek then maybe there's a strong impetus for us to invest what is a large sum in a player like Pogba. But if the club thinks they can develop a player of similar quality in-house then there's a good reason not to take such a large gamble.

If we signed Shaw, Pogba, and Costa we'd dominate and win this league at a canter.

If we signed just Costa and gave the youngsters a chance whilst bringing in someone like Tiago we'd win the league too. I can't prove that, just like you can't prove your assertion, but I strongly think we're not that far off being the best team around already.

Send Chalobah, RLC, Lew Baker, Bamford, etc to bottom table Prem sides for a season or two and see if they're ready. In the mean time we need players who are proven at the highest level and can help us win NOW.

The highest level isn't Serie A and the Europa League. We should send Pogba on loan too, just to make sure.

[Muzchap 8,966]

https://twitter.com/jakefcohen/status/471635799637651456

We can afford that quite comfortably.

So a guy on twitter says we can afford £150 million

Great - does that include/exclude wages?

And it's a little fishy, this guy knowing the exact transfer budget, which is a closely guarded secret?

I mean you can't keep Roman out of the press talking about budgets, transfer kitty's etc oh hang on....

[The only place to be 11,313]

I can only go on what I've seen and for me Pogba is about to be one of the best midfielders in the world. I can't say that about Shaw or Chalobah that's why I'm willing to hedge my bet on him. You seem to be hell bent on English talent being the backbone of the club regardless of whether or not that talent is even close to good enough for a top 5 club in the World.

Top 5 clubs need world class talent, if you can say with a straight face that Chalobah is close to being as good as Pogba I would like to know where you see the evidence?

THAT'S NOT THE CORRECT WAY TO USE THAT PHRASE. Stop saying hedge your bets unless you actually mean hedge your bets. What you actually mean to say is 'go all in' which is the complete fucking opposite of hedging your bets. It couldn't be further away from what you mean to say if you tried.

You could literally mash the keyboard with your fists and it would probably produce something more apt than saying 'hedge your bets'. OK?

No offence.

Phew.....right.

As for Chalobah, I've never really failed to be impressed by him. I've been a fan of his since his days in the youth team and at Watford he looked a very special player. In fact if you're looking for a player to be like Yaya Toure then it's probably Nat. He has that laconic style that Yaya has whereas Pogba is a lot more agile and fleet of foot.

But I would back Nat Chalobah to step up if given the chance. There's a reason the club gave him such a big contract and the belief amongst the coaches seems to be there too. It's also not just him, but Loftus-Cheek too.

Spending €65 million on a 21 year old when we have similar players aged 19 and 18 just strikes me as a little silly. That's double what we spent on Hazard for instance, more than four times what we spent on Lukaku and three times what we spent on Courtois and Azpilicueta COMBINED.

I don't quite get the ease with which people can find themselves with such spending.

[Chelsea Legend 11 4,062]

Ok - my view (and just my view)

A) I'm not whining - I'm making a statement

I have been around long enough to know nothing is guaranteed - so my point is why spend €65 million if nothing is guaranteed? We seem to be falling into the trap that money spent = success - yes it does to a certain extent but like anything there is a natural saturation point...

C) We have invested in a lot of youth and spent considerable sums on a youth Academy that is now bearing fruit - why can't we explore that avenue - yes it's the same risk, but a risk that doesn't cost €65 million - so in essence it's a better risk

I can't name any guaranteed player

Chelsea's philosophy IMHO is to buy young talent cheap and sell high - to balance the books and try to promote youth - now we have a poor record of this, but I do genuinely believe that is the clubs ambition...

Not looking for an argument or anything - that's just my opinion - formed over a number of years and few thousand posts

i don't think Chelsea have come anywhere NEAR the saturation point! We don't even have a striker or a proper functioning midfield. The teams that do well do so by spending, City won the league, Real won Europe, Bayern ran away with Germany. The common thread is money invested...

The youth academy hasn't given us any fruit as yet. Until we can see players break into the squad and play regularly it can't be considered working. Its a very tough squad to break into because in my head Chelsea is about winning, not developing players. We use the youth as a means to develop and sell on but integrating them into the first team hasn't been a practice of this Chelsea at all... I agree it has to change but that will have to be a gradual change.

I player like Paul Pogba is a threat to many of our young players because he looks every bit like a world beater and that would mean less opportunities for them. Thats why everyone who values our youth set up seem so threatened by acquiring a player of that magnitude. Me, I just want the best players at the squad, I'm attached to the badge, names come and go all the time.

[Pizy 18,959]

Is 'hedge our bets' some kind of phrase of the day or something?

Chalobah hasn't just been around for the last six months. At Watford he was one of the best players in the Championship. He's been voted England young player of the year. He was a star in our FA Youth Cup team up against a certain Paul Pogba....the same Paul Pogba who left to go to Juve at roughly the same age Nat is now for a tiny fee before erupting into this amazing player.

So if you want to tell me that Nat Chalobah doesn't have what it takes to be a top level player for us then that's fine. I'll trust your analytical abilities. If the same goes for Ruben Loftus-Cheek then maybe there's a strong impetus for us to invest what is a large sum in a player like Pogba. But if the club thinks they can develop a player of similar quality in-house then there's a good reason not to take such a large gamble.

If we signed just Costa and gave the youngsters a chance whilst bringing in someone like Tiago we'd win the league too. I can't prove that, just like you can't prove your assertion, but I strongly think we're not that far off being the best team around already.

The highest level isn't Serie A and the Europa League. We should send Pogba on loan too, just to make sure.

It's not just playing in Serie A and the Europa League. It's starting for one of the world's biggest clubs, winning titles, and playing against some of Europe's elite sides. None if which our kids have done.

[Muzchap 8,966]

So this is the link from Jake Cohen

http://weaintgotnohistory.sbnation.com/2014/5/12/5707484/chelsea-ffp-earnings-set-to-increase-30-percent-to-340m

So his analysis is that we are compliant in the 2013-14 season and can therefore go gangbusters now - and take a hit in 14-15 season...

I just don't see it - but I'm happy to be proven wrong - as long as it benefits the club

[Chelsea Legend 11 4,062]

THAT'S NOT THE CORRECT WAY TO USE THAT PHRASE. Stop saying hedge your bets unless you actually mean hedge your bets. What you actually mean to say is 'go all in' which is the complete fucking opposite of hedging your bets. It couldn't be further away from what you mean to say if you tried.

You could literally mash the keyboard with your fists and it would probably produce something more apt than saying 'hedge your bets'. OK?

No offence.

Phew.....right.

As for Chalobah, I've never really failed to be impressed by him. I've been a fan of his since his days in the youth team and at Watford he looked a very special player. In fact if you're looking for a player to be like Yaya Toure then it's probably Nat. He has that laconic style that Yaya has whereas Pogba is a lot more agile and fleet of foot.

But I would back Nat Chalobah to step up if given the chance. There's a reason the club gave him such a big contract and the belief amongst the coaches seems to be there too. It's also not just him, but Loftus-Cheek too.

Spending €65 million on a 21 year old when we have similar players aged 19 and 18 just strikes me as a little silly. That's double what we spent on Hazard for instance, more than four times what we spent on Lukaku and three times what we spent on Courtois and Azpilicueta COMBINED.

I don't quite get the ease with which people can find themselves with such spending.

hedge your bet means protecting yourself against making a poor choice. Pogba vs Chalobah or Tiago....