Rumoured Luke Shaw

[LAM09 6,783]

Sorry, but if he was Bulgarian, Jose would not want him? Lol.

LOL!

I thought we were after a LB, and not an English player.

[The only place to be 11,313]

People are overblowing the English thing. Yes it's a factor in his price but don't forget that he's an 18 year old starting every week in the Premier League, and doing a damn good job at it too. He'd be expensive if he was Bulgarian or British.

[Special Juan 27,439]

If we really are in for him along with United then I have no doubt we match or even outbid United and he comes here.

[Gianfranco_Z 202]

No left back in the world is worth £25m + if FFP wasn't something we were held back by, I'd say let's do it. The money is better spent elsewhere though.

[The only place to be 11,313]

No left back in the world is worth £25m + if FFP wasn't something we were held back by, I'd say let's do it. The money is better spent elsewhere though.

£25 million is a lot but it's not too bad. If he's the full-back we all hope he can be for the next 12 years then it's actually a bargain. The problematic part is probably the wages to be honest. £100k p/w is a crazy amount and it sets him up to be earning 200-250k p/w by the time he's 27 with the way wages are going.

With the money we've got from transfers and the wages we're saving then it's very doable, and it's not like we need to spend massively elsewhere (beyond Costa).

[Reddish-Blue 2,355]

£25 million is a lot but it's not too bad. If he's the full-back we all hope he can be for the next 12 years then it's actually a bargain. The problematic part is probably the wages to be honest. £100k p/w is a crazy amount and it sets him up to be earning 200-250k p/w by the time he's 27 with the way wages are going.

With the money we've got from transfers and the wages we're saving then it's very doable, and it's not like we need to spend massively elsewhere (beyond Costa).

We still need to sign a partner for Matic....which will probably cost 30-40 million depending on the player

[The Skipper 20,593]

We still need to sign a partner for Matic....which will probably cost 30-40 million depending on the player

And we have more than enough in the coffers to afford that. Let's say we get Shaw for around £25m, we still have £15m~£25m left from Luiz's transfer alone. Add in the money we saved from January, plus wages saved from not renewing a few contracts, plus the impending sales from the likes of Ba, Mikel, Bertrand, Romeu etc; and not to forget the rest of our actual summer budget (minus the Costa transfer)... It's more than affordable.

[The only place to be 11,313]

We still need to sign a partner for Matic....which will probably cost 30-40 million depending on the player

We should still have a fair amount of money leftover after the Costa purchase to do both, but unless the Pogba move is actually on then I'd be surprised if we spent that much on a midfielder.

[ChelseaFanUK 1,014]

I reckon [may have said it in previous post] we have close to £100m-ish to spend. £50m off Luiz, the remaining sum from January roughly £24m plus any revenue from TV and competitions entered.

[Rekin 835]

I do not really think that the fee is the big issue with Shaw. The money remaining from January in combination with the Luiz fee can basically cover Shaw and Costa by itself. I am also quite certain that players like Moses, Marin, Romeu and one of Torres/Ba will leave, they will propably add £15-20m between them.
Chelsea also have a transfer budget that is unrelated to sales that is not exactly unsubstantial.

The team could propably see additions like Shaw (£30m), Costa (£32m) & Pogba/Vidal (£50m) without having more than a ~£35m net spend, and would still see an overall decline in wages.

The issue is whether it is worth paying £30m and £100k/week for an 18-year old who while good does in no way yet warrant such money. The issue becomes more complicated when we add cheaper options (that include better players) such as Moreno and Rodriguez (and possibly Sandro).
I would not be sad if we ended up with Shaw, but I would propably feel more Confident about the upcoming season with RR in leftback.
I also consider that Mou played Ivanovic as right back because of his aerial ability, and I know which one of Shaw and RR is better in the air.
If Cesar is going to displace Ivanovic then we would have two players on the flanks who are weak aerially.

[The Skipper 20,593]

I also consider that Mou played Ivanovic as right back because of his aerial ability, and I know which one of Shaw and RR is better in the air. If Cesar is going to displace Ivanovic then we would have two players on the flanks who are weak aerially.

I wouldn't say Shaw is "weak" aerially or that RR is superior in the air. Shaw is 6 ft 1 after all and is just a pure athlete...

Shaw wins 55% of his aerial duels, so does RR, so I don't think you should be worried about that.

[The only place to be 11,313]

I wouldn't say Shaw is "weak" aerially or that RR is superior in the air. Shaw is 6 ft 1 after all and is just a pure athlete...

Shaw wins 55% of his aerial duels, so does RR, so I don't think you should be worried about that.

But whoscored.com says that Rodriguez is strong at aerial duels but Luke Shaw isn't. That's a concern.

I've also had a look on whoscored.com but can't see any mention of Luke Shaw having two legs. Until they verify this I think we should proceed with caution.

[CHOULO19 24,332]

Our homegrown quota is suffering with Ash leaving and will suffer much more if Frank and Ryan leave too. So basically, any team that has an English player that we want can blackmail us for twice the price that the player would usually go for.

There just aren't enough good English players around. I mean Shaw aside, what English player would be a useful addition to our team? Rooney and Sturridge? Barry and Milner if you want to stretch it a bit? Now, how many of those are realistic transfer targets? None. That's why the homegrown status adds 10-15m on the price.

[LDN Blue 7,903]

£25 million is a lot but it's not too bad. If he's the full-back we all hope he can be for the next 12 years then it's actually a bargain. The problematic part is probably the wages to be honest. £100k p/w is a crazy amount and it sets him up to be earning 200-250k p/w by the time he's 27 with the way wages are going.

With the money we've got from transfers and the wages we're saving then it's very doable, and it's not like we need to spend massively elsewhere (beyond Costa).

To be fair I've not read him demanding such wages, the transfer fee is down to Southampton he can't do anything about it. Chelsea can always compromise on his wages over a long term, if he's indeed a fan I'm sure he'll be open to such negotiations.

[Rekin 835]

The Skipper > I was looking at the aerial duels won per game, where RR has roughly double the amount. Of course it is possible that Shaw will improve, but at the moment RR strikes me as better. I followed both Soton and Wolfsburg for 10+ games this season (which you of course might have done aswell) and I can not help but feel that RR is the one who threatens more in the air.
I do not actually base my whole argument on who is the better player by checking WS, it is just a tool to improve ones understanding as no one actually sits and counts the amount of interceptions and tackles etc. We know that Matic is good, but statistics let us understand what elements of the game he really excells in.

TOPTB, I get that you do not like referring to statistics (especially when it weakens your position), but trying to counter an argument by ridiculing it without actually adding content yourself is playground level. You can do better.

[RoyalBlues 4,050]

Again, I think Bertrand or PVA will be good enough as Azpi backup. And both are homegrown. We doesn't need another main LB, Azpi has done a good job this season and I expect he will mainly deploy in that position again next season.

[The only place to be 11,313]

TOPTB, I get that you do not like referring to statistics (especially when it weakens your position), but trying to counter an argument by ridiculing it without actually adding content yourself is playground level. You can do better.

Once again, stats have their place but it seems like for some they are the be all and end all. I like Rodriguez. I think he's a good young player but I think his stats need context (do you even know if his key passes stats includes his set-pieces because that would skew his stats considerably?).

The one thing I would say Shaw most definitely has over him is his composure. There's a remarkable maturity to Shaw's game and he seems to step up to tougher challenges whereas I've seen Rodriguez look a little dodgy at times. For proof, even whoscored says 'concentration' is a weakness for him (like omg )....is that something Mourinho would ever accept in a defender?

[ChelseaFanUK 1,014]

Again, I think Bertrand or PVA will be good enough as Azpi backup. And both are homegrown. We doesn't need another main LB, Azpi has done a good job this season and I expect he will mainly deploy in that position again next season.

I'll eat my hat if van Aanholt or Bertrand are still at Chelsea come September 1st/2nd. Be it sold or loaned out, i think they're goners