Oscar

[Hutcho 8,443]

Because way too many Chelsea fans (especially those who are post-Abramovich), don't care at all about money or value or what over-spending does to football in general. If we bought Oscar for 40M, the same people would be saying "great signing, he's the next Iniesta, who cares how much we spent?". Don't get me wrong, I'm happy to have him and I will support him, we just spent way too much money to get him.

I am a "pre abramovic" fan and i like the signing. Yes 25 mil is a lot of money for a player, though we are chelsea and the truth is every club sees us coming and hikes up the prices... no way around that. Roman will pay so they try and get as much as possible. Nothing we can do about the signings and i support him. And providing we apply to all FFP regulations etc, then im not too worried whether its 20 mil or 25 mil, provided the player is great or has great potential... Also if he doesn't turn out to be a worldbeater his age gives him resale value. Rather this than spend 15 mil on a 30 year old player who wont be able to get anything back if it doesn't work.

[Stats 7,053]

One of the most exciting seasons I am looking forward to as a Chelsea fan. Funny how every season some people say Chelsea's squad is too ageing but we have brilliant talents coming throught as well. Really look forward to seeing Oscar here. It is not just like we have used our "oil money" to buy talents such as Hazard and Oscar but it is well earnt revenue from the Champions League which people have to recognise will help us when it comes to the FFP rules. That win earnt us over £45m alone.

The future looks brilliant and can't wait to see Oscar in a Chelsea shirt, just wonder where we are likely to see him play with Mata and Hazard around, in home games where we are clear favourites I would like to see them all playing together

[The Big Drog 1,110]

Because way too many Chelsea fans (especially those who are post-Abramovich), don't care at all about money or value or what over-spending does to football in general. If we bought Oscar for 40M, the same people would be saying "great signing, he's the next Iniesta, who cares how much we spent?". Don't get me wrong, I'm happy to have him and I will support him, we just spent way too much money to get him.

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.

[Rahul Haque 57]

cech

ivanovic luiz terry cole

mikel lampard

mata oscar hazard

torres

cech

ivanovic luiz terry cole

romeu oscar

ramires hazard mata

torres

cech

ivanovic cahill terry cole

romeu

oscar lampard

hazard torres mata

[Heisenberg 1,824]

Marin said that we'll play in a 4-1-4-1 formation next year , any one can confirme that ?

[Sheva. 5,373]

For example, you look at the last couple of games Brazil has played- none of Cesar, Danny Alves, Lucio, Maicon, Andre Santos, Ronaldinho, Kaka, Ramires, and Robinho played. (and Brazil lost both games).

They beat Denmark and the USA prior to that. The Mexico game was a fair loss, but the Argentina game could easily have gone either way.

And half the players you mentioned will be too old by 2014, so the team they have been using is not only preparation for the Olympics, but also for Brazil 2014.

[Hutcho 8,443]

Also brazils youth team or B team isn't exactly easy to get into either. Also at chelsea Oscar can learn from one of the best, Super frankie.

[MetsajCFC 1,255]

Why are you all so sure we've signed him or are close to signing him?

[Kojo 4,676]

When we make a thread about a player all we get is, he's brilliant a must get etc. Once it's been reported we have bidded and it's been accepted, it's all no it's too much, he won't fit our system, there's better options, he's overrated blah blah blah.

This happened with Mata, people saying he's too slow and not ready, look what happened.

[Heisenberg 1,824]

Why are you all so sure we've signed him or are close to signing him?

Beacuse lots of web sites like the Guardian or Skysports says that the deal is in a good way so...

[Superblue 6,370]

It's true, and that effects value a fair bit, but it doesn't cut it in half. Ozil went for 15M Euros. If he had another year or two left on his contract, maybe he would have gone for 20M Euros or so, maybe even more. The point is that he still would have cost a lot less than Oscar despite a much better pedigree. The issue with Oscar is not that we are paying a little too much, it's that we are paying probably 10M pounds more what a player of his experience should go for. Yes, he's a wunderkind, he's very talented, etc...but there are a lot of players like that out there. He could become an incredible player, but he could also become the next Anderson. There's simply no reason to be paying such an exorbitant fee for such an unproven player (and at a position where we didn't need anyone). 25M for a midfielder should be an elite, proven, young player, not a prospect.

On one side I agree with this, but I can't be showing double standards. I have been critical with Chelsea for a long time about not buying talent direct. By that I mean the club they have come up through. We spent vast sums on David Luiz and Ramires, and although both have become important members of our squad, Benfica purchased both for a fraction of the price they sold to us for (in Ramires case they sold him for treble the money after one season).

At the beginning of the Abramovich era we brought Cech and Robben before they made moves to a higher standard in European football. Cech has become one of our greatest players ever and Robben shone before we sold him for a substantial profit.

Unfortunately now Brazil have got smart and a lot of their players are massively hyped and priced. Oscar is not worth £25m at the moment, but I would loathe Spurs pick him up and he becomes a star. Yes it is a risk but sometimes you have to take the plunge and luckily Chelsea can afford to take a risk or two on players. A lot of people didn't think Modric was worth £16m when he moved to Spurs and didn't expect him to develop into a deep lying central midfielder in the pace and intensity of the Premier League. I believe Oscar will be groomed as a Modric type player over the next couple of seasons and wish him the best of luck in embarking on his Chelsea career.

[TorontoChelsea 4,064]

They beat Denmark and the USA prior to that. The Mexico game was a fair loss, but the Argentina game could easily have gone either way.

And half the players you mentioned will be too old by 2014, so the team they have been using is not only preparation for the Olympics, but also for Brazil 2014.

It's true that some of those players won't play in 2014, but some of them certainly will. This run of games has been to see what the younger players can do and the Olympics will be a continuation of that.

[Henrique 9,133]

The other starters in midfield recently for Brazil are Sandro, Lucas, Romulo, Caesmiro, and Gioliano. This is not Spain or Germany where the midfield are all world-class. This is a very young and unproven team and have been playing their young players as a warm-up for the Olympics so virtually all their starting players are under 23. If this were the World Cup or Copa America, Brazil would be playing a very different starting XI. For example, you look at the last couple of games Brazil has played- none of Cesar, Danny Alves, Lucio, Maicon, Andre Santos, Ronaldinho, Kaka, Ramires, and Robinho played. (and Brazil lost both games).

Only Ramires, Cesar and Danny Alves are part of Mano Menezes plans.

[Wise 45]

To put the price into perspective - Sao Paulo have rejected bids over 30 million for Lucas. Most Brazilian experts rate Oscar higher than Lucas, they say he is a much more complete player. Oscar is arguably the second best talent in Brazil after Neymar.

Hazard + Oscar + Marin = 64 million

Carroll + Downing + Henderson = 75 million

[Chelsea? 892]

Because way too many Chelsea fans (especially those who are post-Abramovich), don't care at all about money or value or what over-spending does to football in general. If we bought Oscar for 40M, the same people would be saying "great signing, he's the next Iniesta, who cares how much we spent?". Don't get me wrong, I'm happy to have him and I will support him, we just spent way too much money to get him.

most people complain about priceses. Idk what you mean. Sometime I feel some on here think guys like. Piazon, josh, kdb, kakuta and co. Are better than luka modric.

If this deal is real then:

Why do you assume the 25mil doesnt include many exculators?

[Peace. 4,352]

People, the position of a player on the paper doesn't matter, not at all. If a player is labeled as a n°10, that doesn't mean he will exclusively play in the midfield, and that he will be poor if he is played in another position. And it isn't because you play three players labeled as n°10 that it won't work. If you want to play with a 4-2-3-1 formation (since we're likely to play this way...), you aren't bound to play with a left winger, a CAM and a right winger. You can play with three CAM as well. It all depends on what the coach wants, and especially the players' individual abilities. It also depends on the ability of these three CAM to switch position, without hindering the others.

You just have to look at Barcelona, or Netherland when they played total football. But I'll use the example of Barcelona, since they are the more recent and the best example into my eyes. Iniesta is a center midfield. Though, when he is played on the left wing, he is still the world-class player we know. Pedro can play on both wing and as a striker. Messi is played as a striker, on the paper, but during the game you'll see him a lot in midfield (often deeper than Xavi). When Piqué and Puyol are high on the pitch, after a corner, and play as strikers, this doesn't disrupt the team. And I could go on.

Hence, the important thing is that the player has to be able to respond to what his coach seek out of him. If Di Matteo wants three "free electrons" behind his striker (if he wants to play in 4-2-3-1), it won't be a probleme with Hazard-Oscar-Mata as long as they can move on the pitch freely without disrupting the flow of the team, and without walking on each other's feet.

[zolayes 14,489]

To put the price into perspective - Sao Paulo have rejected bids over 30 million for Lucas. Most Brazilian experts rate Oscar higher than Lucas, they say he is a much more complete player. Oscar is arguably the second best talent in Brazil after Neymar.

Hazard + Oscar + Marin = 64 million

Carroll + Downing + Henderson = 75 million

careful how you do the Math

chelsea as above + Torres 114 million

scumpool - Torres 25 million

[TorontoChelsea 4,064]

To put the price into perspective - Sao Paulo have rejected bids over 30 million for Lucas. Most Brazilian experts rate Oscar higher than Lucas, they say he is a much more complete player. Oscar is arguably the second best talent in Brazil after Neymar.

Hazard + Oscar + Marin = 64 million

Carroll + Downing + Henderson = 75 million

So, it looks like a better bargain that the worst transfer spending in history? If you judge anything by what Liverpool did in the last couple of years, it will look great.

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.

This is just not true. I have already shown what the cost of players are today. In the last 2 seasons, Mata signed last year for 23.5M. Silva signed or 24M. Kagawa was 17.5M (with only a year left ton contract), Ozil signed for 15M Euros (same contract situation) Ya Ya Toure was 24M. Reus was 17.5M Euros, Ramires for 22M Euros, Etc..All of these players were more established than Oscar and Oscar is going for more than all of them. 25M for a midfielder should get you someone like Mueller or Modric (not for Chelsea because of the bad blood there) not just a promising young player. And "the cost of players today" is pretty much because of us and a few other teams driving up costs in moves like this one.

(And Drogba was 26 and a striker and coming off a fantastic season in League 1 and in Europe. Strikers always cost more money.)