Ricardo Rodriguez

[The Skipper 20,593]

Santon showed promises in 5 consecutive league winning Inter Milan side when he was 17 but still he wasn't technically gifted, which hindered his growth. Maybe your standard for "technically gifted" is far inferior than my standard. What I mean by "technically gifted" is a player whose technique can be potentially matched up with Baines, Marcelo, Alba, Alaba and etc, who can dribble past defenders, and very strong at holding on to balls, can provide quality pass and cross consistently, which is obviously not the case for Luke Shaw.

You obviously haven't watched Shaw if you've never seen him glide past players (he's even done it versus us on numerous occasions).

Luke Shaw is a technical, attacking fullback, that's what he's known for. If you don't think that's the case then you should go watch him more often.

[Ze Mario 638]

i'd love to have one of them (either shaw and rodriguez) in our squad. but there is a gap between their ability. and rodriguez is step ahead of shaw.

and people have to stop bragging about shaw being starter at age 17. roberto carlos bloomed at the age 19, does that mean shaw better than carlos?

dont think so

the only reasonable reason is the fact about lack of english core in our squad.

me personally choose ricardo over shaw

Gibbs was never as good as Luke Shaw at his age.

Walker was promising but Walker doesn't have Luke Shaw's finesse, and again wasn't as good as Shaw was at his age.

[LondonPride1905 236]

i'd love to have one of them (either shaw and rodriguez) in our squad. but there is a gap between their ability. and rodriguez is step ahead of shaw.

and people have to stop bragging about shaw being starter at age 17. roberto carlos bloomed at the age 19, does that mean shaw better than carlos?

dont think so

the only reasonable reason is the fact about lack of english core in our squad.

me personally choose ricardo over shaw

You never know if he is going to be better or not? Do you see in the future? Carlos has finished his career , Shaw is starting it. For all we know, he can go on to be the best left - back in English history or blow - out with a big injury, but asking an 18 year old player, if he is better than Carlos, is like asking if Lukaku is bettter than Pele, just because he made his debut at 16 years.

[Ze Mario 638]

You never know if he is going to be better or not? Do you see in the future? Carlos has finished his career , Shaw is starting it. For all we know, he can go on to be the best left - back in English history or blow - out with a big injury, but asking an 18 year old player, if he is better than Carlos, is like asking if Lukaku is bettter than Pele, just because he made his debut at 16 years.

exactly

and the logic goes to the opposite side too. will he become awesome player as expected?

but you have to admit rodriguez currently better than him. and he's young too so that a plus

well, debating about ricardo and shaw can go on and on. like i said, i just want to make point that bragging about shaw became starter at age 17 doesnt mean that hes better option than ricardo

same goes to wilfried zaha, he became key member of palace at the age 17, and he helped bring palace promoted too. look where he is now. oh yeah right forget about moyes

[AswinR 96]

I was watching bundesliga highlights of late........

ricardo rodriguez is a very good player but i wouldnt pay 20 mils for the guy and not buy shaw!!

shaw is way better than him and a chelsea fan....dont see why we even need to ponder over whom to buy....

shaw 1st choice LB and PVA 2nd choice next season imo

[Chelsea Legend 11 4,062]

Why can't we have both? Luke Shaw is young and Rodriguez is nearing his prime years. Also lets not forget Shaw isn't tested at a very high level, he is looking good for Southampton but is he good enough for Europe?

Rodriguez is without a doubt the better LB but I like the fact that Shaw is homegrown and a Chelsea supporter... I say grab both and allow them to duke it out for minutes

[The only place to be 11,313]

Why can't we have both? Luke Shaw is young and Rodriguez is nearing his prime years. Also lets not forget Shaw isn't tested at a very high level, he is looking good for Southampton but is he good enough for Europe?

Rodriguez is without a doubt the better LB but I like the fact that Shaw is homegrown and a Chelsea supporter... I say grab both and allow them to duke it out for minutes

So we spend £45 million-odd on left-backs who are pretty much the same age?

[Chelsea Legend 11 4,062]

So we spend £45 million-odd on left-backs who are pretty much the same age?

We don't know how much it will cost. But given the fact that Cole is out of contract and Azpilicueta is playing out of position I'd say that is an area where investment is necessary. £45M sounds like a lot I'd £35m for the two sounds more realistic. No way Luke Shaw goes for stupid money, he has potential but it still needs to be realized. The numbers being thrown around for him are INSANE and I doubt its realistic.

[The only place to be 11,313]

We don't know how much it will cost. But given the fact that Cole is out of contract and Azpilicueta is playing out of position I'd say that is an area where investment is necessary. £45M sounds like a lot I'd £35m for the two sounds more realistic. No way Luke Shaw goes for stupid money he has potential but it still needs to be realized. The numbers being thrown around for him are INSANE and I doubt it realistic.

£20 million for Shaw is probably the starting point. If he comes then we don't need another left-back in my opinion, especially not another young guy who is probably at the same level and needs the same number of games.

[Eligius 121]

We don't know how much it will cost. But given the fact that Cole is out of contract and Azpilicueta is playing out of position I'd say that is an area where investment is necessary. £45M sounds like a lot I'd £35m for the two sounds more realistic. No way Luke Shaw goes for stupid money, he has potential but it still needs to be realized. The numbers being thrown around for him are INSANE and I doubt its realistic.

1. Luke Shaw is English

2. Luke Shaw is a teenager

3. Luke Shaw just got called up

He will definitely command stupid money (LB wise). maybe not from us, but another team.

United needs to upgrade their LB position more than we do and the importance of the fullback to Moyes, I wouldnt be surprised to seem them break the bank for Luke Shaw.

[Chelsea Legend 11 4,062]

£20 million for Shaw is probably the starting point. If he comes then we don't need another left-back in my opinion, especially not another young guy who is probably at the same level and needs the same number of games.

£20m? to start? wow... I don't know man that is a lot of dough for just potential, English or not... And I'm sorry but Rodriguez is without a doubt better than Shaw in every aspect of his game. Going forward Ricardo is better and defending Ricardo is WAY better. Shaw is decent young English talent but not bordering on world class... As I said I like the fact he is English but I don't see Ashley-like skill there.

just my opinion but £20M is where it ends for me not where it starts and I don't care what the journos say anything above that is ridiculously overpriced

[Chelsea Legend 11 4,062]

1. Luke Shaw is English

2. Luke Shaw is a teenager

3. Luke Shaw just got called up

He will definitely command stupid money (LB wise). maybe not from us, but another team.

Ryan Bertrand got called up... Luke Shaw is a newish, hot name but in terms of World football he only has potential.

[Eligius 121]

Ryan Bertrand got called up... Luke Shaw is a newish, hot name but in terms of World football he only has potential.

That may be true, however, clubs purchase players due to potential as well...

Shaw is what jack Wilshere was a few years back. The hottest young English talent. What English club wouldn't want that?

(Im not debating whether Rodriguez is better or not, just that Shaw is going to be pricey, due to what I said before).

[The only place to be 11,313]

£20m? to start? wow... I don't know man that is a lot of dough for just potential, English or not... And I'm sorry but Rodriguez is without a doubt better than Shaw in every aspect of his game. Going forward Ricardo is better and defending Ricardo is WAY better. Shaw is decent young English talent but not bordering on world class... As I said I like the fact he is English but I don't see Ashley-like skill there.

just my opinion but £20M is where it ends for me not where it starts and I don't care what the journos say anything above that is ridiculously overpriced

It's not just potential though. He's already performing at a good level week in and week out in the Premier League. You're comparing him with a guy who is three years older and making these claims about him being undisputedly better, but that's just your opinion. Shaw is the second youngest player to reach 50 PL appearances which is a remarkable achievement and he's doing well in a team who have some glaring deficiencies.

Ryan Bertrand got called up... Luke Shaw is a newish, hot name but in terms of World football he only has potential.

Bertrand got called up at the age of 22. Shaw is four years younger.

He's also English and a Chelsea supporter. That counts for something in my book.

[Chelsea Legend 11 4,062]

That may be true, however, clubs purchase players due to potential as well...

Shaw is what jack Wilshere was a few years back. The hottest young English talent. What English club wouldn't want that?

(Im not debating whether Rodriguez is better or not, just that Shaw is going to be pricey, due to what I said before).

I'm not saying Shaw wouldn't be well sought after but not for the ridiculous amounts of money I've seen him linked with. LB and RB are not positions that are traditionally big money positions mainly because the game is played in the middle of the pitch. If Shaw goes for more than £18M I would be astounded. I don't care how young he is you don't pay much more than that for a LB because he has potential... Not in a FFP world anyway.

[The only place to be 11,313]

I'm not saying Shaw wouldn't be well sought after but not for the ridiculous amounts of money I've seen him linked with. LB and RB are not positions that are traditionally big money positions mainly because the game is played in the middle of the pitch. If Shaw goes for more than £18M I would be astounded. I don't care how young he is you don't pay much more than that for a LB because he has potential... Not in a FFP world anyway.

You're kidding right? How much more space does Hazard get when there's a left-back to provide width and take a defender away from him?

In an FFP world a young guy actually makes sense because the cost can be amortised over a longer period.

[Chelsea Legend 11 4,062]

It's not just potential though. He's already performing at a good level week in and week out in the Premier League. You're comparing him with a guy who is three years older and making these claims about him being undisputedly better, but that's just your opinion. Shaw is the second youngest player to reach 50 PL appearances which is a remarkable achievement and he's doing well in a team who have some glaring deficiencies.

Bertrand got called up at the age of 22. Shaw is four years younger.

He's also English and a Chelsea supporter. That counts for something in my book.

Maybe I'm missing something, what is it that Shaw does at a world class level? how many games has he played in Europe? aren't those prerequisites for guys to command £20m at LB? I mean even Cesar was bought for £9m and had Spanish experience and European experience... I don't know how much Shaw will go for(if he goes) but anything over 18M(and that's high if you ask me) is a gross overpayment. You can make the argument that Rodriguez is one of the top 5 LB's in the world right now with room to grow he does just about everything better than Shaw(and yes I have seen him play A LOT)

The age doesn't matter either England is not exactly producing the best talent around the world and furthermore its a midseason friendly... If he can hold down a regular spot with England that would be fantastic but at current its his first cap and its unlikely he will even play... We'll see.

As far as him being English and a Chelsea supporter I've already said I love that, its not going to possess me to go above and beyond what he's actually worth though. He has good potential and could develop into one of the Premier leagues best but right now paying over £20m for him is nuts... Just my opinion though

[Chelsea Legend 11 4,062]

You're kidding right? How much more space does Hazard get when there's a left-back to provide width and take a defender away from him?

In an FFP world a young guy actually makes sense because the cost can be amortised over a longer period.

I fail to see where that actually impacts what I've said, most games are still won and lost in the middle of the pitch. What is the most a LB or RB was ever sold for? of course the position is vital but is it more valuable than a DM, CB, CF? History says no.

Yes but that doesn't detract from what I've said either, I agree, it doesn't mean you spend upwards of 25m for a LB's potential though