Chelsea Transfers

[Tomo 21,751]

10 minutes ago, Superblue_1986 said:

The only thing putting me off this is Azpi's lack of height. I'm not even too concerned about this in open play for the majority of games, but set pieces at the moment are killing us and although there can be question marks over tactics and coaching, it doesn't help that we don't have enough players tall and physical enough to handle this. 

Tbh i've sort of made peace with our set piece issues, as @NikkiCFC has just alluded too it's runs a lot deeper than height. I'm not even sure it's (hugely) on the coaching either as we were just as bad if not worse with them under Sarri (that's why i never brought the theory things would improve once Rudi returned).

There's ways round it though like anything, minimizing the amount we concede in the first place being the most obvious one, City (who themselves have set piece woes) have done that.

[Superblue 6,372]

47 minutes ago, NikkiCFC said:

I think this is not the only reason we suffer at set pieces.

Last game we had Giroud 193cm, RLC 191cm, Rudiger 190cm, Christensen 188cm and Alonso 188cm and still we struggled badly.

I agree it's not just about the height - you only have to look at that list, it's difficult to pick any of them you'd trust to impose themselves and dominate their opponent when defending set pieces.

But Azpilicueta is not going to improve that either.

We really need a physical, dominating presence in the backline and someone to lead by example. It won't provide an instant fix, but it would make a difference. I'm really disappointed that Rudiger hasn't stepped up. I always felt he seemed to have the right mentality and personality to be a leader and possibly even a future captain but he just doesn't seem capable to lead the defence this season where in the absence of David Luiz, he is now the senior centre back. 

[Vesper 30,195]

the very fact that a washed up CB who turns 34 in the coming season (Jan Vertonghen and who is a SPUDS player) is being tossed out there shows the dire level of our CB situ

[Vesper 30,195]

 

[Vesper 30,195]

PSG make shock 4-year extension offer to Layvin Kurzawa

https://www.getfootballnewsfrance.com/2020/psg-make-shock-4-year-extension-offer-to-layvin-kurzawa/

 

 

IF that goes down, then Telles is a clear shot in terms of availability with no hard competition

after watching Willian's corner kicks for ages, Telles would be like going from League One to the EPL

[Vesper 30,195]

Chelsea give up on Birmingham City youngster Jude Bellingham?

https://www.sportsmole.co.uk/football/man-utd/transfer-talk/news/chelsea-give-up-on-jude-bellingham_403467.html

Chelsea have reportedly withdrawn their interest in signing Birmingham City youngster Jude Bellingham.

Having already established himself as a key player at St Andrew's at the age of 16, the midfielder is naturally being linked with a move to a bigger club.

The Blues have been monitoring the development of the prospect ahead of potentially launching an approach during the next transfer window.

However, the Manchester Evening News claims that only Manchester United and Borussia Dortmund are now present in the race for the player.

Earlier on Monday, it was suggested that Dortmund had emerged as the favourites to sign Bellingham, who may cost in the region of £30m.

The academy graduate has just one year left on his existing terms at the Championship side.

[Dec 33]

8 hours ago, Superblue_1986 said:

The only thing putting me off this is Azpi's lack of height. I'm not even too concerned about this in open play for the majority of games, but set pieces at the moment are killing us and although there can be question marks over tactics and coaching, it doesn't help that we don't have enough players tall and physical enough to handle this. 

I don't think it's just Azpi's height that is concerning. You look at the Villa goal and he wasn't organising the defence. The common theme here is that we need a leader, as well as a physically dominating player. Azpi is a nice guy, but he's not a John Terry style 'shout at your defence to get them in the right position' type player. In my opinion Azpi doesn't tick any of our centre back boxes.

[Strike 7,491]

15 hours ago, Special Juan said:

Ajax have signed Steklenberg from Everton, and the fans of Ajax have draped a banner outside their training ground ask Onana to stay one more year.

Stekelengurg must be cover. He is 37

[Vesper 30,195]

10 minutes ago, Strike said:

Stekelengurg must be cover. He is 37

and soon 38, right at the season start

[Vesper 30,195]

15 minutes ago, Dec said:

I don't think it's just Azpi's height that is concerning. You look at the Villa goal and he wasn't organising the defence. The common theme here is that we need a leader, as well as a physically dominating player. Azpi is a nice guy, but he's not a John Terry style 'shout at your defence to get them in the right position' type player. In my opinion Azpi doesn't tick any of our centre back boxes.

unless he is a RCB in a back 3, Azpi has zero business as a CB

if we are reduced to him as a regular CB in a 2 man partnership, we are well fucked

[Blues Forever 1,232]

 

[Vesper 30,195]

Just now, Blues Forever said:

 

 

Chelsea’s recruitment should now focus on centre-backs

https://theathletic.com/1885351/2020/06/23/centre-backs-chelsea-koulibaly-upamecano-boateng-alaba-transfer-lampard/

If Chelsea truly have ambitions to challenge Liverpool and Manchester City for the Premier League title next season, then surely they have to switch their attention in the transfer market from attack to defence.

Over £80 million of the budget has already gone on two fine signings who should provide and create goals in Hakim Ziyech and Timo Werner. Yet negotiations with Bayer Leverkusen are ongoing for another forward threat in Kai Havertz.

You have to wonder why.

Havertz is clearly a quality player and will bring even more firepower to Frank Lampard’s side, but surely a top centre-back has to be the main priority?

Leverkusen want as much as £90 million for Havertz. It is understandable. The 21-year-old Germany international has scored 12 goals and delivered six assists in the Bundesliga this season.

There will be Chelsea fans that want the club to add him to the squad regardless, to make the team’s attack the best form of defence. They would certainly be entertaining but anyone who watched the 2-1 away win over Aston Villa on Sunday would have been given yet another reminder about one of the current side’s most glaring weaknesses.

The manner in which a cross from Douglas Luiz exposed the back line for Kortney Hause to put the home side in front was an all too familiar sight. It wasn’t the only occasion — despite being a one-sided contest for the most part — that second-bottom Villa threatened in this fashion.

Chelsea are actively pursuing Leicester City’s England international Ben Chilwell to solve their concerns at left-back and doing that deal will take a further £50 million from the kitty at least. Even with a wealthy benefactor in owner Roman Abramovich, funds aren’t limitless and Financial Fair Play rules, despite UEFA postponing the break-even assessments until next season, have to be taken into account.

Head coach Lampard played for Chelsea with one of the best defenders the Premier League has seen in John Terry but the current group don’t have anyone close to that level.

All four do have their qualities: Antonio Rudiger is strong in the tackle, Andreas Christensen is good on the ball and wins possession with good timing, Fikayo Tomori has great pace and reads the game well, and Kurt Zouma is good in the air and won’t be bullied.

But all have their weaknesses, too. None of them communicates particularly well on the pitch and it shows in the goals-against column. Chelsea have only the eighth-best record in the Premier League, having conceded 40 times in their 30 games. It is why Lampard has regularly changed partnerships throughout the campaign.

You get the feeling each of the current quartet would benefit from having a domineering presence, the finished vocal product, alongside him. Liverpool were one of the most exciting teams to watch in Europe but it took the purchase of Virgil van Dijk, along with a quality keeper Alisson, in successive 2018 windows to turn them into winners.

The problem is there aren’t many players of Van Dijk’s calibre in the game, never mind one that will be easy to prise away from their current club. But Chelsea surely have to look, and try.

In fairness, The Athletic has been aware of Lampard’s desire to improve this department from the outset. As early as the Champions League game away at Lille in October, he was telling those around him about the team being too small and that this was to their detriment at set pieces.

It is understood Chelsea have explored the possibility of acquiring David Alaba from Bayern Munich in recent months but were given short shrift. This does show, though, that the issue hasn’t been forgotten.

So, who else is there?

Alaba’s team-mate Jerome Boateng could do a job in the short term. He turns 32 in September, which doesn’t exactly fit Chelsea’s business model. However, he has played over 300 times for Bayern, earned 76 caps for Germany and will be relatively cheap given there is just a year left on his contract.

Chelsea could always return to Bayern’s Bundesliga rivals RB Leipzig and make a move for Dayot Upamecano. Clearly, the two clubs are on good terms following the smooth negotiations over Werner.

Upamecano is valued at £54 million. He certainly has a lot of quality and is good on the ball but at 21, the Frenchman is still learning the game and so doesn’t fit as the experienced figurehead this piece refers to.

How about shopping in Serie A, a division known for its defending? The first name readers ask about is Kalidou Koulibaly (above) and for good reason. The Senegal international has built some reputation at Napoli and Chelsea came close to signing him four years ago.

They know from that saga how difficult negotiating with Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis can be, although they did get him to sell midfielder Jorginho in summer 2018. Recently, De Laurentiis said he would consider an offer of £90 million for Koulibaly, which is some outlay given he turned 29 over the weekend and so, will have little sell-on value by the time of departure.

Like Koulibaly, Fiorentina’s rising star Nikola Milenkovic employs Fali Ramadani as his agent. This is significant because Ramadani has a good relationship with Chelsea.

Milenkovic would solve the height issue Lampard is concerned about — he is just under 6ft 5in tall and is a real asset at both ends of the pitch. As with Koulibaly, the 22-year-old will be very expensive to prise away.

The same goes for Inter Milan’s Milan Skriniar, 25. The Slovakian is valued by Inter coach Antonio Conte, a man who won’t be too inclined to do Chelsea any favours due to the manner of his departure from Stamford Bridge two years ago.

Chelsea could always look to Spain to see what’s available. Atletico Madrid are renowned for keeping things tight and their Uruguay international Jose Gimenez has quite a reputation. Unfortunately, the 25-year-old also has quite a sizeable release clause in his contract of £110 million.

After seeing the enigma David Luiz in action up close over the past decade, Chelsea may be reluctant to see another Brazilian guarding their penalty area but Sevilla’s Diego Carlos, who is said to interest Barcelona, Real Madrid and Liverpool, is respected in La Liga for being a very solid player.

Sevilla winger Nolito describes him as “stronger than vinegar”. Such an attribute won’t come cheap — the 27-year-old’s release clause is worth £68 million.

There are no easy solutions but the Premier League’s most successful manager Sir Alex Ferguson once said “attack wins you games, defence wins you titles” and after his 13 triumphs at Manchester United, who can argue with him?

Chelsea, take note.

[Pizy 18,927]

Maybe Frank is thinking that if we add a bunch of clinical, killer attacking players we simply don't need a new CB? Like, if we are actually able to convert the countless chances we often create and make our dominance of all these smaller clubs count we can demoralize them and our defense wouldn't be under pressure so much.

Look what City does to just about every small PL team. Blitz them so hard that they basically give up.

[Superblue 6,372]

4 minutes ago, Pizy said:

Maybe Frank is thinking that if we add a bunch of clinical, killer attacking players we simply don't need a new CB? Like, if we are actually able to convert the countless chances we often create and make our dominance of all these smaller clubs count we can demoralize them and our defense wouldn't be under pressure so much.

Look what City does to just about every small PL team. Blitz them so hard that they basically give up.

I think there is some consideration to this.

Our defence in my opinion has at times this season been made to look worse than it is by our attack failing to convert it's dominance. There have been so many games this season that we have dominated and wasted chance after chance, only to be either 1-0 ahead or still level with 20 minutes to go and the opposition grow in confidence and suddenly sense an opportunity to "have a go". The more desperate we've got as games have gone on to get a goal has left us more and more open too.

The defence still needs to be improved, and a leader at the back would more often than not help us see out 1-0 wins or keep a clean sheet for a 0-0. Just converting 2 or 3 of those late losses into draws now would have us in a much more commanding position in the table, they make a huge difference. 

However as you mentioned, City or Liverpool over the last couple of seasons would put 2 or 3 on a lot of teams within the first half or first hour and for the opposition then it's simply damage limitation and the game can be seen out comfortably. 

The lack of clinical and cutting edge to our attack this season has been just as problematic as defensive lapses and I'm quietly confident that the two players we've already signed for next season will help change that.

[Dec 33]

1 hour ago, Superblue_1986 said:

I think there is some consideration to this.

Our defence in my opinion has at times this season been made to look worse than it is by our attack failing to convert it's dominance. There have been so many games this season that we have dominated and wasted chance after chance, only to be either 1-0 ahead or still level with 20 minutes to go and the opposition grow in confidence and suddenly sense an opportunity to "have a go". The more desperate we've got as games have gone on to get a goal has left us more and more open too.

The defence still needs to be improved, and a leader at the back would more often than not help us see out 1-0 wins or keep a clean sheet for a 0-0. Just converting 2 or 3 of those late losses into draws now would have us in a much more commanding position in the table, they make a huge difference. 

However as you mentioned, City or Liverpool over the last couple of seasons would put 2 or 3 on a lot of teams within the first half or first hour and for the opposition then it's simply damage limitation and the game can be seen out comfortably. 

The lack of clinical and cutting edge to our attack this season has been just as problematic as defensive lapses and I'm quietly confident that the two players we've already signed for next season will help change that.

I don't disagree with this but you also have to consider that Man City had Kompany until this season, and Liverpool leaked goals until they bought Van Djik. Liverpool finished 4th the season before they bought Van Djik and like us this season lost stupid games against Burnley, Bournemouth (4-3!), Swansea and Crystal Palace.

 

Even after buying Van Djik in the Winter Window of 2017-18 their form dramatically improved.

Before Van Djik (PL only): W11, D8, L2. W%: 52%

After Van Djik (PL only): W10, D4, L3. W%: 59%

 

To put it in real terms, if we had a Van Djik type player, we would have won 2 more games this season and would be on 57 points not 51. That would be 11 points clear of Man United and Wolves and 6 points behind Man City in 2nd. That isn't even considering the above effect of being able to break teams down and the real world situations this has happened in - I can think of many games where we've dropped points where should have won because we couldn't score (Bournemouth at Home, Newcastle Away, Southampton at Home and West Ham at Home). However, it's equally important to note how many games we've thrown away leads in after dominating (Sheffield United at Home, Leicester at Home, Arsenal at Home to name three).

[Jype 6,398]

1 hour ago, Pizy said:

Maybe Frank is thinking that if we add a bunch of clinical, killer attacking players we simply don't need a new CB? Like, if we are actually able to convert the countless chances we often create and make our dominance of all these smaller clubs count we can demoralize them and our defense wouldn't be under pressure so much.

Look what City does to just about every small PL team. Blitz them so hard that they basically give up.

Yeah, that's most likely the plan.

Also for going after a player like Havertz it's now or never, because even if he doesn't move this year there's bound to be a lot more competition for his signature next year and our chances of getting him would be much lower, so maybe the club are thinking of trying to solve everything in attack now and worry about the defense (and GK) later, much like Liverpool did pre-VVD.

That being said, if the club don't get Havertz I sure hope there's a plan to go after a quality central defender because the money seems to be available for the right target anyway. 

[Styl1994 188]

34 minutes ago, Jype said:

Yeah, that's most likely the plan.

Also for going after a player like Havertz it's now or never, because even if he doesn't move this year there's bound to be a lot more competition for his signature next year and our chances of getting him would be much lower, so maybe the club are thinking of trying to solve everything in attack now and worry about the defense (and GK) later, much like Liverpool did pre-VVD.

That being said, if the club don't get Havertz I sure hope there's a plan to go after a quality central defender because the money seems to be available for the right target anyway. 

What’s the right target for center back though their seems to be no clear answer.

[Blues Forever 1,232]

Personally i don't see this happening, it's either Havertz or Benrahma unless we're going to use Werner as ST and offload Giroud.

[Jase 43,479]

20 minutes ago, Blues Forever said:

Personally i don't see this happening, it's either Havertz or Benrahma unless we're going to use Werner as ST and offload Giroud.

Is this where we are at now? Believing "stories" from some random bloggers?

[Blues Forever 1,232]

5 minutes ago, Jason said:

Is this where we are at now? Believing "stories" from some random bloggers?

If it's just a random bloggers like Simon Phillips then no, but Goldberg has been hosting podcast with many big name journos (Honigstein, Johnson, and Twomey for example who have an inside source within the club).