Chelsea Transfers

[Ryan Fong 2,776]

And who is the “director of sports?”
Since the departure of Emenalo, Marina is responsible for player transactions as well as overseeing the academy and scouting structure.
If there has been poor scouting, then while the scouts were bad, she trusted them and it’s her responsibility.
She is in control of hiring and firing people, only Roman and Bruce have more power than her to overrule her decisions. And Roman usually sides with her. Marina does it so well, she keeps her business hidden from cameras so we don’t know how she behaves.
So sorry, until you name me whoelse oversees the structures of this club, I strongly disagree that she was, is and only responsible for the signing fees.
 
EDIT: Also keep in mind we have no “manager” anymore since Conte.

In your POV you literally blame her for every bad things to the club purely because she’s the highest in the hierarchy. “while the scouts were bad, she trusted them and it’s her responsibility” OH MY I dunno even how should I reply to this, why hundreds of millions of pounds to hire these losers then, I’m sure Marina can run the club by herself LOL. Every defeats were all down to Marina because she hired and trusted the manager yeh? Dead end, you’re too stubborn to see things logically so no points for further discussion.

P.s. “manager” “coach” who bloody cares, why are you doing this? You know who was I referring to.

[Ryan Fong 2,776]

Actually most defeats goes down to the board. Not just Marina. But my point is that Marina is not only responsible for signing players. You are minimising what she does for this club.

The signing of Drinkwater for example is mainly the fault of the scouts who picked him, but come on now she’s not a robot or a person without a brain, of course she is going to question WHY Drinkwater and they have to make a case. If Scott McLachlan is the reason why we had poor signings over the years, sack him! He (and these scouts) are still here though, so Marina has to take some blame on this.

The wage that some of these players are getting for doing F’all including Drinkwater is ridiculous.

Thank you, you just support my point partially by saying it’s mainly scouts’ fault for awful signings which was the center point of your initial post. And based on what she should question a target identified by scouts & co and the manager? Her football knowledge? Really? She will only question if the player’s transfer fee is too high and are there any alternatives, then new names come up for her to negotiate. Now tell me, how the hell is her responsibility for bad signings? (Purely ability wise, don’t drag transfer fees and salaries into the debate. I said it she’s only responsible financial wise) And ask yourself few questions. Do 100% successful rate scouts even exist? Do you sack them after one or two bad targets? How do you know she didn’t sack the inept scouts?

 

 

Edit: let’s put it to an end, you can’t convince me even a tiny bit and seems like neither can I. Sorry guys for detailing this thread a bit. Good day.

[Dimitr 488]

Let’s get this done ✅ 
first choice mendy 

second choice: kepa 

[Rekin 835]

Incredible window so far, can't wait for the season to start.

The only thing I am missing right now is this complete bastard of a player in the team (think Ballack/Terry, not Costa), someone to make the others around him fire up and give 100%. A true leader.

We have so many young and "nice" players and I'm concerned that many of them might crack under the pressure during the season.
Who is currently expected to drive the others? We are looking at up to 5 new starting players, a GK who is probably close to a mental breakdown and a constantly changing CB pairing. 

Thiago Silva is a great addition and will help a lot, but I have never seen him as a strong leader on the pitch. 
Giroud is actually a good shout, but between Werner and Tammy I doubt he will be starting most games.
Jorginho could work, but is also unlikely to start most games (if he even stays).

I have heard that Rice has the potential to be that type of player. it is one of the primary reasons why I really wish he joins us this summer. 

 

[Tomo 21,733]

2 hours ago, Mana said:

She doesn’t just “negotiate”, she’s the chief. She has a lot more power than you think at this club. Example Conte had better targets, but he didn’t get them and we got players like Zappa instead. You don’t think she played NO part in that?

Are you implying she identified and targeted Zappacosta herself?

The lack of blame Conte gets for those windows is outrageous. Look at our transfers since he's left and then compare them to his at Inter, which party is signing similar profile players to the ones we signed in 17/18? I mean he's even gone after two of them again fgs.

2 hours ago, Mana said:

Forgot about Kovacic, but that’s because he came on loan.

Kepa wasn’t Sarri’s target. It was a desperate target from the board after they fecked up with Courtois.

Higs well.

It was widely reported Sarri tried to get Kepa at Napoli on the recommendation of Pepe Reina (who played NT with him).

[Tomo 21,733]

3 minutes ago, Mana said:

Which are?

Emerson and Giroud, which is even more ironic as they came in the January window that triggered him jacking it in completely (in the league).

Conte's still moaning at Inter despite getting nearly 20 new players including his preferred striker and literally the perfect wingback for his system, at this point you have to wonder, what actually will make the guy happy, or even content?

[killer1257 3,282]

Delete

 

 

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[Fernando 6,496]

2 hours ago, Mana said:

It’s sad and annoying. People are praising Marina and saying “well done Marina” for getting all these players in for THIS window.

Aka, when it’s good transfers it’s Marina. When it’s bad transfers, “it’s xxx fault!”

Just be fecking consistent. (And I’m not talking directly at you @Ryan Fong)

You have a certain point, i give you that. 

But as have been mentioned the reason we have a good transfer is:

1. Money coming in, weather it's players sale or Roman.

2. Lampard and Cech in the team, many of these players mentioned that in their signing. They grew up idolising these players.

3. Coronavirus has impacted all clubs and only clubs with deep pockets can benefit. Thus our money in this market pulls more then in any other time. 

So all those factor pushed our transfer window and then we have Marina who is a good negotiator. We have seen that in the past with Morata and Hazard sale. So in this type of environment she flourished. As you know as a club you have the advantage and the other clubs have no choice as they need to sell because of covid loses. 

[Blues Forever 1,232]

2 minutes ago, killer1257 said:

According to Fabrizio Romano, we are in for Thiago. He said that on an Instagram comment
@Jason I do not want to get your hopes high ^^

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[killer1257 3,282]

 

Yes,I saw that later after I already posted it. That is why I deleted my comment. Sorry

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[Dimitr 488]

We don’t need Thiago we signed havertz .

 

in other news mendy will be our next signing 

[Fernando 6,496]

Is that guy any good?

I just don't get excited about this one. I get the vibe of a Bakayoko type of signing.  

[Dimitr 488]

5 minutes ago, Fernando said:

Is that guy any good?

I just don't get excited about this one. I get the vibe of a Bakayoko type of signing.  

Anyone is better than kepa so he will be an upgrade for sure . 
We keep mendy for one year and next summer sell kepa , sign a worldclass gk and keep mendy for back-up gk . 
 

[Fernando 6,496]

Comparing Chelsea-linked goalkeepers Édouard Mendy, Alphonse Areola, Mike Maignan

A close look at the Ligue 1 goalkeepers in the Chelsea rumor mill

 

Chelsea seem to have finally arrived at a short(-ish) shortlist of goalkeepers for this window: Mike Maignan of Lille, Alphonse Areola of PSG, and Édouard Mendy of Rennes — a rather interesting and varied collection of No.16s.

Maignan makes a strong case for why young goalkeepers should leave big clubs at the earliest possible opportunity in order to get game time at smaller clubs. Areola is an example of how staying at big clubs for too long can hamper a player’s development. And Mendy has one of the most unusual trajectories in the sport: he made his professional debut at 24 in Ligue 2, and has just three full seasons of experience at the age of 28.

Without further ado, let’s take a look at how the above three, and the current incumbent Kepa Arrizabalaga, fare against each other in different aspects of goalkeeping.

Note: all stats have been taken from FBRef and Understat unless mentioned otherwise. Areola’s 2018-19 stats have been considered because he did not play enough in 2019-20. The most recent stats have been used for everyone else.

SHOT STOPPING

 

Areola is quite clearly the best shot-stopper linked to Chelsea, with Mendy behind by some margin. Maignan has always been close to a net-zero contributor when it comes to this aspect of the game, and it is not surprising to see him where right along that line once again. Nevertheless, all three would be huge upgrades on Chelsea’s current options from a pure shot-stopping perspective, as shown by Kepa’s position in the chart.

Goals saved above average (GSAA) is a different metric than we’ve used before to measure shot-stopping quality, which was post-shot expected goals +/- (PSxG +/-). GSAA is the difference between actual save percentage and expected save percentage, and it acts as a more well-rounded way of measuring shot-stopping as it accounts for the number of shots faced by a goalkeeper.

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CROSS COLLECTION

 

Even though he is shorter than Areola and Mendy by a couple inches, Maignan ranks as the best cross-collector among the three. And he is no one-hit wonder in this regard, with his cross-collection numbers ranking among the best in France since 2017-18.

Mendy uses his sizes well and collects over 10% of the crosses faced by his team. Areola ranks poorly in this regard, but this could very well be down to his manager’s tactics. Areola’s cross-collection numbers were reasonably good in 2017-18, adding further credence to the theory that he was instructed not to come for crosses.

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PASSING

 

Passing stats are as much a function of the team’s tactics as the player’s ability. Areola ranks extremely well in this regard and finds himself in elite company. Mendy and Kepa are both reasonably good passers of the ball. One could think Mendy will improve further if he moves to a better team.

Maignan’s stats in this regard are a bit worrying, although it could very well be down Lille not being a possession-based team. Maignan himself does not seem to lack confidence on the ball and is more than willing to take risks. Like Mendy, he could improve in this regard on a better team.

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SWEEPING ABILITY

 

Kepa, Mendy and Areola all perform roughly the same number of defensive actions outside the box. This means that neither Mendy nor Areola should (in theory) have issues playing behind a high line.

Maignan is slightly inferior when compared to the rest again, although this could once again be down to Lille’s tactics. But given that Mendy plays in an even more possession-shy team and puts up better metrics, this could be a slight on Maignan (as well as an indication of Mendy’s excellence).

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PROS AND CONS

Mike Maignan

Mike Maignan has effectively been discarded as an option by most media outlets, largely down to the €35m tag placed on him by Lille. It is not a stretch to say he is not worth anywhere near that amount at this point in time.

While Maignan’s cross collection metrics are good, his stature and the way he plays are not entirely convincing. His cross collection is based on him using speed to get to the ball first, and it is not easy to predict whether that would translate to the Premier League.

With the exception of Manchester City’s Ederson, most elite cross-collectors in the Premier League ply their trade by virtue of their size more than speed.

Besides, Maignan’s other metrics are not particularly impressive, and there are too many ifs and buts associated with him improving on those numbers here. For the price tag quoted, Chelsea cannot deal with so many question marks for the second time in running. Buying a cheaper goalkeeper might be a smarter move.

That leaves Chelsea with two options, three if you count not doing anything.

 

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Alphonse Areola

Alphonse Areola is extremely impressive in most metrics, and he’s been around big clubs most of his career. At the same time, he carries with him the caveat of far too little game time. This may not be an issue in the end, but for me, it is a huge worry.

Since his loan spell at Villarreal, Areola has had four seasons to establish himself as a starting quality goalkeeper at Paris Saint-Germain or Real Madrid. Yet, he has struggled to do so.

While it is perhaps not fair to expect him to be better than Thibaut Courtois or Keylor Navas, his previous competition included players such as Kevin Trapp and a painfully past-it Gianluigi Buffon.

 

Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images

This is not to say Areola is not a phenomenally gifted keeper. In terms of technique and athletic attributes, Areola is capable of being one of the best goalkeepers in the world. But for reasons unknown, he has struggled to build on his talents and finds himself in limbo. Again.

Areola would be an enormous gamble with potentially enormous upside. If he does move and everything goes well, Chelsea will have gotten a starting goalkeeper for the next half-decade.

If...

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Édouard Mendy

Edouard Mendy’s peaks are not as high as Areola’s, and his technique is nowhere near as refined. However, he is a “younger” goalkeeper (in terms of experience and game time), and he could improve exponentially in the next few years.

 

Photo by Anthony Dibon/Icon Sport via Getty Images

Mendy’s Ligue 1 basic metrics are uncannily similar to Petr Čech’s. The Chelsea legend played for worse teams and as thus faced more shots; but in terms of overall efficiency, the similarity is striking.

This is not to say Mendy is, or will be, as good as the best goalkeeper in Premier League history, but it is worthwhile statistical coincidence to point out.

 

In terms of all-round advanced metrics, Mendy profiles even more impressively. In 2019-20, he was the only goalkeeper across the top 5 leagues to fulfil the following criteria:

He is no one-season wonder either, with his statistics from 2018-19 also very impressive.

 

But Mendy is not world-class, like the likes of Manuel Neuer, Jan Oblak, or Marc-André ter Stegen would be. And for all we know, he may never reach that level. At present, he is merely a reliable option who has an impressive all-round profile.

In terms of shot-stopping, he saves most shots one would expect him to. He is no Oblak at close range efforts, but is at least above average when it comes to medium-quality and big chances. Overall, he is a net positive contributor — albeit not one at a world-class level.

 

Kepa, by comparison, is a far less impressive shot-stopper. He has been done no favours by his defence and faced a lot of big chances during his two years at Chelsea, but he is not expected to save a lot of big chances anyway. The major gripe throughout his Chelsea career has been his inability to save easier chances.

As a pressing team, Chelsea are more vulnerable to conceding big chances than the average team. Most goals conceded by City (in their pomp) and Liverpool are high-quality chances. That is merely part and parcel of being playing an aggressive pressing style.

In this context, the job of a goalkeeper is to ensure “easier” chances do not lead to goals. Saving roughly 30-35% of big chances, 40-50% of medium-quality chances and 80-85% of easier chances can be viewed as a job well done.

Furthermore, many “big” chances conceded by Chelsea this past season had come as a result of not having a commanding goalkeeper to collect crosses, be they from set pieces or open play. And Mendy could go a long way towards fixing this.

 

In terms of negatives, the first thing that stands out when watching Mendy is his tendency to parry the ball back into danger. This is a big concern but many big goalkeepers — Pope and Courtois, to use a couple quick examples — have this problem as well. It is certainly “coachable” to an extent, and in Mendy, Chelsea might be getting a player with raw upside overall.

A bigger worry might be Mendy’s capacity to adapt to a bigger club and the added pressure. After all, playing for Chelsea is a different beast altogether when compared to Rennes.

Is Mendy capable of making the jump in terms of language, culture, style and pressure? There is no metric that can predict this and we can only wait and watch and hope. But Mendy’s good enough otherwise to be first choice at least for a season at Chelsea. His success or failure would ultimately come down to his ability to cope with such a step up.

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CONCLUSION

Chelsea seem to be treating the next goalkeeping signing as a mere stop-gap, targeting a bigger signing next summer — Oblak? Donnarumma? Onana? Rajkovic? — or hoping for a sudden development from Arrizabalaga.

To that end, the order of preference from the analysis is Mendy first, followed by Areola and then Kepa. As one would expect with signings of this profile and stature, there are risks associated with each option and none of them are perfect. But Mendy ticks more boxes than Areola, and both tick more boxes than Kepa.

Your move, Chelsea.

https://weaintgotnohistory.sbnation.com/2020/9/4/21420084/comparing-chelsea-linked-goalkeepers-edouard-mendy-alphonse-areola-mike-maignan

 

Interesting read about Mendy comparing to other gk targets. 

[Blues Forever 1,232]

 

[Blues Forever 1,232]

 

[BlueLyon 9,359]

2 hours ago, Mana said:

It’s sad and annoying. People are praising Marina and saying “well done Marina” for getting all these players in for THIS window.

Aka, when it’s good transfers it’s Marina. When it’s bad transfers, “it’s xxx fault!”

Just be fecking consistent. (And I’m not talking directly at you @Ryan Fong)

Yup pretty much this. She gets the praise when good players come...when its the bad ones its ohh but she is only a negotiatiator, a financial expert.

But Marina isnt the problem per se. The problem is that she is second in command, and as such responsible for not just financials, but scouting, planning etc. And she is only expert in financials. Obviously she doesnt do scouting herself, but she is in charge of high level decisions along with Roman. If Cech has a suggestion in scouting, its definately not his call, but needs approval by a higher member; Marina or Roman (given Roman trusts Marina, its likely her decision). 

Her negotiation skills are great. As is her financial knowledge. But she is second in command and has much much greater responsibility and power. And she doesnt have football knowledge like many second in command members at other clubs have. And thats the whole point. 

You cant have someone with such limited expertise in charge of scouting decisions or team building. Or, if you have, then its her damn responsibility ffs.

Lastly, everyone is creaming over this window when season didnt even start. Lets wait how these new players settle in, then we talk about how smart our summer was. Usualy its never good to change half of starting 11, but maybe Lamps does wonders.

[Tomo 21,733]

1 minute ago, BlueLyon said:

Yup pretty much this. She gets the praise when good players come...when its the bad ones its ohh but she is only a negotiatiator, a financial expert.

Works both ways. For example, I've never once seen a successful player be pigeonholed as a "board signing" yet almost every player that flops apparently is.