Chelsea Transfers

[Special Juan 28,141]

Matt Law confirming we are looking to complete the deal for Mendy based on Petr Cech and that Lampard wants a defensive midfielder with Declan Rice his main target.

We are still busy.

[Dimitr 488]

Mendy and Rice :10/10 our transfer business 

[Vesper 30,151]

45 minutes ago, Strike said:

Actually think if we wait another year, Rice will be coming in as a defensive midfielder (primarily) rather than a centreback target. There is Silva, Zouma, Christensen, Rudiger, Tomori at the club + Ampadu, Clarke-Salter, Sarr and Mbuyamba possibly waiting to get a chance.

we have the most complicated CB situation in the big 5 leagues

potentially in a great way

I agree that we need Rice MUCH more at DMF than CB

 Silva (will only be here two years max, as he surely will not play much when he is 38 years of age) 

Zouma (long term he must be sold, hopefully next summer, as he is simply not good enough and we will have plenty of others in the mix)

Christensen (must be sold soon, he simply is not going to work out, barring a miracle)

Rudiger (the CB with the most to prove, he simply must come good again thsi year as he and Silva, if they play to potential, are the two best we have (barring a hail mary Skriniar buy/swap deal)

Tomori (huge enigma, wtf happened to him with Lamps? Loan him out I guess)

Ampadu (he can pprove me wrong , and I hope he does, but he looks to be a bust atm. That said, he is SO young, and I still have some hope (DMF might ne his position) 

Clarke-Salter (I see a sale in his future, he is not starting Chels CB quality IMHO, but again, hope he proves me wrong, I have zero against the lad, he just should have 'popped' by now, he is 23yo in 2 weeks, time is tights)

Sarr (IF he does extremely well on his loan spell, he might negate one of my projected buys)

Mbuyamba (He has the most upside of any CB we have had since Terry, but is not a sure thing, but IF he comes good, we have a top 5 or top 10 CB on the planet on our hands)

 

given all that, only time will tell if we even need to go after Upamecano or Skriniar or (as I stated before a real wild card) Theo Hernandez shifted to a LCB from LB (and he can be our backup LB if Chilwell cannot go) or Giminez or Ginter or Tapsoba or anyone else not listed

 

and finally also IF we even will slide Rice over to CB

 

[Jase 43,479]

Matt Law on the Mendy pursuit...

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2020/09/07/chelsea-aiming-complete-goalkeeper-edouard-mendy-signing/

Chelsea are aiming to complete the signing of goalkeeper Edouard Mendy on the recommendation of Petr Cech from his former club Rennes.

Mendy is expected to become Chelsea’s seventh signing of what has been an incredible summer of incomings at Stamford Bridge, as head coach Frank Lampard aims to continue to improve his squad.

The Senegal international is likely to cost Chelsea in the region of £18million from Rennes, the club Cech moved to Stamford Bridge from in 2004.

Now technical and performance advisor at Stamford Bridge, Cech was tasked with helping to identify a new goalkeeper along with his old coach Christophe Lollichon, who still works for Chelsea.

Lollichon had worked with Cech at Rennes before moving to Chelsea with the Czech Republic international, who became one of the best goalkeepers in Premier League history.

It is thought to be coincidence that Chelsea have settled on trying to sign another goalkeeper from Rennes, but Cech has played a prominent part in the decision making process over who could improve Lampard’s options in the position without breaking the bank.

It may be unfair to expect Mendy to follow in the footsteps of Cech, but Lampard will hope the 28-year-old will provide more security in Chelsea’s goalkeeping position.

Mendy’s 6ft 5ins frame will provide Chelsea with a more imposing figure in goal, with the player’s distribution with his feet also rated as one of his stronger attributes.

Kepa Arrizabalaga last season struggled to reproduce his best form, with Lampard dropping the Spaniard for Chelsea’s two most crucial games of the season against Wolverhampton Wanderers to secure a top four place and the FA Cup defeat to Arsenal.

Despite the anticipated arrival of Mendy, Kepa is willing to stay at Chelsea to try to fight for his place with the club yet to receive any bids for the Spain international.

Other than Mendy, Lampard would also still ideally like to sign a new defensive midfielder before the summer transfer window shuts with Declan Rice his number one target for the role.

[Pizy 18,891]

We saw the reaction from Wet Spam fans the other day when they sold some unknown kid to West Brom. Imagine if they sold the face of their team and the guy they consider their future captain just before or even after the season starts. I can't imagine that, actually. If we wanted Rice this summer I think it would've had to happen long ago. Think he's bookmarked for next summer.

WH fans might storm their owners' houses if they sold Rice now. 

[coolhead23 1,147]

3 minutes ago, Pizy said:

We saw the reaction from Wet Spam fans the other day when they sold some unknown kid to West Brom. Imagine if they sold the face of their team and the guy they consider their future captain just before or even after the season starts. I can't imagine that, actually. If we wanted Rice this summer I think it would've had to happen long ago. Think he's bookmarked for next summer.

WH fans might storm their owners' houses if they sold Rice now. 

The fact is that Rice would move out this season or the next or the next ... so no matter how much the West Ham reacts it is inevitable. 

They need to digest the fact that Rice transfer would mean loads of money coming West Ham's way which can actually be used to build their team ... Or if it is a player + cash deal even better for them. 

[Tomo 21,751]

2 hours ago, Styl1994 said:

Rice is

Premier League proven 

HG 

Versatile 

Has leadership abilities 

I don't like the PL proven narrative, that's what leads to mindfuck decisions like Torres being chosen ahead of Aguero or Rooney being targeted before Diego Costa (thankgod United saved us from ourselves on that one).

[King Kai 49]

Azpilicuetta, Thiago Silva, Kante, Mendy and Zouma all speak fluent French. Lampard complained quite a lot about a lack of communication in our defense and this I believe is his solution. Ziyech also understands and can speak very well in French. 

[Special Juan 28,141]

Sullivan and Gold are business men.....that's as simple as it gets, if the right money comes in they sell, that simple.

[kellzfresh 7,229]

Peter Cech is personally pushing for Mendy. From the stats he can make some saves and is one of the best in the world at claiming crosses, which was one of our biggest issues last season. 

Our team are not just going out there to sign the coolest goalkeeper, they're looking at our weaknesses and trying to fix them at the cheapest price possible. Good on them.

[Jype 6,398]

Just now, Tomo said:

I don't like the PL proven narrative, that's what leads to mindfuck decisions like Torres being chosen ahead of Aguero or Rooney being targeted before Diego Costa (thankgod United saved us from ourselves on that one).

Wasn't Rooney targeted in 2013 when Jose first returned? Back then Costa wasn't even on the radar, he only came into the picture after the monster season at Atletico when they won the title in 2014 and was obviously the club's top target for that window.

[Dimitr 488]

15 minutes ago, Pizy said:

We saw the reaction from Wet Spam fans the other day when they sold some unknown kid to West Brom. Imagine if they sold the face of their team and the guy they consider their future captain just before or even after the season starts. I can't imagine that, actually. If we wanted Rice this summer I think it would've had to happen long ago. Think he's bookmarked for next summer.

WH fans might storm their owners' houses if they sold Rice now. 

Believe me if we bid 60m£ he is ours .   Matter of time easily 

[Special Juan 28,141]

Now confirmed by Romano, the deal for Mendy close and Rice the next target.

[Tomo 21,751]

3 minutes ago, Jype said:

Wasn't Rooney targeted in 2013 when Jose first returned? Back then Costa wasn't even on the radar, he only came into the picture after the monster season at Atletico when they won the title in 2014 and was obviously the club's top target for that window.

Ah yeah course (long day). Even so, i can't believe what a bullet we dodged with Rooney at that point (finished at the very top), i can't decide what was more stupid us wanting him or United not biting our hand off.

[Rapkun 668]

The fee could reach up to 28M euros after bonuses according to The Guardian. That's a bit much IMO. If that's true, I fail to understand how Mendy is seen as a cheap alternative while Onana is rumoured to be available for around 30.