Chelsea Transfers

[Jase 43,479]

25 minutes ago, Valdo said:

How about Belotti? Haven't heard about him in awhile. I don't follow Serie A, so I wouldn't know if he is still okish or not.

He's still scoring decent number of goals but not sure if it says anything that even none of the bigger clubs in Serie A have taken him from an average Torino side. 

[Magic Lamps 11,677]

2 hours ago, Stats said:

Tbh, Lukaku has got into double figures for assists this season too. Think he is joint top or second in that regards. Lukaku may be older, but he would be a much more safer ber than Vlahovic. I doubt we get him anyway tbh.

That is right. As I said Lukaku is way more of a finished product. His passing generally has gone up a notch.

Even in this compilation you see like 20+ situations were he plays the killer pass that splits the defence. He usually plays the difficult vertical pass before considering anything else which is the exact opposite of what our attackers do who always spray the safe ball out wide and hope for a good cross back in that never comes. That directness could compliment us well in many situations but we would still face the same problems vs deep buses.

Vlahovic is more active all over the pitch and tries many different things that do not come off always. But doing so he causes confusion in opposition backlines, drags defenders our of positions and does more unpredictable stuff. Surely an interesting prospect if he continues his development.

I would say if we would go all in for either we would get him.

 

[chippy 342]

Lukaku scored 15 goals in his 58 games against against Arsenal, Chelsea, City, Utd, Liverpool and Spurs. 

So, we want to pay a shitload for a striker who'll score one goal in every four games against the big six? 

 

[coolhead23 1,146]

I really hope Chelsea if going after a striker then we should really go all out on Harry Kane (I get the rivalry, etc etc). He is every bit of striker that Chelsea needs - complete product, puts in loads of work, team player, determined, etc. Injury is a risk for him but otherwise he ticks all the boxes for me. Will take us from Top 4 to title challenger next season.

Wishful thinking ... but fingers crossed!!! 

[chippy 342]

According to The Sun, we're interested in signing  18 year old Seb Drodz, who's currently wowing them at Uxbridge.

[Jype 6,398]

1 hour ago, chippy said:

Lukaku scored 15 goals in his 58 games against against Arsenal, Chelsea, City, Utd, Liverpool and Spurs. 

So, we want to pay a shitload for a striker who'll score one goal in every four games against the big six? 

Lukaku has really developed as a player in the last couple years. From what I've seen his hold up play and even finishing has taken massive leaps since moving to Inter. He's made changes to his diet to improve his fitness and learnt to use his body better and for big physical players like Lukaku that usually only comes as they get more experienced. You can't use stats from the time when he was a young player at WBA/Everton to compare him to the player he is today and Man Utd during Lukaku's time there were a mess under Mourinho. 

In the BBC article you can see some stats of his link-up play at Man Utd and Inter, there's no denying he's gotten a lot better at many things. 

https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/56966749

And even his 'big game record' has improved greatly during his time in Italy, especially this season.

For me Lukaku at the moment is among the top 5 strikers in the world together with Haaland, Kane, Lewandowski and Benzema (in no specific order). The latter two are getting older and are probably not realistic signings anyway so that leaves Haaland, Kane and Lukaku. Sure I'd first go for Haaland and/or Kane before going after Lukaku but I get the feeling Kane is totally unavailable because of the relationship between the two clubs whereas Haaland might be too expensive or prefer to go elsewhere (and with him also comes the downside of having Mino Raiola to deal with). If Lukaku fits the player profile Tuchel is looking for in a striker, he'd be a great alternative if Haaland/Kane fails.

[chelsea_4_eva 1,162]

Also if we can get a CM can also be a threat at long range shots would be great. Missing long range punters like FL and Essien

[ZAPHOD2319 4,538]

Reports that personal terms are agreed with Lacroix.

 

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.skysports.com/amp/football/news/11668/12310226/maxence-lacroix-Chelsea-interested-in-wolfsburg-defender

[MoroccanBlue 5,320]

32 minutes ago, ZAPHOD2319 said:

Reports that personal terms are agreed with Lacroix.

 

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.skysports.com/amp/football/news/11668/12310226/maxence-lacroix-Chelsea-interested-in-wolfsburg-defender

Heard good things about this lad. Another Fofana. 

Would be happy with that. 30 million too. 

[Jype 6,398]

Anyone seen much of this Lacroix guy, @Vesper maybe?

On WhoScored.com statistical-based ratings he's ranked this seasons third best CB in the Bundesliga behind only Hummels and Orban but that's about all I know of him. 

[Magic Lamps 11,677]

Lacroix is alright. Very quick and resolute defender. Proactive modern cb. So would fit us well. Has to play tho to further develop. 
bvb are in for him as well

[R2D2 368]

Shit source but would absolutely love to break the bank for him.

https://www.caughtoffside.com/2021/05/17/Chelsea-and-man-city-eye-joao-felix-transfer/

[Blues Forever 1,232]

 

[BlueGuy 10]

2 hours ago, R2D2 said:

Fonte di merda, ma mi piacerebbe assolutamente rompere la banca per lui.

https://www.caughtoffside.com/2021/05/17/Chelsea-and-man-city-eye-joao-felix-transfer/

Ziyech + £45M will be a good swap for me 

[Jase 43,479]

9 minutes ago, BlueGuy said:

Ziyech + £45M will be a good swap for me 

You're being very optimistic. Felix still has 5 years left on his contract.

And the last thing we need is another young talent but not a proven goalscorer. 

[BlueGuy 10]

1 minuto fa, Jas ha detto:

Sei molto ottimista. Felix ha ancora 5 anni di contratto.

E l'ultima cosa di cui abbiamo bisogno è un altro giovane talento ma non un marcatore comprovato. 

Felix + Lewa will be a good duo.
Out: giroud, tammy and ziyech

[Jase 43,479]

20 minutes ago, BlueGuy said:

Felix + Lewa will be a good duo.
Out: giroud, tammy and ziyech

What have you been drinking? 🤣

[Vesper 29,145]

Who to trade for Harry Kane

https://theathletic.com/2580326/2021/05/18/who-to-trade-for-harry-kane/

Harry Kane has let it be known that he would like to leave Tottenham Hotspur — the transfer window often requires one big move for clubs to make moves of their own.

The England captain is of the talent, prestige and monetary value to cause rumblings throughout the summer. Some players create transfer news. Kane is big enough for a saga.

It would take something monumental for Tottenham to sell Kane this summer. There are a handful of clubs in world football that could afford such a transfer fee, and those clubs may be more inclined to spend such a transfer fee elsewhere.

How do a handful of clubs acquire Kane? Allow The Athletic to suggest a thought experiment that we’ll call “Trading for Harry Kane”.

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What are the ground rules?

We’re going to imagine a scenario where potential suitors for Kane — Chelsea, Manchester City, Manchester United, Barcelona, Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain — are asked to trade players with Tottenham.

Although we don’t believe Kane could require an American-style trade deal on par with Hershel Walker in 1989, he is one of the best strikers around and after another season with club finances affected by games behind closed doors, if a potential deal was stuck for him, it might require some element of player swap. This thought experiment is going to hone in on that element — so where could he end up?

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Chelsea

“Ominous” is the operative word for Chelsea since the arrival of Thomas Tuchel in January. The German coach has made them much more resolute in their work off the ball, revived N’Golo Kante, and tuned up a number of their attacking players.

They have a deep squad full of several talented players and possess one of the more tactically adept managers in the league (curiously for someone first hired by Ralf Rangnick, Tuchel is closer to Pep Guardiola in coaching principles than first impressions may suggest).

Out of the clubs who have the possible finances to afford Kane this summer, Chelsea are the least likely to make an offer.

Which is interesting, as given their status as the big Premier League spenders last summer, they are best suited to trade players.

Tottenham’s priorities in the summer for any incoming manager will be a centre-back and right-back of starting XI quality. If Kane was to depart, they would immediately need a No 9 — possibly two when Carlos Vinicius returns to Benfica after his season-long loan — as well as reinforcements at right wing.

Potential Chelsea trade for Kane:

Tammy Abraham, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Ethan Ampadu, Valentino Livramento.

How would this work?

Chelsea trading with Spurs requires one team full of prospects but no obvious superstars to negotiate with a team that has one obvious superstar but lacks prospects. Given Abraham’s exclusion from their FA Cup final squad, we think he makes sense as the player successor for Kane.

Hudson-Odoi has not had the smoothest of seasons for Chelsea and risks being lost in the shuffle with a number of attacking players available to Tuchel – a move away could remind us why Bayern Munich were so interested in him.

Ampadu was impressive in his outings for RB Leipzig against Tottenham in last season’s Champions League but was one of several players who looked out of sorts at Sheffield United this season. Capable of playing in central midfield and at centre-back, the Welshman might not be the senior option Tottenham desire, but could be pitched as a worthwhile asset.

Livramento is a promising 18-year-old right-back who has impressed in FA Youth Cup outings and Premier League 2 games. Serial loanees such as Ruben Loftus-Cheek could also be packaged into a deal.

Roman Abramovich is unlikely to open his chequebook for Kane, but could offer the largest amount of talented players for his services.

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Manchester City

From the Premier League side least likely to bid for Kane to the one who made an enquiry in 2020.

Kane is believed to have asked members of the City squad what life was like living in the north west while on England duty in March. (Buy yourself a big waterproof coat, trade your white trainers for boots, the chip shops are nicer when you’re allowed a cheat meal).

Kane to City would further bolster Guardiola’s tools for Premier League (and Champions League) dominance in the short term, but might create a world where Erling Haaland doesn’t link up with potentially the best team on the planet. (Yet.)

Potential trade for Kane:

Raheem Sterling, Gabriel Jesus, Nathan Ake, Benjamin Mendy.

How would this work?

Sterling would be a boon to several teams. He is athletic, intelligent and only 26. He may not have ever envisioned playing for a team like Tottenham, but his ability to knit a team’s midfield and front three together, facilitating the attacking needs of others, means he could be just the sort of attacking player they need.

How good is Jesus, really? The Brazilian can score goals in bursts, which, allied with his impressive off-the-ball movement, make him look like a player capable of starting for any Premier League team.

But his finishing skills seem to abandon him at times and leave us all wondering if he can lead the line for a title-contending side. Jesus might not be a 20-goal-a-season striker yet, but in this imagined trade, there should be enough attacking firepower out wide and in midfield behind him that he can learn on the job.

Hamstring injuries and groin complaints have seen Ake fall largely out of sight and out of mind this season, but the Holland international impressed at Bournemouth and could be an interesting left-footed offering.

As for Mendy… the Frenchman is not the player he used to be, a variety of injuries sapping his once explosive athleticism, but there is a defender in there, one who has been coached by Marcelo Bielsa along with Guardiola and possesses the intelligence to carry out many of the tasks required of a modern full-back. He is a left-back, rather than the right-back Spurs need, but it could be tempting.

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Manchester United

Every so often a player appears that makes The Athletic wonder, “What would have Sir Alex Ferguson done to buy him?”

The player you can easily imagine Ferguson stopping on the hard shoulder of a motorway at 10 o’clock at night to have an off-the-record chat with right now is Harry Kane.

United are long thought to hold an interest. They have secured Edinson Cavani’s enduring talents for an additional year, but Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will need the services of another out-and-out No 9 if they are to establish themselves as title challengers again.

United’s calling card is their robust finances rather than an abundance of playing talent.

Potential trades for Kane:

Anthony Martial, Jesse Lingard, Diogo Dalot, Axel Tuanzebe.

How would this work?

What exactly is Martial in 2021? Is he a No 9? A wide forward? Or someone unsuited to being a senior-level player at a top-six club? When we had a go at explaining the Frenchman in January, we concluded he was a skilled dribbler who has often relied on his above-average finishing ability to compensate for his more rudimentary talents.

 

Martial has not always convinced at Manchester United (Photo: Chloe Knott – Danehouse/Getty Images)

Could a change of scene bring balance to the 25-year-old and allow him to fulfil his promise? This is the riskiest striker we are putting into any trade.

Lingard won April’s Premier League player of the month after sparkling performances for West Ham, but has not been able to continue the form that dazzled. In April last year, Tom Worville described him as a “willing runner with and without the ball, taking care of it when in possession as an able connector” — and he would join Erik Lamela, Lucas Moura and Steven Bergwijn as wide players who were diligent defenders but could probably stand to improve their attacking consistency.

Loaned to AC Milan, Dalot has had a perfectly adequate season. The 22-year-old is likely to prolong his stay in Italy, but is still young and could one day be a high-quality Premier League full-back.

Tuanzebe looked to be the future of United’s defence, having captained multiple youth sides, but injury issues and underwhelming cameos have left him behind Eric Bailly and Victor Lindelof in the pecking order. Tuanzebe’s solid performance against Leicester City this month gives reason to believe he is top-half Premier League standard. Tottenham could be a place for him to do so.

Out of all of the clubs on this list, United are the most likely to throw money at Spurs to get Kane, rather than try a bit of player-exchange chicanery.

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Barcelona

Barcelona are skint; $1.3-billion-in-debt skint.

Ronald Koeman has done well to get a highly tumultuous side to behave in a manner that is merely dysfunctional, but the Dutchman is under threat. Barcelona need a squad overhaul.

In 2014, they paid Liverpool £65 million for Luis Suarez, who turbo-charged an impressive attack and helped secure a treble. Meanwhile, Liverpool squandered the money on several players of varying attacking quality.

In 2018, Philippe Coutinho made the same journey and Liverpool reinvested the £110 million windfall on Virgil van Dijk and Alisson.

Barcelona will not be able to afford Kane through cash alone. They are more likely to spend the summer signing Sergio Aguero in an attempt to placate Lionel Messi with another friendly face. Nevertheless, there are misfit players who could be useful to Spurs.

Potential trades for Kane:

Antoine Griezmann, Coutinho, Clement Lenglet, Emerson.

How would this work?

The one thing they have, if they wanted to move for Kane, is a quality player in Griezmann who can operate in a similar role to Tottenham’s captain. He could be the ideal replacement in north London. The Frenchman is three years older than Kane and like Kane, can operate as a central figure dropping deep to facilitate attacks. He can also work out wide on the right or, perhaps most productively, play as a second striker.

If such a trade world were to exists, we imagine Spurs would ask for Ousmane Dembele rather than Griezmann, but a Kane-Messi front pairing would need pace, so we think the Spanish side would present Griezmann.

Coutinho can be a frustrating player. He does not possess the passing vision to play as a No 10 or deep in a midfield pivot, nor does he have the change of pace to be an out-and-out winger. Barcelona probably should have picked up Christian Eriksen over the Brazilian. If Coutinho was to operate in a Tottenham side, the new manager would likely have to make Son Heung-min the central striker and ask Coutinho to play on the left.

Lenglet is a solid hand in defence whom Spurs could conceivably build around for the better part of a decade going forward if they wish, and Emerson, a 22-year-old on loan at Europa League-chasing Real Betis, has promise as a right-back.

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Real Madrid

Real Madrid are also skint.

Real are in a strange place where they need a rebuild but possess players who should have provided the bedrock for the last one. There are several players with yet-to-be-determined futures and Zinedine Zidane may yet be departing.

Kane would be a boon to either of Spain’s top sides and although Real Madrid is a footballing pressure cooker, the challenges he would have at the Bernabeu would be more to do with potential injury, or difficulties learning the language, or how to get along with Karim Benzema, rather than his skill on the field.

Potential Real Madrid trades for Kane:

Gareth Bale, Raphael Varane, Luka Jovic, Alvaro Odriozola.

How would this work?

Bale would continue his homecoming at Spurs as the wide forward who has steadily improved since regaining fitness and can also work as an emergency striker if needed.

As for Varane, is it wise to trade away an experienced centre-back to get a premium attacking talent? Not really. Are Real Madrid the sort of club to do it anyway? Well, sort of. There are still some question marks — however strange they may seem, given he has won four Champions League titles and a World Cup — over his ability as an elite centre-back.

Odriozola, who has never established himself in Madrid’s first team since a big-money move from Real Sociedad, could satisfy Spurs’ right-back needs. Further forward, Jovic is a fascinating player. After disappointing off-field experiences at Benfica (where he repeatedly missed curfews on away games) and a strange calendar year on the books at Real Madrid (where he was scolded by Serbia’s prime minister and president), there is reason to believe he performs best in environments closer to that of his first club, Red Star Belgrade.

The 23-year-old completed the 2020-21 season on loan to Eintracht Frankfurt, where he scored 27 goals in 48 appearances in 2018-19. It remains to be seen if Jovic can become more than a penalty-box operator, but there is a 20-goal-a-season striker in there.

A Real trade is a little reliant on the glamour of Bale and the promise of Jovic becoming the sort of striker he hints at.

Time for the other homecoming…

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Paris Saint-Germain

PSG’s Champions League defeat to City made a few things apparent: Guardiola has probably created the best team on the planet, Riyad Mahrez is a big-game player and Mauro Icardi is not a striker built for the cutting edge of European football.

Mauricio Pochettino inherited a curious squad when he took over in Paris; undoubtedly blessed with an array of attacking talent, but lacking quality depth in central midfield. They still need to replace Thiago Silva, too. In theory, PSG have the money to buy Kane, and there’s good reason to believe the Englishman would flourish playing alongside Neymar, Kylian Mbappe, Angel Di Maria and Marco Verratti.

Potential PSG trade for Kane:

Icardi, Julian Draxler, Colin Dagba, Abdou Diallo.

How would this work?

Icardi is almost the antithesis of Kane, the Swiss Army knife, who is the best finisher, creator and possibly even midfielder at Tottenham. Icardi has an impressive 32 goals in 60 games for PSG, but his 10 assists indicate he’s not the sort to offer much off the ball or outside the width of the penalty area.

If Spurs were to swap him for Kane, then they would need further firepower wide and in midfield. Whether that could be provided by Draxler is another thing. The 27-year-old German was once regarded as promising young talent at Schalke, but has never been a starter in Paris.

Draxler may not warrant a starting place for him in midfield at a truly top side, and he doesn’t have the electric pace to play wide.

Dagba and Diallo are a pair of defenders who have shown promise but nothing to indicate they could bring transformative qualities to a sometimes-shaky Tottenham back line.

There is something to Pochettino linking up with Kane again that makes us wonder what can happen in the real world, if not this summer, but the next.