Chelsea Transfers

[Vesper 29,202]

6 hours ago, Vybz Kartel said:

I would bin Mendy for Donnurama if we are given the opportunity. Mendy is solid but Donnurama is world class. Mendy was solid for us but he still has his flaws that showed up now and again last season. 

too late

99% gone to PSG

[jandomi10 82]

 

 

@JanAageFjortoft

 

I understand Chelsea are preparing a “BIG offer” to check out and challenge Dortmund’s “he will stay here next season”. The understanding is that Dortmund won’t say no to 175 million euro

[ulvhedin 508]

On 09/07/2021 at 23:20, King Kante said:

So, if Zouma and Giroud leave, as reported, that leaves us with a first team squad of: 

*denotes multiple positions 

GK: Mendy, Kepa

CB: Silva, AC, Rudi, Dave*, James*

WB's: James*, Dave*, Chilwell, Alonso, Emerson

CM: Jorgi, Kante, Kova, Mount*(?)

AM: Puli, Harvetz*, Mount*, Werner*, CHO, Ziyech 

CF: Tammy, Harvetz*, Werner* 

Squad size: 20

Squad is strangely lopsided imo. For me, I have the following opinion:

1) AM, we have 1-2 too many players

 2) CM is arguably 1 CM down (unless there is a push to move Mount back, which I could see as a long term goal)

3) LWB has 1 too many 

4) RWB has 1 too few if you don't count Dave (which I don't really, as I see him now as a RCB who is emergency cover (e.g. No3) for RWB/LWB.)

5) GK is one too few (although only at GK2/3 level)

6) CB has arguably 1 too few (although I would be ok if Guehui/Ampadu are brought back for CB5/6.

7) CF lacks quality and numbers if you play Kai/Werner in AM roles. 

Nice summary, I totally agree.

One solution to 1) and 4) is to continue with CHO as RWB, but propably this experiment is over.

About 2) I still think we will go for DM like Rice (maybe Tchouameni, but people who watch him are saying it's still isn't clear what his best position in miedfield is)

 

[Blues Forever 1,232]

Niklas Sule's future remains open. The defender wants to speak to Julian Nagelsmann after his vacation and listen to the coach's plans with him. Bayern would sell Sule if they receive a good offer. Chelsea remain interested, but no concrete talks so far.

[Jase 43,479]

1 hour ago, Tomo said:

Apart from penalties what exactly has been his flaws?

It feels like people like to jump on Mendy because he’s not a fancy, noteworthy name and that he was plucked from obscurity. 

1 hour ago, jandomi10 said:

 

 

@JanAageFjortoft

 

I understand Chelsea are preparing a “BIG offer” to check out and challenge Dortmund’s “he will stay here next season”. The understanding is that Dortmund won’t say no to 175 million euro

Preparing FC is back!

[Tomo 21,736]

9 minutes ago, Jas said:

It feels like people like to jump on Mendy because he’s not a fancy, noteworthy name and that he was plucked from obscurity. 

Preparing FC is back!

Same happens with Keylor Navas, even after all he's won people still think he was carried by his team mates and just got into the right place at the right time.

As we found out the hard way you can't carry a keeper especially at the very top level.

[Blues Forever 1,232]

 

[Jase 43,479]

11 minutes ago, Blues Forever said:

 

Vesper has shared the article above.

[Jase 43,479]

2 hours ago, Vesper said:

Should Chelsea wait for Haaland or sign a striker now and maybe miss out on him?

https://theathletic.com/2697679/2021/07/12/should-Chelsea-wait-for-haaland-or-sign-a-striker-now-and-maybe-miss-out-on-him/

Pre-season training is under way at Chelsea and there is not a new, expensive striker in sight to play with.

After winning the Champions League in May Chelsea were tipped to be title contenders for 2021-22, with the caveat that their chances of success depended on who they could bring in during the transfer window, especially up front.

There is still plenty of time to go — the deadline is on August 31 — but fans are increasingly wondering what is going on. By this stage last year, negotiations for Timo Werner and Hakim Ziyech had been concluded even though the market didn’t officially open until July 27 due to delays to the 2019-20 season, caused by COVID-19. Talks over Kai Havertz and Ben Chilwell were at an advanced stage too.

Ask a Chelsea supporter who is on top of their wishlist and most will reply with the same answer: Erling Haaland. As The Athletic revealed in January, the club are prepared to smash their transfer record to get the Norway international.

Hope has been raised with Olivier Giroud being given the green light to join AC Milan, a move worth £1.7 million which should be completed any day now. It means a space in the squad needs to be filled. So surely that is a sign something is in the pipeline if Chelsea are prepared to let the veteran go? Not necessarily, especially as far as Haaland is concerned.

Chelsea always knew it would be difficult to prise him away from Borussia Dortmund this summer. The Bundesliga club tend to only sanction the sale of one star player a year and Jadon Sancho is joining Manchester United for £73 million.

 

Haaland and Sancho, who is joining Manchester United (Photo: Alexandre Simoes/Borussia Dortmund via Getty Images)

Things were made even more difficult by Dortmund finding a bit of form late in the previous campaign to qualify for the Champions League via a top-four finish in the Bundesliga. Securing a spot, and the finances it brings, was vital after reporting losses of €43.9 million (£37.7 million) in August 2020, with another €75 million (£64.4 million) forecast for the following 12 months.

Had Dortmund been relegated to the second-tier competition that is the Europa League, which brings in a minimal amount of revenue in comparison, they might have had no choice but to negotiate. However, sources told The Athletic in May that Champions League football meant Haaland isn’t going anywhere soon.

And yet still the stories about a switch to Stamford Bridge come, that owner Roman Abramovich is willing to pay whatever it takes to get the player, who turns 21 on July 21.

As discussed in January, it is understandable why Chelsea want to push for a move now. Next year a release clause worth €75 million (currently worth £64.4 million) kicks in, which will bring far more competition for his purchase to the table. Teams like Real Madrid and Barcelona are in no position to bid over £100 million for a player at the moment due to the impact the pandemic has had on their cash flow.

Chelsea have made efforts over the past 18 months or so to get on better terms with Haaland’s agent Mino Raiola, who the west London club felt was a major factor in Manchester United beating them to Romelu Lukaku’s signature in 2017.

For Chelsea to acquire Haaland, it is expected they will have to pay a sizeable commission to Raiola and the player’s father Alf-Inge Haaland on top of the fee to Dortmund.

It is believed Raiola is also angling for the striker to become one of the highest-paid players in the world, comfortably beating the wages of Chelsea’s top earner N’Golo Kante, who is on £290,000 a week.

Fresh reports of Chelsea lining up a £150 million offer this week are thought to have caught the hierarchy by surprise because they are coming to terms with the reality that Dortmund don’t want to sell in 2021, even though the German outfit will receive a fraction of his value in 2022.

If that is the case, it begs the question: what are Chelsea going to do instead? Surely manager Thomas Tuchel does not have the strikeforce to win the Premier League as things stand. Chelsea found the net 58 times in the Premier League last season, which made them only the ninth highest scorers in the division.

Werner struggled to convert chances and continued to show a lack of confidence while playing for Germany at the European Championship. Tuchel clearly does not rate Tammy Abraham too highly, having given him just 230 minutes of playing time after taking over in January. The England international is also angling for a move away from Stamford Bridge.

There is of course Havertz, the Champions League hero, to lean on. He scored the winner against Manchester City to claim the trophy and is growing in stature as an attacker who can lead the line. But is he capable of being the man reaching and breaking the 20-goal barrier that most title-winning teams have?

 

Abraham and Giroud with the Champions League (Photo: Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images)

Despite all the indications that Haaland is not for sale this year, it would be a big call for Chelsea to completely end their interest and walk away. Strikers of his ability — he has found the net 57 times for Dortmund in 59 appearances — do not become available often.

It is not as if there is an array of top-class alternatives to choose from. Naturally, Chelsea like Harry Kane but Tottenham do not want to lose their prize asset, particularly to them. Lukaku, now represented by Federico Pastorello, has stated he is happy at Inter Milan. His team-mate Lautaro Martinez is negotiating a new contract to remain at the San Siro too.

They might decide to test Lukaku’s and Inter’s resolve and make a significant offer. Yet if you spend £100 million on the Belgian to be your main striker, you are not going to go for Haaland the following season as well.

Chelsea could always go for a cheaper alternative as a stop-gap, a bit like what they did with Giroud when he was bought from Arsenal for £18 million in January 2018. For example, Southampton’s Danny Ings is looking for a move and will not put much of a dent in the budget. That would still leave them with the option of going back for Haaland next summer.

But if you are Tuchel and knowing how trophies, especially the Premier League and Champions League, are key to your long-term future, are you going to be happy with a short-term solution in the hope of something better to work with later down the line? A player like Ings has a lot of talent, but there are question marks over what he can do under pressure at the highest level, as with other lower-priced names on the market.

Abramovich has shown in the past with the expensive purchases of strikers Fernando Torres (£50 million in January 2011) and Alvaro Morata (£60 million after pre-season had begun in 2017) that he has the spending power to get things done late in a transfer window.

The club clearly has a decision to make over whether to stick or twist over Haaland and it is not straightforward. Tuchel will be taking a keen interest. Under Abramovich, Chelsea have always been about the here and now and not even a European Cup win can save you from bad results. Just ask Roberto Di Matteo.

When I read this article earlier, I was hoping to see some inside info but instead, it felt as though Simon Johnson just went around Chelsea forums and summarized what the fans have been discussing over the past few weeks, including here, into a nothing article.

Also, I disagree slightly with what he said in that second last paragraph. Yes, we know Roman has the money and all that but there's a difference between splashing out £50-60 million on one player compared to say £150 million on one, even more so while we're still in this pandemic and clubs are still feeling the effect on finances. Worth remembering that we only managed to spend over 200 million last summer because we had the Hazard + Morata money. We don't have such money this time. 

[Superblue 6,372]

9 minutes ago, Jas said:

When I read this article earlier, I was hoping to see some inside info but instead, it felt as though Simon Johnson just went around Chelsea forums and summarized what the fans have been discussing over the past few weeks, including here, into a nothing article.

Also, I disagree slightly with what he said in that second last paragraph. Yes, we know Roman has the money and all that but there's a difference between splashing out £50-60 million on one player compared to say £150 million on one, even more so while we're still in this pandemic and clubs are still feeling the effect on finances. Worth remembering that we only managed to spend over 200 million last summer because we had the Hazard + Morata money. We don't have such money this time. 

I genuinely think that's why there's been no movement so far. The club are trying to move players out to be able to have a better understanding of our transfer budgets as it may impact who we end up targeting, or particularly in the case of Haaland, could we add another player or two to the squad as well as him?

It's never ideal to be bringing players in late in the window, but I would ultimately rather we get the right player even if they are coming in towards the end of the transfer window.

[Pizy 18,538]

Yep, certainly feels like the club are sorting out the outgoings and resolving those sorts of situations before we bring anyone in. 

We don’t know what’s going on with Emerson/Alonso situation. Which one stays and which one goes. There’s been zero credible rumors linking Tammy with a move because we’d probably demand 40-50m for him and no one will be silly enough to pay that. Will CHO stay or go? Ziyech? Zouma? Kepa?

Tuchel really wanted Hakimi and we’ve been linked to Adama so he clearly sees a need for a super athletic RWB. So doesn’t that mean he doesn’t fancy CHO there? If that’s the case where does he play? 

Billy could’ve been a very uselful stand-in in case of a Jorginho injury and we’ve let him go. You would assume TT has a plan to fill that hole in the squad. And I hope it’s not RLC or Barkley who weren’t really even good enough for the sides they were on loan at.

Hope we see some significant movement in terms of incomings soon. Even if it isn’t a striker first, just to give us an idea of what TT is thinking.

[MoroccanBlue 5,320]

Fairly certain will get a CM. No way Tuchel trusts RLC or Barkley to play that role. 
 

 

[Tomo 21,736]

25 minutes ago, Pizy said:

Tuchel really wanted Hakimi and we’ve been linked to Adama so he clearly sees a need for a super athletic RWB. So doesn’t that mean he doesn’t fancy CHO there? If that’s the case where does he play? 

I'm hoping he see's James as the RCB and CHO as a wingback. I think he has got plans for CHO, although he didn't play him in the clutch games his tactical lecture after the City game alone shows he sees something in him.

That said I'm hoping with a little more time on the training ground we will see different formations to suit particular opponents more next term, maybe 3atb for the big games and 4 for the games against teams we're expected to beat, bit like how England did it at the Euro's.

[Pizy 18,538]

23 minutes ago, Tomo said:

I'm hoping he see's James as the RCB and CHO as a wingback. I think he has got plans for CHO, although he didn't play him in the clutch games his tactical lecture after the City game alone shows he sees something in him.

That said I'm hoping with a little more time on the training ground we will see different formations to suit particular opponents more next term, maybe 3atb for the big games and 4 for the games against teams we're expected to beat, bit like how England did it at the Euro's.

I personally was only okay with RJ moving to RCB if we brought in an exceptional wing back like Hakimi. He was an absolute game changing sort of player. If we do so now what happens to AC who we want to lock down to a new contract? He has become a much better player recently and is too good to be riding the bench.

[Tomo 21,736]

6 minutes ago, Pizy said:

I personally was only okay with RJ moving to RCB if we brought in an exceptional wing back like Hakimi. He was an absolute game changing sort of player. If we do so now what happens to AC who we want to lock down to a new contract? He has become a much better player recently and is too good to be riding the bench.

I think we won't have to worry about that much next season, the sheer volume of games combined with an intense season and a bit previous means almost everyone will have a big role.

Personally I believe RJ is better in RCB in that formation, even at right back in a back four he likes to drift inside a lot and he will have a lot of good opportunities to cross and possibly even shoot in the half spaces like Azpi did/does in that position.

[ZAPHOD2319 4,542]

 

[Jase 43,479]

20 minutes ago, ZAPHOD2319 said:

 

The translation of the video caption says he'll be back in Dortmund on Tuesday?

EDIT: Never mind...

[Blues Forever 1,232]

20 minutes ago, Jas said:

The translation of the video caption says he'll be back in Dortmund on Tuesday?

EDIT: Never mind...

Already back in Dortmund.