Chelsea Transfers

[Vesper 28,373]

there are so few world class CBs out there, period, and most are now available

that is the bottom line

we have Thiago for starters, plus I will NOT count Fofana, due to the effects of the injuries, nor will I count Kounde atm

so (and I am stretching what is considered WC)

the 15 WC CBs atm IMHO

(bold are remotely available)

Josko Gvardiol 
Rúben Dias
Marquinhos  we tried, not available
Virgil van Dijk
Milan Skriniar 
Ronald Araújo we tried, not available
Thiago Silva
Matthijs de Ligt we tried, not available
Alessandro Bastoni  (will never leave IF Skriniar does)  
David Alaba  
Antonio Rüdiger so fucking stupid to let him walk, GRRRRRRRRRR
Éder Militão 
Cristian Romero 
José María Giménez   (so many injuries though, and we have tried in the past)
Presnel Kimpembe we tried and I so doubt he is available now either

lastly

Stefan de Vrij turns 32yo in the middle of next season, and after KK, I am not down with 30-something Serie A CBs


 

 

 

Edited December 26, 2022 by Vesper

[Vesper 28,373]

10 minutes ago, Vegetable said:

seeing the same kind of reported owner's enthusiasm is worrying

rumours rumours

[Tomo 21,730]

6 hours ago, DDA said:

Nkunku is coming in, who is experienced. We already have R.James who is experienced, Mount who is experienced, Chilwell who is experienced, Kova who is experienced, Chalobah who is experienced. Maybe because most of these players came through the academy, people deem them inexperienced but they are all Champions League winners with multiple campaigns under the belt.

And how did Mount and James become winners? Surrounded by the likes of Azpi, Rudi, Kante, Jorgi plus a manager like Tuchel.

Even if they are all here in two years time I'm still not sure that's enough if the rest of the squad are cubs. We're looking at around an average age of 22 ish if it's those plus the kids we sign/have coming through make up the squad. Yes we'll get some good football and fun games but imagine a must not lose match at Anfield, The Etihad or even St James Park not to mention a UCL tie against Atletico who will spend the entire tie playing psychological warfare with us.

Add a manager who's not yet won at the top level (as a player or manager) and it's asking for trouble in my opinion.

I'd love to be wrong but these projects never work in practice the way they do on paper. Don't get me wrong I'm all for the youth integration to a point but there has to be a balance.

Edited December 26, 2022 by Tomo

[Vesper 28,373]

1 minute ago, Tomo said:

And how did Mount and James become winners? Surrounded by the likes of Azpi, Rudi, Kante, Jorgi plus a manager like Tuchel.

Even if they are all here in two years time I'm still not sure that's enough if the rest of the squad are cubs. We're looking at around an average age of 22 ish if it's those plus the kids we sign/have coming through make up the squad. Yes we'll get some good football and fun games but imagine a must not lose match at Anfield, The Ethiad or even St James Park or a UCL tie against Atletico who will spend the entire tie playing physiological warfare with us.

Add a manager who's not yet won at the top level (as a player or manager) and it's asking for trouble in my opinion.

I'd love to be wrong but these projects never work in practice the way they do on paper. Don't get me wrong I'm all for the youth integration to a point but there has to be a balance.

so name the players we should be buying that we are not trying to buy

[Vesper 28,373]

so many are critics but put up no alternatives (or very very few)

I have broken down the market to a granular level repeatedly on here with concrete data and examples, and I see so few options that we are not being linked with (both youth and experienced players)

[MoroccanBlue 5,281]

I mean we just lost 4 domestic cup finals on the trot with Rudiger, Kante, Azpi, Jorgi, etc. 

Something clearly isn't working. 

[Vesper 28,373]

27 minutes ago, MoroccanBlue said:

I mean we just lost 4 domestic cup finals on the trot with Rudiger, Kante, Azpi, Jorgi, etc. 

Something clearly isn't working. 

Kante is now seemingly rinsed due to over and over occuring major injuries

and we ALL know my feelings on the Rudiger cockup by Marina

the rest of the older players, other than Thiago, are just no longer good enough

here are the 30 and up (Ziyech soon is) players we have

all but Thiago can leave as far as I am concerned

Edited December 26, 2022 by Vesper

[cfccrost 22]

When can Foffaa play for us?

I would put him in the squad asap

[Vesper 28,373]

the following players (the ones that most demand we buy most of or we are failures) would cost well over £700m, perhaps over £800m

£740m to £805m, depending on which players you choose when there are multiple options

remove Felix AND both from the choice of either Chiesa and Dembele and it is still

£630m to £665m

it is not happening

Jude Bellingham  £132m or so
Josko Gvardiol £97m RC in 2024
Enzo Fernández   £106m RC
Dušan Vlahović £70m or Victor Osimhen around £90m
Rafael Leão  £100m or so
Moisés Caicedo £80m or so
Milan Skriniar (on a free if doesn't renew)
João Félix  £60m?
Jan Oblak £60m? or Emi Martínez £45m?
Federico Chiesa (when fully recovered) £80m or Dembele £50m

[Vesper 28,373]

29 minutes ago, cfccrost said:

When can Foffaa play for us?

I would put him in the squad asap

Datro?

I do not know if any on Chels staff think he is oki to just toss to the wolves

[ZAPHOD2319 4,416]

Frantic!! It is all we know!

 

[Vesper 28,373]

5 minutes ago, ZAPHOD2319 said:

Frantic!! It is all we know!

 

Chelsea’s transfer window: Striker is a priority… and there could be departures

https://theathletic.com/4004523/2022/12/26/Chelsea-january-transfer-window-striker/

It’s about time Chelsea made a significant January signing again. The winter window is often derided as one reserved for desperate clubs, and Chelsea have been rather quiet in it over recent years.

Yet go further back and they have shown good business can be done. Influential players such as Nicolas Anelka, Branislav Ivanovic, David Luiz (the first time), Gary Cahill, Nemanja Matic (the second time) and Olivier Giroud were bought in these cold, short days at mid-season.

The club have already started making moves to acquire some young talent with the future in mind but, in their second transfer window, the new regime could do with acquiring an individual of similar quality and character to the names listed above to prompt an upturn in results.

How likely is that? The Athletic takes a look.

---

What did Chelsea spend in the last three January windows?

2020: £0

2021: £0

2022: £1.6million ($2m)

How much money is likely to be available this month?

Chelsea spent more than £250million, a Premier League record, on new players last summer, but that won’t stop them from getting the chequebook out again four months later. The club’s new co-owners are determined to carry on spending to try to make Chelsea more competitive in all three competitions they are still in.

The Todd Boehly-Clearlake consortium want Chelsea to secure a top-four finish and so qualify for next season’s Champions League. They are currently in eighth and struggling to fulfil that ambition. The club are also looking at improving the academy squad.

How much money they will use obviously depends on what players they’re able to attract. The complication is they are also planning an ambitious recruitment drive for the summer. Despite confidence about meeting financial fair play requirements, they clearly can’t use up all of their budget during January.

The other factor in the equation is the split between the funds they are using to invest in teenagers and what is put aside for those able to feature in the first team now.

Who makes the key decisions over signings?

This is what’s going to be so fascinating at Chelsea, because they have made some key hires in recent months to help put a more cohesive transfer strategy in place.

Co-owners Boehly, Behdad Eghbali and Jose Feliciano took charge of matters in the last window, with academy director Neil Bath, who has since been promoted to director of football development and operations, providing some advice.

Since then, Chelsea have employed Christopher Vivell (technical director), Paul Winstanley (director of global talent and transfers), Kyle Macauley (recruitment), Joe Shields (who will be co-director of recruitment and talent once gardening leave from Southampton is over) and Laurence Stewart (the technical director, to focus on football globally, once he’s finished his role with Monaco). Graham Potter, who replaced Thomas Tuchel as head coach in September, will also be involved.

The intention is for Chelsea to have a collaborative approach, so everyone will get a say.

As they’re all new to their jobs, we don’t know yet how well they’re going to combine, nor how much control the co-owners will actually relinquish having had so much influence before.

January will provide the first test of the new structure.

Which position is the priority?

A striker and a centre-back. This was the case even before Armando Broja suffered a knee injury in early December that rules him out for the rest of the season, but losing him has made the situation all the more pressing.

Chelsea have already agreed a deal with RB Leipzig to sign France forward Christopher Nkunku for the summer but, as explained above, the club recognise the importance of strengthening their ranks now.

With Broja out, they are left with just Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Kai Havertz as options to lead the line. Neither has looked convincing so far this season.

Aubameyang, who joined from Barcelona on deadline day in September, has scored just one Premier League goal so far and three overall. Havertz managed four goals between August and November.

As my colleague David Ornstein reported, the club are prioritising Monaco’s Benoit Badiashile at centre-half, a young, talented defender who can play on the left side of a back three.

Chelsea had been in advanced talks with RB Leipzig for Josko Gvardiol during the previous window but couldn’t agree a price. They wanted to resume talks in the new year, but Badiashile has jumped to the front of the queue.

Given N’Golo Kante is not expected back from a hamstring injury until March, another midfielder is also a possibility, while the club are already looking at who could operate as a backup to Reece James at right wing-back. They are in the market for a new goalkeeper, too.

Who are plausible targets?

Chelsea want to build a squad full of young players, ideally aged 25 and under, so the desire is to find a forward who can play for several years rather than another veteran in the mould of 33-year-old Aubameyang.

They are already in advanced talks for Norwegian club Molde’s Ivory Coast international David Datro Fofana but at 19, he is still very raw and unlikely to be ready to make the kind of impact the first team requires straight away. Similarly, they’ve shown intent by going after Borussia Dortmund’s 18-year-old Germany striker Youssoufa Moukoko.

Having missed out on Endrick to Real Madrid, they’re now looking at another Brazilian starlet in 17-year-old Vitor Roque, who plays for Athletico Paranaense.

As for more high-profile names, Chelsea have been admirers of Rafael Leao since the summer and got to look at him up close in this season’s two Champions League group games against AC Milan. The 23-year-old’s deal expires in 2024 and as yet there are no signs of him signing an extension. His Portugal team-mate Joao Felix, also 23, is unsettled at Atletico Madrid. Neither will come cheap.

If they decide to opt for an older, less expensive choice anyway, Memphis Depay won’t cost a lot to prise away from Barcelona, given his contract has just six months left.

Regarding midfield, Chelsea are admirers of Jude Bellingham and Declan Rice. Any attempt to get them will have to wait until the summer. Chelsea had a £43million offer for Ajax’s Edson Alvarez rejected four months ago, but intended to try again in January.

Significantly, they are in advanced talks with Brazil’s Vasco da Gama for 18-year-old Andrey Santos, plus still have an option to finalise Arsen Zakharyan’s £12.6million switch from Dynamo Moscow, having agreed terms in the summer. That transfer is complicated due to sanctions imposed by FIFA and UEFA preventing Russian players joining other clubs.

Who could be heading out?

Chelsea could certainly do with bringing some money in via sales to help their accounts. They earned just over £50million from departures in the summer, which only puts a small dent in their outgoings.

So who fits the bill now? This might be a good time to cash in on two high-profile players who have been getting increasingly discontent about their roles at Chelsea: Christian Pulisic and Hakim Ziyech. They have started just four Premier League games between them this season, so are very much on the periphery.

However, Chelsea now find themselves in a win-win situation. Both players showed good form at the World Cup for the US and Morocco respectively, which might either encourage Potter to use them more often or attract bids from other clubs.

Ziyech, who will have just two years left on his contract at the end of this season, is liked by AC Milan, who are considering making a loan bid that includes an option to buy. That isn’t ideal, but it could help with any Leao discussions. His former club Ajax might look again into taking him back, having tried in the summer.

Pulisic’s case is more pressing for Chelsea because he has just 18 months left on his deal. Manchester United and Newcastle United continue to be linked with him.

Which World Cup star would be perfect for your club?

Kylian Mbappe, but that is the stuff of fantasy.

Slightly more in reach, but not without difficulty as they’re up against stiff competition, is Dortmund’s Bellingham. The 19-year-old is exactly what Chelsea need to make their midfield one to be more feared again and due to his young age, could make a difference for several years.

[Vegetable 829]

Transfer rumors yaya, but I think that before any business a very important question of "do we actually have a manager" must be answered. Otherwise it's another multi-million tossing random pieces at random bloke, hoping for it to somehow miraculously work out itself, we can stick to what we have just as well.

[Pizy 18,341]

2 minutes ago, Vegetable said:

Transfer rumors yaya, but I think that before any business a very important question of "do we actually have a manager" must be answered. Otherwise it's another multi-million tossing random pieces at random bloke, hoping for it to somehow miraculously work out itself, we can stick to what we have just as well.

We have a good manager, the better question is whether the team full of big name stars buy into him and continue to respect him if these poor results keep happening. Or do they do what many Chelsea teams have done in the past and down tools to get someone new in.

I literally cannot imagine this new ownership group sacking the man they went above and beyond to bring in and gave him a long term deal. It would take a public mutiny from the players I think. Or a humiliating string of multi-goal losses.

Sacking him after less than a season would show to the world that they’re completely inept and even more trigger happy than Roman.

[Vesper 28,373]

10 minutes ago, Vegetable said:

Transfer rumors yaya, but I think that before any business a very important question of "do we actually have a manager" must be answered. Otherwise it's another multi-million tossing random pieces at random bloke, hoping for it to somehow miraculously work out itself, we can stick to what we have just as well.

Look at the team Potter built on a TINY budget at Brighton.

He develops players and knows tactics. I watched them a tonne under him, and he is not 'some random bloke'.

Our main issue is the players, after 5 plus years of disastrous buying/selling, cocking up contracts, not buying smart, and not knowing when to sell.

Marina, for all the trophies at times, slowly let shit build up, and shit away what will end up being around 3/4ers of a billion quid, plus we pulled the plug on the new stadium due to Roman's Putin ties fucking him and us.

Edited December 26, 2022 by Vesper

[Vesper 28,373]

We really need to finish off the last (and biggest after manager) piece and fill that Sporting Director slot.

Still just GUTTED that Christoph Freund turned us down

😓

[whats happening 1,520]

liverpool bought gakpo

[Vegetable 829]

Yeah, but is Brighton's most optimistic objective of doing decent comparable to ours, unless we want to stay in top 10 and not win the title? Lamps did very well in Derby too. I personally don't like him and not trust him, not gonna lie, but it's not my point - so far we are crap under him AND one of the gripes of previous windows was "Tuchel not having a pull compared to manager X". So what kind of pull does Potter have? Except maybe for Brighton players, but we already see how well they do for us. Like Pizy says, he have a hard task on his back to gain respect and shoes bit too big for him imo, and it's not even his fault. And we always complain about players, but apparently we need to literally build a club culture from scratch, as buying better or worse didn't do us too well, at least in long-term perspective. Is he capable to be at the wheel of this time will tell.

BUT maybe owner's are okay with wasting few seasons now, but I'm personally not and so are a lot of fans I guess. Life is not Ted Lasso stuff, at least not in top 3 level. If we are not considering ourselves top3, then well, way to go. It worked with Arsenal, because they had openly submitted at some point - club needs to decide whether we are top level and do top level or are we shit and take our time to rebuild in reasonable way, but then instead of tossing billions, maybe it's time to let our very own guys have some space to shine.

Edited December 26, 2022 by Vegetable