Chelsea Transfers

[Vesper 30,195]

Fabrizio Romano's Daily Briefing

 

Jonathan Johnson's Mercato Magazine - Man Utd & Chelsea could have edge over PSG in midfielder chase, William Saliba future, Jules Kounde development since Chelsea deal fell through, & more

Our French football expert with the low down on this week's big stories.

https://caughtoffside.substack.com/p/jonathan-johnsons-mercato-magazine-7bd

Manu Kone will surely be on the move, but PSG switch looks unlikely

 

Manu Kone is a fine young player who’s making the headlines a bit more recently, with links to the likes of Manchester United and Chelsea. In terms of rumoured interest from PSG, however, it’s hard to see them having a major overhaul of their squad this summer and being able to pay the kind of money that would be needed for a signing like Kone. He’s obviously a very talented young French footballer and it makes sense that he’d be of interest to PSG, especially as he’s on the verge of breaking through internationally as well.

Still, as long as the contract situations of Sergio Ramos and Lionel Messi remain unresolved ahead of the summer, it’s hard to see PSG winning the race for Kone, and it’s difficult to see them doing much else with their squad. He’ll likely have other big clubs watching him from across Europe, and it’s not a big surprise to see him succeed on what is becoming quite a well-trodden path, having moved to Germany from Toulouse. He now definitely seems like a player who could be on the move this summer, with a number of big clubs likely to show an interest. I think PSG would be the only ones who could bring him back to Ligue 1, but there are plenty of other big teams looking for midfielders.

Manchester United seem to be one of those, having been linked with both Kone and Enzo Le Fee, who plays for Lorient and is another impressive talent who I expect to be of interest to a number of big clubs right now. There’ll be the temptation to draw comparisons with someone like Aurelien Tchouameni, who made the big move from Monaco to Real Madrid last year, but to be honest I don’t see Kone being ready to make quite that same jump right now. That’s no disrespect to Kone or the level at Borussia Monchengladbach, but he’s not quite where Tchouameni was with Monaco when he then made the move to Madrid.

Still, that’s not to say there won’t be big clubs interested in him. We know Chelsea are targeting the talents of tomorrow, so to speak, so he could appeal to them. Gladbach also seem to be coming to end of a cycle, and are facing losing Marcus Thuram for nothing, so they’ll need to bring in some money from somewhere else, so Kone seems a logical choice given the clubs looking at him at this moment in time. Still, my personal opinion is that he’s not quite ready to join the European elite like Tchouameni was, but that could also mean Chelsea is a logical next step for him because if you look at how their season is going, Champions League qualification looks unlikely, so it could be the right sort of project for him to start with.

PSG will keep an eye on William Saliba but a deal won’t be straightforward

 

I’m aware there’s been some talk of PSG having a long-standing interest in William Saliba, and it makes sense that he’s someone they’re likely to keep an eye on, but it’s looking highly likely that his immediate future lies at Arsenal. He’s really come into his own in Mikel Arteta’s side and is starting to establish himself as a French international under Didier Deschamps ahead of Euro 2024.

Saliba obviously has Parisian roots, he comes from Bondy, the same place as Kylian Mbappe, so that will appeal to the French champions. However, one complicating factor with Saliba that shouldn’t be underestimated is that loan spell with Marseille that he had - a very succcessful one at that, and I think that will stay fresh in the memories of some PSG fans.

 

 

I think PSG, like a lot of top teams, will keep a close eye on Saliba, and see if an opportunity comes up, but given the amount of money it would now take to prise him away from an Arsenal side who could be on the verge of winning the Premier League title, it seems unlikely to me at this moment in time.

While Saliba is clearly an exceptional talent, there is perhaps better value on the market at this time, for example with Evan Ndicka at Eintracht Frankfurt, who also comes from the Parisian region, and who wouldn’t cost the kind of transfer fee or wage packet that Saliba would command.

Is Axel Disasi what Manchester United need?

 

Monaco defender Axel Disasi is an interesting player who’s starting to attract links with the likes of Manchester United ahead of the summer. He’s in that kind of ‘finishing school’ phase that Aurelien Tchouameni was in when he was there, and that someone like Wesley Fofana is in with Chelsea right now.

He’s now made the breakthrough at international level and that’s helped get him onto the radar of a number of big clubs. For someone like United, I think he would add competition to their squad, but I do have questions about whether or not he’d be the best fit for Erik ten Hag’s side and where they are now. It would be a fairly decent fit, but given where they want to be going, and getting back to under Ten Hag in the near future, I do question if Disasi would be the best option for them.

Don’t get me wrong - he’s a strong talent with plenty of good attributes, and the potential to improve, but I wouldn’t rank him alongside the very best talents in that position right now, compared to say Saliba, Fofana, and someone like Ibrahima Konate at Liverpool, or Dayot Upamecano at Bayern, I wouldn’t put him in the same sort of category as those guys.

I think Disasi will definitely be coveted by Premier League clubs in the future, but it wouldn’t surprise me if it ended up being someone a level below Manchester United, one of those clubs aspiring to get it into the Champions League reckoning.

Why former Ligue 1 stars have struggled at West Ham

 

We saw two big talents from Ligue 1 move to West Ham last summer, as Lucas Paqueta made the move from Lyon and Nayef Aguerd joined from Rennes. It’s disappointing to see that they’re now struggling to reproduce their best form in the Premier League.

Equally, however, if you were to ask me if I was surprised to see Paqueta flopping at West Ham, I’d have to say I’m not entirely shocked. I was more surprised by Aguerd, who is a really solid defender, but with him I think you have to factor in that he had a very bad injury quite early on in his West Ham career.

It’s also worth noting that it’s not generally been a great year for West Ham, with some of their other big names also going through a dip in form, and they’re now in a relegation battle. I think Aguerd was an astute signing, a good fit, but Paqueta was always going to be a bit of a gamble.

Before he moved to West Ham, we heard of interest from big clubs like Arsenal and Manchester City, and there’s a reason Paqueta has had admirers like that before, because technically he’s got phenomenal ability, he’s a very fine player on his day, but consistency has always been a big question-mark for him. In the Premier League you always have to be at your best game in, game out, but Paqueta, throughout his career, has never been that kind of player. Throughout his career in Europe he’s had some sublime moments and eye-catching performances, but also games where he barely even registers, so I’m less surprised by his struggles at West Ham.

What could the future hold for them this summer? I think it would be difficult for West Ham to keep hold of them if they were to go down - there’ll be a number of clubs, if not quite at the top tier, but perhaps at a sort of Europa League level, who will be looking at those kinds of opportunities.

Jules Kounde’s development since Chelsea move fell through

 

As was widely reported at the time, Jules Kounde was very close to joining Chelsea last summer, but things just didn’t quite fall into place as they did with Barcelona. I think in the end he was quite happy to see Barcelona coming in for him, even if there was some uncertainty when he first joined and there were those registration issues, which are still a problem with Barca even now.

 

 

It’s hard to know how his development would have gone if he had joined Chelsea, but his re-positioning as a right-back at Barcelona has been very interesting - it’s useful as well, because the full-back positions are an area of weakness in the French national side, which is bizarre considering how stacked they are for talent in almost every other area.

With a lack of options on either flank, it’s logical for Didier Deschamps to experiment with converted full-backs, he’s done that with Benjamin Pavard and he’s now doing that with Kounde, and it’s been mirrored well at club level. There are a lot of players coming through as options at centre-back for France right now, so it wouldn’t surprise me if we saw a few more who might follow the path of Kounde.

I don’t think this is necessarily limited to French football either - if there’s a shortage of full-backs, you’ll probably see more and more of those slightly more versatile players making that kind of move, for example in the way Ben White has to great effect for Arsenal this season. Players like him and Kounde can contribute going forwards, but offer some solidity in that position as well, so it’s a bit of a no-brainer for managers to at least try them in those positions. It’s interesting that that now looks like being Kounde’s long-term role.

[Vesper 30,195]

Fabrizio Romano's Daily Briefing

 

🚨 the Daily Briefing - Can Chelsea retain Mason Mount?, 'crucial' Jude Bellingham point, Ansu Fati crossroads, and more

Friday's transfer round-up, featuring Liverpool, Real Madrid, Romelu Lukaku, Evan Ndicka.... and more

https://caughtoffside.substack.com/p/the-daily-briefing-can-Chelsea-retain

[From left to right: Ansu Fati, Jude Bellingham and Mason Mount… who will be due for some summer changes?]

Good morning guys and welcome to today’s Daily Briefing, an exclusive round-up of the biggest stories and headlines, brought to you ad-free and straight to your inbox. Thanks for reading and hope you enjoy! 🙂

Today’s top stories:

• Could Ansu Fati leave Barcelona this summer?

• Chelsea’s hopes of securing £70m for Mason Mount…

• The one ‘crucial point’ for Liverpool, Real Madrid and Manchester City on Jude Bellingham transfer

Barcelona

Ansu Fati wants to stay at Barcelona but of course, things have to change for him as he needs and wants to play.

His agent already brought interest and approaches from Premier League clubs in the last two years; this summer could be the same, but it’s still early.

📢 What Ansu Fati’s father, Bori, told Juanma Castaño on El Partidazo de Cope about his son’s situation: “Ask Xavi why he's not playing Ansu. I don't have any answer. Xavi wants him to work hard, and he is. I feel disappointed as a father. I just say: give him an opportunity. Should we forget about Ansu Fati now?”

Chelsea

I think it’s going to be difficult to get £70m for Mason Mount. At the moment, Chelsea and Mount have still a small chance to continue together with a final round of talks in the next months… but if there will be no agreement again, Mount will be available on the market. Liverpool remain interested, as said many times; and for sure Chelsea will try to sign a new midfielder in the summer.

[💭 Is Mason Mount’s time at Stamford Bridge now over? How much can Chelsea realistically charge for him this summer? Let us know your thoughts below! - (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)]

Liverpool

Evan Ndicka is one of the names they are considering, not the only one. There are 4/5 clubs keen on signing Ndicka as free agent - and I’m sure Liverpool will have a list with many players as they plan to strengthen the defence.

📰 Liverpool and Manchester United could battle it out for Evan Ndicka this summer [Football Insider via CaughtOffside]

Manchester City

📰 Man City are reportedly planning to cash in on Erling Haaland soon as the Norwegian striker is not seen as the long-term future of the club [Football Transfers via CaughtOffside]

Manu Kone

🗣️Jonathan Johnson’s CaughtOffside Column: “Manu Kone is a fine young player who’s making the headlines a bit more recently, with links to the likes of Manchester United and Chelsea.”

Real Madrid

I’m not aware of any spending cap honestly when it comes to what Real Madrid will be prepared to pay for Jude Bellingham. It’s about convincing Bellingham — that is the crucial point for Liverpool, Real Madrid and Manchester City.

 

[Jude Bellingham on international duty - (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)]

Romelu Lukaku

Inter will speak about Romelu Lukaku’s future with Chelsea at the end of the season. It also depends on their coach situation. Lukaku wants to stay at Inter, it’s his priority.

[lucio 5,418]

21 hours ago, YorkshireBlue said:

I'd probably use another insult lol, seen as dumbledore in the harry potter world is considered the greatest to have ever lived. Even I know that and I hate them films beyond words.

Not a fan either but I seem to remember him sitting in his office doing fuckall while his school went to shit every year. 

[YorkshireBlue 3,277]

3 hours ago, lucio said:

Not a fan either but I seem to remember him sitting in his office doing fuckall while his school went to shit every year. 

Then you clearly didn't watch it properly 🤣

[Pizy 18,928]

Just an idea that seems very unlikely but…. Gündogan is out of contract this summer and all the talk is that he’ll leave City. Barca looks most likely but should we not try to get him on a very short deal? Even at 33 or whatever he is he still looks amazing and would be great next to Enzo.

If we strike out on our primary targets or run into issues with spending big money due to FFP, it’s a free option we should explore.

[ZAPHOD2319 4,819]

 

[Magic Lamps 11,692]

6 hours ago, ZAPHOD2319 said:

 

 Falk is a well known bullshitter tho

 

[NikkiCFC 8,326]

 

[TheHulk 2,466]

4 minutes ago, NikkiCFC said:

 

Sell Mount first.

[Magic Lamps 11,692]

1 hour ago, TheHulk said:

Sell Mount first.

Sell them both 

[Vegetable 830]

I can already see so called "deadwood" HG players in form of Mount and Gallagher suddenly killing it for pool. Wonder what's the reason behind this…

[ZAPHOD2319 4,819]

 

[TheHulk 2,466]

 

[ZAPHOD2319 4,819]

Record fee for a 15 year old. We better get the multi club going so we have control over all these expensive kids

 

[DH1988 1,348]

3 hours ago, ZAPHOD2319 said:

 

They want Barry and Nags off the books, compensation could help soften the pay off to Potter, as I understand it via twittersphere that we do not have to pay Potters contract up in full.

[ZAPHOD2319 4,819]

2 hours ago, DH1988 said:

They want Barry and Nags off the books, compensation could help soften the pay off to Potter, as I understand it via twittersphere that we do not have to pay Potters contract up in full.

It sounds like they had a severance package built into his contract, which would have been smart

[turgi 71]

On 21/01/2023 at 08:54, Vesper said:

Cucurella is NOT a CB

anyone who thinks he is a CB simply doesn't know fuckall about football

[Gundalf 806]

Maybe we can get Kolo Muani - that guy is unreal. 

[Vesper 30,195]

CIES Football Observatory n°416 - 05/04/2023

Values

Top transfer values for non big-5 leagues’ U23 players

 

Weekly Post’s issue number 416 presents the 100 U23 players outside the big-5 with the highest estimated transfer values according to the CIES Football Observatory’s statistical model. Benfica’s centre-forward Gonçalo Ramos tops the list with an estimated value of about €70 million, ahead of three centre backs: António Silva (€66m), Gonçalo Inácio (€62m) and Jurriën Timber (€57m).

The three U23 players outside Portugal and the Netherlands with the greatest estimated transfer values are Yuri Alberto (€35m) of Corinthians, Benjamin Šeško (€34m) of RB Salzburg (already signed by RB Leipzig) and André Trindade (€31m) of Fluminense. Maarten Vandevoordt (Genk, on loan from RB Leipzig) tops the list for goalkeepers (€20m), Devyne Rensch (Ajax) for full backs (€23m), and Kenneth Taylor (also Ajax) for midfielders (€49m).

Brazilian Serie A has the highest representation in the top 100 with 18 players, followed by the Dutch Eredivisie (17), the Austrian Bundesliga and seventeen other leagues. By club, with 10 players, RB Salzburg is by far the most present ahead of Feyenoord (6), Ajax (5), Burnley (4) and PSV Eindhoven (also 4). The top 100 estimated values for last November and non-big-5 league U 25 players is available here.

 

[ZAPHOD2319 4,819]

Reportedly