Chelsea Transfers

[MoroccanBlue 5,399]

41 minutes ago, Mhsc said:

I suspect the high-level strategy is a Boehly / Eghbali strategy, probably one they already had in mind before acquisition as part of their mission / vision for the new Chelsea that they sold to their fellow investors. Then the team they have hired (PW/LS etc) is the group of people they think can execute their strategy to deliver short/medium/long term success within the scope of the company values and mission they have defined.

Of course, you can argue that Poch, PW, LS etc should have found a way to make a winning squad with the amount of money available in summer and money was spent excessively in the wrong areas (e.g. Caicedo+Lavia for huge fees vs finding a cheap supporting option for Enzo - like just buy Ugo, keep Andrey Santos, and then spend the rest of that money on buying goals)

It is, particularly when both of them came from tech start up backgrounds. 

What they are doing is classic blitzscaling. 

 

[Strike 7,761]

2 hours ago, Reddish-Blue said:

You would think there would be enough data out there to find those "creative" players.   Even when us and a whole host of other clubs were keen on Hazard, it was pretty clear from watching him and seeing his data/stats at Lille that he was on his way to becoming a top player. 

The real concern is that there was only 1 plan heading into this season and that revolved around Nkunku, Reece being fit for the most part.  With both players out for an extended period of time, we have no cutting edge in attack and we're sort of crossing our fingers and hoping that Sterling scores a goal or Jackson finally takes a chance in front of goal (had two massive opportunities to get goals against West Ham & Forest....both games we should not have lost). 

One of the reasons the plan was only Nkunku was because data guided the club's moves for Mudryk Madueke Palmer. Only creative player we were linked with in the Nkunku mould was Cherki.  

[Vesper 31,037]

4 hours ago, OneMoSalah said:

£40m and Lukaku for Vlahovic

£34.5m (€40m) + Rom

[Vesper 31,037]

Will Chelsea move for a new striker in January?

https://thedailybriefing.io/i/137173430/will-Chelsea-move-for-a-new-striker-in-january

It’s too early to say for sure if Chelsea will move for a new striker in January, for now they are saying their focus is on the current squad. They are also keen to protect Nicolas Jackson, who had a very good pre-season, though of course to repeat that in the Premier League is not the same. Still, they back him and they want to trust him.

Christopher Nkunku’s return from injury could also be crucial for Jackson’s form. They linked up well together in pre-season, so to have someone like him to help create space and to give him different kind of passes could be crucial. That’s why they believe that when Nkunku is back the attacking situation will be very different, so that’s why they’re not commenting on signing another striker now.

They had the chance to sign other strikers in the summer, like Dusan Vlahovic, but Chelsea were never 100% convinced about going for a traditional number 9. I think they will stick to that plan for the next couple of months, and then let’s see where we are at the end of November, but for now they are not actively working on a new striker because they want to protect the squad they have.

Personally, I really like Vlahovic so for me he’s an excellent option for any club in the world, but especially for Juventus as he’s key player there. I don’t know the exact reasons why Chelsea rejected that possibility, but they were not sure since July and then again in August so they decided not to take up that option.

Ivan Toney’s name has come up with Chelsea, and it’s normal when a player like that looks like being an opportunity on the market. I think Toney is going to leave Brentford in 2024 - 100%, that’s the feeling of those close to him, so let’s see if that’s going to be January or the summer transfer window.

Chelsea have an interest, but also other clubs in England and some Italian clubs. He’s always been appreciated by many clubs, though England probably looks the most likely destination because he wants to continue in the Premier League. Still, I see his name in the headlines a lot but there is nothing concrete or advanced at the moment. I think it will take some time to see which club will go for him and who can offer proper money to convince Brentford.

[Reddish-Blue 2,663]

8 hours ago, Mhsc said:

I suspect the high-level strategy is a Boehly / Eghbali strategy, probably one they already had in mind before acquisition as part of their mission / vision for the new Chelsea that they sold to their fellow investors. Then the team they have hired (PW/LS etc) is the group of people they think can execute their strategy to deliver short/medium/long term success within the scope of the company values and mission they have defined.

Of course, you can argue that Poch, PW, LS etc should have found a way to make a winning squad with the amount of money available in summer and money was spent excessively in the wrong areas (e.g. Caicedo+Lavia for huge fees vs finding a cheap supporting option for Enzo - like just buy Ugo, keep Andrey Santos, and then spend the rest of that money on buying goals)

The high level strategy is obvious, get all the wonderkids and top level talents and let them develop together. 

The problem is, we have zero experience in the squad and I don't see how we're going to be in the UCL race for the next 2 seasons....by which time some of the better youngsters will have plenty of offers across Europe to go and be involved in title challenges/UCL games etc and we will be stuck as a mid table side. 

[Thor 2,817]

Felix scoring goals for fun. CHO scoring. 

People keep thinking this is a player issue. Yet when they leave they can score. 

You can keep piling all the players you want in the team and the same outcome will happen. Team is plenty good - but the attacking flow, tactics and build up is no there. 

Players aren't suddenly shit overnight, and they aren't suddenly magic as soon as they leave us.

Stop thinking more players is going to fix us. You'll end up disappointed. 

[DH1988 1,356]

Waiting until Christmas, won’t post what I’ve posted before in terms of individuals as it’s not changed.

Re: Felix, good player, had his chance to prove he should be back and didn’t take it.

At the moment the overwhelming concern to me is the work rate and intensity of the team, it’s absolutely shocking and a far cry from preseason effort(s). Team shape, personnel etc are not first priority to me/for me, it’s running yourself into the ground for 90 minutes as a baseline before anything else.

[DDA 10,204]

14 minutes ago, DH1988 said:

Waiting until Christmas, won’t post what I’ve posted before in terms of individuals as it’s not changed.

Re: Felix, good player, had his chance to prove he should be back and didn’t take it.

At the moment the overwhelming concern to me is the work rate and intensity of the team, it’s absolutely shocking and a far cry from preseason effort(s). Team shape, personnel etc are not first priority to me/for me, it’s running yourself into the ground for 90 minutes as a baseline before anything else.

The work rate has dropped because half the players have been sent out on fucking loan.

Angelo

Santos

Casaedi

All ballers who brought in energy to the team. 

Nkunku injured too.

It's a fucking joke.

[Mário César 1,475]

that fucking clown destroy our club

[Thor 2,817]

1 hour ago, DDA said:

The work rate has dropped because half the players have been sent out on fucking loan.

Angelo

Santos

Casaedi

All ballers who brought in energy to the team. 

Nkunku injured too.

It's a fucking joke.

We can't just keep pointing to this, then that, then this. 

One point is lack of experience, and your posts says more youth and energy, then we will go back to experience. 

I think ultimately, we need patience. We are all guilty of throwing our toys out of the pram in the game threads because passion is at an all time high and we haven't got many wins recently, but realistically, it is all we got. 

[DDA 10,204]

7 minutes ago, Thor said:

We can't just keep pointing to this, then that, then this. 

One point is lack of experience, and your posts says more youth and energy, then we will go back to experience. 

I think ultimately, we need patience. We are all guilty of throwing our toys out of the pram in the game threads because passion is at an all time high and we haven't got many wins recently, but realistically, it is all we got. 

I agree.. it's just pure frustration at this point. The club keep making poor decision after poor decision it seems.

[Thor 2,817]

37 minutes ago, DDA said:

I agree.. it's just pure frustration at this point. The club keep making poor decision after poor decision it seems.

To be fair we had a great 20 year run. I guess a bit of patience from us isn't too much to ask for... is it? 🤣

[DDA 10,204]

2 hours ago, Thor said:

To be fair we had a great 20 year run. I guess a bit of patience from us isn't too much to ask for... is it? 🤣

I can't accept that notion broski. I want results immediately. 

[Clockwork 1,794]

39 minutes ago, DDA said:

I can't accept that notion broski. I want results immediately. 

we are 14th and last season we finished 12th. I don't want to hear any talk about being patient when we are this bad. 

[YorkshireBlue 3,341]

2 hours ago, Clockwork said:

we are 14th and last season we finished 12th. I don't want to hear any talk about being patient when we are this bad. 

Just because you don't want to hear it, doesn't mean it isn't needed.

[Strike 7,761]

9 hours ago, DDA said:

The work rate has dropped because half the players have been sent out on fucking loan.

Angelo

Santos

Casaedi

All ballers who brought in energy to the team. 

Nkunku injured too.

It's a fucking joke.

They would have the same issues but at least they seemed game-ready. The seniors who replaced them were hardly older and are behind on preparation - Ugo, Lavia, Palmer

Chaos summer 2.0 is one more reason for this start. 

[Clockwork 1,794]

Exactly how i felt about Caicedo, this is too much money for a player that doesn't alter a game at an elite level. 

[DH1988 1,356]

14 minutes ago, Clockwork said:

Exactly how i felt about Caicedo, this is too much money for a player that doesn't alter a game at an elite level. 

I saw Caicedo as our Essien-like all action midfielder but at present he looks completely shot of what to do and where to be, similar to McAllister at Liverpool.

[Vesper 31,037]

2 hours ago, Clockwork said:

Exactly how i felt about Caicedo, this is too much money for a player that doesn't alter a game at an elite level. 

Caicedo is not a 6

this twitter rando Felix has been consistently wrong on so many things/predictions (far beyond just Caicedo)

and he is obsessed with slating Caucedo for months and claiming he is a bog standard 6

[Vesper 31,037]

Ivan Toney and more strikers on the move

https://thedailybriefing.io/i/137210693/ivan-toney-and-more-strikers-on-the-move

It’s an important moment for many strikers, even though nothing is happening now. In January and in the summer there will be a lot of movement of strikers, and one to watch is going to be Ivan Toney. My information is that Brentford know that the player wants to leave in 2024, we’ll have to see if that will be in January or next summer, but we know that Toney appointed a new agent because he wants to try a new experience at a top club.

Many clubs have asked about Toney, including Italian clubs, but staying in the Premier League is the priority of the player. Chelsea are well informed on the situation of the player, but also Arsenal are well informed on the conditions of the potential deal. Both clubs asked for information, let’s see if other clubs will join the race, but for the moment I can guarantee that both Arsenal and Chelsea have shown this interest. Still, it’s important to clarify that Arsenal have not decided yet how they want to act in January in terms of strikers.

Of course, nothing will happen with Toney now, nothing will happen next week, it will take time to see the price tag and all the conditions of the deal, so fans need to be patient, because many things can happen on this story, but it is one to watch because the idea of the player is to try a new chapter in 2024.

Another striker to watch in 2024 will be RB Leipzig’s Benjamin Sesko. He scored his first Champions League goal last night against Young Boys and has long been regarded as a top talent, and at every single Leipzig game there are scouts from top clubs monitoring him, especially from England. His progress is being monitored, let’s see what will happen, though not in January for sure, but in summer 2024 or 2025. The price tag is impossible to say now as he only joined Leipzig 60 days ago, it's not something evolving now, but one to watch in the near future.

Lautaro Martinez spoke today and revealed that many clubs were interested in him in the summer, but it was never a topic because he always wanted to stay at Inter Milan. I’ve already reported that Chelsea turned down the chance to sign Dusan Vlahovic, and Martinez was also never an option for Chelsea because after paying Inter big money for Romelu Lukaku they were cautious about doing a similar deal. Martinez would have been super expensive, and now he is going to discuss a new contract with Inter very soon.