Chelsea Transfers

[Vesper 27,437]

3 hours ago, mkh said:

 

I never posted this:

 

Why are you altering my replies?

The only two posts ever on the board that mentioned Franco Mastantuono (at least in searchable text) were my 2 here:

https://forum.talkchelsea.net/search/?q=Mastantuono&quick=1

 

[robsblubot 3,263]

Anyone seen 24yo Porto striker Evanilson play? just saw that he got called up for Brazil.

[ZAPHOD2319 3,940]

 

[Vesper 27,437]

1 hour ago, robsblubot said:

Anyone seen 24yo Porto striker Evanilson play? just saw that he got called up for Brazil.

yes, I have posted on him multiple times

he regressed last season, rebounded this one

not sold on him atm

[Vesper 27,437]

Can Chelsea afford to qualify for the Europa League?

https://theathletic.com/5479118/2024/05/09/Chelsea-europa-league-psr-fsr/

In the final weeks of a Premier League season that appeared doomed to end in mid-table mediocrity, Chelsea have a real shot at qualifying for Europe.

Currently in seventh, level on points with Manchester United but boasting a far superior goal difference, Mauricio Pochettino’s young team sit two points behind Newcastle United with three matches remaining. Sixth place — which would secure Europa League football next season, provided Erik ten Hag’s side do not beat Manchester City in the FA Cup final — remains firmly in play.

That outcome would feel like success and represent tangible, positive progress for a relatively inexperienced squad that has been on a painful learning curve in the most competitive league in the world.

It would also introduce new financial challenges for Chelsea’s owners, some of which were detailed by The Athletic ahead of the Carabao Cup final in February.

UEFA’s club licensing and financial sustainability regulations (FSR) will only allow losses up to €80million (£68.5m; $86m) for the 2024-25 monitoring period — which encompasses the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons — provided the club in question is deemed to be in good health and not subject to existing UEFA sanctions. This is significantly more restrictive than the £105m loss over a three-year period permitted by the Premier League’s profit and sustainability regulations (PSR).

Chelsea’s official financial results for 2022-23, published on Companies House in March, revealed a £90.1m pre-tax loss and painted a worrying overall picture that indicated the club only narrowly remained PSR compliant by banking £76.5m profit from the sale of the two hotels at Stamford Bridge to a sister company owned by Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital.

Ominously, this deal is still awaiting formal approval from the Premier League as being of “fair market value” almost a year after it was agreed.

In any case, it cannot help Chelsea comply with FSR. “Under UEFA rules, real estate profits are excluded from the calculation,” football finance expert Kieran Maguire tells The Athletic. “You can do it under PSR, but you can’t do it in the EFL and you can’t do it under UEFA.”

The margin for financial error is further reduced by UEFA’s decision to cap player amortisation at a maximum of five years regardless of the length of their contract from the summer of 2023. Premier League clubs voted to follow suit but the rule change did not come into effect domestically until January 2024, making Chelsea’s signings last summer more expensive for the purposes of FSR compliance than for PSR.

“In the case of Moises Caicedo (who signed an eight-year contract with Chelsea after joining from Brighton & Hove Albion), his £100m transfer fee counts as £12.5m annually for PSR but, in UEFA’s calculations, it will need to be £100m divided by five (years),” Maguire explains. “So it will count as £20m per year.”

The Athletic projected in February that UEFA’s five-year amortisation cap would raise the yearly cost of Chelsea’s summer signings for FSR purposes from £59.4m to £80.9m.

This, however, was based on the total transfer fee commitment for the summer of 2023 being £404.8m; in their accounts the club disclosed transfer spending of £454m after June 30, 2023, suggesting the fees paid for the 11 players who arrived at Stamford Bridge in that window may be even higher than initially reported — thereby making the amortised cost greater.

In such financial circumstances, it is legitimately questionable whether the benefits of qualifying for the third-tier Europa Conference League — Chelsea’s likely outcome if they finish seventh rather than sixth — outweigh the financial drawbacks. West Ham only earned around £16m for winning the entire competition in 2022-23.

The good news is the Europa League is a different matter.

Lifting the trophy for a third time in 2024-25 would net Chelsea around £30m in prize money. That best-case scenario would also guarantee seven additional matches at Stamford Bridge, which brought in an average of £3.1m in match-day revenue in 2022-23, with tickets and hospitality packages more likely to sell out against a slightly higher standard of European opposition.

Add that up and a successful Europa League campaign could be worth in excess of £50m. It may not be the £82m that Chelsea earned for reaching the Champions League round of 16 in 2022-23 but it is a significant revenue boost, even factoring in the bonuses for European participation written into first-team player contracts.

There are other benefits. Qualifying for the Europa League would improve Chelsea’s chances of securing a lucrative new primary shirt sponsorship, which is yet to be finalised for the 2024-25 season. Finally and most enticingly of all, winning it offers an alternative route — and arguably an easier one — back into the Champions League.

Chelsea’s most recent published financial results reinforced the outside perception, played down by senior figures within the club, that significant player sales are required before June 30 in order to remain PSR compliant for 2023-24. This artificial deadline could put additional pressure on an important summer and weaken the club’s negotiating position when attempting to sell the players considered expendable at Stamford Bridge.

In his analysis of Chelsea’s financial results, respected football finance analyst Swiss Ramble concluded that the club will have to generate a PSR profit of £36m for 2023-24 to remain within the Premier League’s three-year loss limit of £105m, effectively breaking even in the accounts before allowable deductions are applied.

Selling players — particularly academy graduates who represent pure profit in the books — before June 30 is the most feasible way to achieve that.

When it comes to FSR, Chelsea have more time to get their books in order. UEFA’s monitoring period runs from January 1 to December 31, meaning even player sales registered after June 30 are factored into their calculation. The fact that no new signings arrived at Stamford Bridge in the most recent January transfer window will be helpful.

UEFA have also introduced squad cost control measures that tie player wages, transfer and agent fees to club revenue and profit on player sales. The ratio stands at 80 per cent for 2024 before dropping to 70 per cent in 2025; Swiss Ramble estimates Chelsea were at 86 per cent in 2022-23, but this is tied to a gargantuan £404m wage bill that club officials insist has been drastically reduced with the departures of a large number of high earners last summer.

Many in football are waiting, or even hoping, for Chelsea to be found in breach of the sport’s financial regulations. Qualifying for the Europa League or Europa Conference League might well increase the chances of this happening, though the club’s owners have so far proven creative (or cynical, depending on your point of view) enough to stay just within the permitted limits.

Pochettino and his team have no choice but to finish the Premier League season as strongly as possible, bring European football back to Stamford Bridge and let others worry about the rest.

GO DEEPER

Chelsea accounts explained: A big loss, sponsor worry and an FFP headache

(Top photo: Chelsea celebrate winning the 2019 Europa League, Etsuo Hara/Getty Images)

 

[Vesper 27,437]

Fluminense hoping to create Chelsea link after Thiago Silva transfer

https://theathletic.com/5481911/2024/05/09/Chelsea-fluminense-thiago-silva-transfer/

Fluminense president Mario Bittencourt wants to create a link between the Brazilian club and Chelsea following their agreement to sign Thiago Silva.

Silva, 39, is rejoining the Rio de Janiero club after 15 years when his contract at Chelsea expires at the end of the season.

Bittencourt has praised Chelsea’s role in the negotiations process for the central defender’s transfer and has spoken of his desire for a link to be created between the two clubs, which he hopes will include playing friendlies at both team’s stadiums.

“We have a huge affection for Chelsea,” Bittencourt — who highlighted Fluminense’s English origins — said, as quoted by O Globo.

GO DEEPER

Portugal, Belgium and... Brazil? Assessing Chelsea's multi-club options

“They treated us with respect and from this moment and now, for English football, I am a Chelsea fan.

“I hope that our calendars allow us to play a friendly match against them in England for us to invite them to the Maracana (Fluminense’s stadium, which is also home to the Brazil national team).

“It would be incredible to create a link between the two clubs.”

GO DEEPER

Chelsea, Strasbourg, BlueCo and a multi-club model yet to convince a sceptical fanbase

Fluminense’s domestic honours include four Brazilian national league titles, one Copa do Brasil and 33 victories in the Campeonato Carioca — the Rio state championship.

They won their first Copa Libertadores — the South American version of the Champions League — title last year, defeating Argentine club Boca Juniors in the final.

Silva previously spent three years with Fluminense before moving to AC Milan in 2009.

The defender has signed a two-year contract with the club and will be allowed to train with them before his move officially goes through on July 1.

 

[Vesper 27,437]

Estevao Chelsea agreement, plus latest on Omari Hutchinson’s future

https://thedailybriefing.io/i/144460272/estevao-Chelsea-agreement-plus-latest-on-omari-hutchinsons-future

Chelsea have reached an agreement with Willian Estevao and his agents on the contract - everything is ready between Chelsea and the player, and now the Blues want to close the deal with Palmeiras. The interest has been there for a long time, with concrete contacts starting a few months ago, and now they’re making progress on signing this exciting young talent, considered one of the best prospects in the world, not just South America.

Conversations are ongoing between Chelsea and Palmeiras, and my understanding as we wait for an official bid is that Chelsea’s first proposal will be around €32m plus add-ons. What I’m hearing is that the structure of the add-ons would take the bid over the value of Estevao’s release clause. It could be €32m now and a further €25m over multiple payments - not guaranteed money, but depending on performances they could pay that over the course of multiple years.

Now it depends on Palmeiras, but for sure Chelsea are working hard to sign Estevao, who was also previously a target for Paris Saint-Germain. You may remember that PSG tried to sign him as well as Endrick, making a bid of €90m to Palmeiras for both players, but the Brazilian club said no. They sold Endrick to Real Madrid and now Estevao is close to joining Chelsea.

We’re likely to see departures at Chelsea this summer, particularly with the players who are currently out on loan. As previously reported, the plan is for Armando Broja to be sold once he comes back from his loan at Fulham, and Hakim Ziyech can already be considered to have played his last game for Chelsea. I also expect Romelu Lukaku and Ian Maatsen to leave Chelsea, but for the others we have to wait and see what happens.

Omari Hutchinson, for instance, will be an interesting one to follow after his fine form on loan at Ipswich Town. There will be a meeting between Omari’s camp and Chelsea to discuss his future. There are clubs in Eredivisie, Bundesliga and Premier League keen on signing him on loan. Another loan solution for next season is the most likely, as I’m hearing that Chelsea want him to play on regular basis, while Ipswich also hope to keep him.

[Vesper 27,437]

Chelsea have enquired about starlet but Real Madrid lead race

https://thedailybriefing.io/i/144496734/Chelsea-have-enquired-about-starlet-but-real-madrid-lead-race

Many teams have enquired, and are enquiring about River Plate's 16-year-old Franco Mastantuono, Chelsea are one of them, but what I'm told is that Mastantuono only has Real Madrid on his mind - he sees it as the top option. Negotiations are in their initial stages though, and there have been contacts between Real Madrid and Mastantuono, but nothing is advanced, so there's still a lot to be decided.

The key thing is that Real Madrid want him, his intention is to go there, even if things have to progress. Regarding reports from other outlets that Real Madrid do not want to pay his release clause, there's a chance that other clubs come in and pay it (reported at €45m, €50m in the final 10 days of the transfer window), but they would have to convince Mastantuono too. He will speak with his club, and if necessary, work out the terms. Maybe Real Madrid will try to pay part of the fee on a fixed basis, and the rest in variables, as they have done with a number of other players.

[Vesper 27,437]

Very difficult for Chelsea striker to complete permanent move to Serie A

https://thedailybriefing.io/i/144517338/very-difficult-for-Chelsea-striker-to-complete-permanent-move-to-serie-a

Even if AS Roma qualifies for the Champions League next season, it’s still going to be very difficult for the Italian club to keep Romelu Lukaku for the 2024/25 season. It’s a really expensive deal with Chelsea as the striker has a £38m clause and also the player’s wages will be high.

I expect Roma to move on from Lukaku this summer, leaving Chelsea to look at different solutions for Romelu as he will not return to the Italian capital. There is interest from Saudi Arabia but that is not the only possibility for the striker. The 30-year-old is still young and is still a top player, which he has shown this season by scoring 20 goals in a Roma shirt.

[TheHulk 1,431]

3 hours ago, Vesper said:

Very difficult for Chelsea striker to complete permanent move to Serie A

https://thedailybriefing.io/i/144517338/very-difficult-for-Chelsea-striker-to-complete-permanent-move-to-serie-a

Even if AS Roma qualifies for the Champions League next season, it’s still going to be very difficult for the Italian club to keep Romelu Lukaku for the 2024/25 season. It’s a really expensive deal with Chelsea as the striker has a £38m clause and also the player’s wages will be high.

I expect Roma to move on from Lukaku this summer, leaving Chelsea to look at different solutions for Romelu as he will not return to the Italian capital. There is interest from Saudi Arabia but that is not the only possibility for the striker. The 30-year-old is still young and is still a top player, which he has shown this season by scoring 20 goals in a Roma shirt.

[Reddish-Blue 2,239]

5 hours ago, Vesper said:

Very difficult for Chelsea striker to complete permanent move to Serie A

https://thedailybriefing.io/i/144517338/very-difficult-for-Chelsea-striker-to-complete-permanent-move-to-serie-a

Even if AS Roma qualifies for the Champions League next season, it’s still going to be very difficult for the Italian club to keep Romelu Lukaku for the 2024/25 season. It’s a really expensive deal with Chelsea as the striker has a £38m clause and also the player’s wages will be high.

I expect Roma to move on from Lukaku this summer, leaving Chelsea to look at different solutions for Romelu as he will not return to the Italian capital. There is interest from Saudi Arabia but that is not the only possibility for the striker. The 30-year-old is still young and is still a top player, which he has shown this season by scoring 20 goals in a Roma shirt.

So we'll be stuck paying this guy's wages again next season?  

[nyikolajevics 2,455]

12 minutes ago, Reddish-Blue said:

So we'll be stuck paying this guy's wages again next season?  

Then, we could just use him. He is still good, very good. Definetly would have a good time with Cole/Malo/Noni, 1/1 can replace or rotate with Jackson. I firmly believe Osimhen has nothing to offer what Lukaku cannot. He is 31 only, team starts to look good, perfect time for him to jump in and repay some.

[King Kante 1,341]

Lukaku will move to Saudi in the Summer. He only has two years left on his contract. If he goes this year he'll still get a decent long one as he is still only 31 and has a bit of a say. He leaves it another year he runs the risk of not getting anything near. 

[Vesper 27,437]

5 hours ago, Reddish-Blue said:

So we'll be stuck paying this guy's wages again next season?  

Saudi sale FTW

[Mhsc 676]

4 hours ago, nyikolajevics said:

Then, we could just use him. He is still good, very good. Definetly would have a good time with Cole/Malo/Noni, 1/1 can replace or rotate with Jackson. I firmly believe Osimhen has nothing to offer what Lukaku cannot. He is 31 only, team starts to look good, perfect time for him to jump in and repay some.

Absolutely not, I cannot believe you have posted this. Lukaku can never play for Chelsea again. He is a disgrace, a toxic disgrace who will try his hardest to ruin everything we've got going on. I wouldn't even let him train with the other players, or be in the same building as them, if it can be at all avoided.

[Vesper 27,437]

Ballon d'Or 2024 Power Rankings

https://www.givemesport.com/ranking-the-top-contenders-for-the-2024-ballon-dor/

(the 3 in bold are a fucking joke, and no, I am not going to bold Hummels, he was been magnificent all season for the most part, and this has been a very poor year overall for global CBs)

BallBallon d'Or 2024 Power Rankingson d'Or Power Rankings
Rank	Player	Club	Country	Position
1	Vinicius Junior	Real Madrid	Brazil	Forward
2	Jude Bellingham	Real Madrid	England	Midfielder
3	Harry Kane	Bayern Munich	England	Forward
4	Kylian Mbappe	PSG	France	Forward
5	Rodri	Manchester City	Spain	Midfielder
6	Toni Kross	Real Madrid	Germany	Midfielder
7	Phil Foden	Manchester City	England	Midfielder
8	Erling Haaland	Manchester City	Norway	Forward
9	Florian Wirtz	Bayer Leverkusen	Germany	Midfielder
10	Mats Hummels	Borussia Dortmund	Germany	Defender
11	Kevin De Bruyne	Manchester City	Belgium	Midfielder
12	Rodrygo	Real Madrid	Brazil	Forward
13	Declan Rice	Arsenal	England	Midfielder
14	Lionel Messi	Inter Miami	Argentina	Forward
15	Cristiano Ronaldo	Al-Nassr	Portugal	Forward
16	Bukayo Saka	Arsenal	England	Forward
17	Jamal Musiala	Bayern Munich	Germany	Midfielder
18	Martin Odegaard	Arsenal	Norway	Midfielder
19	Lautaro Martinez	Inter Milan	Argentina	Forward
20	Virgil van Dijk	Liverpool	Netherlands	Defender

[Vesper 27,437]

as predicted

Real Madrid could re-ignite interest in Chelsea star Reece James following injury comeback 

https://www.football-espana.net/2024/05/12/real-madrid-could-re-ignite-interest-in-Chelsea-star-following-injury-comeback

 

they will end up with one of these 7, more than likely

and a HEALTHY Reece is the best of the lot (and the 2nd youngest), due to TA-A being so shit on defence

 

[Mário César 825]

no way real gets reece james next season

first they need to check if he can play a single season without injuries...