Chelsea Transfers

[Vesper 31,037]

Benjamin Sesko: Why Arsenal, Chelsea, Man Utd, Newcastle and more want striker

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5539634/2024/06/05/benjamin-sesko-arsenal-manchester-united-transfer/

Benjamin Sesko was considered among Europe’s top prospects before he had barely become a teenager.

Born in the small Slovenian town of Radece, an hour’s drive east from the capital Ljubljana, Sesko, now 21, was expected to follow in the footsteps of his father, Ales, and become a goalkeeper.

However, his towering 6ft 5in (195cm) frame and insatiable hunger for goals quickly steered him towards a different path that would later see him lead the line for his country and RB Leipzig.

After scoring over 50 goals in one season for his local club as a boy, Sesko was offered a space in the academy at first-division side NK Domzale. From that moment, his stock has increased year-on-year. Within 12 months, he had offers from Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Manchester City and Ajax, among other top clubs.

Instead, he opted to go to Red Bull Salzburg in Austria in 2022.

Sesko signed at 16 after Salzburg prepared a long-term plan for his development within the Red Bull football group. The first step on this path saw him loaned to Austrian second-division side Liefering, Salzburg’s reserve team. He would then play for Salzburg in the Austrian Bundesliga before moving to RB Leipzig in Germany (if he desired).

And his career has panned out exactly as Red Bull outlined. Now, after a stellar first season with Leipzig — in which he scored seven goals in his final seven games on his way to 14 league goals — he’s firmly back on the radar of the elite. (That’s if he ever left.)

GO DEEPER

Benjamin Sesko, the next big thing coming through the Red Bull network

As outlined in The Athletic’s Transfer DealSheet, Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United, and Newcastle United are among the Premier League clubs interested in securing his signature. Newcastle even had an offer rejected for him two summers ago when he was still at Salzburg.

Given the player’s age, physical attributes and impressive goalscoring record, it would not be surprising to see other clubs from England and the continent register their interest in the coming weeks.

The forward has a release clause in his contract, believed to be for a fee in the region of €65million (£55.3m, $70.8m). If he is to move, Arsenal appear best-placed to sign him despite Manchester United holding direct talks in the summer of 2022. United eventually decided against seriously pursuing the then-19-year-old. They had question marks over whether he was ready to step up from Salzburg.

GO DEEPER

50 to watch - Benjamin Sesko: Red Bull's prodigious goalscorer is back on the right track

Leipzig, however, are still working to persuade Sesko to remain in Saxony. After all, it took Sesko a while to get going after signing from Salzburg last summer for €24million.

After scoring a brace from a 16-minute appearance off the bench in a 3-0 away win over Union Berlin in his second appearance for the club, Sesko would go on to only score one league goal until the end of January (13 games). He struggled to find consistent game time and adjust to the Bundesliga. But that goal in January, away to Stuttgart in a 5-2 defeat for Leipzig, saw Sesko’s form in front of goal improve considerably.

Between that goal and the end of the season, Sesko scored 11 in 15 league games and added two assists. Only Serhou Guirassy of Stuttgart, who scored 28 goals, overperformed against his expected-goals (xG) tally more than Sesko across all players in the Bundesliga.

But what’s more impressive is the variance in how he found the back of the net.

While Sesko prefers to dribble with his right foot, he’s as adept at finishing with either. Three of his 14 Bundesliga goals came with his left, as did a goal against Young Boys in the Champions League and an excellent whipped effort from the edge of the box for Slovenia against Finland in October.

Elite clubs will be encouraged by his ability to score from all areas around the box, too; with an average goalscoring distance of 13 yards, he is more than just a poacher. Sesko may have space to improve as a finisher — particularly in ensuring good contact in instinctive moments — but he has the ball-striking quality with both feet and is a willing enough shooter to suggest there is another level or two for him to reach.

At this stage of his career, his most complete goalscoring attribute is his heading ability. With his stature and athleticism, it is no surprise that Sesko is such an aerial threat, but he combines power with finesse in the air. In Leipzig’s 2-2 draw with Augsburg in February, he demonstrated his aerial quality with a headed goal from a Dani Olmo cross.

Olmo received the ball on the edge of the right corner of the 18-yard box and shaped a cross towards Sesko, who was positioned between the penalty spot and the far post.

The Slovenian leapt highest and delicately guided the ball towards the far corner, beating the outstretched goalkeeper with a mix of placement and power.

For Arsenal, who have excellent wide delivery through Bukayo Saka, having another option at the point of attack to profit from crosses makes sense as they attempt to close the gap on Manchester City in the Premier League.

But in the modern game, centre-forwards for elite sides must offer more than just goals — and Sesko is becoming a more rounded No 9. The smarterscout pizza chart (below), which gives players a rating (from 0 to 99) to assess how often a player performs an action or how effective they are at it compared with players in their position, draws attention to Sesko’s defensive work.

He ranks highly among European strikers in ball recoveries and interceptions (80), suggesting he has good defensive timing and eats up loose-ball opportunities.

He also ranks above average in link-up play volume (58), a key attribute for top clubs aiming to retain possession in the final third. He combined well with attackers Lois Openda and Xavi Simons in a Leipzig shirt this campaign.

Still, Sesko is very new to elite football. Top clubs will note the time it took for him to adjust to the Bundesliga last season and will be wary that there is still only a small sample size in which he scored consistently.

While each player should be assessed on their merits, it’s worth remembering that former Leipzig striker Timo Werner moved to the Premier League after a 28-goal Bundesliga season in 2019-20 and has failed to live up to those expectations in English football with Chelsea and now Tottenham Hotspur.

However, on the same note, Erling Haaland — a player Sesko is reluctant to be compared to despite Haaland playing for Salzburg before moving to Germany — took little time to start his record-breaking scoring rout after joining Manchester City from Borussia Dortmund in 2022.

With an affordable release clause providing an element of clarity that does not exist with other leading strikers, Sesko’s suitors will remain on high alert this summer.

And with a match against England at the Euros on the horizon, an impressive performance could further increase the hype from Premier League fans for their club to sign one of Europe’s most in-demand young talents.

GO DEEPER

Sesko and Zubimendi in? What to expect from Arsenal in the transfer market

 

 

[Vesper 31,037]

Chelsea to bank up to £14m from clauses in transfer, loan deals

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5537794/2024/06/03/Chelsea-finances-kepa-hazard-maatsen/

Chelsea will bank between £11million and £14m ($14.1m-$12.8m) from add-ons in clauses of loan and transfer deals this season.

Kepa Arrizabalaga’s mixed loan spell at Real Madrid and Eden Hazard’s initial £89m move to the Spanish club in 2019 contributed just under £10m to this figure, after Carlo Ancelotti’s side reached the Champions League final this season. Chelsea have benefited from Hazard’s sale despite the Belgian retiring from football last October.

Borussia Dortmund also making the Champions League final saw Chelsea benefit due to a clause in Ian Maatsen’s loan deal to the German club, which came about in January after the Dutchman had only started three times under Mauricio Pochettino.

Dortmund lost the final 2-0 to Madrid at Wembley, with Maatsen gifting Jude Bellingham the ball ahead of Vinicius Junior’s goal which sealed the match in the 83rd minute. Maatsen, though, has earned plaudits for his six-month spell in the Bundesliga and he has a £35m release clause in the new Chelsea contract he signed just before heading out on loan.

Armando Broja’s unsuccessful loan to Fulham also generated an additional £4million due to his lack of game time. The 22-year-old made only eight substitute appearances for Fulham after leaving Chelsea in January.

The injection of additional funds will be most welcome at Chelsea, particularly in light of the club’s latest set of accounts, which were released in April. Those showed Chelsea had the Premier League’s highest operating loss (-£249m) and second-highest wage bill (£404m) for the reporting period taking in the 2022-23 season.

The accounts also indicated that Chelsea only narrowly remained compliant with the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules (PSR) 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.

[milka 3,407]

You have to be careful with Bundesliga players in the Premier League not many of them make it, in Germany they play with a high line which makes people like Werner and Sesko look like goal machines until they go to England.

[Pizy 19,249]

2 minutes ago, milka said:

You have to be careful with Bundesliga players in the Premier League not many of them make it, in Germany they play with a high line which makes people like Werner and Sesko look like goal machines until they go to England.

I’m not 100% sold on him but at least he’s got a physique that should hold up in the PL. He’s not a pace merchant like Werner.

[Mário César 1,475]

and nkunku?

[chef 55]

40 minutes ago, Mário César said:

and nkunku?

I guess Palmer and Nkunku in the 10. Would give us great depth.

[Mário César 1,475]

seems that gallagher will be sold

see him with spuds or villa shirt will be painful

[Vesper 31,037]

Maatsen made the CL Team of the Season starting XI

[Pizy 19,249]

1 hour ago, Mário César said:

seems that gallagher will be sold

see him with spuds or villa shirt will be painful

Meh, I disagree. In the same way I wasn’t that bothered about Mount going. Remember all the journalists and opposition fans killing us last summer and saying we were absolutely mad to sell Mount and that we’d regret it for years? And now we’re the ones laughing because we don’t miss him at all.

It would be annoying for sure to see him at Spuds. But he isn’t a game changing signing. He’s just a solid PL midfielder like lots of midtable clubs have. He’s not a match winner, he’s not decisive in the final third, and his talent is nowhere near the other midfielders we have.

Unless we enter the season with one of Lavia, Enzo, or Caicedo injured again long term I can’t imagine a scenario where I say “damn, we could really use Gallagher here.” He performed well in the chaos football that Poch played where Conor could just run around nonstop like a madman, but I don’t see him being as useful in heavy possession side where quick intricate football is the goal.

[Vesper 31,037]

14 hours ago, ZAPHOD2319 said:

 

They can go FUCK themselves

Italo cunts

[Vesper 31,037]

Chelsea

https://thedailybriefing.io/i/145256282/Chelsea

• Enzo Maresca to Chelsea has been made official! He’ll officially start work on July 1st and his first game in charge will be a friendly against Wrexham on July 24th.

• Maresca: “To join Chelsea, one of the biggest clubs in the world, is a dream for any coach. I look forward to working with a very talented group of players and staff to develop a team that continues the club’s tradition of success and makes our fans proud.”

• Chelsea ownership group on Enzo Maresca: “We look forward to supporting him and the rest of the sporting team in fulfilling their potential and our expectations over the years to come. He is a highly gifted coach and leader that we are confident can help fulfil our vision and competitive goals for the Club.”

• Tosin Adarabioyo to Chelsea is nearly done, but what does it mean for Trevoh Chalobah? Fabrizio Romano has the answers in his column.

• Omari Hutchinson transfer decision has been made - Chelsea want to sell him permanently and Stuttgart are the favourites, according to Fabrizio Romano in his exclusive column.

• Robert Sanchez now looks set to stay at Chelsea after discussions with Enzo Maresca - more info in Fabrizio Romano’s column.

• Benjamin Sesko to Chelsea transfer looks to be under serious consideration, according to Ben Jacobs.

[Vesper 31,037]

What next for Trevoh Chalobah as Chelsea close in on Tosin Adarabioyo?

https://thedailybriefing.io/i/145283424/what-next-for-trevoh-chalobah-as-Chelsea-close-in-on-tosin-adarabioyo

It was Enzo Maresca day for Chelsea yesterday as they officially announced the arrival of their new manager on a five-year contract until 2029, with the option to extend that for a further year until 2030.

What we can also say about Chelsea is that two important decisions have been made - the first one is on the goalkeeper, as I’m now hearing that Robert Sanchez is expected to stay at Chelsea this summer. Despite not having a lot of space under Mauricio Pochettino, and also having some injury problems, the feeling now is clear for him to continue at Chelsea. Maresca and Sanchez see a future together, so there is a very good chance to see Sanchez as the first-choice goalkeeper for Chelsea, even though they’ve been exploring the goalkeeper market in recent weeks.

It seems Maresca may have been influential here, as when they discussed goalkeepers the name of Sanchez came up and it’s clear he’s highly regarded by the new manager. Let’s see if they will still decide to bring in a new goalkeeper to compete with him, or if they will continue to trust Sanchez and Djorde Petrovic, but for now Sanchez is expected to stay at the club as Maresca made it very clear that he’s happy to continue with him.

Another big story involving Chelsea is an update on Omari Hutchinson. Maresca knows the player as they were both competing in the Championship last season, but now the position of the club is to sell Hutchinson this summer on a permanent transfer.

Chelsea’s idea is to make profit on Hutchinson, and they’re open to proposals, for example from the Eredivisie, with Ajax and Feyenoord showing an interest, but also in the Bundesliga we have Stuttgart showing an interest and really pushing for him. Let’s see about clubs in England too, and what Ipswich Town will decide to do after having him on loan, and with Kieran McKenna now staying at the club.

But for sure Hutchinson will be one to watch in the next weeks because Chelsea are preparing to sell, and the fee they have in mind for him is around £25-30m. Stuttgart really like the player and are the favourites at this stage as it looks difficult for Ajax and Feyenoord to do this as a permanent transfer. There is Premier League interest as well, and overall it looks difficult for Hutchinson to stay at Chelsea, the expectation is that he will leave.

Chelsea’s first signing of the summer is also nearly done, with everything verbally agreed for Tosin Adarabioyo to join as a free agent after deciding to leave Fulham. We’re just waiting now for medical tests and for contracts to be signed, and then Adarabioyo will be a new centre-back signing for Maresca at Chelsea. Chelsea could also still look for another centre-back, and it could depend on the future of Trevoh Chalobah.

Although Chalobah has been linked by some outlets with Manchester United, I don’t have updates on specific clubs yet. Chalobah will be one to watch, but things might happen a bit later, with Chelsea wanting to complete the formal steps on the Adarabioyo deal first.

Also for Chelsea, Romelu Lukaku is 100% expected to leave the club - £38m is the clause, and he’s a priority target for Napoli. However, as I’ve already said, there is no negotiation over a swap deal for Victor Osimhen as Chelsea’s priority is to sign a young striker.

Still, although there no discussions over Osimhen, Chelsea and Napoli could soon discuss a possible deal for Lukaku. He’s on Napoli’s list, though he’s not the only one, but Antonio Conte would love to be reunited with Lukaku this summer, so keep an eye on this one, and let’s see if Napoli decide to go strong on this one or if they decide on one of their other targets, but the expectation remains for Chelsea and Lukaku to part ways.

It’s important to say, however, that the links between Lukaku and Fenerbahce are wide of the mark. Jose Mourinho has just been unveiled as manager there, but he’s publicly ruled out signing his former players from Roma. We’ll see what happens with Mourinho and new signings for Fenerbahce, there are 100 links already, but the truth is that Mourinho hasn’t discussed players with the board yet. It will be in the next days, and it will be clear who are the real targets, but links with Karim Benzema or Robert Lewandowski or Lukaku are wide of mark.

[Vesper 31,037]

Jose Mourinho on links with Romelu Lukaku and Paulo Dybala: “Let me be clear: I have ZERO interest in any player from AS Roma.”

 

lolol

[MoroccanBlue 5,399]

1 hour ago, chef said:

I guess Palmer and Nkunku in the 10. Would give us great depth.

Extremely top heavy team. 

[Vesper 31,037]

Potential Arsenal boost as Chelsea cool transfer interest in 21-year-old winger Nico Williams

https://www.caughtoffside.com/2024/06/03/williams-transfer-arsenal-boost-over-Chelsea/

Arsenal may have been handed a boost in their rumoured pursuit of the transfer of Athletic Bilbao winger Nico Williams.

The 21-year-old is an exciting young talent and Charles Watts recently told CaughtOffside that the Gunners have him high on their list of summer targets in the attacking midfield department.

It may be that Arsenal are now in an even better position as Chelsea seem to have cooled their interest in Williams due to his wage demands, according to Ben Jacobs in his column for Si Phillips Talks Chelsea.

Williams looks like he could surely be a hit in the Premier League for the present and future, giving clubs a player who could make an immediate impact but also an exciting option for the long-term as his best years are surely still ahead of him.

Williams transfer: Arsenal now more likely than Chelsea?

Of course, just because Chelsea aren’t ready to pay up for Williams, doesn’t mean that Arsenal will automatically move into pole position for the Spain international.

But it’s useful for AFC if they do decide to step up their interest in Williams, as it always helps if there isn’t a major competitor to potentially drive up the price of the transfer fee or wages.

Williams is a pacey wide-player with an eye for goal and it would surely be good business by Arsenal if they could bring the youngster in to provide Mikel Arteta with a bit more depth in his front three.

The north London giants have been overly reliant on Bukayo Saka in the last few years, and they won’t want to burn him out, while Gabriel Martinelli’s form suffered a bit last season, leaving the team without much of an alternative in that role.

With Reiss Nelson struggling for playing time, he perhaps doesn’t have Arteta’s trust, so fans will no doubt be hoping Williams or someone similar can come in and provide a better option.

[Vesper 31,037]

PLEASE let this happen! He is so non productive.

Liverpool and Spurs are keen on signing Lyon midfielder Rayan Cherki.

https://www.caughtoffside.com/2024/06/03/liverpool-make-enquiry-tottenham-target-rayan-cherki/

The 20-year-old has had an impressive season with the French outfit and he has contributed to 12 goals across all competitions.

According to SportsZone, Liverpool and Tottenham have now made enquiries for the 20-year-old attacking midfielder, and it will be interesting to see if they follow it up with an offer in the coming weeks.

Cherki is versatile enough to operate in the attacking midfield role as well as a winger. He will add goals and creativity to the Liverpool and Tottenham attack.

Liverpool need more depth in the wide areas and the Frenchman could prove to be a quality long-term addition. The report from SportsZone claims that Cherki wants to leave the French outfit and the opportunity to move to Liverpool could be an attractive option for him. It would be a major step up in his career and he would get to compete for major trophies with the Reds.

[Vesper 31,037]

ffs

Man United and Liverpool eyeing the same centre-back, plus striker will leave Old Trafford

We’re still waiting for Manchester United’s final decision on Erik ten Hag, with new co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe likely to be crucial on this. But what I can also say is that even in just the last few days, Man United had meetings with the agents of other managers.

Thomas Tuchel is one manager who’d be keen on the job, but there are other candidates as well, with United keen to make sure they have other options in case they decide to sack Ten Hag. This week is crucial, a decision is coming on whether to keep Ten Hag or make a change, but what is certain is that United are keeping contacts active for a potential replacement.

United are also working on a right footed centre-back as a priority this summer - Jean-Clair Todibo, Jarrad Branthwaite and Gleison Bremer are on the list, but they also want one more centre-back - a left footed one. It’s not decided yet but it’s a possibility they are considering internally, and one player they have been scouting is Goncalo Inacio from Sporting Lisbon.

Inacio is being scouted and monitored by United, but also by Liverpool, and he has a €60m release clause in his contract with Sporting. These clubs are showing an interest in Inacio, so let’s see if they decide to start a proper negotiation. This could be an interesting situation to follow as many clubs around Europe are looking for left footed centre-backs, and United and Liverpool could be in the race for Inacio so keep an eye on this one.

[Blue Armour 4,710]

40 minutes ago, Vesper said:

Chelsea

https://thedailybriefing.io/i/145256282/Chelsea

• Enzo Maresca to Chelsea has been made official! He’ll officially start work on July 1st and his first game in charge will be a friendly against Wrexham on July 24th.

• Maresca: “To join Chelsea, one of the biggest clubs in the world, is a dream for any coach. I look forward to working with a very talented group of players and staff to develop a team that continues the club’s tradition of success and makes our fans proud.”

• Chelsea ownership group on Enzo Maresca: “We look forward to supporting him and the rest of the sporting team in fulfilling their potential and our expectations over the years to come. He is a highly gifted coach and leader that we are confident can help fulfil our vision and competitive goals for the Club.”

• Tosin Adarabioyo to Chelsea is nearly done, but what does it mean for Trevoh Chalobah? Fabrizio Romano has the answers in his column.

• Omari Hutchinson transfer decision has been made - Chelsea want to sell him permanently and Stuttgart are the favourites, according to Fabrizio Romano in his exclusive column.

• Robert Sanchez now looks set to stay at Chelsea after discussions with Enzo Maresca - more info in Fabrizio Romano’s column.

• Benjamin Sesko to Chelsea transfer looks to be under serious consideration, according to Ben Jacobs.

Of course Hutchinson would be transfer listed.

Nothing like a quick buck to be made by Clownlake by selling a Cobham youth product.

[bluesman2610 1,430]

26 minutes ago, Blue Armour said:

Of course Hutchinson would be transfer listed.

Nothing like a quick buck to be made by Clownlake by selling a Cobham youth product.

He was at Cobham 2 years he's not our youth product he was an Arsenal youth product. We are just going to capitalize on his potential.

[Fernando 6,723]

2 hours ago, Pizy said:

Meh, I disagree. In the same way I wasn’t that bothered about Mount going. Remember all the journalists and opposition fans killing us last summer and saying we were absolutely mad to sell Mount and that we’d regret it for years? And now we’re the ones laughing because we don’t miss him at all.

It would be annoying for sure to see him at Spuds. But he isn’t a game changing signing. He’s just a solid PL midfielder like lots of midtable clubs have. He’s not a match winner, he’s not decisive in the final third, and his talent is nowhere near the other midfielders we have.

Unless we enter the season with one of Lavia, Enzo, or Caicedo injured again long term I can’t imagine a scenario where I say “damn, we could really use Gallagher here.” He performed well in the chaos football that Poch played where Conor could just run around nonstop like a madman, but I don’t see him being as useful in heavy possession side where quick intricate football is the goal.

I share the same thought brother. 

Last season I was one of the fews that wanted Gallagher here, while many wanted him gone.

Now the same that had the same opinion now want him to stay.....

Well I don't follow that and I see the same thing as you. Gallagher was good for last season as we needed to continue with what we had. And after one full season giving good chances to him I realize the same as you. He is not a game changer and similar like Mount he is very limited. I see Gallagher kind of of like Milner, those players are good to have BUT and and that's a big BUT if you get a good price for him then it's a no brainer, is best to sell him. 

And is you mentioned in a more Pep style of futbol I don't see a space for Gallagher. So sell for the right price. 

Edited June 5, 2024 by Fernando