Vesper 30,213 Posted April 26 Share Posted April 26 Liam Delap's £30m release clause becomes active as Chelsea & Man Utd plot bids Ipswich Town's relegation confirmed following difficult campaign Liam Delap has been shining light for struggling Tractor Boys 22-year-old's release clause active after Championship return https://www.90min.com/liam-delap-release-clause-becomes-active-Chelsea-man-utd-plot-bids Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mhsc 1,098 Posted April 26 Share Posted April 26 Controversial opinion Go and get Delap And still go and get a top striker (maybe even Osimhen, despite my many fears there) NJ has to fight for his spot vs them both plus possibility to play outwide Sell whoever is the least impressive of the 3 in 12 months and finally (hopefully) have a properly dangerous attack mkh 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LAM09 7,061 Posted April 26 Share Posted April 26 1 hour ago, Mhsc said: Controversial opinion Go and get Delap And still go and get a top striker (maybe even Osimhen, despite my many fears there) NJ has to fight for his spot vs them both plus possibility to play outwide Sell whoever is the least impressive of the 3 in 12 months and finally (hopefully) have a properly dangerous attack I don't think we're going to sign two more CFs to challenge NJ and have Broja and Fofana on the books when we've been playing with one for practically two years in a row. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reddish-Blue 2,509 Posted April 26 Share Posted April 26 1 minute ago, LAM09 said: I don't think we're going to sign two more CFs to challenge NJ and have Broja and Fofana on the books when we've been playing with one for practically two years in a row. What's the point of having Broja on the books? He's barely ever fit and doesn't seem to have that x-factor in attack either. bigbluewillie 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LAM09 7,061 Posted April 27 Share Posted April 27 31 minutes ago, Reddish-Blue said: What's the point of having Broja on the books? He's barely ever fit and doesn't seem to have that x-factor in attack either. He's contracted for another three years, so we're stuck with him. If he wasn't broken goods, he would be a handy plan b. Just look at his impact in the 4-4 draw at home V City. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reddish-Blue 2,509 Posted April 27 Share Posted April 27 1 minute ago, LAM09 said: If he wasn't broken goods It's a shame when we have multiple broken goods... W.Fofana, James, Lavia, Broja... LAM09 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LAM09 7,061 Posted April 27 Share Posted April 27 51 minutes ago, Reddish-Blue said: It's a shame when we have multiple broken goods... W.Fofana, James, Lavia, Broja... It really is. Nkunku pre injury would probably have seen Palmer stuck on the bench for the past two months. Reddish-Blue 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mhsc 1,098 Posted April 27 Share Posted April 27 (edited) 9 hours ago, LAM09 said: I don't think we're going to sign two more CFs to challenge NJ and have Broja and Fofana on the books when we've been playing with one for practically two years in a row. Broja and Fofana aren't part of the discussion surely, they're not serious players in contention to even have the most basic of squad roles, they're just write offs to be turned into the most possible cash when an opportunity arises Guiu on the other hand may be a consideration, although I'd just loan him tbh. Delap for £30m is such a giant upgrade on Guiu for pretty insignificant money. Also, this season the squad was supposed to be NJ, Guiu and Osimhen (on deadline day). So maybe they do believe in having 3 and competition, and just don't know how to execute the plan. Edited April 27 by Mhsc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LAM09 7,061 Posted April 27 Share Posted April 27 3 hours ago, Mhsc said: Broja and Fofana aren't part of the discussion surely, they're not serious players in contention to even have the most basic of squad roles, they're just write offs to be turned into the most possible cash when an opportunity arises Guiu on the other hand may be a consideration, although I'd just loan him tbh. Delap for £30m is such a giant upgrade on Guiu for pretty insignificant money. Also, this season the squad was supposed to be NJ, Guiu and Osimhen (on deadline day). So maybe they do believe in having 3 and competition, and just don't know how to execute the plan. I totally forgot about Guiu, which just goes to show we have options (like them or hate them) that seriously need to be offloaded before we do any business. He was actually linked to a loan move before Osimhen talk started to go around, so I would have imagine had Osimhen signed, Guiu wouldn't have remained here (probably would have been more beneficial for him too). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mhsc 1,098 Posted April 27 Share Posted April 27 2 hours ago, LAM09 said: I totally forgot about Guiu, which just goes to show we have options (like them or hate them) that seriously need to be offloaded before we do any business. He was actually linked to a loan move before Osimhen talk started to go around, so I would have imagine had Osimhen signed, Guiu wouldn't have remained here (probably would have been more beneficial for him too). Could take years to get rid of them in a way that works in a financial fair play friendly way though. However, I can understand being hesitant about adding Osimhen or a similarly expensive player into the mix when we have so many expensive flops still on the books - from a salary perspective we are getting robbed blind on Sterling, Nkunku, Reece James, Chilwell, and Fofana, so that does feel pretty "tapped out" in terms of how much we can realistically be offering people while these guys are all around stealing a living. Its just very hard to offload them. When we send them out on loan to try to get them to show something at another club, they just go there and do nothing too. For many of these guys we may just have to carry them all the way to the end of their contracts and loan them out until they're gone, if they're not good enough for a role in the squad at all. Reece and Fofana will presumably just stay perma injured but in our squad and play when they're fit, just on far more money than we should be paying people that are fit so rarely. Another consideration I forgot about is that last year, we were all about the swap deal, and I guess there is no reason at all this year should be any different - probably our targets will be heavily based on whether or not that club is willing to take some wasteman off of us. Maybe we can raid a German club for someone decent in exchange for them taking on Nkunku for example. mkh 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vesper 30,213 Posted April 27 Share Posted April 27 7 hours ago, Mhsc said: Broja and Fofana aren't part of the discussion surely, they're not serious players in contention to even have the most basic of squad roles, they're just write offs to be turned into the most possible cash when an opportunity arises BlueCo thinks Fofana is a god-like CB and the club defence will be built around him 🤮 Blue Armour and bigbluewillie 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vesper 30,213 Posted April 27 Share Posted April 27 I have so little faith we are going to have even a decent transfer window and I truly fear Maresca is not going to be replaced mkh and bigbluewillie 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxlev 54 Posted April 27 Share Posted April 27 There seems to be so much confusion around who should be bought for the club by both the professionals (sporting directors and owners) as well as the fan base. Most times here some fans agree that a player who is about to be signed is one of the very best suitable signing for the club and when performance turns out bad, the same set of fans condemn the signing as well as those who signed him. This goes on and on for several players. It is quite hilarious. Good thing is we the fans and the club board can clearly see that we have major issues in the striker and central defence area of the pitch. I just hope they make the best choice possible to eradicate this problem so that the team can go forward instead of being stagnant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vesper 30,213 Posted April 27 Share Posted April 27 Estevao Willian leaves pitch on stretcher after vomiting in Palmeiras win on 18th birthday https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6308719/2025/04/25/estevao-willian-Chelsea-palmeiras-vomit/ https://archive.ph/M6p6A Chelsea-bound forward Estevao Willian left the pitch on a stretcher after vomiting during Palmeiras’ game against Bolivar on Thursday. The teenager, who is set to officially join Chelsea from Palmeiras this summer, turned 18 on Thursday and celebrated his birthday by scoring in his side’s 3-2 Copa Libertadores win over Bolivar. However, later in that game, Estevao dropped to the turf and vomited, subsequently leaving the pitch on a stretcher and being substituted just before the hour mark. The Brazil international explained after the game that he struggled to get used to the high altitude, with the match played at an elevation of around 3,650 metres at the Estadio Hernando Siles in La Paz, Bolivia. “It took me a while to get used to it and unfortunately I couldn’t continue,” he told Paramount+, as reported by Globo. “It was really a matter of the altitude. It’s surreal here.” The teenager was treated by the Palmeiras medical staff after returning to the bench. “I told the players that they would suffer,” head coach Abel Ferreira said of the conditions. “Here they would have to look for air to breathe. I climbed the stairs and I’m tired, imagine the players.” snip Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vesper 30,213 Posted April 27 Share Posted April 27 Chelsea’s Romeo Lavia ‘one of the best midfielders’ says Enzo Maresca: ‘He’s unbelievable’ https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6312345/2025/04/26/romeo-lavia-Chelsea-maresca/ https://archive.ph/xBoO9 Enzo Maresca praised “unbelievable” Romeo Lavia after the Belgian marked his first Chelsea start since January with an impressive performance in Saturday’s 1-0 win over Everton. Lavia played 67 minutes at the base of Maresca’s midfield at Stamford Bridge with Moises Caicedo inverting from right-back to play alongside him. The pair provided a foundation for an hour of impressive Chelsea control against Everton, punctuated by Nicolas Jackson scoring his first goal of 2025 to break the deadlock in the 27th minute. The withdrawal of Lavia for club captain Reece James midway through the second half precipitated an anxious finale for Chelsea as Everton pushed for an equaliser, but Maresca’s team held on to earn a victory that boosts their Champions League qualification hopes. “When he’s fit, he’s one of the best midfielders because he can defend very well, he can attack, he breaks the line, the pass between the lines, it isunbelievable,” Maresca said of Lavia, who has started just nine Premier League games for Chelsea in 2024-25. “He’s very good and hopefully we can have him until the end of the season. “I spent one entire season with Romeo when I was under 23 (coach) at (Manchester) City. So I know Romeo very well. For us it’s like Reece — they are both top players. The only shame for us is that unfortunately we need to manage them, we need to protect them. But there’s no doubt that Chelsea with Reece and Romeo is a better team.” snip Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheHulk 2,476 Posted April 27 Share Posted April 27 3 hours ago, Vesper said: I have so little faith we are going to have even a decent transfer window and I truly fear Maresca is not going to be replaced He isn't, they will surely keep this loser, meanwhile Conte about to humiliate Seria A in his first season without Osimhen and Kvara. mkh 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vesper 30,213 Posted April 27 Share Posted April 27 43 minutes ago, TheHulk said: He isn't, they will surely keep this loser, meanwhile Conte about to humiliate Seria A in his first season without Osimhen and Kvara. as it stands, McTominay, under Conte, is probably the favourite to win Serie A most valuable player LAM09 and bigbluewillie 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LAM09 7,061 Posted April 27 Share Posted April 27 (edited) 6 hours ago, Mhsc said: Could take years to get rid of them in a way that works in a financial fair play friendly way though. However, I can understand being hesitant about adding Osimhen or a similarly expensive player into the mix when we have so many expensive flops still on the books - from a salary perspective we are getting robbed blind on Sterling, Nkunku, Reece James, Chilwell, and Fofana, so that does feel pretty "tapped out" in terms of how much we can realistically be offering people while these guys are all around stealing a living. Its just very hard to offload them. When we send them out on loan to try to get them to show something at another club, they just go there and do nothing too. For many of these guys we may just have to carry them all the way to the end of their contracts and loan them out until they're gone, if they're not good enough for a role in the squad at all. Reece and Fofana will presumably just stay perma injured but in our squad and play when they're fit, just on far more money than we should be paying people that are fit so rarely. Another consideration I forgot about is that last year, we were all about the swap deal, and I guess there is no reason at all this year should be any different - probably our targets will be heavily based on whether or not that club is willing to take some wasteman off of us. Maybe we can raid a German club for someone decent in exchange for them taking on Nkunku for example. Under this ownership, the vast majority of the players you mentioned were signed or given their current contracts. They only have themselves to blame for coming into a sport they clearly had no clue about (from afar at least) and would make you seriously consider why they owned any sports franchise prior to the takeover. Instead of further hurting the club, those who are really making the trades must eventually put their numerous errors behind them and move on. This may not happen in the near future, but if we were to win a major trophy (the Premier League or the Champions League), would we honestly use the Sterling deal as justification to keep this dated £150,000~ salary cap? With players like Van Dijk and Salah reportedly agreeing to £400k a week, it simply isn't practical at the top. There must, at minimum, be a compromise where players receive appropriate incentives, like goal bonuses, etc. Since Nkunku has been linked to a Premier League move, perhaps Arsenal can help us out again, just like they did with Havertz—for less money, of course. Edited April 27 by LAM09 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LAM09 7,061 Posted April 27 Share Posted April 27 2 hours ago, TheHulk said: He isn't, they will surely keep this loser, meanwhile Conte about to humiliate Seria A in his first season without Osimhen and Kvara. There was a stat mentioned earlier during the Napoli game that his squad has played something like 1500 mins less (around 16 games) than Inter. Not to discredit Conte, but he tends to succeed when his sides aren't in Europe. Just look at his time here. Vesper 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thor 2,717 Posted April 28 Share Posted April 28 3 hours ago, Vesper said: as it stands, McTominay, under Conte, is probably the favourite to win Serie A most valuable player He had several stand out performances here in the EPL. He looked like prime R9 several times against us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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