Chelsea Transfers

[Vesper 30,466]

2 hours ago, Strike said:

Quite certain this will turn out to be bogus. Fichajes usually is

Fichajes is even worse than peak shit patrol Don Balón.

I really wish they could be shut down for fraud. Many of their purely invented tales are far worse than this Rüdiger speculation.

Shame, shame on Romano for pushing their dross. 👎👎

 

[Fulham Broadway 17,458]

Goal is the worst

[Vesper 30,466]

20 minutes ago, Fulham Broadway said:

Goal is the worst

Fichajes has passed them up on the shit-meter.

[Fulham Broadway 17,458]

24 minutes ago, Vesper said:

Fichajes has passed them up on the shit-meter.

Journos making up shit to make a living - who'd a thunk it ?

That's the main reason the transfer window is called the 'silly season'.

[OneMoSalah 8,944]

Anyone over the age of 26-28 is not being signed by this ownership/sporting directors again. So yes 100% a load of shite on Rudiger returning. 

[Bluepower777 42]

It would be madness to sell Neto, understand his limitations but he still brings speed and thrust to the team and he can score  goals given the opportunity. We have so many players that we dont need and they a huge waste of money. Sell them rather thats if some club is willing to buy them

 

 

 

 

 

[Stats 7,183]

1 hour ago, Bluepower777 said:

It would be madness to sell Neto, understand his limitations but he still brings speed and thrust to the team and he can score  goals given the opportunity. We have so many players that we dont need and they a huge waste of money. Sell them rather thats if some club is willing to buy them

 

 

 

 

 

Don't get people's issues with Neto. He is very underrated. He is criticised for his end product but already is on like 3 goals and 2 assists right. He has improved.

[mkh 641]

PL clubs will no longer be able to sell assets like hotels and women's teams to themselves from next season to get round new financial rules.

(@BBCSport)

[Vesper 30,466]

Who can Chelsea rotate in for Moises Caicedo with Romeo Lavia and Dario Essugo out?

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6820853/2025/11/21/moises-caicedo-Chelsea-rotation-analysis/

Nobody can accuse Chelsea of not getting their money’s worth from Moises Caicedo.

Since arriving from Brighton & Hove Albion for a then British-record fee of £115million ($150m at the current rate) in August 2023, Caicedo has become their team’s metronome: key in building attacks, screening the defence, and dictating matters in midfield.

This season, according to fbref.com, he is also their joint-top scorer with four goals across all competitions, has won more tackles than any team-mate (26) and has had the second-most touches of all Chelsea players (1,016, a hair behind Trevoh Chalobah on 1,018).

The only question left to ask about Caicedo is how to make this last.

Judging by Romeo Lavia’s starts against Wolverhampton Wanderers, Nottingham Forest and Qarabag and Dario Essugo’s signing in the summer, the intention was for the 24-year-old Ecuador international to be rotated in and out of the side this season in line with Chelsea’s approach to managing their squad. Both those players are currently injured however, with Lavia out until at least December and Essugo possibly into the new year.

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Caicedo is already leading Chelsea’s squad for minutes played this season (1,262 in 16 appearances — the only match he’s missed was against third-division Lincoln City in the Carabao Cup). International duty with Ecuador — for whom he played two full games in this November window, the second of them finishing in the early hours of Wednesday, UK time — adds to his load. Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca said in October that he was among a few players unable to train every day due to physical problems.

Arguably no player is more important to the club right now than Caicedo, but also nobody in their squad is more in need of rest — even if that is coming off in the 70th minute of a match, say, rather than continuing until full time. So with Lavia and Essugo both sidelined, who else could Chelsea currently use in his place?

Here, The Athletic breaks down who could provide makeshift cover.

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Enzo Fernandez

Fernandez has shown a good eye for a through ball this season — here, against Sunderland last month, he drops off to help build the attack from a deeper position and plays an excellent pass up to striker Marc Guiu, whose attempted cross is too close to goalkeeper Robin Roefs.

The Argentinian often drops off behind the attack to help link play, tending to occupy the spaces on either side of Caicedo. Finding passes into the final third is not a problem for him like this; doing so from a more central role would be an adjustment, but he is used to the physicality of the Premier League almost three years after signing from Portugal’s Benfica and generally able to move the ball on quickly. Fernandez also does not shy away from the defensive side of the game, as we can see from his ‘true tackle attempts’ in the table below.

There are issues with dropping him deeper, though: firstly, the risk of losing the goal threat he has provided this season. Fernandez has had a lot of joy lurking at the edge of the box and making late runs, as shown by his goals against West Ham United and Brighton. A more withdrawn role could jeopardise that. He works hard out of possession, but as we can see from his tackle success rate, the effort he puts in does not always come off. Finally, Fernandez — who stayed home from Argentina duty this month as he manages a knee complaint — could also do with some rest.

Cole Palmer’s return from the groin injury that’s kept him out since September should bolster the attack if Fernandez were to drop further back, though. If Fernandez is feeling revitalised after a couple of weeks with no football, moving him deeper late in games to allow Caicedo’s substitution — with Andrey Santos or even Malo Gusto playing the No 8 role — could be a way to give his fellow South American a break.

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Andrey Santos

Santos has mostly rotated with Fernandez as an attacking midfielder, but there could be merit in trying the 21-year-old Brazilian in a deeper role. His tackling statistics are impressive, and Maresca has played him in Caicedo’s usual spot against Palmeiras in July’s Club World Cup quarter-final and Lincoln in the Carabao Cup in September.

Having mostly featured from the bench this season, Santos could help cover the defence in the latter stages of games. The main question marks are over his physicality and experience; in June, Maresca said he saw Santos as more of an attacking midfielder than a defensive one, partly because of the physical demands of the Premier League. Santos has struggled at times to win the ball from opponents, and his five yellow cards in all competitions (the most among Chelsea players) from 15 appearances, show he still has some maturing to do defensively.

Here, for instance, Lincoln’s Rob Street is more alert to Chalobah’s poor pass and intercepts; Santos stretches but cannot reach the ball and is booked for taking down Street instead. Yes, Chalobah’s pass does not help Santos here — but with defensive team-mates running back either side of him, it is probably not a risk he needs to take.

Santos’ comparative lack of Premier League experience (nine games, two starts) is still showing; low-pressure situations might be the safest time to try him out in a holding role.

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Reece James

Maresca has a few defensive options with a history of stepping up into midfield. Chalobah and Gusto have both done it in the past — but keeping Chalobah at centre-back would help Maresca achieve some consistency there, and Gusto is better suited to a wider, more attacking role. In terms of passing range and comfort on the ball, James is one of the best options to push forward.

Though typically a right-back, James has played in midfield as recently as the 1-0 win against Tottenham Hotspur on the first day of this month. In that instance, he was alongside Caicedo. His pass map from the match demonstrates his ability to help build attacks with long passes and through balls.

James does not face the same physicality challenge Santos does. Playing him in midfield has the bonus of exposing Chelsea’s 25-year-old club captain to fewer sprints up and down the flank — hopefully helping protect him from reinjury after his string of issues in that area. He is defensively experienced, though would need to adapt from being able to isolate opponents against a touchline when playing full-back to holding them up with space to either side.

Gusto, Wesley Fofana and even Josh Acheampong are capable alternatives at right-back, which gives Maresca more scope to move James into midfield. Given the desire to manage James’ minutes, sharing a role there with Caicedo could benefit both.

There is no straightforward answer, and any makeshift solution will likely have some teething problems — but in the long term, that could be a price worth paying to keep Caicedo at his freshest and best.

[NikkiCFC 8,432]

51 minutes ago, mkh said:

PL clubs will no longer be able to sell assets like hotels and women's teams to themselves from next season to get round new financial rules.

(@BBCSport)

Players on loan, length of contracts... Now this... How many rules they changed only because of Chelsea?

Regarding Rudiger he thrived in 3atb system under Tuchel.