Chelsea Transfers

[Special Juan 28,558]

Delap will be another classic case of loan on loan on loan, he's behind JP in the pecking order, Tuesday night was an anomaly, we won't be using him like that anytime soon and really cannot see him scoring 5 goals between now and the end of the season.

[Vesper 30,780]

3 hours ago, Special Juan said:

Delap will be another classic case of loan on loan on loan, he's behind JP in the pecking order, Tuesday night was an anomaly, we won't be using him like that anytime soon and really cannot see him scoring 5 goals between now and the end of the season.

Well, IF we want an actual world class (proven, not potential) CF this is all there are out there. Some are simply not available. Isak has a broken leg atm and has had (besides that, a horror start at Pool, but he still is WC in my book). 

in order of valuation (there are only 9 atm, plus 3 ancient ones)

the ones in bold are potentially doable in terms of their club selling them (but some of those, especially Kane, may not want to come here, and CR7 would want INSANE money he is making £175m a year now just in salary. Lewa probably would not come either and is our board goin gto buy a player who turns 38yo right as the season starts?)

Erling Håland
Kylian Mbappé 
Alexander Isak (IF Pool sells him)
Julián Alvarez  
Ousmane Dembélé
Lautaro Martínez 
Hugo Ekitiké 
Victor Osimhen 
Harry Kane 

and the 3 ancient ones

Cristiano Ronaldo   
Robert Lewandowski  
Karim Benzema

end

Who would you choose?  Julián Alvarez, Lautaro Martínez, and Victor Osimhen are the only 3 remotely possible options IMHO, plus maybe (IF they sell him) Isak, but that is a WILD gamble until we see how he recovers. We also would absolutely need to sell Nico Jackson for a fair price.

 

BTW Here are the top 10 CFs (valuation-wise) who are 32yo or older (other than Kane, Córdoba, and Lewa, the oldest on my original list in my maximal CF target list post last night was 31yo)

 
Harry Kane 
Romelu Lukaku
Cristiano Ronaldo   
Jhon Córdoba
Robert Lewandowski  
Álvaro Morata
Chris Wood 
Niclas Füllkrug   
Mauro Icardi
Karim Benzema
 

end

[Vytis33 1,358]

Should’ve bought Osimhen or Alvarez already.  Would take either here 

[Special Juan 28,558]

Alvarez is class, Osimhen would do a great job here and Martinez will die at Inter

And if there is any sniff that Kane wants back to England for one year go get him, he wants to break the scoring record and he would still do in this league, his intelligence is exactly what we talked about with Terry, not blessed with certain things but made up in other areas with the brain and movement.

[Pizy 19,161]

The only way I think Julian Alvarez would come here is if we had a free run at him. If he signals that he wants a move he will have a long list of suitors offering him wages we refuse to go near. 

We probably have to accept that our 3 strikers next year will pretty much 100% be João Pedro, Delap, and Emegha. 

[mkh 703]

🔵💥Liverpool to pay max £6.8m for signing of Rio Ngumoha from Chelsea. @David_Ornstein states Tribunal rules LFC owe CFC initial £2.8m + £4m in potential bonuses relating to senior appearances, contracts & England honours. 

Chelsea will also receive 20% of the profit if he is sold.

Edited 17 hours ago by mkh

[Vesper 30,780]

49 minutes ago, mkh said:

🔵💥Liverpool to pay max £6.8m for signing of Rio Ngumoha from Chelsea. @David_Ornstein states Tribunal rules LFC owe CFC initial £2.8m + £4m in potential bonuses relating to senior appearances, contracts & England honours. 

Chelsea will also receive 20% of the profit if he is sold.

So, IN THEORY, if Pool one day down the road sells Rio for big money (say £50m to £70m), we could bank, at the end of the day, around £17 to £21m in toto.

Downside to all that, Pool are NOT a selling club often, BUT Luis Díaz gives me hope. They got £65.3m from cheap-arse Bayern this summer for a close to 29yo winger in Díaz, who turns 30yo in the middle of this coming season, AND, in 3 and a half seasons there at Pool, only scored 6, then 5, then 13, then 17, in ALL COMPS, only averaging 8.3 EPL goals per season, ie 29 EPL goals total, divided by 3 and a half seasons. 2024/25 was the one season at Pool he was really great overall. He is now killing it at Bayern. 12 goals, 15 assists in only 2369 minutes.

Bayern, in Olise and Díaz, have probably, atm, the 2nd best starting pair of wingers on the planet, after only Barca. PSG go 3 deep, but atm, their best TWO (KK and Désiré Doué, then Barcola as the 3rd) are not the equal IMHO.

Only 2 wingers on the planet, ATM, that I would take over Olise are Yamal, and IF you play him as a winger, Mbappe. Hopefully Estêvão soon gets there too.

[Vesper 30,780]

Just watched another full game with Honest Ahanor.

He is a baller, a 17yo (18yo in 18 days) CB prodigy, helped destroy Juve (Atalanta won 3 nil) tonight in the Coppa Italia

Whoever gets him is getting a young gem of a CB.

Btw, the Wikipedia article on him is incorrect, he is a left-footed CB, NOT a LB as they claim (but can play there, as shown when he was with Genoa). Every game he has played with Atalanta he has played as a CB.

[Vesper 30,780]

Shortlist: World Cup U17 2025

In need of new players to add to your scouting lists? Look no further.

https://pitchsideanalysis.substack.com/p/shortlist-world-cup-u17-2025

A new, revamped edition of the U17 World Cup took place in Qatar last November, including 48 countries!! That obviously opens up the possibility of getting to know tons of players, but also makes it incredibly hard to keep track of all of them. That’s what I set out to do, watching all but one of the playoff games (unavailable at FIFA’s streaming service) and a few of the group stage ones.

Led by the likes of Mauro Furtado, Mateus Mide and Anísio Cabral, European champions Portugal shone once again, cementing their place as one of the most talented under-17 generations, Austria made a surprise run to the final (trashing England in the process) and African countries like Uganda and Burkina Faso took their chance to impress, ahead of powerhouses Mali and Senegal.

A preliminary list with more than 100 names led me to a final one with 65 players from 22 different countries. This time, I’ve opted for making shorter descriptions, sometimes just putting some of mine translated raw notes. Let’s dive into it.

snip

 

[OhForAGreavsie 6,115]

3 hours ago, Vesper said:

So, IN THEORY, if Pool one day down the road sells Rio for big money (say £50m to £70m), we could bank, at the end of the day, around £17 to £21m in toto.

We'd be looking at £11.44m if he is sold for £50m but none of the bonuses are triggered, up to £19.44m if he leaves Liverpool for £70m after triggering all bonuses Chelsea can be entitled to.

Bearing in mind the lad chose to walk away from our club without ever signing a professional contract, that would not be a bad return.

Edited 11 hours ago by OhForAGreavsie

[Vesper 30,780]

24 minutes ago, OhForAGreavsie said:

We'd be looking at £11.44m if he is sold for £50m but none of the bonuses are triggered, up to £19.44m if he leaves Liverpool for £70m after triggering all bonuses Chelsea can be entitled to.

Bearing in mind the lad chose to walk away from our club without ever signing a professional contract, that would not be a bad return.

20 per cent of £70m is £14m

add in the £6.8m (max payout if all bonuses are met)

and you arrive at £20.8m, ie £21m if it is rounded up

If he is sold for £50m

20 per cent of that is £10m

add in the £6.8m (max payout if all bonuses are met)

and you arrive at £16.8m, £17m if rounded up

That is how I got to those numbers. Did I miss something?

I apologise if I did.

[Thor 2,798]

Julian Alvarez has 7 goals in 22 games in a weaker and more open La Liga, but he is the 9 we should be going after? 

[Pizy 19,161]

Just watched the highlights for Barco at Strasbourg from today’s game and again I’m super impressed. This kid legit looks like a potential top class midfielder. Completely runs the game pulling the strings whilst also being aggressive as hell without the ball. He may be really small but he’s fearless.

At this point I’m starting to be convinced that we shouldn’t even bother getting involved in the battles for those other highly desired midfielders like Anderson, Wharton, etc and should just do the easy move to get this kid. He’ll cost us a fraction of those guys and he knows our manager/system well.

[Vesper 30,780]

Top goalscorers 25/26

Top 5 leagues + national & international cup competitions

(Bundesliga, La Liga, Premier League, Serie A, Ligue 1)

comparison:

[OhForAGreavsie 6,115]

4 hours ago, Vesper said:

Did I miss something?

Yes. 🙂

Would you enjoy taking another look or shall I just say?

Edited 7 hours ago by OhForAGreavsie

[Reddish-Blue 2,616]

12 hours ago, Special Juan said:

And if there is any sniff that Kane wants back to England for one year go get him, he wants to break the scoring record and he would still do in this league, his intelligence is exactly what we talked about with Terry, not blessed with certain things but made up in other areas with the brain and movement.

Even if Kane wanted to return to England, he wouldn't come here.   It would probably be United or City (considering Kompany would be on their shortlist of managers post Pep). 

[Reddish-Blue 2,616]

4 hours ago, Pizy said:

Just watched the highlights for Barco at Strasbourg from today’s game and again I’m super impressed. This kid legit looks like a potential top class midfielder. Completely runs the game pulling the strings whilst also being aggressive as hell without the ball. He may be really small but he’s fearless.

At this point I’m starting to be convinced that we shouldn’t even bother getting involved in the battles for those other highly desired midfielders like Anderson, Wharton, etc and should just do the easy move to get this kid. He’ll cost us a fraction of those guys and he knows our manager/system well.

There's no guarantee that he would succeed in the PL as a midfielder.    Brighton tried to get him on the cheap and develop him but that failed and he went to Strasbourg to develop.  

[Vesper 30,780]

2 hours ago, OhForAGreavsie said:

Yes. 🙂

Would you enjoy taking another look or shall I just say?

Say it.

[Vesper 30,780]

32 minutes ago, Reddish-Blue said:

There's no guarantee that he would succeed in the PL as a midfielder.    Brighton tried to get him on the cheap and develop him but that failed and he went to Strasbourg to develop.  

Brighton played him at fullback. Rosenior switched him to MF, where he has come good at a higher level.

[Mhsc 1,133]

JP is going to be our main striker for years, he is a creator type so we need in form world class talent around him who themselves put out big numbers. Mbuemo/Semenyo who score big pl numbers from the wing would be the type to make a real difference for us. Unfortunately these talents disappear into City/Utd and we get priced out in wages / out of club policy. But I’m pretty sure the Mane/Firmino/Salah trio is the type we are trying to build. 

May also need to upgrade Delap as a backup option but not totally convinced, he needs a bit of time under Liam to be sure.