Chelsea Transfers

[Superblue 6,370]

I'm interested to see how Tuchel sees this side from next season moving forwards in the longer term. With the players that are leaving and potentially the ones being linked with a move away (Azpi, Alonso, Jorginho) there is the potential to look at shifting to a back 4 on a more full time basis. 

I haven't seen the stats myself but it was mentioned on the United game that we were in the bottom 3 in the league for distance covered per game which I thought was surprising. I know when we have the ball at times, it's possession and control heavy but that is something that needs addressing moving forward, especially when trying to break teams down that sit back. The ball needs moving quicker and there needs to be more options available. Tuchel also prides himself on counter pressing high up the field and whilst at times it works well, I don't think it's been as consistent as it was last year (and that's even in games where Lukaku doesn't play either) and it's something we need to look at getting back to.

The key defensively is to not leave ourselves open to getting counter attacked too often. It's something Klopp and Pep both struggled with in their first year (Klopp for longer) with their teams often being left too exposed. In order for this, unless it's the last few minutes and throwing everyone forward for a goal, you want either 3 players behind the ball or 2 behind the ball and another 2 in the half spaces to get back to cover. We're set up fine for this, but the limitation then comes when attacking we're then relying on defensively minded players to support the attack as the spare players. This has been highlighted even more this season with Chilwell and James out for extended periods because they're replaced by Alonso and Azpi who are far less mobile (and in Azpi's instance a lesser attacking threat).

If Jorginho moves on, we could potentially look to bring in a proper defensively minded holding midfielder disciplined to protect a back 2, mobile to cover ground and spaces around them, and good enough on the ball to keep possession ticking which all should allow a more flexible, attacking side. The obvious two being linked are Rice and Tchouameni and will both also cost a fortune. If one could be bought then great but there has to be alternatives that could be explored. I know there were some potential issues personally with him so I don't know where it all currently stands, but I've always been a big fan of Bissouma and he's always struck me as someone who could "step up" to that next level at a top club and only has a year left on his contract in the summer. Kamara at Marseille is another option potentially who would be free.

The back 5 fit a purpose when Tuchel came in to make us defensively solid and mask a number of weaknesses within some players. It gave a new lease of life and allowed players like Rudiger, Christensen, Jorginho, Alonso, Azpi to thrive in a formation and system which highlighted their strengths and didn't leave their weaknesses as exposed as often as Lampard did. But all of these players could well be off this summer and now may be the time Tuchel needs to evolve this squad. 

[ZAPHOD2319 4,476]

What an odd thing to delete

 

 

[DDA 9,690]

If Mount leaves, It would be  upsetting and hard to watch but if James leaves, it would be heartbreak. 

[Superblue 6,370]

8 minutes ago, DDA said:

If Mount leaves, It would be  upsetting and hard to watch but if James leaves, it would be heartbreak. 

Neither will leave.

This idea that we're suddenly going to tumble down the league and become a mid-table side is an absolute myth. No one is paying the premium price they're going to be paying for us to watch us fall into mediocrity. 

Boehly's bid are apparently huge fans of Tuchel and it's clear as day if Tuchel had to name the 4 or 5 main players in his team that James and Mount would be in there. They will both be offered long term contracts with a focus of being pillars to build around for years to come.

Boehly isn't coming into the club and accept the wastage that Roman has, but on the same token he'll know when the club needs to bring new players in it has to be done in an efficient and ruthless manner. Under Roman, I've felt far too often our recruitment has been reactive as opposed to proactive, which is highlighted over the last 15 years the summer following a Premier League or Champions League win, we've been really poor. The only time in that period I can remember our recruitment being a success in that scenario was after the 2012 Champions League and we bought Hazard, Azpi, Oscar but that was almost forced upon us as we needed to rebuild an ageing squad.

The squad at the moment is a bit of a shambles but some hard work in the market and proper planned and well thought out signings over the next summer or two could really reshape this squad because there are some key pieces already in place as opposed to say Man United who literally need as good as a full rebuild.

[Johnnyeye 7,440]

On 01/05/2022 at 08:02, Blues Forever said:

 

kindly tell those clubs to fuck off

[lucio 5,418]

If we can get Gallagher Broja and colwill back it will be huge.

 

but really it’s sad to think how much academy talent we’ve pissed away recently 

[Fernando 6,453]

55 minutes ago, lucio said:

If we can get Gallagher Broja and colwill back it will be huge.

 

but really it’s sad to think how much academy talent we’ve pissed away recently 

I was talking to someone about this. 
At one time I was a bit sad about Tomori, but then I said to myself, it's Serie A. Where Lukaku looks like a beast. 

So performance at Serie A is not something we should take serious as a barometer. 

Then there was Tomori height which is not good for CB, and when I consider this then I realize we made good in selling Tomori as well Tammy. 

The only youth that I have a doubt if we did the right thing as to sell was Guehi. He would fit the CB we need, I think he is even better then Chalobah. But if we can get a nice CB then it will not all bad for this one. 

Also bum out about Livramento but we have a buy back so not all bad. 

Then there is Lamptey, I like the guy but his height has also been a problem....who knows we could try to get him back in the future. 

All in all as far as youth, there's no one that I feel like, we let that get away. 

Edited May 2, 2022 by Fernando

[lucio 5,418]

20 minutes ago, Fernando said:

I was talking to someone about this. 
At one time I was a bit sad about Tomori, but then I said to myself, it's Serie A. Where Lukaku looks like a beast. 

So performance at Serie A is not something we should take serious as a barometer. 

Then there was Tomori height which is not good for CB, and when I consider this then I realize we made good in selling Tomori as well Tammy. 

The only youth that I have a doubt if we did the right thing as to sell was Guehi. He would fit the CB we need, I think he is even better then Chalobah. But if we can get a nice CB then it will not all bad for this one. 

Also bum out about Livramento but we have a buy back so not all bad. 

Then there is Lamptey, I like the guy but his height has also been a problem....who knows we could try to get him back in the future. 

All in all as far as youth, there's no one that I feel like, we let that get away. 

Pašalić ?, scoring a lot of goals from midfield 

[Superblue 6,370]

1 hour ago, lucio said:

If we can get Gallagher Broja and colwill back it will be huge.

 

but really it’s sad to think how much academy talent we’ve pissed away recently 

I think right now we just have to instead look at it the other way around and appreciate we can rely on academy talent for our first team.

Although Christensen might leave, we could very easily start next season with Chalobah, Colwill, James, Mount, Gallagher, Loftus-Cheek, Hudson-Odoi and Broja. There's also talk that Tuchel wants to take a look at Sterling in the summer and there's always the possibility of using an academy keeper too as backup. We wouldn't be far off having half of our first team squad being academy graduates which is a pretty incredible feat, especially for a club at the level we operate at.

[ZAPHOD2319 4,476]

Are they just making up numbers now?

 

 

[Superblue 6,370]

1 hour ago, ZAPHOD2319 said:

Are they just making up numbers now?

 

 

To be honest I wouldn't be surprised if that's the sort of figure we're looking for.

It's easy to forget because of how bad his time has been here, that he's still looked at across the continent as a high quality striker and goalscorer. He moved for similar money from United 3 years ago, and I know he'll now be turning 29 but he's also more proven from his stint at Inter. A lot of clubs may just look at the Premier League being an ill fit for him.

Whether we manage to get that is another thing entirely.

The one thing I hope is that we don't drag a process out to move him on, or turn down bids that are near that figure just to try and gain a few extra million to save face (which we've been known to do). It's very important that Tuchel has a proper pre season this summer and should be given chance to work with what should be his squad going into next season for an extended period of time. We have to be ruthless. 

[DDA 9,690]

I pray for nothing more this summer than to rid ourselves of that heap of junk..  🤞🤞🤞🤞🤞🤞

[Blues Forever 1,232]

 

[Vesper 28,767]

10 hours ago, Fernando said:

Then there was Tomori height which is not good for CB

and Kounde is 6 or 7 cms SHORTER than Tomori

[Fernando 6,453]

17 hours ago, lucio said:

Pašalić ?, scoring a lot of goals from midfield 

He is good, but fits under my Serie A criteria. I take it with a pinch of salt. 

Would have been good to have a buy back, but he was here many years and hardly ever giving a chance. Mount and now Gallagher fits better our future then what he could have bring. 

[Blues Forever 1,232]

 

[Strike 7,217]

On 02/05/2022 at 22:29, Fernando said:

The only youth that I have a doubt if we did the right thing as to sell was Guehi. He would fit the CB we need, I think he is even better then Chalobah. But if we can get a nice CB then it will not all bad for this one. 

Also bum out about Livramento but we have a buy back so not all bad. 

Then there is Lamptey, I like the guy but his height has also been a problem....who knows we could try to get him back in the future. 

All in all as far as youth, there's no one that I feel like, we let that get away. 

Livramento and Lamptey reached a stage where they didn't see themselves getting a chance here and refused to sign a contract. Reece is comfortably better than both so its not really in the club's hands.

Guehi and Tomori - I agree. Club should have been smarter and inserted a buyback (at least). Or waited for Tuchel to assess in Tomori's case.

[Vesper 28,767]

On 02/05/2022 at 22:14, Superblue_1986 said:

To be honest I wouldn't be surprised if that's the sort of figure we're looking for.

It's easy to forget because of how bad his time has been here, that he's still looked at across the continent as a high quality striker and goalscorer. He moved for similar money from United 3 years ago, and I know he'll now be turning 29 but he's also more proven from his stint at Inter. A lot of clubs may just look at the Premier League being an ill fit for him.

Whether we manage to get that is another thing entirely.

The one thing I hope is that we don't drag a process out to move him on, or turn down bids that are near that figure just to try and gain a few extra million to save face (which we've been known to do). It's very important that Tuchel has a proper pre season this summer and should be given chance to work with what should be his squad going into next season for an extended period of time. We have to be ruthless. 

many other leagues are not that put off at all by an EPL fail

we are a BRUTAL league, and many who fail here excel elsewhere