Chelsea Transfers

[Stats 6,980]

2 minutes ago, Hermione said:

Now with Koulibaly done can the club double think about the Ake deal, everything about it is so bad.

The fee is a lot but I don't see why people are such against it. He is an experienced PL defender. Good on the ball and in a back 3 I think will really surprise people. Like I say, City forked out money for him for a reason and not a case that he has been awful for them. Just been behind in the pecking order. I mean don't get me wrong if we got Ake as our only defender, I would bricking it but alongside Koulibaly, I am fine with that.

[MoroccanBlue 5,194]

57 minutes ago, Stats said:

The fee is a lot but I don't see why people are such against it. He is an experienced PL defender. Good on the ball and in a back 3 I think will really surprise people. Like I say, City forked out money for him for a reason and not a case that he has been awful for them. Just been behind in the pecking order. I mean don't get me wrong if we got Ake as our only defender, I would bricking it but alongside Koulibaly, I am fine with that.

I'd rather Kimpembe personally. 

[Magic Lamps 11,446]

1 hour ago, MoroccanBlue said:

It isn't as if he is Zouma esq on the ball or is last ditch defender, which is reassuring. If he manages to keep his pace it will be a huge bonus. 

That’s true.

of all available cbs this window even a slightly over the hill KK is still the best with skriniar a close 2nd

schlotterbeck, Süle or mdl would have been more viable long term options but in terms of who adds the most quality right now, there can be no other way. 

[DDA 9,570]

29 minutes ago, Magic Lamps said:

That’s true.

of all available cbs this window even a slightly over the hill KK is still the best with skriniar a close 2nd

schlotterbeck, Süle or mdl would have been more viable long term options but in terms of who adds the most quality right now, there can be no other way. 

Apparently he keeps himself in supreme condition and watching some highlights of his season just gone... he is still looking fantastic on recovery tackles.

[ZAPHOD2319 3,870]

 

[ZAPHOD2319 3,870]

What does he say at the end?

 

[LAM09 6,535]

I'm pleased we've all but signed the best defender that was available this summer. 

[Superblue 6,331]

Not only do Koulibaly and Sterling walk straight into our strongest XI and instantly make us stronger on paper, but they both bring elite, leadership mentality.

Whilst some circumstances seemed to conspire against us last season, I don't think it's been lost on Tuchel how we fell apart in December (and Tuchel will know full well at the very least we'd suffered the same fate the year before which led to his own appointment) and the drop off in standards towards the end of the season when the club seemed to be spinning wheels and just wanting to see the season out. 

He's bringing in players with a lot of experience and leadership who are primed to come in immediately and make an impact. Personally pleased about both.

[Pizy 17,860]

If we can get 1 more attacker who provides goals in addition to KK, Sterling, and I guess Aké, I see no reason why we shouldn’t enter the season thinking title push. A depth signing at fullback would be the cherry in top.
 

We definitely won’t be favorites but if we can keep our key players fit (namely the fullbacks) we have a first XI as good as anyone in Europe and a very deep squad.

[robsblubot 3,205]

2 hours ago, Stats said:

The fee is a lot but I don't see why people are such against it. He is an experienced PL defender. Good on the ball and in a back 3 I think will really surprise people. Like I say, City forked out money for him for a reason and not a case that he has been awful for them. Just been behind in the pecking order. I mean don't get me wrong if we got Ake as our only defender, I would bricking it but alongside Koulibaly, I am fine with that.

That's the thing, his experience in PL is for Bournemouth level not city, or ours. He was also *way* behind the pecking order for a reason.

While I don't personally see any ball-playing skill in him, I think they made a bet (given their CB issues) that he would improve and would adapt well to their possession system -- neither really happened, so now they are trying to push us to make a similar bet, which makes no sense given that it's no longer the same bet. It's really a question of "why him?" and why pay this much if he's so unremarkable? 
Wouldn't surprise me if this was tied to the sterling deal tho.

[Vesper 27,282]

7 hours ago, Kong said:

Didn't we offer 60mill?

I am not sure what we offered

I have seen so many claims

[We Hate Scouse 10,260]

I haven't seen much of Koulibaly, what's his speed like? He's getting older now so I hope we don't offer him too long of a contract. 3 years + 1. I've read he's in very good physical shape though, so hopefully he can be similar to Silva (who I admittedly thought would flop in the PL)

[Blues11 213]

21 minutes ago, We Hate Scouse said:

I haven't seen much of Koulibaly, what's his speed like? He's getting older now so I hope we don't offer him too long of a contract. 3 years + 1. I've read he's in very good physical shape though, so hopefully he can be similar to Silva (who I admittedly thought would flop in the PL)

I personally think he's better than Rudiger. Obviously Rudiger has proven it on the big stage in the PL but physically KK is world class. I think it's a great signing and immediately makes us better. Maybe we might not even have to play three in the back all the time. Speed is still there and he's rock solid defensively. 

Top signings in KK and Sterling. Would love a midfielder or hopefully Gallagher takes the next step. Think MF is an area that's not talked about enough because we really got exposed there last season. 

[Pizy 17,860]

30 minutes ago, We Hate Scouse said:

I haven't seen much of Koulibaly, what's his speed like? He's getting older now so I hope we don't offer him too long of a contract. 3 years + 1. I've read he's in very good physical shape though, so hopefully he can be similar to Silva (who I admittedly thought would flop in the PL)

He’s no Rüdiger in terms of pace but who is? He’s very athletic and can get about just fine. He’s not going to get twisted in knots like Harry Maguire or anything.

[ZAPHOD2319 3,870]

 

[Clockwork 1,762]

Koulibaly is way better than Rudigar.

[Stats 6,980]

2 hours ago, robsblubot said:

That's the thing, his experience in PL is for Bournemouth level not city, or ours. He was also *way* behind the pecking order for a reason.

While I don't personally see any ball-playing skill in him, I think they made a bet (given their CB issues) that he would improve and would adapt well to their possession system -- neither really happened, so now they are trying to push us to make a similar bet, which makes no sense given that it's no longer the same bet. It's really a question of "why him?" and why pay this much if he's so unremarkable? 
Wouldn't surprise me if this was tied to the sterling deal tho.

No, I disagree that he was unable to adapt. It is more a case that you have a player who is not a regular and wants more minutes with the World Cup in mind, he wants to leave. He was Bournemouth's standout player by a mile. Although Cahill had his critics, was it a silly move to buy him because he was playing for a relegation based team? Liverpool bought Robertson from Hull who also got relegated. City just bought Phillips from Leeds who were close to relegation last season.

Ake is not a world class defender by any means but not an awful one too. Also right now we just aren't close to City in terms of quality wise. There isn't anything wrong in getting another team's back up if he helps us in a certain system. If we play back 3, he is a good fit for the LCB and if we go four at the back he is decent cover. Conte had Moses playing as RWB who was outcasted before he came in and we won the title that season. In fact Liverpool bought Milner of City right also who was a back up there and that has been a successful move, so I won't buy that notion that because he was behind pecking order at City, we should not be looking at him. 

Edited July 13, 2022 by Stats

[Blue Armour 4,158]

6 hours ago, Pizy said:

Or PSG who have been linked with him before. They could get him instead of Skriniar.

If they do, then we move for Skriniar.

Anyway, it seems we have KK. So we're good.

Edited July 13, 2022 by Blue Armour