Chelsea Transfers

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£130m player hangs round with three Chelsea players in training, after claims Potter wants to sign him

https://www.thechelseachronicle.com/transfer-news/130m-player-hangs-round-with-three-Chelsea-players-in-training-after-claims-potter-wants-to-sign-him/

(Rice)

 

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Club want to ‘convince’ Chelsea to buy player in January – ‘Absolute willingness’ to negotiate

https://sportwitness.co.uk/club-want-convince-Chelsea-buy-player-january-absolute-willingness-negotiate/

(Dumfries)

[Jype 6,398]

3 hours ago, Magic Lamps said:

Terrific. Not seen a minute of it yet and apparently not missing anything. There is lots of noise about Infantino going full Hitler and Qataris supressing journalists and ripping off tourists. What a shitfest of a WC.

Same here, zero games watched so far. I've seen a few of the goals on Reddit though.

I never actually planned for a full-on boycott and before the tournament started I thought I'd watch at least the odd game here or there but so far I just couldn't care less. Maybe I'll watch a few of the knockouts if there are some interesting match-ups and/or Chelsea players involved but then again maybe not. 

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'He is similar': Chelsea tipped to have a 17-year-old youngster who's just like Mason Mount coming through

https://www.thechelseachronicle.com/academy/he-is-similar-Chelsea-tipped-to-have-a-17-year-old-youngster-whos-just-like-mason-mount-coming-through/

Chelsea prospect Leo Castledine has been compared to Mason Mount by a coach at Stamford Bridge.

Mark Robinson, who’s head coach of the Chelsea development squad, gets to work on a day-to-day basis with the exciting youngsters developing at Cobham.

Castledine has been picked out as a real talent within the Blues system.

Aged 17, the attacking midfielder is already playing regular games for the Under-21s side at Chelsea.

The Athletic claims that club legend John Terry is a big admirer of him in training, too.

 

snip

 

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Konrad Laimer is very likely going to Bayern on a free (Romano)

[Stats 7,059]

5 hours ago, Vesper said:

Konrad Laimer is very likely going to Bayern on a free (Romano)

Bayern doing Bayern stuff as usual...

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Chelsea’s 17-year-old midfielder who learned from his Wimbledon dad

https://theathletic.com/3924067/2022/11/24/leo-castledine-making-strides-at-Chelsea-after-learning-from-dad/

“Things just don’t faze him.”

Chelsea’s Under-21s coach Mark Robinson has just been asked by The Athletic about Leo Castledine — another of the club’s fine young prospects — and he can barely contain the look of satisfaction on his face.

Robinson picked Castledine to start his first game in the EFL Trophy — a competition played between English teams from League One and League Two, plus 16 academy sides from Premier League clubs — against Peterborough United on Tuesday night. Aged just 17 and 94 days, he was comfortably the youngest player on the pitch.

This was no rookie Peterborough squad. The club are fourth in League One, and out of the 18 selected, 15 were also chosen for the 1-0 loss at Bristol Rovers last weekend.

As Chelsea cruised to an impressive 4-2 victory, you wouldn’t have known that Castledine had significantly less experience than the players opposite him. But then he is accustomed to playing against older footballers. It’s something he has been doing for some time and Robinson is aware of this more than anybody.

Robinson only took over as Chelsea Under-21s coach in the summer, but before that had worked 18 years at AFC Wimbledon, for the majority of which he had various roles in their academy (in the last 14 months of his tenure he was in charge of the first team).

Castledine joined AFC Wimbledon at the age of seven having spent two years at Chelsea. However, they weren’t sure about taking him on at that stage, so AFC Wimbledon asked him to train with them instead.

He developed quickly, so much so that Robinson took him on a pre-season tour to Italy involving AFC Wimbledon’s under-18s when he was just 14 years old. What did he see in the teenager that made him think he could handle such a promotion?

“It’s just his character really,” Robinson replies. “It’s just the way he is. You knew he could handle it. Physically he is strong. He was standing out in his own age group so we just took him to give him a taste of the under-18 level early. As well as being a very good footballer, he has a tremendous attitude and he works very hard on his game too.

“I think because he has always done it since then, that helps him. He has always played at least one age group up if not more. He is reaping the benefits now.”

---

More from Robinson later. Obviously Robinson is not the only person to help steer Castledine’s development. For starters, there is his dad: Stewart Castledine, who was at Wimbledon between 1991-2000, during which time they were in the top flight. While not a regular, he scored seven times in England’s top division and went on to play for Wycombe Wanderers too. That’s a lot of experience to lean upon.

Castledine senior stressed the importance of a good work ethic, fitness, strength and a ‘never give up’ mentality, which was synonymous with the Wimbledon team he played in. For years the duo would play against each other, especially in the summer, keeping Leo’s fitness up during post-season. When he was younger, Stewart would inevitably get the better of Leo. That is not the case now.

A number of leading clubs looked to sign Castledine from AFC Wimbledon after he was called up to play for England Under-15s. Getting selected at national level despite playing for a less fashionable club was always going to attract attention. He was offered the chance to move back to Chelsea and took it.

His family are Chelsea fans and live just 15 minutes from the training ground in Cobham, but another factor helped persuade him. Frank Lampard, who was managing Chelsea’s first team at the time, said he’d seen Leo in action and liked what he saw. It was a small but telling contribution to the process.

Lampard is not the only Chelsea stalwart among Castledine’s admirers. One of his first youth coaches was a certain Ashley Cole. Before he left to join Lampard’s backroom staff at Everton earlier this year he gave Leo one of his old England shirts, signed it and wrote encouraging words on the back.

Then there is John Terry. The former Chelsea captain has a part-time consultancy role with the academy. He regularly remarks what a great trainer Castledine is, how he treats each session like a cup final. That’s how Terry was himself when coming through the ranks — no wonder he spotted and liked it.

Like many Chelsea youngsters, Leo went to Whitgift School. Such was his ability at a number of sports, he was given a sports scholarship. Before he rejoined Chelsea in 2020 he was enrolled in the elite academy at Harlequins, a professional rugby club who play in the top division in England. They continued to send emails for a while asking whether he’d reconsider. Playing such a tough, physical sport benefited his football development.

Last season Castledine made 36 appearances for Chelsea. The majority were for the under-18s, although there was a debut in the UEFA Youth League, which is played at under-19 level. A sign of his rapid progress is that he has played 22 times in four different competitions this season, including the more demanding Premier League 2 and EFL Trophy (both for the under-21s). He has also captained England Under-18s.

Among the things still to be determined is what his best position is. Against Peterborough, he was one of two No 10s supporting striker Malik Mothersille. What does Robinson see Castledine’s best role as?

“We believe it is in midfield as a No 8, but he is also very versatile as well. He has played right-sided centre-back for the under-21s, he’s played wide for the under-18s. But wherever you put him, he gives absolutely everything.

“Not having one set position could be seen as difficult but it’s also good for him. Obviously as you get older you’re going to want to nail down a position you want to excel in, but it’s also good to have that utility thing about you where if you’re needed you can go in and play. Every player wants to play but if you have that versatility it is only going to help you do that.

“In terms of energy, he is similar to Mason Mount and Conor Gallagher. I think he has more elements of Conor out of the two of them. He can be very dangerous when he arrives in the box, is really good in the air, and we have to make sure we keep working on that as well. He is definitely going to be a goal-scoring midfielder.”

During the 87 minutes he was on the pitch against Peterborough, he was neat and tidy in possession, playing in a number of different areas while linking up with his team-mates. One great example was when he built a Chelsea attack just after the half-hour mark, getting involved twice in the move before finding right wing-back Dion Rankine with a delightful 30-yard pass.

Conversely, there was a sloppy pass towards his own goal just before half-time which bypassed midfielder Cesare Casadei and found Peterborough striker Jonson Clarke-Harris instead. Fortunately, Chelsea defender Alfie Gilchrist came to the rescue. That was a reminder, Robinson explains, that there are still things to work on.

“Leo just has to tidy up here and there on a few things,” he says. “It’s sometimes about decision-making, when to play one or two touches and recognise the situation.

“But it’s also about not taking away that thing which makes him great, that dynamic running and surging forward. I’m really mindful of that with all our players — you can overcoach them and end up taking away things that people love about them.”

So what’s the plan going forward? He has already been invited on more than one occasion to train with the first team. Indeed, he played alongside N’Golo Kante and Ruben Loftus-Cheek in a pre-season friendly at Borehamwood in July, scoring Chelsea’s first goal in a 4-2 victory.

Graham Potter has taken a look at him too, and there is a possibility he will be asked to join a training camp in Abu Dhabi next month involving senior players not at the World Cup.

Chelsea will have a decision to make about how many under-21s players they want to go on that particular trip because it looks like it will clash with the next round of the EFL trophy, which is due to be held on December 14.

Castledine is also being watched by a number of clubs, but Chelsea secured his long-term future by giving the teenager a two-year contract in the summer.

He is clearly ahead of schedule and a loan in the future will be considered. But the dream of following in his father’s footsteps and playing at the highest level certainly looks a real possibility.

[Reddish-Blue 2,350]

4 hours ago, Stats said:

Bayern doing Bayern stuff as usual...

They really are a monopoly in the Bundesliga.  Didn't they get Sabitzer for a minimal fee from Leipzig as well?   Even Gnabry was some shady deal where Bremen officially bought him but he was apparently moving to Bayern the following summer. 

Imagine if they somehow lure that young Dortmund striker as well...

[milka 3,349]

 

[Blue Armour 4,300]

4 hours ago, milka said:

 

Stupid short sighted move if true.

Already had those in the summer transfer window.

[ZAPHOD2319 4,512]

 

[chelsea_4_eva 1,159]

Isn't Felix's playing style similiar to Havertz? They kinda have the same feel about them.

[maxlev 45]

2 hours ago, chelsea_4_eva said:

Isn't Felix's playing style similiar to Havertz? They kinda have the same feel about them.

I think Felix has more agility and stamina than Havertz. My problem with our team is our style of play doesn't bring out the best from our attacking players. No matter how good certain players might be, I am afraid they might find it hard to do well over here attacking-wise.

[Superblue 6,370]

Reports coming out yesterday were that Vivell is close to being done as technical director (seemingly another important piece in the puzzle) and that Chelsea still want a sporting director but willing to wait for that one.

This still all points towards Michael Edwards, that Chelsea don't seem as urgent to appoint someone in that role. It was mentioned a while back that he was adamant about having this break but listened to Chelsea and was intrigued about the project. It was also reported the other day that Liverpool's head of data analysis has also handed in their notice to leave in the summer who worked heavily alongside Edwards (and also I believe got his first break from Daniel Finkelstein in the area of data analysis). It does feel the stars are aligning a little on that one and an opportunity may be there for Chelsea to really round off what looks, on paper, to be a very promising scouting and recruitment set up.

This for me is one of the biggest reasons why I'm genuinely intrigued about the long term with the club under this new ownership, and willing to give them substantial time, because they've identified an area of the club which fans have been questioning for a long time now, and are trying to put down long term roots for success in these areas.

[DanP2311 65]

Watching evals of Pulisic’s play against England, the perception gulf between Chelsea fans and Pulisic fans is wide. It is time for Chelsea to part ways with him in January and make manager, player, and fans on both sides happier.

Edited November 26, 2022 by DanP2311

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Alexis Mac Allister is now an Argentina national team starter

what a rocket rise

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Guido Rodríguez is also starting, at DMF

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Enzo Fernández is on the bench, and will likely get some play in