Chelsea Transfers

[Vesper 28,675]

pissed he is not coming in January, ffs!

[Superblue 6,370]

8 hours ago, OhForAGreavsie said:

Ture, but the gravity of Real is what it is and everybody has to work around it.

The implications of a medical having been carried out means that, rightly or wrongly, I believe the Nkunku deal is done and has been since summer. For less convincing reasons I am hopeful that Gvardiol may also have already been wrapped up. If so then, worst case scenario, we have him for a few seasons.

I think with Gvardiol we have to sell him potentially on that prospect, i.e. come to us which is a move upward from Leipzig where we're looking to build a young, dynamic team with a lot of potential upside but in 4, 5, 6 years time the option could be there for you to move to Madrid if you chose to.

Some of these players we may need to approach in the same way as Hazard - for how long you can keep them great but if they move on in the future and you've enjoyed 3-5 years of them playing at a high level and a good return on their transfer then so be it. Hopefully once they're here and perhaps if we start building and progressing ourselves back to challenging for the major trophies, it may be easier to keep players like him for longer or the bulk of their prime years like we managed to largely do with Hazard.

[Vesper 28,675]

1 hour ago, Superblue said:

Hazard - for how long you can keep them great but if they move on in the future and you've enjoyed 3-5 years of them playing at a high level

we had 7 monster years from Hazard (well that shit all-round 2015-16 10th place disaster notwithstanding)

7 years is more than enough play for me from a transfer to be considered a great buy

[Vesper 28,675]

 

[Vesper 28,675]

sign him up

[Vesper 28,675]

 

[milka 3,344]

The feeling internally at Chelsea is that they want to rebuild the midfield with younger players - there’s new chances Kante and Chelsea could part ways in 2023. The feeling around players side and club side is that Kante WILL LEAVE on a free. 

@FabrizioRomano

 

[Vesper 28,675]

 

[Vesper 28,675]

 

[Vesper 28,675]

Liverpool 'submit bid' for Bennacer

Like many other clubs, Liverpool are chasing Jude Bellingham - but they have other options, too.

Italian newspaper Corriere dello Sport report that the Reds have made contact with AC Milan midfielder Ismael Bennacer, who will be out of contract at the end of the next season.

The 25-year-old is therefore expected to be available for a knock-down fee in the summer of 2023.

[Vesper 28,675]

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Edited December 3, 2022 by Vesper

[Vesper 28,675]

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Edited December 3, 2022 by Vesper

[Vesper 28,675]

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Edited December 3, 2022 by Vesper

[Vesper 28,675]

Pessi is 100% carrying them, so hats off to him

[Vesper 28,675]

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Edited December 3, 2022 by Vesper

[Vesper 28,675]

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Edited December 3, 2022 by Vesper

[Vesper 28,675]

ffs, wrong forum

[Vesper 28,675]

Hanging around for Josko Gvardiol will cost Chelsea millions — they should buy him quickly

https://theathletic.com/3960481/2022/12/03/Chelsea-josko-gvardiol-transfer/

When Romelu Lukaku was about to shoot during Belgium’s goalless draw on Thursday, Josko Gvardiol acted fast to put his left foot out and deflect the ball away.

It was one of the best tackles, if not the best, of the tournament, and summed up another remarkably mature display from the 20-year-old playing at his first World Cup.

Now Chelsea need to act fast.

The centre-back was already rated as one of the best young defenders and that reputation has been enhanced in Qatar. Croatia conceded just one goal as they qualified from their group and he played a vital role.

It is only a matter of time before he leaves RB Leipzig despite signing a contract extension in September to commit to the club until 2027. The question is where he will move next.

Chelsea have been favourites. They held intense negotiations with Leipzig during the summer and, though an agreement wasn’t reached, they always planned to resume their efforts in January.

As The Athletic reported in August, talks broke down because Leipzig changed the asking price. Initial discussions started over a fee worth around €70million (£60.5million), which rose to €80m and finally €90m.

There were reports in October that Gvardiol’s new deal included a release clause as low as £43.6million, but you can be sure Chelsea will have a lot more competition for his signature now regardless. Hindsight is a wonderful thing but maybe there is some regret that things weren’t concluded four months ago.

Chelsea are still in a good position. They have a positive relationship with the Bundesliga club having signed Timo Werner from them in 2020 and then sold him back to them in the last window. Chelsea also have a deal in place to sign forward Christopher Nkunku from Leipzig at the end of the season.

There is also a connection with Christopher Vivell, who is expected to be named Chelsea’s technical director soon having been dismissed by Leipzig in October. However, given Leipzig chief executive Oliver Mintzlaff complained about Vivell losing his trust, one might question whether his presence at Stamford Bridge will help or hinder.

The presence of Croatia team-mate Mateo Kovacic at Chelsea is far more significant. The midfielder urged the new owners to sign Gvardiol when they asked for his opinion on the subject earlier this year.

Clearly the two players share a close bond. It was something Gvardiol referenced when speaking to The Athletic after the match against Belgium, saying of Chelsea: “It’s a big club of course and, who knows, maybe one day I will be there. It’s really nice to see things like this, especially because there is Kovacic, so you never know. I talk with him.”

However, he also spoke after the match about Real Madrid, where his Croatia team-mate Luka Modric plays: “Real Madrid is the biggest club in the world, so who knows. Maybe one day I can play there. I would like to, yes.”

Even though Chelsea spent a Premier League record £250million-plus on players in the summer, the club’s hierarchy are determined to keep investing in the squad. They want to back coach Graham Potter in the market and he loves defenders who can play out from the back — perhaps a quality he doesn’t have enough of from his current group.

But do they have cause to reconsider their Gvardiol pursuit? Despite his talents, there will be those among the fanbase that won’t see him as a priority, especially as they’ve already spent £69.5million on Wesley Fofana, £33million on Kalidou Koulibaly and a minimum of £56million on Marc Cucurella.

Koulibaly and Cucurella have both played as a left-sided centre-back this season, Gvardiol’s preferred role. What kind of message would it send them — particularly Koulibaly given it’s his main position — if they buy Gvardiol as well?

Chelsea have plans in place to improve other areas of the pitch, especially in central midfield. Two of their targets for summer deals are Jude Bellingham and Declan Rice, neither of whom will come cheap.

The Todd Boehly-Clearlake consortium have also made keeping their best young players a priority. Levi Colwill, who is on loan at Brighton, is a year younger than Gvardiol and is not as experienced. But he is also a highly rated left-footed centre-back and won’t want his pathway at Chelsea blocked any further.

After sending out a strong message by not selling Colwill in the summer, as well as rewarding the academy graduates in the first team — Reece James, Armando Broja and Trevoh Chalobah — with new long-term contracts, it would go against the strategy to let Colwill go to make room for Gvardiol.

Another consideration is Thiago Silva. As good as he is playing at 38, there is obviously a strong possibility this will his last season at Stamford Bridge, so that will open up a spot on the roster.

As with Nkunku, Leipzig will want to keep Gvardiol for the rest of the season, so any transfer agreement will surely be with that in mind. They are third in the Bundesliga and have a last-16 Champions League tie against Manchester City — another team who have been linked with the youngster.

But while Luka Modric was given the official man of the match award against Belgium, Gvardiol’s display was the one that got a lot of people in the game talking. If Chelsea want him, they can’t afford to hesitate.