Chelsea Transfers

[Vesper 28,786]

Boiled it down to the 9 'OMFG we signed them' players atm (Nkunku would be in there to make an even 10, but we signed him already)

Jude Bellingham  
Josko Gvardiol
Enzo Fernández    

then

Rafael Leão  
Victor Osimhen
Dušan Vlahović
Milan Skriniar
Jan Oblak
Nicolò Barella (Caicedo is close behind, they are the two 'closest to Kante' types atm)

 

in terms of the 2 positions not (fullback) or barely (winger) listed above:

there are no LBs or RBs at that level who are available (hell, there are only 4 of each on the planet, 9 total if your revert Kimmich back to RB)

and

After Leão the only acceptable buys at winger (non youth, as in both really young (teens) and also no bigger European league experience to compensate) for me would be (AND no, Mbappe is a pipedream so not listed):

  
Moussa Diaby (lefty)
Leroy Sané  (lefty)
Ousmane Dembélé (ambipedal)
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (ambipedal)
Federico Chiesa (if fully recovered) (mostly right footed but can player either wing, seems to prefer the RW)
Mykhaylo Mudryk (like Leão, he is completely a right footed LW, those two are the only ones of the eight wingers listed who never play on the right, and Mudryk is the only one listed who has no Big 5 experience at all)
Karim Adeyemi (lefty)

[nyikolajevics 2,575]

9 hours ago, Vesper said:

we signed him (he is Argentine though) from a Chilean club, Audax Italiano

he never played topflight ball in Argentina until 2020, with San Lorenzo, then left for Turkey in 2022, then Mexico,, and is now back in Chile starting in 2023

Remarkable carreer. 2015-2019 71 match 5 goals for Schalke 😄 And he got 3 senior caps for Argentina from Wigan! By the time they had Messi, Higuain, Tevez, Aguero..

[Vesper 28,786]

MN: Sporting CP, Chelsea and €19m that weigh – Leao’s complex renewal situation

https://sempremilan.com/mn-sporting-cp-Chelsea-and-e19m-that-weigh-leaos-complex-renewal-situation

AC Milan must tackle the knot of Rafael Leao’s renewal in the coming weeks and there are various fronts that must be resolved, a report claims.

MilanNews starts by writing that Leao’s judicial situation is complicated. The Portuguese owes Sporting CP the big sum of €19m euros as compensation for the unilateral termination of the contract exercised in 2018 after fans stormed the training complex.

Other players who left Sporting under the same circumstances resolved their position by paying Sporting compensation which Lille did not do, as they contracted Leao without making contact with his former club.

There was a charter signed between Lille and Leao’s agent at the time according to which the French club, when claiming Sporting, would have put money on the plate to settle and resolve the matter.

This paper, however, is not in the hands of Leao and his current lawyers as the separation from his former attorney was stormy and that document – being a private agreement between the parties – remains under lock and key.

Sporting CP originally asked for €45m in compensation through a Portuguese court, and then in the end the Milan court condemned him to pay €19m, which the boy began to pay through 20% of his salary.

In the meantime Lille – jointly and severally liable by the TAS (Court of Arbitration for Sport) – not only did not pay Sporting a singly euro, but also challenged the sentence of the TAS itself before the Swiss federal court, with a negative result.

Leao filed an appeal through his Italian lawyers, with the hearing set for the spring, but the margins for overturning the first-instance ruling are very minimal. That means Leao needs as much money as possible to resolve his dispute with Sporting.

How does this affect Milan? The Rossoneri are in constant contact with all of Leao’s entourage, but all they can do is formulate a contractual proposal that is as high as possible based on their own economic parameters.

A possible renewal of Leao’s contract should be seen as something to temporarily protect both Milan and the player, given the club would acquire stronger bargaining power in negotiations than it would have in the summer of 2023, given that Leao’s current deal expires in 2024, while the boy could ask for more money from any suitor.

Maldini and Massara will do everything to try and keep the Portuguese but they are also ready to make the most of his transfer in the summer. Chelsea are observing and are ready to launch a big bid while guaranteeing the former Lille man a salary over €10m net per season.

In his heart Leao does not want to leave AC Milan and Milano as a city, though it is equally true that those €19m weigh on his head every day are something that will affect him.

[Vesper 28,786]

FERNANDEZ PRICE TOO HIGH FOR LIVERPOOL

https://www.football365.com/news/transfer-gossip-liverpool-fernandez-Chelsea-spurs-surprise-move-ronaldo-snub

Liverpool have found the asking price for Benfica midfielder Enzo Fernandez to be out of their price range, according to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano.

The Reds are on the lookout for the right player to help solve their issues in midfield, which were on display last night as they beat Leicester City 2-1.

Numerous midfielders have been linked with a move to Anfield with Jude Bellingham understood to be their top target for the summer transfer window – but they face fierce competition from Real Madrid, Manchester City and other clubs.

Romano revealed yesterday that Fernandez has said ‘yes’ to Chelsea with the Blues beginning ‘direct talks’ with Benfica over a potential January transfer. The Portuguese outfit want any interested club to activate his €120m release clause with Fernandez only arriving in the summer transfer window for €10m from River Plate.

But Chelsea are willing to spend over €120m in order to avoid paying up front and Romano now claims that ‘focus will be on new midfielder’ for Liverpool but they ‘are not intentioned to pay €120m for Fernandez as of today’.

On potential transfer movements, Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp said on Friday: “We’ve to collect money for a bit, then we can spend. That is how we work.”

 

 

[Pizy 18,368]

That last bit in Fabrizio’s tweet is the thing. Liverpool don’t intend to pay the money at the moment. Which is why we need to quickly wrap this up before they do. I’m sure Klopp is really lobbying his board to sign a top midfielder and Enzo would be an unbelievable signing for Liverpool just like he would us. 

 

[DDA 9,690]

Enzo in Benficas defeat last night. 

Edited December 31, 2022 by DDA

[Reddish-Blue 2,347]

1 hour ago, Pizy said:

That last bit in Fabrizio’s tweet is the thing. Liverpool don’t intend to pay the money at the moment. Which is why we need to quickly wrap this up before they do. I’m sure Klopp is really lobbying his board to sign a top midfielder and Enzo would be an unbelievable signing for Liverpool just like he would us. 

 

Enzo is good and will definitely get better but he's not worth anywhere near the reported release clause in his contract (120 million).  Liverpool are just being smart in the transfer market rather than putting all their eggs in one basket. 

We have multiple issues with our first team XI and splashing on Enzo won't fix everything...and our recent track record with big transfer fees hasn't been great (Pulisic, Havertz, Fofana's injury issues, even Kepa was a laughing stock for a while). 

[Reddish-Blue 2,347]

12 hours ago, Vesper said:

that depends IF West Ham get relegated

West Ham will hang on, they just need to get rid of Moyes and get a decent coach who can actually utilize the attacking talent they have. 

I'd be more worried about Everton & Bournemouth getting dragged into the relegation fight. 

[NikkiCFC 7,942]

22 minutes ago, Reddish-Blue said:

Enzo is good and will definitely get better but he's not worth anywhere near the reported release clause in his contract (120 million).  Liverpool are just being smart in the transfer market rather than putting all their eggs in one basket. 

We have multiple issues with our first team XI and splashing on Enzo won't fix everything...and our recent track record with big transfer fees hasn't been great (Pulisic, Havertz, Fofana's injury issues, even Kepa was a laughing stock for a while). 

Not just us, in general biggest transfers almost never pay off. 

According to transfermarkt in history there were 12 transfers over 100m euros. 9 were total busts, Mbappe was worth it and we can argue about Neymar in PSG and Bale in Real. I would say Neymar is also bust because they never won CL and for sure they would win their leagues without him. Bale scored many important goals for Real so let's say he was a good buy. Nevertheless horrid record for these expensive players. 

Edited December 31, 2022 by NikkiCFC

[Pizy 18,368]

30 minutes ago, Reddish-Blue said:

Enzo is good and will definitely get better but he's not worth anywhere near the reported release clause in his contract (120 million).  Liverpool are just being smart in the transfer market rather than putting all their eggs in one basket. 

We have multiple issues with our first team XI and splashing on Enzo won't fix everything...and our recent track record with big transfer fees hasn't been great (Pulisic, Havertz, Fofana's injury issues, even Kepa was a laughing stock for a while). 

I mean, they’re rumored to be favorites to sign Bellingham who will cost as much or more than Enzo. If their ownership situation wasn’t in flux I’m sure they’d be going all out right now.

[NikkiCFC 7,942]

I think we told Benfica something like let's negotiate in our terms, you get more than release clause but in instalments if not we will for sure activate the clause so we have the laverage, we just need to make them happy and historically we have good relationship. Ramires, Matic, Luiz... 

[Superblue 6,370]

3 hours ago, Vesper said:

MN: Sporting CP, Chelsea and €19m that weigh – Leao’s complex renewal situation

https://sempremilan.com/mn-sporting-cp-Chelsea-and-e19m-that-weigh-leaos-complex-renewal-situation

AC Milan must tackle the knot of Rafael Leao’s renewal in the coming weeks and there are various fronts that must be resolved, a report claims.

MilanNews starts by writing that Leao’s judicial situation is complicated. The Portuguese owes Sporting CP the big sum of €19m euros as compensation for the unilateral termination of the contract exercised in 2018 after fans stormed the training complex.

Other players who left Sporting under the same circumstances resolved their position by paying Sporting compensation which Lille did not do, as they contracted Leao without making contact with his former club.

There was a charter signed between Lille and Leao’s agent at the time according to which the French club, when claiming Sporting, would have put money on the plate to settle and resolve the matter.

This paper, however, is not in the hands of Leao and his current lawyers as the separation from his former attorney was stormy and that document – being a private agreement between the parties – remains under lock and key.

Sporting CP originally asked for €45m in compensation through a Portuguese court, and then in the end the Milan court condemned him to pay €19m, which the boy began to pay through 20% of his salary.

In the meantime Lille – jointly and severally liable by the TAS (Court of Arbitration for Sport) – not only did not pay Sporting a singly euro, but also challenged the sentence of the TAS itself before the Swiss federal court, with a negative result.

Leao filed an appeal through his Italian lawyers, with the hearing set for the spring, but the margins for overturning the first-instance ruling are very minimal. That means Leao needs as much money as possible to resolve his dispute with Sporting.

How does this affect Milan? The Rossoneri are in constant contact with all of Leao’s entourage, but all they can do is formulate a contractual proposal that is as high as possible based on their own economic parameters.

A possible renewal of Leao’s contract should be seen as something to temporarily protect both Milan and the player, given the club would acquire stronger bargaining power in negotiations than it would have in the summer of 2023, given that Leao’s current deal expires in 2024, while the boy could ask for more money from any suitor.

Maldini and Massara will do everything to try and keep the Portuguese but they are also ready to make the most of his transfer in the summer. Chelsea are observing and are ready to launch a big bid while guaranteeing the former Lille man a salary over €10m net per season.

In his heart Leao does not want to leave AC Milan and Milano as a city, though it is equally true that those €19m weigh on his head every day are something that will affect him.

With the contractual issue he's in with Sporting, he'd be an idiot to renew with Milan.

His best option would be run his contract down in 18 months time and leave on a free, where I'm sure a team would have no problem forking out for the compensation that Sporting are owed in the shape of a signing on fee. Can't see that being as obvious if someone needs to pay Milan circa £100m too.

Obviously in the situation of a free transfer, he'd likely have all the world's top clubs vying for his signature so would be a difficult deal to get through the door but hopefully in 12 months time we'll be in a much better, stronger position too to be attractive for such a proposal.

[OhForAGreavsie 5,891]

13 hours ago, Vesper said:

worst football night of my life

For me, this one didn't hurt as much as the ghost goal semi-final at Anfield. We were second best in Moscow until Ronaldo scored. After that we were the better team all the way. I can see how that might make the loss harder to take for some people, but I have always found that it makes the result more bearable.

[OhForAGreavsie 5,891]

Came to see if @Vesperhas read today's link with Barella yet. Maybe not.

The hope always feels good but it doesn't always kill. Not quite always anyway.

Edited December 31, 2022 by OhForAGreavsie

[Superblue 6,370]

22 minutes ago, OhForAGreavsie said:

For me, this one didn't hurt as much as the ghost goal semi-final at Anfield. We were second best in Moscow until Ronaldo scored. After that we were the better team all the way. I can see how that might make the loss harder to take for some people, but I have always found that it makes the result more bearable.

I think this one was harder. Ronaldo only scored after about 25 minutes so to then go the best part of an hour and a half dominating them, in which time we also hit the post and bar and then ultimately the game was essentially decided by Drogba's brain fart about 3 or 4 minutes before penalties was brutal.

I think it was the worst one of the lot simply because it was there in front of us for the taking. The Liverpool and Barca semis were injustices and bore more anger than anything else, but in both situations there would still have been a final to navigate against a strong Milan or United side in both situations. It wasn't a given in either situation we'd have gone on to win, whereas in the 2008 final there was nothing else stood in the way beyond a United team that got very lucky on the night.

[Mário César 975]

yeah 2008 still hurts a lot but we had lucky in 2012 campaign 

one year compense the other year

but yeah I would prefer to won in 2008.

[chelsea_4_eva 1,157]

The funny thing about what I read on Barella is that he is the plan B if we fail to buy Mac Allister... which I think should be the other way around.

[DDA 9,690]

Fernandez was crying in the dugout during last night's game. 

 

He is off... wether its to us or somebody else... the lad is a goner.