Chelsea Transfers

[Vesper 31,108]

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

[Vesper 31,108]

delete

 

Edited December 3, 2022 by Vesper

[Vesper 31,108]

delete

Edited December 3, 2022 by Vesper

[Vesper 31,108]

ffs, wrong forum

[Vesper 31,108]

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.

[Vesper 31,108]

Just now, Vesper said:

But while Luka Modric was given the official man of the match award against Belgium

what an absolute joke that was

just like his Ballon d'Or over Lewa (and Pessi over Lewa, plus Lewa getting fucked again for 2020, with no award given even though basically all of the season being played)

[Vesper 31,108]

ffs

a 30yo Iranian CF from shit Portuguese league for 25 to 30m

ARFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF

wtf

[turgi 71]

I am willing to put a very large bet that Gvardiol won't play for Chelsea FC

[bigbluewillie 1,979]

5 hours ago, turgi said:

I am willing to put a very large bet that Gvardiol won't play for Chelsea FC

Why?

[turgi 71]

Just now, bigbluewillie said:

Why?

When was the last time Chelsea bought the best possible young prospect for a certain position?

[bigbluewillie 1,979]

17 minutes ago, turgi said:

When was the last time Chelsea bought the best possible young prospect for a certain position?

Jesus bruv

And you're basing your assessment on that.

[OhForAGreavsie 6,127]

12 hours ago, milka said:

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

 

Although i understand why it didn't happen , I wish Roman had had the same idea as @Vesper two summers ago and sold NG. We would have lost very little in terms of on pitch contribution, because there really hasn't been any, but would have gained a substantial transfer fee to reinvest. It would have been the correct move in a serious squad building environment, but, under Roman, that was never the environment. It was about him and his football manager moves.

Every one of us is grateful for Roman's unbelievable impact on Chelsea Football club. Every one of us realises however that there is plenty of room for things to be done even better than they were by our favourite oligarch. I for one am willing to forgive TB and his team for what looks to have been a panicky first transfer window but it has to be a down to business attitude from now. That attitude has to include a recognition that NG should have been moved on before now.

Edited December 4, 2022 by OhForAGreavsie

[turgi 71]

3 hours ago, bigbluewillie said:

Jesus bruv

And you're basing your assessment on that.

No need to get hurt mate.

It's just a guess. 99% of the replies here based on nothing.

[Reddish-Blue 2,676]

3 hours ago, OhForAGreavsie said:

Although i understand why it didn't happen , I wish Roman had had the same idea as @Vesper two summers ago and sold NG. We would have lost very little in terms of on pitch contribution, because there really hasn't been any, but would have gained a substantial transfer fee to reinvest. It would have been the correct move in a serious squad building environment, but, under Roman, that was never the environment. It was about him and his football manager moves.

Every one of us is grateful for Roman's unbelievable impact on Chelsea Football club. Every one of us realises however that there is plenty of room for things to be done even better than they were by our favourite oligarch. I for one am willing to forgive TB and his team for what looks to have been a panicky first transfer window but it has to be a down to business attitude from now. That attitude has to include a recognition that NG should have been moved on before now.

If that's the case, then we should have moved on from Christensen & Rudiger well before they ran down their contracts and left on free transfers as well. 

Kante was the vital cog for our midfield, it's no surprise that our midfield is getting over run and absolutely hammered by most PL teams this season as they know it's a free for all, Kovacic was like 50% fit and RLC should have been sold off in the summer, the guy offers nothing when he is asked to play from deep.  

I can see why the club didn't sell off Kante as it is hard to part ways with top class players like him. 

[Vegetable 830]

8 hours ago, turgi said:

When was the last time Chelsea bought the best possible young prospect for a certain position?

Like Werner and Havertz? They also didn't buy best possible prospects in form of Sancho, Wan-Bissaka, Bailey (lol), Upamecano and lot's of people we've already forgotten even exist, so I guess the "hot prospect", at least in crowd's opinion, is not the most efficient measure to go by. Those SM-inflated starlettes flop 99% of cases after setting foot away from their small-time cozy club, where they can shine. Actually, Tchouaméni is one of not many recent contrary examples I can think of.

Edited December 4, 2022 by Vegetable

[manpe 10,861]

8 hours ago, OhForAGreavsie said:

Although i understand why it didn't happen , I wish Roman had had the same idea as @Vesper two summers ago and sold NG. We would have lost very little in terms of on pitch contribution, because there really hasn't been any, but would have gained a substantial transfer fee to reinvest. It would have been the correct move in a serious squad building environment, but, under Roman, that was never the environment. It was about him and his football manager moves.

Every one of us is grateful for Roman's unbelievable impact on Chelsea Football club. Every one of us realises however that there is plenty of room for things to be done even better than they were by our favourite oligarch. I for one am willing to forgive TB and his team for what looks to have been a panicky first transfer window but it has to be a down to business attitude from now. That attitude has to include a recognition that NG should have been moved on before now.

I think there was a hope that Kante would leave his injury worries behind him or that at least they wouldn't be as bad as they have been. Because whenever he was fit he transformed us, we were always better with him than without him and it's hard to move such an asset if there is even a glimmer of hope left. I understand Roman and co regarding Kante, but in hindsight it was the wrong call.

[cosmicway 1,333]

Why we allowed Olivier Giroud to leave Chelsea ?
After two years the man is still going strong. He scored again today against Poland and he also scored an almost legal goal with flying scissors -just like against Atletico. The referee had blown his whistle for a foul just a fraction of a second earlier. He may also win the world cup again.
We fancied Lukaku was going to solve all of our problems !

[NikkiCFC 8,516]

Lineup I would like to see after WC. 

Kepa, James, Fofana, Silva, Chilwell, Zakaria, Kovacic, Gallagher, Ziyech Pulisic, Havertz 

433 

I think it's best what we have but also not expecting to happen. 

[Vesper 31,108]

Koulibaly and Mendy were horrid v England

further nightmares for us

If Koulibaly had not been born in France, I would be seriously questioning his birth certificate, as he sure as fuck looks and plays like he is years older than someone who, only 6 months ago, was still 30yo.

[Vesper 31,108]

23 hours ago, turgi said:

When was the last time Chelsea bought the best possible young prospect for a certain position?

Hazard, he was top of my board for young wingers back in the day

also, we TWICE HAD the best young young AMFs on the planet and lost them both (De Bruyne long ago, and again with Musiala)

also we DID buy the best young (under 22yo) GKing prospect on the planet in Gabriel Slonina (only just turned 18 seven months ago) The only other GKer who is younger than Donnarumma (who soon turns 24) and is POTENTIALLY (as it stands atm IMHO) better than Slonina is the 22yo giant (1.97m) Georgian GKer on Valencia, Giorgi Mamardashvili, who is 4 years older than Slonina. The only other GKers who are young and in that mix atm, are the 22yo Illan Meslier (soon 23 and also a giant at 1.97m) and the 23yo Diogo Costa (bit short at only 1.85m, 1.86m, I have seen both heights listed)

Slonina is the only teenage GKer valuation-rated in the top 40 GKers under the age of 25 (so an even bigger group, and he is already at 14th), and one of only 2 in top 50 (the other is an 18yo, who turns 19 in a month, a Russian keeper at 41st, Daniil Khudyakov, from Lokomotiv)

 

now more:

also (this is a bit of hedge) in theory, IF he had not had that horrid injury, Wesley Fofana

and now we are in for 2 more (not saying we land either)

in Gvardiol and especially Bellingham

IF Fofana had never had the nightmare injury and we do get Gvardiol, we would be staring at the best CB pairing on the planet within 2 to 3 years or so max IMHO

still MAY be if Fofana somehow miraculously completely regains everything back to pre injury form and physical nature/ability (I have my doubts, sigh, which is why he came off my board for buys as soon as he was injured, but it is NOT impossible) and we do pull Gvardiol

finally, we COULD and SHOULD have purchased the best young DMF on the planet in summer 2021 (Tchou) but fucking Marina and our SHIT scouts kiboshed it, those motherfuckers