Chelsea Transfers

[Pizy 18,360]

15 minutes ago, Tomo said:

There's a reason the striker market is becoming scarse and that's because the game is moving on from the out and out striker.

Even the best one's who still score shitloads look awkward fits (ala Haaland at City, breaking record for fun yet still may lose the title to Arsenal).

True. Thuram has the physique of your classic #9 but is still saucy on the ball so I wouldn’t be terribly upset if we got him for a decent price.

But on the other hand I wouldn’t be mad either if we didn’t play with a traditional striker and brought in another winger who can score.

[Artandur 939]

I fear you guys are over-estimating Thuram's technical abilities

[Vesper 28,676]

2 hours ago, Pizy said:

Tbh, there really isn’t any standout, no-brainer CF to target right now. Hence why I’m seeing United linked with Wout fucking Weghorst today 🤣🤣🤣

 

well, there are two for me

the same two as always

it is just a matter of paying enough

Osimhen

Vlahovic (who will cost less)

after those two, atm, the drop-off is fairly large in terms of who is actually available, again stressing ATM

I do not truly rate Lautaro, even if he was available (he is not) as being at their level

Kane will never play here, we passed on Gabriel Jesus 

Julián Álvarez is not for sale, and Mbappe and Håland are pipe dream land

Rom was a HUGE bust, and Darwin is struggling a bit and also not for sale

that is the entire top 10 in valuation right there

Lewa and Benz are soon aged out in terms of top or near top WC level (2 to 4 more years MAX, and that is if they stay healthy) I cannot see them near the level they are now at 39, 40 years old

 

BIG wild card, if you look at him as a CF only

Youssoufa Moukoko

IF we get him, I will be far less stressed about CF and failing (we likely will) on Osimhen and Vlahovic

 

Edited January 7, 2023 by Vesper

[Vesper 28,676]

46 minutes ago, Artandur said:

I fear you guys are over-estimating Thuram's technical abilities

if we are not going to buy one of the only 2 actually available WC CF (Osimhen and Vlahovic)

which we likely will NOT do

then we need to just buy/sign Moukoko and roll with him and DDF as youth strikers

[Mhsc 869]

9 minutes ago, Vesper said:

if we are not going to buy one of the only 2 actually available WC CF (Osimhen and Vlahovic)

which we likely will NOT do

then we need to just buy/sign Moukoko and roll with him and DDF as youth strikers

What makes you think they’re available and affordable?

Moukoko seems like the obvious choice that we might actually be able to get in Jan. Not seeing much in the way of rumours tho.

[Superblue 6,370]

I've said a number of times that the club shouldn't be wasting tens of millions on players that are filling squad places. We've wasted far too much money in that way in the past.

Instead we need to strike a balance of creating spots and opportunities for academy and younger players to be promoted and fill them, alongside good value opportunities which are not costing the club a fortune in this day and age.

I do think Thuram fits into that bracket if talk is correct that Gladbach are only looking at around £8 - 10m for him. He could easily be a very cost effective way of solving the empty abyss that seems to be our striking options at present, and offers the flexibility to play out wide or alongside another. 

The one thing he does offer which we completely lack is a direct, robust, physical presence in attack with pace. Our side at times looks so slow and one paced. Teams not only look at our current defence and feel they can attack it with pace and stop us pushing too high up the pitch but also at the other end, teams can do this and keep the pitch compact by pushing their own defensive line up as they're not worried about the space in behind because there's little pace in our team to expose that. At the very least Thuram would give something completely different for teams to consider.

For the price, I wouldn't be against taking advantage of the expiring contract and snapping him up. He certainly feels like someone we'd be taking a bit of a punt on but hopefully we'd have a 25 year old seemingly on an improving, upward trajectory with his prime years ahead for a steal. At worst, we've got a player who should be more than capable fulfilling a squad role across a front line consisting of a number of players who are struggling to offer consistent output anyway.

 

[Superblue 6,370]

Also if we signed Thuram, given our current injury issues and threadbare squad, maybe we can ask his dad to sign up too.

[Pizy 18,360]

Wonder why we aren’t really being linked with Joao Felix at all anymore. Just Arse and United.

[Vesper 28,676]

6 hours ago, Mhsc said:

What makes you think they’re available and affordable?

Moukoko seems like the obvious choice that we might actually be able to get in Jan. Not seeing much in the way of rumours tho.

I said nothing about January in that post, but Vlahovic is definitely in play (maybe even now), due to Juve's nightmare situ,

and the figures I have seen for some time (€80m (£70.5m) or so)

are far below the price it would take to prise Osimhen away next summer or the one after that

I would not pay more than £75-80m or so for him

£90m or so max for Osimhen, as that is over 100m euros (102m)

I would NOT pay over £50-60m or so for any other available CF

none out there atm ar worth more than that

 

there are but a handful (8, 7 if you count Mbappe as a winger, and 3 of the 8 (or 7) are rapidly ageing, and even Kane is soon 30) of truly WC CFs out there (available or not) on the planet atm

in Blue are the only under 30yo WC PURE CFs next season--- THREE
    
Kylian Mbappé  (and tbh, he is NOT a true CF, but he is the best player on the planet atm and does play at CF sometimes)
Erling Haaland
Robert Lewandowski 
Karim Benzema
Harry Kane
Victor Osimhen
Dusan Vlahovic 
Ciro Immobile

drop off

best of the rest atm

Lautaro Martínez
Gabriel Jesus
Julián Álvarez  (will be WC IMHO)

Moukoko was the potential to get there

these are the best potential teen CFs atm (well Hugo is 20yo now)

 in order of current valuation

Endrick 16  (may end up a winger)
Youssoufa Moukoko 18
Hugo Ekitiké 20
Mathys Tel  17
Benjamin Sesko 19

Edited January 8, 2023 by Vesper

[Vesper 28,676]

32 minutes ago, Superblue said:

Also if we signed Thuram, given our current injury issues and threadbare squad, maybe we can ask his dad to sign up too.

his brother

I rate this lad

[Superblue 6,370]

2 minutes ago, Vesper said:

his brother

I rate this lad

I've seen a couple of highlights of him and he actually looks pretty decent to be fair.

[Vesper 28,676]

27 minutes ago, Pizy said:

Wonder why we aren’t really being linked with Joao Felix at all anymore. Just Arse and United.

because he has huge money (AM are talking €100m or so) potential EPL flop written all over him

[MoroccanBlue 5,291]

3 hours ago, Vesper said:

as I always say

I want to finish off buying

Arsen Zakharyan

and Moukoko

grab a bloody Right-Back (madness this has not been sorted)

and then see what we do in MF (older players, not youth)

from

(removing Enzo and Bellingham)

the remotely available CMF/DMFs left that I rate:

Nicolò Barella (probably impossible atm)
Moisés Caicedo 
Roméo Lavia    
Manu Koné 
Alexis Mac Allister (scored a brace today)
Martín Zubimendi 

Bruno Guimarães (very likely will not leave, after the Tchou turn-down in buying (GRRRRRRRR), the 2nd biggest DMF choke we made in ages)

then

Mikel Merino
Amadou Onana  
Marcos Llorente  
Danilo  (Palmeiras)
Khéphren Thuram
Manuel Ugarte

side note:

fucking Citeh snatched my Argie youth possible Enzo clone prospect (Máximo Perrone) but Manuel Ugarte (pic above) is a poor man's Uruguayan version, and is also only 21yo

Zakharyan and Enzo. What a midfield. 

[Superblue 6,370]

The biggest issue with Felix for me is the same problems we have with Havertz - I can't work out his most well suited defined position and role in a team.

I don't think in the bigger teams he can be afforded a freer role like he perhaps enjoyed at Benfica (and Havertz did at Leverkusen) as their best attacking outlet at the time.

As @Vesper said, the figures being mentioned for what is nothing more than a 6 month loan and what seems to be no buy option makes it such an unattractive proposition.

[MoroccanBlue 5,291]

Maybe that is why he has stalled at Atletico and has hardly shined for the national team? Has no defined position. 

[mkh 265]

With Thuram, I'm not sure if he could really strengthen us at the moment, even for the low price. He would only block one place in the squad and would also be tied to the club until 2028-29.

I would only opt for Oshimen or Vlahovic in the forwards and bring in Moukoko free of charge in the summer.

On the wings, I hope we don't sign Felix and Mudryk under any circumstances.

Unfortunately, Leao will extend his contract soon and he is only world class as an LA, but as a ST/RA he is also quite lazy and doesn't work at the back, but he is first class up front.

For me, I would look at the following players on the wings:
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia
Moussa Diaby
Nico Williams
Yéremy Pino
Dango Ouattara

Ziyech,Pulisic,Havertz and Auba are welcome to leave Chelsea this winter or summer.
 

Broja desperately needs a loan after his recovery in the summer to get back into the swing of things.


 

[Vesper 28,676]

35 minutes ago, mkh said:

With Thuram, I'm not sure if he could really strengthen us at the moment, even for the low price. He would only block one place in the squad and would also be tied to the club until 2028-29.

I would only opt for Oshimen or Vlahovic in the forwards and bring in Moukoko free of charge in the summer.

On the wings, I hope we don't sign Felix and Mudryk under any circumstances.

Unfortunately, Leao will extend his contract soon and he is only world class as an LA, but as a ST/RA he is also quite lazy and doesn't work at the back, but he is first class up front.

 

For me, I would look at the following players on the wings:
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia
Moussa Diaby
Nico Williams
Yéremy Pino
Dango Ouattara

 

Ziyech,Pulisic,Havertz and Auba are welcome to leave Chelsea this winter or summer.
 

Broja desperately needs a loan after his recovery in the summer to get back into the swing of things.

yes my available winger list is getting rocked up

the lines through mean they are now off the board due to announcing they are not leaving (or in Leaos cases, well soon renew)

or, in Chiesa's case, looks too badly damaged atm

Bold are all that is left

Right wingers

all 4 are having good to great seasons

Moussa Diaby (lefty)
Leroy Sané  (lefty) (IF available, a big if)
Ousmane Dembélé (ambipedal)  (if available)
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (ambipedal)  (if available, but its the poison dwarf, so, like Osimhen, as HARD pull)

then the one advanced youth

Karim Adeyemi (lefty) youth (hard pull as well, he renewed this summer until 2027)

then a player who is NOT at all ready to buy now

Federico Chiesa (if fully recovered) (mostly right footed but can player either wing, seems to prefer the RW)

 

Left wingers

Rafael Leão  (if available)

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)

 

wild card perhaps

Nico Williams, who is a right footed RWer, but lately is playing on the LW, needs another year I think, to make a full call on whether to buy or not

 

you listed

Yéremy Pino
Dango Ouattara

not sure if I am sold on either as of now

there are far worse out there, so I am not slating them off, just not sure

good picks though

 

[Vesper 28,676]

52 minutes ago, mkh said:

For me, I would look at the following players on the wings:
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia
Moussa Diaby
Nico Williams
Yéremy Pino
Dango Ouattara

for wingers

I have too non conventional suggestions

Mohammed Kudus, who is a lefty and could maybe adapt to the RW postion instead of an AMF and SS

has big upside

and

Arnaut Danjuma, a righty who was played winger(mostly LW) a lot in the past before he became a CF

he is a 2-for1 type, as he is a good CF too