Chelsea Transfers

[Superblue 6,370]

57 minutes ago, Vesper said:

Just to keep it all short and sweet

here are my must buys:

GK  Jan Oblak  or Giorgi Mamardashvili or Illan Meslier (likely it will have to be Meslier of those 3, unless Oblak demands to come, or Valencia come way down from Mamar's 100m release clause, neither of which are likely to happen)

CB (right footed) Jurrien Timber as we need speed speed speed (unless it has to be homegrown, then either Nathan Collins or Taylor Harwood-Bellis) 

CMF/DMF Roméo Lavia or Rice OR if we want Kante style (we are NOT doing both, not this summer) Nicolò Barella or Caicedo or Manu Kone

AMF/No. 10 creative    Arsen Zakharyan (no one lelse interests me)

RW Mousa Diaby or if not him, then Sane

CF Victor Osimhen (only one I truly rate) or Dušan Vlahović or IF it has to be a homegrown, then Toney

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Gvardiol is very likely not moving until his summer 2024 release clause kicks in, barring someone (not us) paying 110 to 120m quid (and if Badi and Colwill both come good, we do not need Gvardiol, just like we likely do not need Rafael Leão at LW, as we now have Mudryk and Sterling there, plus both Gvardiol and Leão are insanely expensive, and I can only see one more crazy expensive (as in 100m) buy atm, and that will be Osimhen, if we can pull it off)

and to sum it all up

Jude Bellingham is probably a pipedream for so many reasons, sorry

For me personally, I still think we need to upgrade Kepa as one of the priority positions.

Centre back I personally think we can pass on for a season, so long as Fofana comes back this season and gets a run of games and stays fit. We could sell Koulibaly potentially in the summer and still have Thiago Silva, Badiashile, Chalobah, Fofana and possibly Colwill. I get the idea of long term replacing Thiago Silva but I do still feel if he can stay fit then Fofana is that guy and given the investment made in him and his age, he still needs to be given every opportunity to come good. It's a very different situation to KK who really needed to hit the ground running with his age.

Centre mid for me is the priority position to find a partner for Enzo and whilst I personally wouldn't be against Rice, I think Lavia (assuming Southampton get relegated) and Kone would be much cheaper options for that role. Having bought Enzo and sold Jorginho, I'd be more inclined now to keep Kante for a year or two more and just manage his game time. I still wouldn't discount buying Zakaria for the right price either.

I'd like to get Zakharyan but as mentioned earlier I think the club will explore extending Felix's loan. Bearing in mind Nkunku is also set to join.

I get the right wing want but I don't think it's as high on the list as other positions.

Striker, I don't see anyone currently better than Osimhen but he'll cost an absolute fortune. I think he'd very much depend on both outgoings and what other players/positions we'd be looking at. It may also depend a little on where we plan to play Nkunku and if Felix is retained.

I think if a keeper and centre mid could be picked up at a reasonable price, we could look at him as our one 'big' transfer of the summer in terms of price (well number two I guess if including Nkunku).

 

[Vesper 28,786]

4 minutes ago, DDA said:

After what I just saw of Onana on MoTD, get that lad here.... skill, strength, passion and desire. 

 

Perfect.

 

 

I tried to tell peeps he was nothing like they were thinking he was

I failed, lol, was not forceful enough, as I was all freaked over Enzo, etc

[Vesper 28,786]

17 minutes ago, Superblue said:

For me personally, I still think we need to upgrade Kepa as one of the priority positions.

Centre back I personally think we can pass on for a season, so long as Fofana comes back this season and gets a run of games and stays fit. We could sell Koulibaly potentially in the summer and still have Thiago Silva, Badiashile, Chalobah, Fofana and possibly Colwill. I get the idea of long term replacing Thiago Silva but I do still feel if he can stay fit then Fofana is that guy and given the investment made in him and his age, he still needs to be given every opportunity to come good. It's a very different situation to KK who really needed to hit the ground running with his age.

Centre mid for me is the priority position to find a partner for Enzo and whilst I personally wouldn't be against Rice, I think Lavia (assuming Southampton get relegated) and Kone would be much cheaper options for that role. Having bought Enzo and sold Jorginho, I'd be more inclined now to keep Kante for a year or two more and just manage his game time. I still wouldn't discount buying Zakaria for the right price either.

I'd like to get Zakharyan but as mentioned earlier I think the club will explore extending Felix's loan. Bearing in mind Nkunku is also set to join.

I get the right wing want but I don't think it's as high on the list as other positions.

Striker, I don't see anyone currently better than Osimhen but he'll cost an absolute fortune. I think he'd very much depend on both outgoings and what other players/positions we'd be looking at. It may also depend a little on where we plan to play Nkunku and if Felix is retained.

I think if a keeper and centre mid could be picked up at a reasonable price, we could look at him as our one 'big' transfer of the summer in terms of price (well number two I guess if including Nkunku).

 

Keeper and a DMF and a striker are musts

some points

once Ziyech leaves, the only true RWer we have left is Noni, and once Puli and CHO leave, Sterling and Mudryk are the only other wingers we have and neither are RWers, that is why I am all over Mousa Diaby (or, 2nd option, Sane,, etc)

IF (a massive IF) Wes Fofana fully recovers, sure then, a right footed CB can wait, but given the dodgy ones we have besides Thiago, it's a risk, KK is dire AF and Trevoh is more like Everton quality, plus we need speed, and so Jurrien Timber fills that bill, he is the perfect add for me (and remember, once Colwill sticks, if he does, I am done with wanting Gvardiol, as we do not need 3 left footed CBs, Citeh's having 3 aside)

Zakharyan is a different kettle of fish from anything we have or are getting (officially), he is a creative number 10, more like a potential de Bruyne, not a slashing goal scorer SS/AMF type like Felix or Nkunku. His type is so rare, and he is cheap AF, that si why I am going bonkers that we cannot get around the Putin cunt-ups atm, that fucking POS fascist genocidal twat.

 

and yes, Osimhen will be crazy expensive, but he is likely well worth it, and is the only one at that price level I am suggesting for any other position.

I gave up on Bellingham, and we do not need Leao, and hopefully do not need Gvardiol, and those are the only others at the 100m and above range who are moving atm (Mbappe and Håland not counted, lol, they are not coming here when they do leave)

 

 

 

 

Edited February 4, 2023 by Vesper

[Mário César 975]

for me, to be honest,

sell: kepa or mendy, azpi, koulibaly, RLC, Mount, Gallegher, Pulisic, CHO, Ziyech, Havertz, Auba 

[Vesper 28,786]

How were Chelsea allowed to spend so much in the January transfer window?

https://theathletic.com/4142276/2023/02/01/Chelsea-transfer-window-spending-finances-why-how/

Chelsea’s historic January transfer window drew to a close in the early hours of Wednesday morning, when they confirmed a British record deal for the Argentina World Cup winner Enzo Fernandez.

And, after an unprecedented winter window in which they signed seven senior players for over £280million, there is one question dominating the sport.

How are Chelsea able to embark on such a spending spree while abiding by  UEFA’s Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations?

The answer, as you might expect, is complicated.

The Athletic explains below.

---

How are Chelsea planning to make it work?

Chelsea supporters have been given a crash course in amortisation over the past month, as Todd Boehly and Clearlake have pushed the boundaries of what is possible with player contract lengths.

By signing Mykhailo Mudryk to a deal that runs until June 2031, for example, they enable his €70million (£62m) initial transfer fee to be spread across eight years on the books rather than a more conventional four or five, thereby greatly reducing his yearly cost on the accounts.

Fernandez, Badiashile, Madueke and summer signing Wesley Fofana are on similarly long deals. This amortisation trick – which could end up backfiring if the players on these super-sized contracts fall short of expectations on the pitch – is one of the conditions Boehly and Clearlake have exploited in order to maximise their opportunity to front-load the level of spending that most elite clubs would stretch over three or four summer windows, but not the only one.

Another springs from the other half of how football clubs report transfers in their accounts. Transfer fees for purchased players might be amortised over the length of their contracts, but transfer fees for players sold are booked immediately in one lump sum (minus their remaining amortised cost on the books).

These differing accounting practices can make it surprisingly easy for clubs to significantly offset or even completely balance several high-profile signings with as few as one reasonably-sized sale in their annual results – particularly if the player or players sold are already fully amortised or academy graduates, who represent pure profit in the books.

 

Mudryk joined Chelsea in the January window (Photo: Getty Images)

Does this work?

An important example from recent Chelsea history: for the financial year ending June 2022, despite signing Romelu Lukaku in a disastrous £97.5m deal from Inter Milan, the club actually made a huge profit from player sales – estimated by respected football finance analyst Swiss Ramble to be £160m – due to the departures of Tammy Abraham to Roma, Kurt Zouma to West Ham, Fikayo Tomori to AC Milan and Marc Guehi to Crystal Palace, among others.

Chelsea’s overall financial results for 2021-22 are not yet public. The club has until March 31 to file their accounts with Companies House. But in past years big profits from player sales have been enough to lift the club into the black overall, despite match day and commercial revenue that consistently lags behind their Premier League rivals – most recently in 2019-20, when a £143m profit from player sales contributed to an overall pre-tax profit of £36m.

What is Chelsea’s current state of play?

Swiss Ramble estimates that Chelsea’s pre-tax profit for 2021-22 will be £19m. Between those two years in the black is a huge £156m loss in 2020-21 partly resulting from the mammoth spending spree of summer 2020 that brought Kai Havertz, Timo Werner, Ben Chilwell, Hakim Ziyech and Edouard Mendy to Stamford Bridge.

FFP has traditionally only allowed clubs to lose up to €30m (£26.3m) over a three-year monitoring period, though a number of accommodations were made in recognition of the impact of COVID on club revenues.

Back in September UEFA listed Chelsea as one of 18 clubs who “were able to technically fulfil the break-even requirement thanks to the application of the COVID-19 emergency measures and/or because they benefited from historical positive break-even results,” adding that further financial information had been requested and the relevant clubs “will be monitored closely in the upcoming period”.

UEFA also reminded Chelsea that those particular COVID accommodations no longer apply, but FFP is changing in ways that make Boehly and Clearlake’s current spending more viable. From 2023-24 the allowable loss limit is being doubled from €30m to €60m, which would include the 2022-23 season as the third year of the monitoring period. Clubs judged to be in good financial health will also be granted a further €30m in allowable losses over a three-year monitoring period, meaning that Chelsea could be permitted to lose as much as €90m over three years – triple the old limit.

Prior to deadline day, when Chelsea finally agreed a British record deal for Fernandez, Swiss Ramble estimated a €96m loss for Chelsea over the three years up to 2022-23, only slightly over the €90m allowable loss limit. He also estimated the club’s squad cost at 92 per cent of revenue and profit from player sales; UEFA has ruled that all clubs must bring this ratio down to 90 per cent for 2023-24, then 80 per cent in 2024-25 and 70 per cent in 2025-26.

 

Chelsea finally secured a deal for Fernandez in the early hours of Wednesday (Photo: Getty Images)

Should Chelsea have any concerns?

Recent history suggests Chelsea have relatively little to fear even from being found in breach of FFP. UEFA’s latest round of punishments, announced in September, amounted to a list of fines – of which only a small percentage was to be paid immediately with the rest conditional on future compliance.

You could argue that is the equivalent of a speeding ticket for an ambitious club determined to spend big.

Boehly has publicly insisted on numerous occasions that Chelsea have FFP in mind, but it’s clear that he and Clearlake are pushing as close to the limits as possible in order to try to build a squad capable of consistently competing for the biggest domestic and European trophies, perhaps mindful that financial and regulatory conditions in the coming years may not be so favourable for this scale of investment.

Is this level of spending likely to continue?

UEFA have already moved to close the amortisation loophole for future transfer windows; even if a player is signed on a seven or eight-year contract from the summer onwards, their transfer fee will be spread over no more than five years in any FFP calculation.

The steadily tightening squad cost control rule will also put pressure on Chelsea and their rivals to be more disciplined when handing out lucrative salaries to players and coaches.

Then there is also the £60m in annual commercial income that Chelsea will lose from next season, as a result of the end of a £40m-a-year deal with main shirt sponsor Three and the early termination of a £20m-a-year deal with sleeve sponsor Whalefin. Neither have yet been replaced, the football sponsor market is less than inviting right now, and the clock is ticking before the process of manufacturing next season’s kit must begin.

Most significantly of all, Chelsea are currently facing the real prospect of playing the 2023-24 season without Champions League football, and perhaps without European participation of any kind. That was absolutely not in the initial Boehly-Clearlake business plan, and would have a significant impact on the club’s transfer ambitions over the next two windows.

 

Todd Boehly completed a Chelsea takeover in May 2022 (Photo: Getty Images)

This is where it is important to note the very defined profile of player that Chelsea have targeted in this January window: players aged 23 or under who have, to varying degrees, flashed elite ability and can either blossom into key components of the next great team at Stamford Bridge or grow their resale value in the coming years.

If enough of them prove to be positive assets on or off the pitch, nine-figure transfer splurges will not be required in future windows.

In any case, no one should expect this level of transfer spending to continue indefinitely. Boehly is not an oligarch and Clearlake Capital are not a sovereign wealth fund. The money being invested is drawn from private equity, and with it comes an expectation of an eventual positive return – either in the form of yearly profits or, more likely, a significant increase in Chelsea’s value that can be realised if the club is sold on.

 

[Vesper 28,786]

Chelsea are not yet a football team – but don’t expect much patience

https://theathletic.com/4154333/2023/02/04/Chelsea-transfers-patience/

“I haven’t played against any of my new team-mates and I haven’t had the chance to chat with any of them yet, but I do know who they are” — Enzo Fernandez on Wednesday.

As they walked onto the Stamford Bridge pitch to face Fulham on Friday night, Chelsea did, at first glance, look like a team. They walked in a neat line out of the tunnel all wearing the same kit. After the customary opponent handshakes, they engaged in all the usual hi-fives, hugs and back slaps you might expect from a group of footballers with familiarity and good chemistry. Immediately before kick-off, they even arranged themselves into a formation which, presumably, had been discussed and agreed beforehand.

But once the first whistle blew, the truth quickly became apparent. Chelsea are not a team right now. They are, in fact, a jarring amalgamation of three teams: one of longer-serving players, some of whom appear to have had their confidence worn down by the relentless instability of the past year; one of new players bought by Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital as recently as this week; one of players steadily working their way back from various injuries.

At times it was painful to watch these three disparate groups try to forge solid connections on the fly in the heat of a proper London derby. Every loose pass, crossed wire or missed run was seized upon by a settled, well-drilled Fulham side eager to spoil and scrap. Visiting coach Marco Silva did not use any of his three January signings at Stamford Bridge; Graham Potter, in contrast, fielded a debutant for the sixth consecutive match, a Chelsea record.

That man was Fernandez, tasked with orchestrating a group of near-strangers a little more than 48 hours after being unveiled at Cobham as Chelsea’s eighth signing of an unprecedented January and the Premier League’s most expensive-ever import. For 45 minutes he did it remarkably well, snapping into well-timed tackles and finding quick, progressive passes that sparked some of the hosts’ brightest moments.

“I thought he handled himself magnificently,” Potter said of Fernandez afterwards. “It was a tough game and you can see his quality, you can see what he will bring to the team. It’s not easy for him or for us because he’s not been with us that long. I think you’ll see how good he can be and how much he can influence the team, so we’re excited with him.”

Fulham countered with pace and purpose whenever opportunities presented themselves but were repeatedly frustrated by Benoit Badiashile and Thiago Silva — the only reliable partnership anywhere on the pitch for Chelsea. Beyond them, the successes Potter could point to within the collective muddle tended to be individual in nature: Kepa Arrizabalaga making big saves, Conor Gallagher growing in stature and threat, Noni Madueke and David Datro Fofana both causing the visitors problems from the substitutes’ bench.

“I’m confident with the potential we have, with the ability that is in the group,” Potter added. “What we need to do now is gel the team. That’s the challenge.”

Some of Potter’s decisions towards that end raise questions. His starting XI contained two players, Reece James and Mykhailo Mudryk, who were only intended to last 60 minutes, but the Ukraine international only played the first half before being withdrawn due to heavy legs and, his head coach afterwards revealed, the lingering effects of a heavy cold that had affected him all week at Cobham.

Hakim Ziyech had arguably endured even more disruption to his preparation than Mudryk or Fernandez, having been convinced as late as Tuesday evening that he would be allowed to join Paris Saint-Germain on loan for the remainder of the season before administrative failures scuppered the deal. His body language on the pitch at Stamford Bridge allayed concerns about his frame of mind, but did his selection hint that Potter never wanted him to go in the first place?

Potter’s faith in others went unrewarded against Fulham. Correct decisions on the pitch are proving very difficult for Mason Mount to find right now, just as his contract negotiations with Boehly and Clearlake reach a crucial stage. Kai Havertz looks less and less like a viable No 9 with every passive performance and over-complicated his best scoring chance of the game.

Fulham relished in shutting down Chelsea’s expensive new toys as Boehly and Clearlake co-founder Behdad Eghbali watched sullenly from the executive level. No football club in the world has a bigger target on their back in the eyes of rivals and so many people are willing them to fail after such extraordinary transfer spending.

Overcoming that further complicates Potter’s task of turning this expensively assembled group of talented footballers into a real team. West Ham away next Saturday will herald the return of another new component in the form of Joao Felix. Beyond that lies the first of two battles against Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League, which almost certainly represents Chelsea’s final chance to salvage any tangible success from this season.

Winning on the pitch is harder than winning in the transfer market. Right now, Chelsea look like a lavishly extravagant thought exercise in how to conclusively prove the old football adage that you ‘can’t buy a goal’. It is obvious Potter needs time to mould them into more than that, but it is also inevitable that patience — both in the stands and in the boardroom — will be more limited because of the last two transfer windows.

Edited February 4, 2023 by Vesper

[Vesper 28,786]

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang ‘will fight for Chelsea place’ despite Champions League cut, says Graham Potter

https://theathletic.com/4154149/2023/02/03/aubameyang-Chelsea-potter-future/

Chelsea boss Graham Potter has admitted it was a “tough” decision to leave Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang out of his Champions League squad, but insists the striker still has a role to play at Stamford Bridge.

Aubameyang became a high-profile casualty of Chelsea’s January transfer spending as he was cut from a 25-man list for the knockout stages to make way for British record signing Enzo Fernandez, as well as fellow newcomers Mykhailo Mudryk and Joao Felix.

The former Arsenal striker joined Chelsea from Barcelona on a two-year deal last September, reuniting with then-boss Thomas Tuchel, but has scored just one goal in 11 Premier League appearances.

Aubameyang, who had started all six of Chelsea’s group-stage games, appears to face an uncertain future after his omission, but asked if there was a way back, Potter told Sky Sports after Friday’s goalless draw with Fulham: “Yeah of course.

“I had to explain. It was a tough call as he’s done nothing wrong. But Pierre’s with us, he’s with us for the rest of the season and he’ll be fighting for his place.”

Champions League rules mean that clubs can only add three players to their squads for the knockout rounds that were not in their initial list from September.

David Datro Fofana, Noni Madueke, Andrey Santos, Gabriel Slonina and Benoit Badiashile all arrived in January but were also left out of Potter’s European selection, with Borussia Dortmund next up on in a last-16 first-leg fixture on February 15.

Fernandez impressed on his debut, even though he was unable to help his team-mates find a breakthrough.

Summing up his performance, Potter said: “Really good, considering he not been in the country very long.

“I think you could see flashes of his quality, his personality is there. He’ll get better as we work with him.”

The Chelsea boss, who said Mudryk had been substituted after a recent “heavy cold”, admitted a new-look side lacked cohesion, but felt there were positive things to build on.

“There’s disappointment because we didn’t win, of course, and we could all sense the excitement and the positivity, there was definitely that in the team,” he added. “You have to credit Fulham because they’re a well-organised defensive unit.

“We did quite well at times and at other times you could see the lack of connection you’d expect from a team that’s got a few guys coming back from injury or being integrated into the team.

“It is where we’re at at the moment, but things to take forward and things to improve. Sometimes you need that connection, that understanding to sharpen up decisions and executions.”

[Simon1991 225]

2 hours ago, Vesper said:

 

GK  Jan Oblak  or Giorgi Mamardashvili or Illan Meslier (likely it will have to be Meslier of those 3, unless Oblak demands to come, or Valencia come way down from Mamar's 100m release clause, neither of which are likely to happen)

 

 

I usually agree with most of your must buy, but you probably got it wrong on Meslier. He's really not that good, great reflexes on his line but that's about it IMO. I've seen him commit many direct mistakes, awful footwork too (very De gea-esque).  Does not pass the eye test for me, and i stumbled accross the below stat backing that up. Have too say i was not surprised at all. 

One of my fav young keepers out there is R. Sanchez, but i would not mind us riding on Kepa's form for next season, and assess Slonina then.

 

Edited February 5, 2023 by Simon1991

[Vesper 28,786]

30 minutes ago, Simon1991 said:

I usually agree with most of your must buy, but you probably got it wrong on Meslier. He's really not that good, great reflexes on his line but that's about it IMO. I've seen him commit many direct mistakes, awful footwork too (very De gea-esque).  Does not pass the eye test for me, and i stumbled accross the below stat backing that up. Have too say i was not surprised at all. 

One of my fav young keepers out there is R. Sanchez, but i would not mind us riding on Kepa's form for next season, and assess Slonina then.

 

thanks for the info

I will look into into much deeper

Meslier as a suggestion is a new thing for me

I have wanted Oblak for years

and Mamardashvili is one of the best new keepers I have see in ages

I would much rather buy Sanchez over Raya, who is too short

[Superblue 6,370]

1 hour ago, Vesper said:

Keeper and a DMF and a striker are musts

some points

once Ziyech leaves, the only true RWer we have left is Noni, and once Puli and CHO leave, Sterling and Mudryk are the only other wingers we have and neither are RWers, that is why I am all over Mousa Diaby (or, 2nd option, Sane,, etc)

IF (a massive IF) Wes Fofana fully recovers, sure then, a right footed CB can wait, but given the dodgy ones we have besides Thiago, it's a risk, KK is dire AF and Trevoh is more like Everton quality, plus we need speed, and so Jurrien Timber fills that bill, he is the perfect add for me (and remember, once Colwill sticks, if he does, I am done with wanting Gvardiol, as we do not need 3 left footed CBs, Citeh's having 3 aside)

Zakharyan is a different kettle of fish from anything we have or are getting (officially), he is a creative number 10, more like a potential de Bruyne, not a slashing goal scorer SS/AMF type like Felix or Nkunku. His type is so rare, and he is cheap AF, that si why I am going bonkers that we cannot get around the Putin cunt-ups atm, that fucking POS fascist genocidal twat.

 

and yes, Osimhen will be crazy expensive, but he is likely well worth it, and is the only one at that price level I am suggesting for any other position.

I gave up on Bellingham, and we do not need Leao, and hopefully do not need Gvardiol, and those are the only others at the 100m and above range who are moving atm (Mbappe and Håland not counted, lol, they are not coming here when they do leave)

 

 

 

 

Completely understand all of that but add Nkunku to that mix and you're looking at another £300m or more. I think if we can move players out, I could see Nkunku plus two, maybe three of those positions being filled so with that being said what would the priority be. 

I would say a keeper and central midfielder are the obvious two and above everything I can see these being filled. Striker is then the next one but I think a lot will depend on what the plans are with Nkunku and Felix.

Hopefully the club now has more time with the new staff to start scouring the world and scouting a couple of players perhaps less known who could come here and do a job. 

[Bumtrubbler 6]

we must get a proper striker. end of. 

[Liuxas 121]

I hope we will not gonna buy strikers and no more players from Serie A . Its must be lesson from us that most of the Serie A players which Chelsea bought failed at Chelsea. If we need striker we should target Julian Alvarez from City i think he is hidden gem and we might get him because i don't think he always want to be in Halland shadow. Also a lot of people saying about Lavia from Southampton but i don't see anything special in him. In my opinion we need 4 more players in summer. A Goalkeeper, proper DM, Striker and Center Defender after we sell KK.

[Artandur 939]

14 minutes ago, Liuxas said:

I hope we will not gonna buy strikers and no more players from Serie A . Its must be lesson from us that most of the Serie A players which Chelsea bought failed at Chelsea. If we need striker we should target Julian Alvarez from City i think he is hidden gem and we might get him because i don't think he always want to be in Halland shadow. Also a lot of people saying about Lavia from Southampton but i don't see anything special in him. In my opinion we need 4 more players in summer. A Goalkeeper, proper DM, Striker and Center Defender after we sell KK.

We might need a lot more, depending on outgoings. At least we have Colwill incoming for that CB spot though

[Vesper 28,786]

12 minutes ago, Liuxas said:

I hope we will not gonna buy strikers and no more players from Serie A . Its must be lesson from us that most of the Serie A players which Chelsea bought failed at Chelsea. If we need striker we should target Julian Alvarez from City i think he is hidden gem and we might get him because i don't think he always want to be in Halland shadow. Also a lot of people saying about Lavia from Southampton but i don't see anything special in him. In my opinion we need 4 more players in summer. A Goalkeeper, proper DM, Striker and Center Defender after we sell KK.

Osimhen is in Serie A and he is special, with Vlahovic of Juve likely the 2 best CF out there who is actually available. Thus, out the door goes your entire construct there IMHO.

Citeh is never going to sell Alvarez to us.

If you don't rate Lavia (which is a legit stance) who do you want for DMF? 

As for the disastrous KK buy, good luck selling him whilst he is on £295K PW for 4 years. Ughhhhhh. Nightmarish. 

[Hamilton 2,120]

11 hours ago, DDA said:

After what I just saw of Onana on MoTD, get that lad here.... skill, strength, passion and desire. 

 

Perfect.

 

 

Like I said when we showed interest, he has many attributes we lack in midfield. 
 

anyone know the reason he rejected us?

[ulsterchelsea 3,221]

Correct me if I'm wrong but Nkunku hasn't been officially announced right? Why is that out of interest. The world and his wife are talking about it being done and agreed so why it not announced?

[Artandur 939]

8 minutes ago, ulsterchelsea said:

Correct me if I'm wrong but Nkunku hasn't been officially announced right? Why is that out of interest. The world and his wife are talking about it being done and agreed so why it not announced?

My guess: Since we havent signed him on loan like Gusto, but just found a pre-agreement for the summer, the player isn't really associated with us yet in any way. Meaning we can't show him in our jersey, interview him or any of that stuff. All we could do is two lines of "We have found an agreement etc..", which probably isn't the grandiose type of announcement the owners have in mind.

[Vesper 28,786]

• Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang will 100% leave Chelsea in 2023

https://caughtoffside.substack.com/i/100973370/Chelsea

Graham Potter on Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang out of Chelsea UCL squad: “Pierre has done nothing wrong at all, no problem. It’s just unfortunate and Aubameyang will fight for his place until the rest of the season.”

There was already talk of Aubameyang leaving in January, but it was impossible for Barcelona to proceed due to FIFA rules, they like the player but nothing else because of official rules. I think Aubameyang will 100% leave Chelsea in 2023, the plan is clear.

📰 Chelsea are ready to join the race for Napoli striker Victor Osimhen in the summer transfer window (Mirror)

Edited February 5, 2023 by Vesper