Chelsea Transfers

[ulsterchelsea 3,213]

1 hour ago, King Kante said:

Anyone who thinks there is going to be serious movement in the transfer market this Summer is deluded or on the crack pipe. Only transfers that will possibly happen are;

A) Players out of contract

B ) Players sent out on loan

C) Players in the last year of their contract and clubs are forced to take something. 

No way are clubs going out spending serious dollar this Summer. No chance. 

Nonsense mate. The world continues to turn, players will be signed

[Vesper 27,893]

9 hours ago, communicate said:

The problem we are talking about coutinho or James. If we can get mbappe, even if we have CHO, let's do it. 

Mbappe would cost around £500m for 5 years (wages and transfer fee)

only clubs who can afford that are same old big rotten 5 (and only 4 of those in reality) who FFP was put into place to protect, first against Berlusconi and AC Milan (and then we TRULY scared the fuck out of them back in 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 plus PSG and Shitty came along)

Real Madrid

Barca

Juve (the Agnelli family dynasty is INSANELY powerful and so under the radar nowadays)

Manure

Bayern (they would not be able to pull it off I think, unless they had a fire sale)

 

PSG (who have him anyway, LOLOLOL), Shitty, and Chels are cock-blocked by FFP, the vermin scousers are too cheap and FFP hand-tied as well, same for Atleti

Those 10 are biggest clubs in the world (AC MIlan is now a train wreck, and Spuds will come crashing back down to earth when the core ages out or is sold), and the top 5 are cemented in due to FFP

[Vesper 27,893]

20 minutes ago, Jason said:

We haven't spent obscenely big in past years and I don't see that suddenly changing now, especially with this whole coronavirus situation.

It remains to be seen how much UEFA will adjust the Financial Fair Play rules to help clubs go through the current situation, because I would be very surprised if they suspend it altogether (would defeat the purpose of the rule being introduced in the first place) but it looks like it will only affect the 2020/21 season.

We do have loads of players to sell but you know every club will suffer financial losses from the coronavirus situation and we still do not know how it will affect the clubs, even with UEFA relaxing the FFP. Clubs may well have smaller budgets than before this and we might not sell the players that we want to sell. Might end up loaning them out again. 

nothing I first posited was a big spend at all, in fact we had £6m LEFT over IF we bought those 6 at the prices they listed (I will admit those were some really low valuations they put out, but if you read on, you will see even a large, £50, 70m total increase for the 6 (5 as Ziyech is already locked in for pricing) is easily covered)

no funny money, only real hardcore actual already done sales, real  accrued cash and I alos, back when I did those massive tabulations, subtracted out to balance the books for FFP

and again that does not include any potential sales of all our numerous dregs and loanees (and then there is.......... Kante, lolol, who jacks the war chest up by 100m or so, IF we sell him before he turns 30 <<< I still want my wet panty dream swap dealio for Varane, roflmaooo)

and yes, I did also admit COVID-19 is a crazy wild card in the mix that may well blow all up for everyone, so we shall see

[Vesper 27,893]

15 minutes ago, ulsterchelsea said:

Nonsense mate. The world continues to turn, players will be signed

I agree overall, BUT

there are A LOT of lower clubs who quite likely will go completely bust, pass go and straight to administration, do not collect yer 200 dollars (to paraphrase yank Monopoly, ihihihh), go right to football death row

I mean finished, broken up and liquidated bust level 

that all remains to be seen how it shakes out

there are some truly horrific doomsday possible scenarios looming out there

[Vesper 27,893]

his BASIC wages in 2020-21 crack the million pound per week level!!!

his total compensation (including sponsorships) will be around £150m next year

the highest paid woman footballer in the world, Carli Lloyd, made £422,000 ALL year in wages

[King Kante 1,363]

 

3 hours ago, NikkiCFC said:

Reports the other day said that UEFA will suspend FFP for next season. 

What makes you think that rich owners won't use that to spend more than in normal circumstances? 

You mean rich owners like Roman who is exposed to the stock market which has seen an average crash of 30% and all the dividend payments dry up? Or do you think rich people just put the money in the bank and sit on it? 

2 hours ago, ulsterchelsea said:

Nonsense mate. The world continues to turn, players will be signed

With what money? Roman like all Billionaire's is invested, that is why they are Billionaire's, they invest and most of their wealth is tied up in assets i.e. property/stocks/companies etc. They do not just wack the money in the bank.

Oil owners may have a lot of liquidity but they have seen an absolute canning of the price of oil due to the Russia/Saudi price war. Currently, they are selling oil for close to the cost of production, I think Saudi Arabia are the only ones turning a small profit and that is because their oil is cheap to extract. Further all Arab states underpin their economies with oil money to keep their populations in check/happy and they come before buying footballers for City or PSG. That is why place such as Dubai/Qatar/Saudi Arabia have zero income tax. Thus if oil is down they have to dip into their reserves to pay for the states expenses. 

As for the Chelsea's finances, at the very least they are going to around 10% of revenue and that is best case. We may have Hazard money but that will be used to plug gaps in the finances. Lastly, how do clubs who have told their current playing staff they have to take 30-70% wage cuts that they have gone out and spent £50m on a player and are making them the clubs highest earner to boot? Sure that you go down a right treat.....

[NikkiCFC 7,819]

20 hours ago, Chelsea_firstlove said:

We have 10 players who play the same position right now.

 

We have Pulisic, CHO, Ziyach and we all still want to spend +100m on Sancho.

Selling Barkley and buying Coutinho. How is that a issue?

[MoroccanBlue 5,257]

1 hour ago, NikkiCFC said:

We have Pulisic, CHO, Ziyach and we all still want to spend +100m on Sancho.

Selling Barkley and buying Coutinho. How is that a issue?

Who’s going to match Barkley’s wages? 
 

You make it seem selling him will be easy. 

[King Kante 1,363]

13 minutes ago, MoroccanBlue said:

Who’s going to match Barkley’s wages? 
 

You make it seem selling him will be easy. 

It also applies to players like Drinkwater, Baka, Moses and Alonso. All those players are on £75,000-£110,000k a week. I cannot see anybody paying serious fees for those players now. 

After that you then also have people like Baba and Zappa who are on around £50,000 - £60,000 pw. Again, no one will be taking them other than for loan and we have to cover most of the wages. 

[Vesper 27,893]

How the world of football transfers has been turned on its head

https://theathletic.com/1721168/2020/04/04/coronavirus-football-transfers-scouts-recruitment/

April is usually the period where European clubs will finalise their transfer targets, make last trips to erase any doubts and carry out checks on behaviour and character. For the best-run clubs, deals can be all but completed in principle, even if the signing may ultimately depend on how a team finishes the existing campaign. This year, however, everything has changed.

Indeed, FIFA is examining ways to reconfigure the dates and length of the conventional summer transfer window in a manner that would allow seasons to be finished and a period of player trading to take place. The issue is particularly grave as more than 500 players in Europe’s top five leagues have contracts or loan spells that expire on June 30.

As such, budgets are up in the air and targets are changing. Clandestine suited-up meetings in hotel bars have been swapped for Zoom calls as agents and recruitment figures, according to one source, “wear a shirt and tie for the camera, with pyjama bottoms out of sight.” Some clubs appear to have abandoned their focus on future signings, after Newcastle United placed head of recruitment Steve Nickson, assistant Mick Tait and head of academy recruitment Paul Baker on the government’s furlough scheme. Staff emails have been disabled and the rules regarding to furlough insist that no work should take place during this period.

The situation at Tottenham Hotspur is not quite as extreme, as chief scout Steve Hitchen and some other recruitment staff remain employed, albeit on a reduced wage, but some of the operation has been effectively closed down. The two clubs privately argue that this summer’s transfer targets are in place yet it is undeniable that key staff have been taken out of the picture at a tumultuous time.

Elsewhere, however, the picture is rather different. The Athletic spoke to a series of sporting directors, scouts and data analysts across Europe, on the condition of anonymity, to understand how clubs are responding to the challenge, the impact on deals and what we should expect from the next transfer window.

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As Newcastle and Tottenham cut back, their rivals in the Premier League and beyond raised their eyebrows.

One Premier League scout was baffled by the decision: “With Spurs, it might be they’ve already decided — a month or two ago — who they were going to go for in discussions with Jose Mourinho. They may have decided they weren’t going to sign six or seven players, but rather two or three to add to the squad. And they may know those players already. So the work may already be done. For Newcastle, though, they are a club who probably do need five or six players every season, and you don’t know who will leave. They are one of a load of clubs near the bottom who don’t know what division they’ll be playing in next season, or who will be leaving — even those who survive in the Premier League could have to sell a few. Teams that are relegated may sign more than 10 players.”

Elsewhere, clubs have taken the reverse approach, sensing an opportunity to carry out the research that is usually hindered by the demands of a live season. Indeed, many clubs believe recruitment departments are set to become absolutely essential to the sustainability of the business, as there are now extensive doubts over future broadcasting deals and sponsorship agreements. One Championship sporting director says: “We, the recruitment guys, can now decide a club’s future more than ever. This is a crucial period to be creative, to gather information, to prepare for every eventuality and ensure the club is saving money by making the right signing not just this summer but also 18 months down the line.”

At one middling Premier League club, the head of recruitment is holding daily calls over Zoom with his analysis team and scouts.

One member of that team gave an insight familiar to many experiences shared by the general public coming to terms with home-working. He says: “It works OK but the problem is that not everyone’s internet is the same strength. When everyone starts talking at the same time, it is a nightmare. Then, there is the delay. It did become a little bit like whoever had the strongest internet would say the most. But it is working well, mostly. Zoom is also excellent for us because we can share a screen with video presentations, which means multiple people can be talked through the slide show at the same time.”

The increased time at home for recruitment figures has opened up new opportunities. One large Scottish club has used this break as their cue to introduce video analysis platforms such as Wyscout for the first time. A Premier League club is focusing on young talents in North America’s MLS after being struck by the performances of Canadian winger Alphonso Davies for Bayern Munich. At one top-six Premier League club, a recruiter has spent much of the past fortnight studying matches from the top three Japanese leagues, while also studying under-23 and under-18 teams in that country.

He says: “To step back and target a whole country like this has been a godsend. We can carry out research and study trends. Sagan Tosu, for example, have lots of young players under 24 and we have been able to examine potential.”

At another club lower down the Premier League table, scouts and analysts have divided up parts of the world and been given special projects. Clubs suspect that post-Brexit immigration rules may make it easier to sign players from South America and as such, one scout was commissioned to make a report to ensure his club are ahead of the curve in those markets. To do so, they use video analysis apps such as Scout7 and Wyscout. The process begins by watching a round of games, then the scout notes down the players who impress and then returns to do intense analysis on those individuals. This will highlight the player’s background, through studying media reports, as well as identifying agents to contact and outlining contractual situations.

The scout explains: “It means that if an agent comes on and says he has a right-back at Velez Sarsfield, we’ll have something on him already. Video work is great for initially finding players. Then you do need to go out and watch them play live. This will give us building blocks for when this is over to go and watch some of these players. Now, more than ever, recruitment is key. Transfer fees won’t be what they were after coronavirus. You won’t be spending £100 million on a player. You’re going to try to get value for money. So is there a £5 million player in Argentina who you can turn into a £25 million player in a year? There may be one or two there.”

Even in the Championship, there is bewilderment at the steps taken by certain Premier League clubs. One Championship sporting director notes: “It is a bizarre and strange decision by Newcastle. Scouting and analysis is the department that you can do most at home. We can create and make more information than ever.”

By placing recruitment staff on furlough, they are out of the game when it comes to dealing with agents. One scout still in work at a Premier League club says he is learning Spanish and has signed up to a video-analyst course during this period. He says: “It is 24-7. I’ll get calls at midnight from agents asking me about their players or from other scouts at the club telling me to have a look at X or Y.”

In scouting circles, there is an expectation that clubs who cut or furlough their scouting staff will regret the decision. One scout at a Champions League club says: “There might be a brain drain from these clubs. Scouts will remember how they have been treated. Scouts can work 60-70 hours a week to much more in many cases. If you are abroad watching game after game, it takes a lot of your life up. I know of one head of academy recruitment in the Premier League who is only on £25,000-per-year and his senior scouts are on £35,000-per-year. They are treated appallingly. These chairman will gladly refurbish boardrooms or knowingly pay over the odds for a striker but the moment they cut costs, it’s the scouts. In the lower leagues, they may only get £400 per month but they work on it like a full-time job. There’s a lack of appreciation.”

A sporting director at a central European club says: “This is typical. When English clubs are relegated, it is always the lowest-paid person in each department who gets cut. It is ridiculous. You have someone earning £50,000 per week and then you make someone earning £20,000-per-year redundant.

“It splinters the clubs and makes a mockery of the family aspect so many clubs seek to promote. I have never understood it. It is not right. But the bigger problem is still to come because if you are reducing wages for your non-playing staff, how can you then, ethically, go and spend £20 million on a second-choice left-back this summer?”

---

While clubs intensify their information-gathering, the question that lingers is whether chairmen and chief executives will have the financial capacity to act on the data. In France, for example, alarm bells are ringing after broadcasters suspended payments worth up to £100 million to clubs in the top two tiers. With social-distancing guidelines likely to remain in force for several months, Premier League and Football League clubs are fearful they will need to make sizeable repayments to television companies, with top-flight clubs informed that £762 million would be claimed back if the season fails to be completed.

So, can anybody expect the usual billion-pound bonanza in the transfer window?

The answer could be found when one German club this week received a call from a Premier League side, asking for a valuation of one of their players. The club’s sporting director explains: “The Premier League side rang me and asked for the price. They replied: ‘Great, thanks for the information but we just do not know yet if we can afford the amount. It all depends on Sky TV’.”

Another European club’s head of recruitment says: “We don’t know if we’ll be able to buy players, under what terms, and even whether we’re going to survive as a club. We are a healthy club but in the end, if we don’t play matches eventually our existence could be under threat. In terms of deals this summer, we have done all the necessary groundwork, due diligence and hard yards, so we are in good shape. But now, any conversations will need to be by video call and we don’t know what will be possible, so everything has halted. My workload in terms of meeting agents is zero.”

Other clubs are taking a more bullish approach, as top-flight English sides have sensed an opportunity to raid vulnerable clubs elsewhere in Europe. PSV Eindhoven are one club identified as possible prey while Porto, who failed to qualify for the Champions League group stage, are known on the circuit to need to raise more than £50 million — and that was before the pandemic. Valencia, meanwhile, have stated their financial model is based on sustainability and they intend to sell young talented players to finance the business.

Higher up the food chain, Europe’s elite are monitoring Arsenal’s situation, as the club appear likely to have a third year without Champions League football and were struggling to secure a new contract for star striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

They will not be the only ones targeted, with most clubs keeping a list of teams who they believe to be in financial trouble.

Another Premier League club’s recruitment analyst says: “Let’s take the view the Premier League completes the season and keeps its cash. If you are in a good financial state, you could clean up in the next window. There’s possibilities of really good deals. Maybe teams could have held onto players but not now. I don’t foresee £100 million deals but you can now pull off signings you wouldn’t have been able to do before. It is going to be really interesting. We do not rely on gate receipts but most clubs in Europe will do, so they will be much more vulnerable and fragile. Then we can say to them, ‘Do you want to sell us a £30 million player for £20 million?’. We will hold the cards. Europe will be a lower market than expected and it will be first-come-first-served. You need to find the most financially desolate clubs and take advantage.”

On English soil, Premier League clubs are zooming in on lower-league sides to exploit. Gillingham’s resources are stretched and they will be forced to accept a lower fee for promising 20-year-old centre-half Jack Tucker, who Southampton are monitoring.

A recruitment figure at one German club says: “I’ll give you an example. Two days ago, I read on Twitter that a club in Slovakia had gone into liquidation. The first thing I did was look at the squad, identify who we have seen and ask our data company to batter that squad and see who we can pillage and who might have been of interest. I wrote in our WhatsApp group, ‘I feel like a vulture’ but my boss said, ‘Clubs will be doing it to us. We will need the money’.”

One German club’s sporting director says: “From what I hear, everything is on hold. Even our contract talks have stopped with players out-of-contract this summer. We can’t do anything until we know how much money we have. We have made offers, which were not initially accepted, but we cannot now return to players with a counter-offer. Due to the ownership rules in Germany, there are far less private investors who can pump money in. We are self-sufficient and we are going to have a massive deficit which affects our ability to trade.

“We have had discussions about our target lists. We knew roughly what our budget was going to be this summer, the maximum we can spend on a player for transfer fees and salaries but it is now all on hold. We will have to sell players to make the money back we are going to lose. Then we will look at free transfers and loans. The loans will need to be a smaller percentage of wages, too. The scouting we are doing now is for free transfers. Even then, those clubs may offer these players better contracts to stay because they cannot afford replacements.”

The Premier League confidence could soon dissipate as restart dates are pushed back and the usual streams of income reduce. One Championship sporting director says: “If they do not play the end of the season, they become as vulnerable as everyone else. Then the market does, in a way, level out, as most clubs will be in the same position. So some clubs will have bigger budgets but I see it decreasing in parallel lines. It is true that the next window looks like a window of loans. If it is to be more than that, we will need a cascade. When the big clubs start to spend, it is a cascade effect.

“We need a big deal to happen to kickstart the market. It may not even be an eye-watering deal, but it will need the biggest buying clubs to feel brave and the selling clubs to be even braver. If you are thinking of selling a player at X price, you have to accept 20 per cent less and be confident you will spend 20 per cent less. Sevilla have been one of the best clubs for that over the years, often selling a little lower against public opinion, because they had the confidence of finding a player for cheaper. It is a challenge but people pay scouting departments to come up with the solutions to cope with these deficits. It is their time to shine.”

The battle for free transfers will be fierce.

One Premier League recruitment director says: “This summer is more looking at back-up options to the original plan. Every club will be in a similar boat. Free transfers will be so much more in demand. In a normal season, you will fight five clubs for a free transfer but this summer, it might be 10 clubs for the same player. It will be ferocious.”

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As clubs prepare themselves, even the busiest of sporting directors are concentrating on survival, rather than dealings. One says: “The clubs right now are sharing information about operations, legal issues and staff situations but nobody is making offers or even inquiring.”

During a usual period, one Premier League scout explains that agents are in touch on a daily basis. He says: “You’ll get agents come to you and ask you to look at their player. They’ll come back a day later and ask what you thought of them but you’ve not had a chance to start yet. They think you’re just sitting there all the time, maybe going to one game a week. They don’t understand it. Their player might be good, but you might have five or six players who are as good or better and whom you’ve done the work on.”

Now, however, realism is setting in, although several sources insisted stakeholders are still attempting to pull off deals. A top-six Premier League scout warns: “We still don’t know when travel restrictions will lift. Do we do medicals remotely and trust that? Can we even sign a foreign player if we have no guarantees as to when social distancing measures will lift? What will the insurance be like for players and clubs against the loss of earnings from future lockdowns?”

For agents accustomed to cutting deals, it is a peculiar moment.

One, who represents Premier League and Football League players, says: “A few clubs want to speak to us about players but I am taking it with a pinch of salt because I don’t even know when the season is going to finish, never mind a window opening. I find it all too up in the air. Half of me feels like it doesn’t sit right because people want to sign my players at the moment. How can anyone think of signing a footballer at a time like this? But at the same time, this is a player’s short career and we have a responsibility to them, as representatives and employers.

“As an agent, it depends on the supply and demand. If you have a striker like Erling Haaland, this does not affect him because the top clubs will always want him and will pay a lot for him. His agent is in the best position possible. Lower down, however, clubs will be clear: ‘This is the budget, this is the top earning bracket — take it or you will be out of work’. People often put the blame on players but there are so many actions by clubs that are underhand. I expect them to play on the insecurities and worries of what is happening. They will lowball players in the lower leagues because they can, rather than because they cannot afford it. It will be, ‘You are worried about not having a job, so I do not have to pay you as much’.

“I felt it had been quieter in the past couple of windows anyway and that was due to Brexit uncertainty. But this blows Brexit out of the park — and we still have that all to come, too. The Premier League will be ringfenced to a degree but the big issue will be the Championship. Look at Luton, who talked about how they can’t compete financially as they run a steady ship. A lot of clubs were already spending more than they should, particularly if you study wages as a percentage of revenue. Some clubs are in a whole world of trouble.”

One non-League club have placed their players on furlough and cut wages without prior agreement from the star player and that player’s agent now intends to force a free transfer through this summer, spurning a potential six-figure windfall for the club.

Another leading agent has reconciled himself to a quieter summer. He says: “I know some clubs in the Premier League are saying that a minimum of 50 per cent has been wiped off the budget they planned to spend. Transfer fees and salaries will be lower. People are talking, though. I’m talking to players and clubs about deals. But nobody can say right now, ‘This is the deal, let’s close it’. No way. It is a huge problem. Clubs have their targets and they have not changed; they just cannot make deals. It is impossible. I have agreed one deal in principle but there is no decision on salary or transfer fee, so in reality it is nothing.”

Agents, just like clubs, players, and the rest of the world, can only watch on and wait.

[NikkiCFC 7,819]

1 hour ago, MoroccanBlue said:

Who’s going to match Barkley’s wages? 
 

You make it seem selling him will be easy. 

I am sure many PL teams would be happy to give Ross 100k per week and 35m to us.

[MoroccanBlue 5,257]

9 minutes ago, NikkiCFC said:

I am sure many PL teams would be happy to give Ross 100k per week and 35m to us.

[Pizy 18,090]

Like many British players before him, Grealish would get nowhere near the hype or attention were he any other nationality. He's a good, solid player right now but nothing more. Plus, he's an annoying looking twat with a 1940's Nazi haircut and he wears his socks like a cunt.

I'd be delighted if United but him for huge money instead of Maddison who is much better.

I'd take Countinho over Grealish 10 times out of 10 if we are indeed interested. As has been mentioned, though, I haven't seen any of the usual English journalists linking us. Only Spanish press who have a vested interest in wanting Countinho out of Barca for huge money.

 

[OneMoSalah 8,692]

4 hours ago, NikkiCFC said:

I am sure many PL teams would be happy to give Ross 100k per week and 35m to us.

You think so? Even more so now? I severely doubt that. Why would any club spend 35m for a player who hasnt scored more than 5 goals at club level in one season since 2016-17 prior to this COVID situation, never mind now? I mean I still find it daft we tried to buy him for 35m in the summer window the year before we got him in January. 

I get hes English but players such as him and even Danny Drinkwater arent going to go for anywhere from here for near those sort of fees because quite frankly they are shite or dont do it often enough. Simple as that. I mean I bet Villa are thinking why the fuck did we actually loan Drinkwater instead of recruiting someone else (which was suprising as theyve bought some good players in recent times).

Your crazy if you think we will get anywhere near that fee for Ross imo. Even more so with all the uncertainty around the PL and clubs budgets for when the football season kicks off again. This is why shifting a collection of these duds in the loan army and squad is going to be even more difficult now because what clubs gonna be going okay lets spend 35m on Ross Barkley/20-25m on Danny Drinkwater/however much for Batshuayi etc. Ok they might have suitors but again whos gonna pay the full price for them when a lot of clubs are in delicate positions due to this COVID-19, trying to keep their clubs running, paying all their staff particularly ones who arent multimillionaire PL footballers and whatever else. 

 

[Vesper 27,893]

40 minutes ago, OneMoSalah said:

You think so? Even more so now? I severely doubt that. Why would any club spend 35m for a player who hasnt scored more than 5 goals at club level in one season since 2016-17 prior to this COVID situation, never mind now? I mean I still find it daft we tried to buy him for 35m in the summer window the year before we got him in January. 

I get hes English but players such as him and even Danny Drinkwater arent going to go for anywhere from here for near those sort of fees because quite frankly they are shite or dont do it often enough. Simple as that. I mean I bet Villa are thinking why the fuck did we actually loan Drinkwater instead of recruiting someone else (which was suprising as theyve bought some good players in recent times).

Your crazy if you think we will get anywhere near that fee for Ross imo. Even more so with all the uncertainty around the PL and clubs budgets for when the football season kicks off again. This is why shifting a collection of these duds in the loan army and squad is going to be even more difficult now because what clubs gonna be going okay lets spend 35m on Ross Barkley/20-25m on Danny Drinkwater/however much for Batshuayi etc. Ok they might have suitors but again whos gonna pay the full price for them when a lot of clubs are in delicate positions due to this COVID-19, trying to keep their clubs running, paying all their staff particularly ones who arent multimillionaire PL footballers and whatever else. 

 

I will not be super unhappy of Barks stays, he seems to have turned a corner a bit and can be a real weapon when he is on his game, I think he has learnt from his mistakes of recent vintage.

I would MUCH prefer Grealish, but we have no clue what is going to happen due to the virus situ and also Coutinho coming into the picture if all these rumours are to be given any credibility at all..

As for another team (once fiscally cured from COVID-19) paying around £30-35m for him, hell yes they will. A 26yo, more than decent attacking ENGLISH MFer? I say that is in the ballpark. He would tear shit up on a Sheffield United side, would add a real forward projection dimension, same for SOTON.

[NikkiCFC 7,819]

1 hour ago, OneMoSalah said:

You think so? Even more so now? I severely doubt that. Why would any club spend 35m for a player who hasnt scored more than 5 goals at club level in one season since 2016-17 prior to this COVID situation, never mind now? I mean I still find it daft we tried to buy him for 35m in the summer window the year before we got him in January. 

I get hes English but players such as him and even Danny Drinkwater arent going to go for anywhere from here for near those sort of fees because quite frankly they are shite or dont do it often enough. Simple as that. I mean I bet Villa are thinking why the fuck did we actually loan Drinkwater instead of recruiting someone else (which was suprising as theyve bought some good players in recent times).

Your crazy if you think we will get anywhere near that fee for Ross imo. Even more so with all the uncertainty around the PL and clubs budgets for when the football season kicks off again. This is why shifting a collection of these duds in the loan army and squad is going to be even more difficult now because what clubs gonna be going okay lets spend 35m on Ross Barkley/20-25m on Danny Drinkwater/however much for Batshuayi etc. Ok they might have suitors but again whos gonna pay the full price for them when a lot of clubs are in delicate positions due to this COVID-19, trying to keep their clubs running, paying all their staff particularly ones who arent multimillionaire PL footballers and whatever else. 

 

Yes I do think. Tbh I do not know how will COVID19 effect clubs so will put that aside...

Also Barkley since season 16/17... In 17/18 he did not play at all. In 18/19 season 3 goals and 5 assist in the PL (just 1241 minutes). Goal or assist on every 155 minutes. Very solid. He is far from shit.

19/20 3 goals 4 assist (1125 minutes all comps). Again very solid in limited time. In regular full season 3000+ minutes Barkley would give you 10+10 season. But after all Ross is just squad player for us. No issues having him as one of the 6 midfielders. 

You forgot he is regular England international?  He scored 4 goals in the last 8 games for ENG. As you mentioned English players cost more. Every midfielder who plays for England costs a lot. Winks, Dele, Rice, OX, Maddison, Grealish...

Do not put Barkley and Drinkwater in same bracket. Ross is completely different level.

How much Liverpool paid for OX? Leicester for Ayoze? Everton for Sigurdsson? Arsenal for Xhaka? Everton for Iwobi?

I do rate Ross a lot, it is on Frank to make him one of the best midfielders in the league. But not sure he can do that and it looks like he has different plans so we can sell him for a lot of money.

[Vesper 27,893]

Chelsea are ahead of Premier League rivals Manchester United and Arsenal in the race to sign Stoke City defender Nathan Collins, according to reports.

https://metro.co.uk/2020/04/05/chelsea-leading-man-utd-arsenal-transfer-race-sign-nathan-collins-12512818/

Collins, 18, is regarded as one of the most talented and promising players outside of the Premier League. The teenager made his first-team debut at the start of the season and has gone on to feature 12 times for Stoke, who are currently 17th in the Championship. Manchester United expressed interest in signing Collins last year but he ended up signing a new contract at Stoke as the Red Devils stalled over launching a move.

snip

[NikkiCFC 7,819]

23 minutes ago, Vesper said:

Chelsea are ahead of Premier League rivals Manchester United and Arsenal in the race to sign Stoke City defender Nathan Collins, according to reports.

Ooh ok then! Let them have Sancho