Chelsea Transfers

[Pizy 18,985]

I’m just too concerned with the midfield and even the striker situation at the moment to stress about CB’s. If we signed two top quality midfielders it’ll help mask the other issues.

But yeah, looking at the squad overall at this moment in time it’s hard to see this team even sniffing top 6, never mind pushing for the top 4. The midfield is nearly nonexistent when it comes to proven quality after Enzo and we’d be 100% reliant on wingers/attacking midfielders and a totally unproven young striker for goals.

We are still about 4 signings away from having a squad that’s capable of being in the mix. Two midfielders, a striker, an maybe a keeper or CB if some opportunity presents itself.

[Gundalf 806]

8 minutes ago, King Kante said:

We're going to need a CB. I thought this before Fofana's injuries. I recognise we have the numbers but we have to remember we have fecking Kepa in goal. Atm, we have Silva - who is great - but 39 so we cannot rely on him solely, especially in a back 4. After that we have Levi, Badman and Trev. Levi and Badman have looked great but there young and need a confident GK behind them. Trev, is a good squad player but isn't starting material. For me, we need a decent 26-32 year old CB who can rotate with Silva and/or provide a steady hand if Badman or Levi struggle with form (which is normal for young CB's.) 

 

😏😏😏

[Vesper 30,272]

7 minutes ago, manpe said:

Sorry but what is this obsession with right-footed and left-footed CBs? It seems to me that people are losing their minds when two left-footed CBs play together, but nobody bats and eyelid when two right-footed ones play... Seriously, what's up with that all of a sudden? Didn't hear any of that when JT was playing LCB all the time.

many CBs are very used to playing on a side dictated by their footedness, and if you go look at performance charts, many often suffer when they are played on the other side

not every player is a Maldini or a Terry when it comes to flexibility and talent to perform at extraordinary levels no matter where you place them

Badi, for instance, is far better on the left an on the right

if footedness meant nothing, then why is there an extraordinary premium on classy left-footed CBs?

there just are not that many lefties out there

the bottom CB on the first page (so top 25 on planet in terms of valuation) for left-footed CBs on T-Markt is only valued at £18.9m

the bottom of the second page is only £8.6m

massive drop offs

for right footed CBs, the bottom of page one is £30.1m, and page 2, the bottom (£17.3m) is almost the same as the bottom of page one for lefties

footedness is magnified when you play a back 4 as well, versus a back 5, as there is no middle CB to cover if a wrong-footed player who is playing in an area they are not comfortable with gets burnt

 

[MoroccanBlue 5,385]

5 minutes ago, Vesper said:

many CBs are very used to playing on a side dictated by their footedness, and if you go look at performance charts, many often suffer when they are played on the other side

not every player is a Maldini or a Terry when it comes to flexibility and talent to perform at extraordinary levels no matter where you place them

Badi, for instance, is far better on the left an on the right

if footedness meant nothing, then why is there an extraordinary premium on classy left-footed CBs?

there just are not that many lefties out there

the bottom CB on the first page (so top 25 on planet in terms of valuation) for left-footed CBs on T-Markt is only valued at £18.9m

the bottom of the second page is only £8.6m

massive drop offs

for right footed CBs, the bottom of page one is £30.1m, and page 2, the bottom (£17.3m) is almost the same as the bottom of page one for lefties

footedness is magnified when you play a back 4 as well, versus a back 5, as there is no middle CB to cover if a wrong-footed player who is playing in an area they are not comfortable with gets burnt

 

Badiashile played RCB for a large portion at Monaco with Jonathan Panzo at LCB. 

[Vegetable 830]

So when did actually Fofana have opportunity to get injured? If he managed to tore ACL during that two sessions of warm-up runs around Cobham, that's even worse than it looks at first sight.

On the other hand, if we will manage to lose 1/3 of the squad during pre-season, it smells of Lampard's first stint and means that alleged Poch's soft spot for physical training and our physio team don't quite add up.  

Edited July 18, 2023 by Vegetable

[chelsea_4_eva 1,182]

At the moment the only ones I want to leave are Auba, Lukaku and Ziyech, need these 3 to leave before anyone else leaves. Need to get some reinforcements IN before thinking of selling any others.

[Mhsc 1,109]

34 minutes ago, Vegetable said:

So when did actually Fofana have opportunity to get injured? If he managed to tore ACL during that two sessions of warm-up runs around Cobham, that's even worse than it looks at first sight.

On the other hand, if we will manage to lose 1/3 of the squad during pre-season, it smells of Lampard's first stint and means that alleged Poch's soft spot for physical training and our physio team don't quite add up.  

Probably double sessions with the fitness test Poch uses did it. Guess it wades out the unfit / unhealthy people on the training ground instead of on the pitch… 

[MoroccanBlue 5,385]

These players have spent the past 2/3 seasons being poorly trained. No surprise some are dropping after being put through an actual effective training regime. 

[Vesper 30,272]

9 minutes ago, MoroccanBlue said:

Badiashile played RCB for a large portion at Monaco with Jonathan Panzo at LCB. 

do you even do the slightest amount of research before posting?

Panzo only played THREE topflight games ever for Monaco

Two Ligue 1 games in 2019/20, one as starter where Badi never came in, and then a 16 minute late defensive LMF/LW sub (for Henry Onyekuru), and a game where Badi (as an 18 yo) was the starting LEFT CB

and one Coupe de la Ligue game in 2018/2019, where Badi (17 years old then) was the LEFT CB and Panzo was the LB

 

 

 

[MoroccanBlue 5,385]

24 minutes ago, Vesper said:

do you even do the slightest amount of research before posting?

Panzo only played THREE topflight games ever for Monaco

Two Ligue 1 games in 2019/20, one as starter where Badi never came in, and then a 16 minute late defensive LMF/LW sub (for Henry Onyekuru), and a game where Badi (as an 18 yo) was the starting LEFT CB

and one Coupe de la Ligue game in 2018/2019, where Badi (17 years old then) was the LEFT CB and Panzo was the LB

 

 

 

Should of added at youth level. 

Pretty good in depth analysis on when Badiashile played RCB when being partnered with Panzo/Serrano. 

Quote

Because he was probably the better player of the two central defenders (both left footed), Benoît Badiashile was playing RCB and Julien Serrano LCB. (Transfermarkt wrongly logged the CB pairing). 

What didn’t look to cause him much trouble for yet another psychic interception and drive with the ball + masked pass.

(Apologies for the accidental Kehlani soundtrack for the screen capture)

Badiashile also captained the first three games of the Youth League 2019 against Atletico, Dortmund and Brugge. 

Former Chelsea defender Jonathan Panzo joined Monaco (Michael Emenalo was Monaco’s Sporting Director) and formed a CB partership with Badiashile.

Guess who played at RCB once again considering both are left footed? 

Yes, that is correct, Benoît Badiashile did.

When players are said to “not being able to play anywhere else than their designed tailor made position” (say, a LCB position for a team holding out for oxygen and conceding 17 shots to Leicester City), I really hate to break the mood but that usually means that the player isn’t really good in the first place. 

The same applies to the echo chamber that left footed centre backs can’t play at right centre back.
It’s a matter of habit, but guess what, good players are usually skilfull and intelligent enough to adapt.
Rüdiger’s left foot is shocking, he is also the reigning Emperor of Toe Pokes.
And yet signed a mega money deal for Real Madrid at 29.

Badiashile was doing Badiashile things, regardless if he was featuring at LCB or RCB. His trademark switch was already there.

Being situationally inside the pitch for a dominant team wasn’t something he wasn’t comfortable with either, playing as iNvErTeD cEnTrE bAcK.

https://seb4stien.substack.com/p/chelseas-big-ben-benoit-badiashile

 

[Gundalf 806]

 

[Pizy 18,985]

4 minutes ago, Gundalf said:

 

Spending money on a striker that we won’t even use anytime soon when we desperately need a ready made striker NOW. 

🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️

[Gundalf 806]

Just now, Pizy said:

Spending money on a striker that we won’t even use anytime soon when we desperately need a ready made striker NOW. 

🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️

I mean, there is no ready made striker out there atm that we could affort tbh. Best we can do is to buy cheaper talents and hope they become the star strikers we need. His stats are pretty impressive, scoring for fun in Ligue 1 (way more than Muani in his last year). Only thing I dont like about that Wahi guy is his background.  

[Gundalf 806]

One thing Im curious about: we always needed to buy a CB next year anyway since Thiago will be gone and Chalobah is not really valued. So maybe we try to sign our main target for next year (if we have one?) already this year, let him settle in with Thiago. Idk if the budget allows that or we even have a target to replace Thiago with but thats maybe discussed rn. 
But ig we wont sign anyone since we dont have international football. 

Edited July 18, 2023 by Gundalf

[Magic Lamps 11,692]

3 hours ago, bluesman2610 said:

 I just read that both Goretzka and Kimmich are for sale. One priced at €45m-€55m and the other at €75m. We need experience in the engine room of the midfield I think either of these players would dramatically enhance us

Goretzka surely is for sale but Kimmich I strongly doubt he will leave. Goretzka has always been overrated. He is competent but streaky. Can do everything when on form but rarely ever is. The experience, size and ability from range in midfield could temporarily help tho. Poor man’s Michael Ballack

[Gundalf 806]

For 1 season ladies and gentlemen?? 😎🤣

[Vesper 30,272]

1 hour ago, MoroccanBlue said:

Should of added at youth level. 

Pretty good in depth analysis on when Badiashile played RCB when being partnered with Panzo/Serrano. 

 

youth league football doesn't carry that much weight with me

some, but it is nothing like topflight, let alone the monster EPL

in the first half of last season, he played (league game starts) for Monaco at RCB twice in the league, both times in a back 5 (and in one of those he switched to LCB later on in the game), all his other starts were at LCB (usually in back 4), except for 1 at middle CB

in his 5 Europa league games he was LCB twice and middle CB 3 times, never at RCB

in his 10 starts for us he never played on the right, was mostly (8 times) at LCB, and then twice in the middle CB slot, in the 11th game, he was  late sub at LCB

the season before

6 Europa League games ( 5 starts and then a half game as a sub at LCB), 4 at LCB, 2 in the middle

4 CL games, 4 starts (including one where he played the full 120 minutes), all at LCB

and in 24 league games  all were at LCB except for 2, where he played in the middle CB in back 5

bottom line:

he is NOT a viable RCB, especially for the EPL level of play

Edited July 18, 2023 by Vesper

[Pizy 18,985]

12 minutes ago, Gundalf said:

For 1 season ladies and gentlemen?? 😎🤣

He’d get 8 red cards in a single season in the PL.

[Vesper 30,272]

3 hours ago, Pizy said:

I agree that rushing out and buying a CB this window makes little sense. It isn’t a concerning area at the moment. If this was the usual 60 match Chelsea season then yes. 

Maybe, just maybe we bring someone highly experienced on loan for the season if some opportunity presents itself. Someone who is 30+ and knows ahead of time that they likely won’t see much playing time.

right footed CBs 30yo and over

Edited July 18, 2023 by Vesper

[Vesper 30,272]