Chelsea Transfers

[Vesper 28,682]

Just tossing this out here

Ousmane Dembélé's release clause for July and August is only £43m

I know he really wants to stay at Barca, but they are so fucked atm financially

 

[Pizy 18,360]

As little as I’d care if we sold Gallagher, I would still not sell to Spuds. Sell to Palace, WH, or Everton but never Spuds. 

[Vesper 28,682]

1 minute ago, Mhsc said:

Maybe if our stance was that he is staying, if he is not being offered a new contract (2 years on his deal left) and we're shopping him around... Only way is if clubs get into a bidding war over him, I guess.

the number in my mind for some time (just like me for Mount with £60m, which is exactly what we got) for Gallagher is £45m (£35m + £10m English tax)

let us hope I am once again at the right price point

[Mhsc 869]

1 minute ago, LAM09 said:

Talent aside, I'm against signing Mbappe due to his attitude, but with our very impressive clear-out, would a move for him actually be feasible all things considered (FFP related)?

I think the best paid player in the league is De Bruyne at 400k pw base, so if we offered Mbappe a ludicrous 500k per week lets say and pay some huge fee to sign him then yes we would be fine with the clear out that's happened / happening. But Mbappe wont be happy with what we call superstar money in the PL after what he's been on at PSG and is being promised elsewhere.

[Tomo 21,733]

40 minutes ago, NikkiCFC said:

What were you doing in Serbia lol

It would be quicker if I named the countries I haven't been too in mainland Europe haha.

[Gundalf 804]

 

[Vegetable 830]

1 hour ago, Vesper said:

but we were trying to buy him after we already had Mudryk

Zakharyan is not even of Russian descent, he is 100 per cent Armenian (both parents), just like that Ajax AMF

I refuse to blame a 19/20yo kid for Putin's war crime thuggery

 

I don't think this guy himself would be much of a problem, except maybe PR, but the problem is he is playing for Russian club. For the next two years or more it's a waste of energy to even discuss it.

Still I'd stay away from trying to sound super cold reasonable and level-headed just because we'd like a player and looking for justification to make the situation morally clean. He had a chance to get the hell out of there. He knew what was coming. Russia is not Belarus where majority of society is against the dictator and is aware he is just a doll that fixes the elections. Imperialistic policy and "western enemies" has a lot of following. It's not like majority of society is caught in collateral damage, nor the Ukraine is the holy nation that some media is trying to make out of it, but it's heavy ot. 

Either he runs out his contract or buys it out or we can forget the guy playing in western world anytime soon.

[Vesper 28,682]

20 minutes ago, Vesper said:

Just tossing this out here

Ousmane Dembélé's release clause for July and August is only £43m

I know he really wants to stay at Barca, but they are so fucked atm financially

 

well, there is now this, lol

FC Barcelona Star Ousmane Dembele Receives ‘Enormous’ $220 Million Offer To Join Ronaldo At Al-Nassr

https://www.forbes.com/sites/tomsanderson/2023/07/22/fc-barcelona-star-ousmane-dembele-receives-enormous-220-million-offer-to-join-ronaldo-at-al-nassr-reports/?sh=5b46bb6f472c

FC Barcelona star Ousmane Dembele has received an 'enormous offer' of €200 million ($222.5 million) to join Cristiano Ronaldo at Al-Nassr according to transfer market experts Foot Mercato.

Ronaldo switched to the Saudi Pro League giants in January when his Manchester United contract was terminated by mutual consent.

Believed to pay him $200 million a season, the move allowed the legendary forward to finish top of Forbes' list of The World's Highest-Paid Athletes in May.

Though Al-Hilal failed to deliver his generational rival and new Inter Miami signing Lionel Messi, big stars such as Ballon d'Or holder Karim Benzema and N'Golo Kante have made the switch from elite European football to the Kingdom where the Public Investment Fund has taken control of four of the biggest clubs to boost its domestic championship.

Yet while all the players mentioned thus far are well past their 30th birthday, or not far off 40 in the case of Ronaldo while Benzema and Messi are on their way, the Saudi Pro League still hasn't pulled off the coup of landing a top, young player at the height of his powers.

Ruben Neves, 26 and now at Al-Hilal, partly fits the bill. But the Portuguese midfielder didn't exactly feature for the biggest club on the Old Continent, with all due respect to Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Al-Nassr luring 30-year-old Marcelo Brozovic in recent weeks, in turn snatching the Russia 2018 and 2022/2023 Champions League finalist away from FC Barcelona, was a bigger achievement.

When all is said and done, however, convincing one of the victors on the other side of the ball in said World Cup final would be an indicator of great progress being made in the fight to have the local league recognized as more than a lucrative retirement camp.

Unfortunately for Al-Nassr, they haven't been able to turn France international Dembele's head despite tabling a five-year, €40 million ($44.5 million) a season offer according to Foot Mercato which would have totaled €200 million and made 'The Mosquito' a much richer man by his 31st birthday.

The Saudis are obviously willing to trigger his release clause in Catalonia, which has halved to a paltry €50 million ($55.6 million) this summer as part of a contract extension agreed last year which expires in 2024.

Even though Dembele and his agent can pocket half of that fee, turning down the eye-watering package from the Saudis is another sign of how dedicated the Frenchman is to the cause under his head coach Xavi Hernandez.

Keen to agree fresh terms at Camp Nou, or the Montjuic Stadium while Barca's usual home is being renovated, the winger has gone from being a booed outcast in early 2022 for not putting pen to paper to a fan favorite and regular starter.

Barca are currently occupied trying to register their new players and the renewed contracts of existing stars while navigating Financial Fair Play limits, but Dembele is expected to commit to the Blaugrana for another three years when his own deal is oven-ready.

"Barca want to renew me until 2027 and I'm happy here," he revealed to La Vanguardia last month.

 

Edited July 24, 2023 by Vesper

[Vegetable 830]

1 minute ago, Vesper said:

Receives ‘Enormous’ $220 Million Offer

I wonder if it run through anybody's else head… what if in, say, six months Saudis decide "f*k that, we are not interested in football anyomore" and just not pay those players on crazy contracts? I wouldn't even be super surprised. And what you gonna do to them, shame them on Twitter? Month of a scandal, but they will pour some oil money to Europe and everyone will forget, business as usual.

[milka 3,344]

After we sell literally all the midfielders we have and only Enzo remains, it will be interesting who will play . Gallagher is an ideal rotation player. 

Neither the Caicedo deal is happening or is there any speculation about other midfielders 
2 weeks before the start of PL .

[Vesper 28,682]

51 minutes ago, Vegetable said:

I don't think this guy himself would be much of a problem, except maybe PR, but the problem is he is playing for Russian club. For the next two years or more it's a waste of energy to even discuss it.

Still I'd stay away from trying to sound super cold reasonable and level-headed just because we'd like a player and looking for justification to make the situation morally clean. He had a chance to get the hell out of there. He knew what was coming.

The whole point of my first post on the subject was that Ajax (The Netherlands are also  in NATO and are also involved in sanctions v Russia) IS buying a player directly from a Russian club.

As for

Quote

He had a chance to get the hell out of there. He knew what was coming.

the season before the Ukraine invasion occured

he was a 17 year old teen (turned 18yo 3 days before the season ended, as they played in the Russian Cup final v Spartak on May 29th, losing 1 - 2, despite his scoring Dynamo's only goal) who had just been promoted to the senior team in mideason, he had played 13 Sr team games with 3 goals and 5 assists in 888 minutes

people in Russia during that following summer transfer window (summer 2021) really had no clue what was going to happen in early 2022, let alone some 17/18yo kid who had just been called up 6 months earlier. The season before that he was mostly playing in an U17 league.

I was the first person on the board to post anything about Zakharyan

my first post that included him was a year and a half ago, 22 days before Russia invaded Ukraine

that was halfway through his first full season at topflight level, a season in which, as an 18yo, he produced a total of 18 goals (9 and 9) in only 2869 minutes

 

Edited July 24, 2023 by Vesper

[Vegetable 830]

8 minutes ago, Vesper said:

The whole point of my first post on the subject was that Ajax (The Netherlands are also  in NATO and are also involved in sanctions v Russia) IS buying a player directly from a Russian club.

 

Absolute scandal and shitshow if it happens, hope it's some Romano's fluke. Plus wonder how are they going to do this, since most of Russian banks except some national entities are supposedly banned from SWIFT. UPS them boxes of cash? Nah, even UPS is not providing service in Russia. Plus I can't imagine the government not batting an eye on someone trying to send 10 million Euro to Russia for something as non-essential as football player. 

[Vesper 28,682]

1 hour ago, Vegetable said:

I wonder if it run through anybody's else head… what if in, say, six months Saudis decide "f*k that, we are not interested in football anyomore" and just not pay those players on crazy contracts? I wouldn't even be super surprised. And what you gonna do to them, shame them on Twitter? Month of a scandal, but they will pour some oil money to Europe and everyone will forget, business as usual.

not a chance that happens

zero

bookmark this for historical reasons as I am 100% standing by this prediction

the Saudis have a long term plan and at least 1.5 trillion in sovereign wealth (just the royal family's share and that is based off a 2 year old number, they likely are pushing 2 trillion now due to explosive oil revenues the past 2 years) backstopping it all

Edited July 24, 2023 by Vesper

[NikkiCFC 7,925]

59 minutes ago, Vegetable said:

 And what you gonna do to them, shame them on Twitter? 

You mean X? 

[Vesper 28,682]

1 hour ago, Mário César said:

if we get another player besides caicedo what will happen to casadei and chouko?

depends who the MFer is

[LAM09 6,733]

1 hour ago, Mhsc said:

I think the best paid player in the league is De Bruyne at 400k pw base, so if we offered Mbappe a ludicrous 500k per week lets say and pay some huge fee to sign him then yes we would be fine with the clear out that's happened / happening. But Mbappe wont be happy with what we call superstar money in the PL after what he's been on at PSG and is being promised elsewhere.

I thought Haaland earned 500k~ (happy to be corrected). I'd be interesting to see what his real motivations are should RM cool their interest.

[Special Juan 27,419]

No change to the Caicedo situation according to Romano

[Vesper 28,682]

Deffo prefer Kudus over Michael Olise.

As Zakharyan is likely blocked, Kudus is now my number one (who is actually available) AMF want.

Positive for both is that Kudus and Olise are both left footers who can also play RW, but Olise is so far not much of a scorer.