Chelsea Transfers

[Vesper 30,224]

On 22/01/2024 at 23:16, Vesper said:

The cunning Chelsea and Fulham swap deal that could turbocharge both clubs' seasons

Chelsea and Fulham are already reported to be in transfer negotiations - but could a swap deal make more sense?

https://www.3addedminutes.com/sport/football/Chelsea/cunning-Chelsea-fuham-swap-deal-turbocharge-both-clubs-seasons-4487722

First he was linked with a move to Tottenham Hotspur, and now it’s Fulham – but wherever he ends up, it looks a lot like Trevoh Chalobah’s time with Chelsea is drawing to a close. The 24-year-old centre-half, not so long ago a regular feature in the matchday squad at Stamford Bridge, hasn’t feature this season thanks to injury, and may well never play under Mauricio Pochettino at all.

Given Chelsea’s desire to generate further transfer funds by selling home-grown players, Fulham’s desire to bolster their defence with Tosin Adarabioyo looking likely to leave at the end of the season, and Chalobah’s own need to be playing regular first-team football and build upon his early promise, a switch to Craven Cottage makes plenty of sense.

The rumours around the potential move suggest that Chalobah would move to Fulham – where his elder brother Nathaniel played for two seasons before joining West Bromwich Albion in the summer – on an initial loan deal, with an option to buy in the region of £20-25m. But given Chelsea’s many needs in the transfer market, one wonders whether they shouldn’t look to engineer a transfer which sees a current Fulham player move the other way.

 

There are still a couple of glaring gaps in Pochettino’s squad, but depth at full-back is among the more urgent needs. At left-back, Ben Chilwell has been spending too much time on the treatment table while Marc Cucurella, who has had fitness problems of his own, has proven unreliable at best. As a result, the excellent Levi Colwill has been deputising on the left side of defence, and while has been superb for the most part, he is a natural centre-back and Chelsea will need him there when Thiago Silva leaves in the summer, as seems very likely.

It also doesn’t help the case for planning a future for Colwill at left-back that he doesn’t offer the same kind of penetration going forward that a wing-back like Chilwell does. Chelsea need somebody who can combine defensive duties with the capacity to move the ball forward quickly to support the attack – and Antonee Robinson fits the profile pretty well.

The American international has been one of Fulham’s most consistent performers this season, and has improved dramatically over the last two years, especially in terms of his defensive ability. His tackling success rate is impressive, but where he really shines is in his reading of the game and anticipation of where opponents will play the next ball – he makes a massive 2.49 interceptions per game, and contributes more than three blocks and clearances every 90 minutes he plays, superb numbers for a full-back. Where once he tended to get caught out of position or lose his man at the back post, how he gets to the ball first and deals with danger.

 

And he offers plenty going forward, too. While he doesn’t have the same quality with the final ball as Chilwell – his cross success rate of around 25% is fairly respectable but 10% lower than the England left-back’s – where he does shine is in his ability to get down the flank at speed and provide passing options for his team-mates. He uses the ball when he gets it well, too, and his dribbling is excellent, allowing him to break out of defence quickly in possession and to beat his man and get into dangerous areas in the final third.

Robinson isn’t as good as Chilwell going forward, but he is stronger in the tackle and generates more turnovers. At 26 he is slightly younger and has a better fitness record – and he would significantly strengthen Chelsea’s depth, giving them a reliable rotational option and the extra body they need to move Colwill into the middle on a more permanent basis.

Would Fulham be willing to sell Robinson? Perhaps not. He is an important player, a near ever-present in the Premier League (he has started every game bar the home game to Luton Town when he was injured) and is highly valued by Marco Silva. Transfermarkt estimates his transfer value as €20m (£17.1m), which feels on the low end given that he has a contract which runs until 2028 – but it is lower than the reported fee being discussed for Chalobah, so perhaps a swap deal could make sense for both parties. Fulham would get the centre-back they need, and Chelsea would get a proven Premier League performer without having to resort to their own rather patchy scouting.

And Robinson himself would finally get the chance to play for a blue chip club that once passed him by when he failed a medical at AC Milan before he moved to Craven Cottage. Back then he was a fresh-faced breakthrough act at Wigan Athletic, and while his progress hasn’t been quite as meteoric as some anticipated when he first came to public attention, his performances this season suggest that he is finally living up to a lot of the early hype. Chelsea could be the perfect platform for him to finish his development.

Still, using Chalobah to engineer a trade for Robinson doesn’t sound too on brand for Todd Boehly’s Chelsea. It would be sensible, economical and not particularly flashy. That isn’t how Chelsea have operated since the takeover, and there haven’t been too many signs that they plan to change tack just yet. So chances are that we’ll see Chalobah move on and that be the end of that – but it isn’t too hard to imagine Robinson getting a big move one day soon. He’s considerably better than a lot of people realise.

Times Football

 

Why Antonee Robinson is a team of the season contender

Fulham’s 3-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday was perhaps most notable for the two goals scored by Rodrigo Muniz, whose extraordinary trajectory from forgotten benchwarmer to one of the hottest strikers in the Premier League continues to enthral. But the best player on show, and probably Fulham’s player of the season, was the provider of their first goal: their left back, Antonee Robinson.

Robinson’s assist took his total for the season to six: along with Kieran Trippier and Vladimir Coufal, that is the most open-play assists by any defender in the Premier League this season. But it was also a typical Robinson performance in that he contributed significantly in both attack and defence, with two tackles won, four interceptions and nine ball recoveries.

As this chart shows, when it comes to combining defensive ball-winning with dangerous passing, Robinson really is out on his own:

 

His cross for Muniz’s opener was, first and foremost, a fantastic delivery, beautifully struck on the run (and from a slightly atypical position compared to his other assists this season, as we’ll go on to look at). But it also owed something to a tactical pattern which Fulham exploited cleverly. Take a look at how, when Fulham play out through their right-back Timothy Castagne here, they draw the Tottenham press over to that side of the pitch: Destiny Udogie flies up on Alex Iwobi, and the two central midfielders, João Palhinha and Sasa Lukic, bring Pape Matar Sarr and Yves Bissouma over to that side.

 

 

 

When the ball goes into the middle, Tottenham are basically defending with a narrow back three, with Pedro Porro having to cover over in that central channel:

Fulham tried the same pattern in the lead-up to their first goal, and once again Udogie presses up on Iwobi, Bissouma follows Lukic, and Fulham are left three on three in the centre, with Porro defending Willian and Robinson free outside him:

Fulham go back to Bernd Leno, but when he plays the ball downfield the three-on-three is still on:

And when Robinson gets the ball a few seconds later, Porro is slow to get across, giving the left-back that extra yard or two of space to hit that fabulous cross:

 

Robinson has made a huge leap forward this season after getting only one assist last season (and only four even in Fulham’s barnstorming Championship campaign the season before).

Sometimes, when a player massively increases their creative output, it can be partly through sheer volume: simply finding a way to get on the ball and play more passes, and letting the percentages follow. What’s interesting about Robinson’s improvement from last season to this is how remarkably steady his pass numbers are: bar a slight uptick in the number of crosses, he has managed to generate this huge increase in his assists and expected assists entirely within the parameters of his previous passing output. Simply put, this has been almost entirely a qualitative improvement, not a quantitative one.

 

So what has Robinson been doing differently? Well, as you might guess, it’s all about where he’s playing those passes from. If you look at Robinson’s key passes (those which create a chance for a team-mate) from last season, they’re almost all from that wide left channel, and not a single one is played from within the bounds of the penalty area.

This season, Robinson has more than doubled the number of touches he takes in that left half-space corridor inside the penalty area, and many of his key passes either begin on the edge of the box or just inside it.

One of the reasons that Robinson is finding himself in these positions more often is he is making more underlapping runs: in other words, rather than overlapping the left winger (usually Willian) on the outside like a conventional full back, he makes his support run on Willian’s inside.

Triangles between the full back, winger and central midfielder on each side are a stylistic signature of Marco Silva’s football and these rotations can not only get Robinson into these areas but spring him with the space and timing to get his cross in unopposed. Here’s a good example from Saturday’s game: Robinson drives infield, lays the ball off to Palhinha and immediately makes an underlapping third-man run into that half-space channel, between Porro and Sarr, in anticipation of the first-time wall pass from Willian:

It’s also worth lingering on Robinson’s defensive contribution, in particular his extraordinary ability to win interceptions. Robinson’s 69 interceptions so far this season are 11 more than the next best player in Europe’s top five leagues (Hoffenheim’s Anton Stach) and 19 more than the next best Premier League player (James Tarkowski). How is he doing it? Watching Robinson’s interceptions, what strikes you is that they combine excellent game reading with an exceptional ability to accelerate explosively from a standing start.

There are also certain situations where Robinson seems to be particularly primed to intercept a pass. We talk a lot about teams having pressing triggers; perhaps Robinson also has certain triggers which he’s looking for which lead him to attempt an interception. Looking at these three interceptions, two from Saturday’s match, one from the game against Liverpool, they are strikingly similar: a right-footed pass up the line of about 15 yards, to a receiver whose body position is not side-on, but slightly closed off, facing the passer, allowing Robinson to jump in from their blind side:

But it’s not only in the wide channels that Robinson is making these ball-wins. If we compare his interceptions this season to those from last season, what stands out is that cluster of interceptions in the left half-space just outside his own area, which he has added to his game.

The value of intercepting the ball in this more central zone is twofold: not only is it an area of greater threat for the opposition attack, but it also allows Fulham to launch a quick transition from these interceptions through the centre of the pitch, as they do here:

It all adds up to an outstanding individual season by a player who really ought to be in contention for the Premier League Team of the Season.

[Vesper 30,224]

Exclusive: Fabrizio Romano responds to Chelsea transfer links with two left-backs

https://www.caughtoffside.com/2024/03/19/ait-nouri-transfer-Chelsea-links-discussed/

Chelsea have been linked with two top left-backs in the form of Wolves star Rayan Ait-Nouri and Brest youngster Bradley Locko, but Fabrizio Romano has played down those transfer rumours for the time being.

The Blues are set to be in the market for a new left-back this summer, according to Romano, but he insists it’s still something at an early stage, with no specific names to report on just yet.

Speaking exclusively to CaughtOffside for the latest edition of his Daily Briefing column, Romano made it clear that Chelsea will be exploring this particular market, but he’s not convinced by the links with Ait-Nouri and Locko in particular, as it’s still not clear who the west Londoners will be prioritising for that position.

Ait-Nouri has impressed in the Premier League in recent times so could undoubtedly be a fine choice for Chelsea, but it remains to be seen if they’ll move for him, so fans will have to be a bit patient before learning any more concrete updates.

Ait-Nouri transfer: Chelsea links cleared up by Fabrizio Romano

“As recently reported, Chelsea are keen to explore the left-backs market for the summer transfer window, most likely for a top young talent in that position, and so it’s inevitable that we’re going to be hearing a lot of names linked with the Blues in the weeks ahead,” Romano said.

“I’ve seen some reports about the likes of Rayan Ait-Nouri at Wolves, and also talented young Brest left-back Bradley Locko, but it’s still early to know specific names, as far as I understand.

“It is true that Chelsea are looking for left-backs, but we’re going to hear a lot of names and I don’t like to add too much speculation, just report the facts, so let’s see what they decide as it’s still only the early stage of discussions and I’m not aware of a preferred player that they’re targeting for that role as of yet.”

CFC have not had the best season and it perhaps makes sense that they’re looking at the likes of Ben Chilwell and Marc Cucurella as players who could be improved on for next term.

[nyikolajevics 2,702]

5 hours ago, Vesper said:

Exclusive: Fabrizio Romano responds to Chelsea transfer links with two left-backs

https://www.caughtoffside.com/2024/03/19/ait-nouri-transfer-Chelsea-links-discussed/

Chelsea have been linked with two top left-backs in the form of Wolves star Rayan Ait-Nouri and Brest youngster Bradley Locko, but Fabrizio Romano has played down those transfer rumours for the time being.

The Blues are set to be in the market for a new left-back this summer, according to Romano, but he insists it’s still something at an early stage, with no specific names to report on just yet.

Speaking exclusively to CaughtOffside for the latest edition of his Daily Briefing column, Romano made it clear that Chelsea will be exploring this particular market, but he’s not convinced by the links with Ait-Nouri and Locko in particular, as it’s still not clear who the west Londoners will be prioritising for that position.

Ait-Nouri has impressed in the Premier League in recent times so could undoubtedly be a fine choice for Chelsea, but it remains to be seen if they’ll move for him, so fans will have to be a bit patient before learning any more concrete updates.

Ait-Nouri transfer: Chelsea links cleared up by Fabrizio Romano

“As recently reported, Chelsea are keen to explore the left-backs market for the summer transfer window, most likely for a top young talent in that position, and so it’s inevitable that we’re going to be hearing a lot of names linked with the Blues in the weeks ahead,” Romano said.

“I’ve seen some reports about the likes of Rayan Ait-Nouri at Wolves, and also talented young Brest left-back Bradley Locko, but it’s still early to know specific names, as far as I understand.

“It is true that Chelsea are looking for left-backs, but we’re going to hear a lot of names and I don’t like to add too much speculation, just report the facts, so let’s see what they decide as it’s still only the early stage of discussions and I’m not aware of a preferred player that they’re targeting for that role as of yet.”

CFC have not had the best season and it perhaps makes sense that they’re looking at the likes of Ben Chilwell and Marc Cucurella as players who could be improved on for next term.

Ait-Nouri is considered as top left back talent?? Gotta admit I don’t torture myself with Wolverhampton games often but he has been around for a few years and never seen much excellence from him. But I also thought he is like 30..

 

Chilwell and Cucurella would be sufficient in both quality and quantity, but if they can’t stay fit.. Especially Benchy.

[bluesman2610 1,418]

It seems there are clubs that want to buy Alex Matos. Seems his loan is going pretty well.

 

[TheHulk 2,482]

 

[TheHulk 2,482]

 

[MoroccanBlue 5,385]

Fabrizio Roman may have revealed our cards stating he knows nothing about Chelsea stalling over new deal with regards to Gallagher's wage demands. All he knows is that Chelsea need to sell him for PSR. 

[Vesper 30,224]

Conor Gallagher is NOT making any unreasonable demands of Chelsea

https://thedailybriefing.io/i/142817926/conor-gallagher-is-not-making-any-unreasonable-demands-of-Chelsea

There’s been a lot written about Chelsea in the last 24 hours and I wanted to set the record straight on two stories here.

Firstly, I’m aware that there have been claims about Conor Gallagher’s salary demands being a problem for Chelsea and holding up an agreement over a new contract. My understanding, however, is that it’s not about Gallagher asking for crazy money or anything unreasonable for his new deal.

What I’m told is that it’s about Chelsea deciding what they want to do with Gallagher and also taking into account the Financial Fair Play situation, but saying that Gallagher is asking for “too high” salary is not accurate as far as I understand.

There’s also been a story about the possibility of Antonio Conte returning to Chelsea as manager, while he’s also been linked as a candidate for another of his former clubs Juventus. As things stand, I’m not aware of any concrete contact, Conte is waiting for the right proposal but there is zero to report with these two clubs right now.

[TheHulk 2,482]

54 minutes ago, MoroccanBlue said:

Fabrizio Roman may have revealed our cards stating he knows nothing about Chelsea stalling over new deal with regards to Gallagher's wage demands. All he knows is that Chelsea need to sell him for PSR. 

Sell him and give all his minutes to Carney and Santos.

[TheHulk 2,482]

 

[Blue Armour 4,448]

Chelsea scouts were at the Portugal Sweden game to monitor Gyokeres.

3rd time this season they've sent scouts to watch him.

[Blue Armour 4,448]

Chelsea scouts were at the Portugal Sweden game to monitor Gyokeres.

3rd time this season they've sent scouts to watch him.

[Mário César 1,282]

awesome player but he will cost a lot 

[robsblubot 3,595]

With a name like that it's a must-buy for me. 😅
It just looks great on the roster sheet.

[Magic Lamps 11,692]

Just a couple of months ago almost no one had heard of gyökeres. Now he is the real deal? Granted his highlight reel looks impressive. There is almost nothing he can’t do. He is fast, good on the ball, great dribbler, nimble while still being reasonably tall and strong, thunderous shot with both feet, super aggressive and sharp what I like most. Makes chances for himself but also great link up play. Only thing that looks suspect is his heading. Far cry from the player who looked decidedly average at St Pauli. Is he better than Osimhen? He looks more complete and sure is a lot more fun to watch but so far he is just a one season wonder. 

[Mário César 1,282]

1 hour ago, Magic Lamps said:

Just a couple of months ago almost no one had heard of gyökeres. Now he is the real deal? Granted his highlight reel looks impressive. There is almost nothing he can’t do. He is fast, good on the ball, great dribbler, nimble while still being reasonably tall and strong, thunderous shot with both feet, super aggressive and sharp what I like most. Makes chances for himself but also great link up play. Only thing that looks suspect is his heading. Far cry from the player who looked decidedly average at St Pauli. Is he better than Osimhen? He looks more complete and sure is a lot more fun to watch but so far he is just a one season wonder. 

he is a 26 years old player. I dont know how if he will fit in our board vision

It would be a great player to Chelsea and he can play as a winger that is one of the areas that we need to upgrade and he can score a lot of goals that is what we miss atm

without UCL is what we need to looking for 

[Vesper 30,224]

Florian Wirtz likely to stay at Bayer Leverkusen for one more year

https://thedailybriefing.io/i/142902608/florian-wirtz-likely-to-stay-at-bayer-leverkusen-for-one-more-year

Florian Wirtz has spoken about his future, suggesting that for now his plan is to remain at Bayer Leverkusen, and that’s my understanding as well - his full focus on Leverkusen and on the Euros. There are currently no negotiations and sources close to the player believe the best option is to stay at Leverkusen for one more year, at least. Then never say never in football, but it’s very quiet so far.

[Vesper 30,224]

Every player with a TM valuation of €50m or higher atm who has even a remote chance of moving this summer (some very remote)

Many Barca on here due to their crazy financial trouble, obviously most will stay

Kylian Mbappé (98 per cent done deal to Real Madrid)
Jamal Musiala 
Lautaro Martínez 
Victor Osimhen  
Florian Wirtz 
Gavi  
Rafael Leão  
Bruno Guimarães 
Pedri 
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia  
Bernardo Silva 
Leroy Sané  
Nicolò Barella 
Joshua Kimmich
Xavi Simons 
Ronald Araujo  
Douglas Luiz 
Alphonso Davies
Frenkie de Jong
Alessandro Bastoni 
Trent Alexander-Arnold
Lucas Paquetá  
Achraf Hakimi  
Dušan Vlahović 
Matthijs de Ligt 
Ollie Watkins 
Kingsley Coman
Mohamed Salah 
Evan Ferguson 
Nuno Mendes  
Bremer 
Takefusa Kubo 
Theo Hernández  
Pedro Neto 
Loïs Openda
Viktor Gyökeres 
João Palhinha  
Marquinhos
Nico Williams 
Michael Olise  
Jonathan David 
Amadou Onana 
Jeremie Frimpong  
Martín Zubimendi  
Jules Koundé 
Raphinha
Mikel Oyarzabal   
Mikel Merino 
Jarrod Bowen  
Dani Olmo 
Ivan Toney 
Federico Dimarco  

Edited March 24, 2024 by Vesper

[Vesper 30,224]

IF we cannot grab Rafael Leão (and it is VERY likely we cannot) or Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (also VERY unlikely)

and Mathys Tel just renewed until 2029

then that leaves one clear option for the absolutely vital Left Winger (and a right footer) position

Nico Williams

I see nothing else out there that is worth our time and cash atm and who is a player who would come here

 

[Vesper 30,224]

1 hour ago, Vesper said:

IF we cannot grab Rafael Leão (and it is VERY likely we cannot) or Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (also VERY unlikely)

and Mathys Tel just renewed until 2029

then that leaves one clear option for the absolutely vital Left Winger (and a right footer) position

Nico Williams

I see nothing else out there that is worth our time and cash atm and who is a player who would come here