Chelsea Transfers

[Pizy 18,316]

8 minutes ago, robsblubot said:

Fair enough, but "amazing for us" is a tall order considering what this club has accomplished in the past. Not long ago we had prime Kante having MotM after MotM performances in CL knockout stages. We won a CL outplaying Real Madrid and then City. Nowadays we don't even play CL.
From experience here, but the idea that a player who is 20-22 and, is a good player, will automagically become much better later is simply wrong.

I'm probably with you on D, and am more worried about the attack esp our dependency on Nkunku remaining fit.
On the other hand, Maresca demands different characteristics from his D players, I also fail to see that in our group.

There’s a reason Klopp, Arteta, and ourselves all wanted him and why City didn’t want to sell him for under £50m. He’s a super talent in a position that everyone is desperate to find a top player in. That we spent £50m on him after already spending mega money in midfield says how much we rate him.

[Vytis33 1,112]

10 minutes ago, mkh said:

Chelsea want to try to get a deal done for Samu Omorodion for around €55m...

🔵 #CFC target expected to cost closer to €80m as things stand...

[@JacobsBen]

80M??  wtf

[robsblubot 3,455]

Just now, Pizy said:

There’s a reason Klopp, Arteta, and ourselves all wanted him and why City didn’t want to sell him for under £50m. He’s a super talent in a position that everyone is desperate to find a top player in. That we spent £50m on him after already spending mega money in midfield says how much we rate him.

Don't get me wrong, I haven't seen enough of him (Lavia), so I trust the multiple opinions stating that he's a very good player.

My point is that from that "very good player" (for his age) to an elite player who gives you a competitive advantage against CL or PL powerhouses should not be taken for granted however promising a player may be.

[OneMoSalah 8,750]

27 minutes ago, mkh said:

Chelsea are doubling down on their youth policy. They have taken the criticism on board but ultimately feel this approach will put them ahead of their rivals.

The oldest player Chelsea have discussed for striker is Jonathan David, 24 years old. Chelsea are sticking to their policy no matter what anyone says.

(@NizaarKinsella)

Ahead of our rivals? We were ahead of our rivals and comfortably the main team behind City & Liverpool (albeit more a cup team arguably).

Where we are now? It’s not great, is it? 4 managers later still unsure what this squad or team is. A squad that cost over £1 bn.  Saying that, we probably still have the same problem positions we had about 3 years ago too: GK, CB, CF.

Clearlake and the two sporting director boys have lost the plot. 

Edited July 24 by OneMoSalah

[Vesper 28,265]

Chelsea

https://thedailybriefing.io/i/146917488/Chelsea

• Chelsea are ready to sell Trevoh Chalobah for £30-35m. Chelsea believe they have depth in the CB and RB position; difficult decision not to call him for US tour but plan clear. Three Premier League clubs plus clubs playing in European football have made initial contact.

• Could Mikel Merino to Chelsea be a realistic transfer to watch out for this summer? Fabrizio Romano has the latest details in his exclusive column.

• Cesare Casadei to Fiorentina? Reports in Italy suggest this possible move for the Chelsea midfielder.

• Andrey Santos will return to Chelsea after spending 2024/25 season on loan with Strasbourg, no doubts. Clear plan as Chelsea senior sources deny any buy option clause included in loan move. Santos will do US tour under Enzo Maresca then travel to sign for Strasbourg again.

• Enzo Maresca: “I don’t think there will be problems with Enzo Fernandez when he returns. There were no bad intentions, I spoke with Enzo. It’s all clear now. It’s all clarified by the player and the club, so that's it. Enzo has apologised, there’s no problem at all.”

• Maresca on Trevoh Chalobah being left out of US tour: “It’s always sad to leave a player out... but I’m here to take decisions. We have Wes Fofana, Disasi, Tosin there. Also, we have Acheapong who’s doing fantastic.”

• Maresca on Christopher Nkunku’s role: “Nkunku can play everywhere. He’s doing very well already. He can play number 9, winger, attacking midfielder... he can play everywhere. I see football with player able to play in several positions. I want players to develop and play in several positions.”

[Vesper 28,265]

16 minutes ago, Vytis33 said:

80M??  wtf

 €80m for Samu is close to what Julain Alvarez would cost ffs

only around 7 million quid less

Edited July 24 by Vesper

[Vesper 28,265]

I dont give a tinker's what people think of me on this

IF Clownalke dump fucking 80 million euros on Samu, it is clear they are trying to sabo the club

[robsblubot 3,455]

31 minutes ago, Vesper said:

 €80m for Samu is close to what Julain Alvarez would cost ffs

only around 7 million quid less

It's probably wages again. 😢 

[Vesper 28,265]

The end has come for Trevoh Chalobah at Chelsea – this was just one battle too many

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5652657/2024/07/24/chalobah-Chelsea-battle-too-far/

Chelsea’s decision to move on from Trevoh Chalobah — who has been left out of the club’s pre-season tour to the United States — has been 12 months in the making.

Axel Disasi’s arrival in a deal worth £38million ($49m) from Monaco of France’s Ligue 1 last August was the first clear signal; with Wesley Fofana — a £70m signing in the summer of 2022 — already on the books, there was no need to invest heavily in another right-sided centre-back if Chalobah was in the plans of co-sporting directors Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley for the first-team squad.

The free-agent acquisition of Tosin Adarabioyo in June was the final blow to Chalobah’s hopes of extending his 17-year association with Chelsea, but it is easy to understand why the 25-year-old did not automatically see it that way, because proving his doubters wrong has been a recurring theme of his professional career.

Chalobah’s circuitous path to the Chelsea first team did not attract the fanfare afforded to more heralded fellow Cobham academy graduates such as Reece James, Mason Mount and Tammy Abraham. He largely flew under the radar on successive loan spells at Ipswich Town, Huddersfield Town and France’s Lorient, proving and improving himself in a variety of positions without generating headlines.

It was a surprise when Thomas Tuchel, Chelsea’s head coach at the time, gave him his big break in the 2021 UEFA Super Cup win over Villarreal, three days before he marked his Premier League debut against Crystal Palace with a brilliant goal and a highly emotional celebration at Stamford Bridge. Tuchel later lost faith in him, for reasons never fully explained, but Chalobah still started the finals of the Carabao Cup and FA Cup that season.

He was also a regular presence in the only positive stretch of Graham Potter’s short tenure, starting six and featuring in seven matches of a nine-game unbeaten run across all competitions that followed the Englishman’s appointment in September 2022. Caretaker replacement Frank Lampard, in an unsuccessful attempt to re-establish cohesion and commitment in a fractured dressing room, restored Chalobah to the team for the miserable final stretch of that season.

Mauricio Pochettino had ample opportunity to discard Chalobah, who was unavailable from August to February of the 2023-24 campaign due to a serious hamstring injury. Instead, he publicly pledged to involve the defender on his return to fitness and was rewarded with performances: Chelsea only lost one of the 13 matches Chalobah started between February and May — an agonising 1-0 defeat against Manchester City in the FA Cup semi-finals.

Throughout that time, Chalobah could clearly be seen embracing a leadership role, making his voice heard in the tunnel before games as well as in group huddles. Watching the team’s struggles from the sidelines convinced him Chelsea were lacking personality on the pitch and he took it upon himself to step up.

When fellow academy graduate Josh Acheampong came on to make his senior debut in the final minutes of a hotly-contested London derby against Tottenham Hotspur at Stamford Bridge in May, it was Chalobah, scorer of the first goal in a 2-0 home win that day, who helped guide him through the occasion with a combination of encouragement and motivation.

The irony of Chalobah’s current situation is that Acheampong is now being cited as part of Chelsea’s rationale for leaving him out of the tour squad: the 18-year-old is regarded as an elite home-grown prospect on the right side of defence and taking him to the United States gives new head coach Enzo Maresca more time to work closely with him in training.

Fofana, Disasi and Tosin at right centre-back, James, Malo Gusto and Acheampong at right-back. Six players for two positions is more than enough to navigate the five pre-season friendlies in the U.S. and should be enough to sustain Chelsea across multiple competitions in a busy 2024-25 campaign, barring a repeat of last season’s injury crisis.

But the depth of this squad at right-sided centre-back — Chalobah’s primary position — has been largely amassed since he was given a contract extension in November 2022 that runs until the end of the 2027-28 season, with a club option to extend for a further year. That decision raised eyebrows since his existing deal was not due to expire until summer 2026. It was duly interpreted as a statement of faith in his ability to forge a long Chelsea career.

Chalobah has held onto that ambition ever since, turning down numerous offers to leave — including a £25million bid from Nottingham Forest on the final day of last summer’s transfer window — and winning the trust of every Chelsea coach he has worked with. Losing the chance to do the same with Maresca will be a source of immense frustration.

There is no transfer lined up. Chalobah has done nothing to encourage interest from other clubs this summer and, as such, a market is yet to develop. By leaving him out of their tour squad, Chelsea are seeking to create one, though the optics of effectively exiling a home-grown player on a long-term contract who wants to stay and has largely performed when given opportunities to play are not favourable.

It reinforces a sense among disaffected supporters that Chelsea’s ownership, led by Clearlake Capital and Todd Boehly, view Cobham graduates primarily as an easy source of profit to help offset a recruitment strategy that has so far failed to maintain the club’s high modern standards on the pitch. Some argue the treatment of Chalobah, Conor Gallagher and others underlines that the academy is for sale — an academy that is in the midst of an unsettling, monumental transformation following the departures of Neil Bath and Jim Fraser this summer.

This narrative is disputed by the club’s leadership, who point to James, Levi Colwill and others as proof that elite academy talent will always be prized. Chalobah is simply not viewed as being in that tier, and Stewart and Winstanley were not appointed to be influenced by emotion or sentimentality in their squad planning.

Chalobah cannot be sold anywhere against his wishes, and he will take his time to assess his options. He will have suitors — though Chelsea sending such a clear signal that he is surplus to requirements is unlikely to boost his transfer value. He is unquestionably a good Premier League player, a popular team-mate and a model professional, at the very least the type of footballer that most top-flight clubs in England and Europe want in their squads.

Chelsea are just no longer among them.

[Vesper 28,265]

Aston Villa’s Jhon Duran hopes something comes of rumours linking him to ‘big teams’

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5655569/2024/07/24/jhon-duran-aston-villa-transfer-west-ham/

Aston Villa striker Jhon Duran says he hopes something comes of rumours linking him to “big teams” this summer.

Duran has attracted interest from West Ham United, while fellow Premier League side Chelsea had been considering a move for the 20-year-old earlier this summer.

Villa are open to Duran leaving to enable them to strengthen in attacking positions.

“I take it very calmly with the help of my agent and my dad, we are taking everything little by little,” Duran said to ESPN Deportes when asked about the possibility of moving clubs.

“That my name is mentioned with such big teams, it is very important for my career. I’m happy that there are these rumours and let’s hope that something concrete happens.”

Duran joined Villa from MLS side Chicago Fire in January 2023. Since then, he has scored eight goals in 49 games for Villa.

Duran is on holiday following his participation in the Copa America with Colombia. He made one substitute appearance at the tournament as his country reached the final.

Villa have so far signed Amadou Onana, Ross Barkley, Ian Maatsen, Jaden Philogene, Lewis Dobbin, Enzo Barrenechea and Samuel Iling-Junior this summer. Douglas Luiz, Tim Iroegbunam, Morgan Sanson and Calum Chambers have all departed.

GO DEEPER

Amadou Onana to Aston Villa: The Athletic 500 transfer ratings

[Vesper 28,265]

Malang Sarr agrees Lens move after mutual termination of Chelsea contract

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5645583/2024/07/24/malang-sarr-Chelsea-transfer-lens/

Malang Sarr has agreed terms with Lens after Chelsea released him with a year left on his contract.

After the mutual termination of his Chelsea deal, Sarr will not receive a pay-off for the final year of his wages. His arrival at Lens is expected to be confirmed soon.

After joining Chelsea from Nice four years ago, Sarr spent the 2020-21 campaign on loan at Porto, playing 19 first-team matches, but returned to Chelsea for the following season — making 21 appearances across all competitions.

The defender made 22 appearances on a season-long loan spell at Monaco in 2022-23 and spent last season at Chelsea, but did not feature throughout the season under Mauricio Pochettino.

Sarr began his career at Nice, where he debuted as a 17-year-old and made 119 first-team appearances before joining Chelsea as a free agent.

The 25-year-old represented France up to Under-21 level but is also eligible to play for Senegal.

Five players have already left Stamford Bridge this summer with Ian Maatsen (Aston Villa), Lewis Hall (Newcastle United) and Omari Hutchinson (Ipswich Town) all sold, while Thiago Silva and Hakim Ziyech joined Fluminense and Galatasaray respectively on free transfers.

The club have signed defender Tosin Adarabioyo as a free agent from Fulham, while Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Omari Kellyman, Caleb Wiley, Renato Veiga and Marc Guiu have also been brought in.

GO DEEPER

The curious case of Malang Sarr, Chelsea's forgotten man

 

[YorkshireBlue 3,118]

2 hours ago, robsblubot said:

Heh, I'd actually say the same for the people who celebrate young (development) signings instead of silverware. To each his own, I guess. 🤷‍♂️

Haven't won the league since 2017, FA cup since 2018, league cup since 2015, yeah buying youth is clearly the problem....

[KEVINAA 79]

Filip Jorgensen subbed on in 63rd minute and then Villarreal scored to make it 2 -1 in 65th minute against FC sion

https://www.sofascore.com/football/match/villarreal-fc-sion/cZsugb#id:12589340

 

Edited July 24 by KEVINAA

[robsblubot 3,455]

35 minutes ago, YorkshireBlue said:

Haven't won the league since 2017, FA cup since 2018, league cup since 2015, yeah buying youth is clearly the problem....

Love when people conveniently ignore the biggest silverware a club can win. 🤷‍♂️

For the record, I certainly don't. Like I said earlier, to each their own I guess.

Also, what is exactly *better* right now? You can argue that it's likely to get better in the future, but right now there is no competitive advantage from the time you complain about.

Edited July 24 by robsblubot

[YorkshireBlue 3,118]

32 minutes ago, robsblubot said:

Love when people conveniently ignore the biggest silverware a club can win. 🤷‍♂️

For the record, I certainly don't. Like I said earlier, to each their own I guess.

Also, what is exactly *better* right now? You can argue that it's likely to get better in the future, but right now there is no competitive advantage from the time you complain about.

Ok so we won a champions league in 2021, I'm talking about domestic league as we ain't even in the CL ATM, but what is better for me is we are going away from buying players past there prime or "absolute ballers from a farmers league" then going mental when they flop here. I also think the wage structure is better and the fact the club are trying to build a proper identity with the way we play, smash and grab stopped working for us properly years ago.

[TheHulk 1,814]

1 hour ago, Vesper said:

I dont give a tinker's what people think of me on this

IF Clownalke dump fucking 80 million euros on Samu, it is clear they are trying to sabo the club

This club is fucking finished at the top level and nobody can fucking tell me otherwise. 80m for a garbage player like Samu, are you fucking insane, anything over 10m is already a joke.

[TheHulk 1,814]

1 minute ago, YorkshireBlue said:

Ok so we won a champions league in 2021, I'm talking about domestic league as we ain't even in the CL ATM, but what is better for me is we are going away from buying players past there prime or "absolute ballers from a farmers league" then going mental when they flop here. I also think the wage structure is better and the fact the club are trying to build a proper identity with the way we play, smash and grab stopped working for us properly years ago.

Mate we're fucking buying 2/3 shit talents, were going nowhere with this. Either buy real gems and develop them or this shit ain't gonna work. If we get Samu for big money we're fucking moronic.

[OhForAGreavsie 5,862]

2 hours ago, NikkiCFC said:

Broja over Fofana is also odd. 

Fitness demonstration and a bit of hopeful shop-windowing?

Edited July 24 by OhForAGreavsie