Chelsea Transfers

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Chelsea planning more transfers in January window – Enzo Maresca

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5782097/2024/09/20/Chelsea-transfers-january-window-enzo-maresca/

Enzo Maresca says Chelsea are already intending to make more signings next year in order to bridge the gap to Manchester City and Arsenal.

Chelsea were the biggest spenders for the third time in the last four windows this summer, with £219million spent on transfers.

It takes their outlay on the team since the Todd Boehly-Clearlake consortium took over in May 2022 to well over £1billion.

Despite this, Maresca does not see Chelsea as ready to compete with Manchester City and Arsenal, who currently sit first and second respectively in the Premier League table.

He said: “I think we are a very good squad but there are clubs like Manchester City and Arsenal that are ahead of us, no doubt. Hopefully (if) we progress and (keep) improving, we can slowly, slowly be close to them. But I think it is quite clear that in this moment Arsenal and Manchester City are ahead of the rest.

“Like I have said, the reason why is one club is nine years with the same manager (Pep Guardiola joined Manchester City in 2016), the other (Mikel Arteta at Arsenal) is five years. The rest of the clubs…is a short time.”

When pressed if that meant Chelsea need to buy more players, he added: “The target after the last summer (window) is to try to do less things but more specific.

“This is the target for January and for next summer. Hopefully it can be like this.”

GO DEEPER

Chelsea squad audit: Analysing the 33-player group and their roles under Enzo Maresca

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RB Leipzig centre-back Castello Lukeba as they continue to target the best young talent

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5 minutes ago, KEVINAA said:

 

RB Leipzig centre-back Castello Lukeba as they continue to target the best young talent

He is also a more than decent LB.

Super athletic.

Plus he is 5 cm taller than Jurrien Timber, a similar type player.

1.84m v 1.79m

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Inter Milan are interested in signing Benoit Badiashile as they believe he would fit into Simone Inzaghi system. The French CB is valued at €20m-€25m.

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28 minutes ago, Vesper said:

He is also a more than decent LB.

Super athletic.

Plus he is 5 cm taller than Jurrien Timber, a similar type player.

1.84m v 1.79m

Too bad Chelsea almost signed Lukeba in the summer of 2022 for €43m today RB Leipzig is asking €75-€90M for him.😵‍💫

https://www.getfootballnewsfrance.com/2022/lyon-turned-down-summer-offer-from-Chelsea-for-defender-castello-lukeba/

[Reddish-Blue 2,495]

7 minutes ago, mkh said:

Inter Milan are interested in signing Benoit Badiashile as they believe he would fit into Simone Inzaghi system. The French CB is valued at €20m-€25m.

He would probably do better in the Italian league.  I thought Inter recently signed another defender

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1 hour ago, mkh said:

Inter Milan are interested in signing Benoit Badiashile as they believe he would fit into Simone Inzaghi system. The French CB is valued at €20m-€25m.

Terrible player, his Disisi need to be gone

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How are you expected to have consistency when transfers not stopping ?  Clownlake  should stop pretending they understand football and leave these decisions to people who do .

 

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3 hours ago, mkh said:

Too bad Chelsea almost signed Lukeba in the summer of 2022 for €43m today RB Leipzig is asking €75-€90M for him.😵‍💫

https://www.getfootballnewsfrance.com/2022/lyon-turned-down-summer-offer-from-Chelsea-for-defender-castello-lukeba/

that is way too much

JUST ON CBs we fucked about with:

Wes Fofana £75m

Disasi £38.5m

Badiashile  £33.5m

Koulibaly £35m (Lukeba would have cost roughly the same in transfer fees back then and Lukeba also would have been on a massively lower wage, plus as Lukeba is left footed, we never would have bought Badi I wager)

£182m gross shit away (somewhat less IF Fofana really comes good AND stays healthy but he will never be a £75m CB post-massive injuries, the main one which happened BEFORE we bought him, ffs, Leicester raped us for him and also KDH, £105m total in transfer fees + add-ons, basically we paid DOUBLE what they are worth)

Edited September 26, 2024 by Vesper

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Man City appear to have secured a potentially significant victory in their legal battle with the Premier League over the rules designed to limit how much associated parties can pay clubs in sponsorship, reports @TimesSport.

The main thing is that our deal with Infinite Athlete has been scrutinized for weeks and City has been getting away with it for years!!!

🤢🤢

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24 minutes ago, mkh said:

Man City appear to have secured a potentially significant victory in their legal battle with the Premier League over the rules designed to limit how much associated parties can pay clubs in sponsorship, reports @TimesSport.

The main thing is that our deal with Infinite Athlete has been scrutinized for weeks and City has been getting away with it for years!!!

🤢🤢

Vote delay suggests Man City legal victory over Premier League

‘Last-minute’ withdrawal of league-wide vote indicates City have had at least partial success in attempt to change rules on sponsorship deals

https://www.thetimes.com/sport/football/article/premier-league-manchester-city-apt-rules-trial-result-mzc65t0m7

Manchester City appear to have secured a potentially significant victory in their legal battle with the Premier League over the rules designed to limit how much associated parties can pay clubs in sponsorship.

As The Times revealed in June, City launched unprecedented legal action against the league in a move that has sparked civil war in English football’s top flight.

A two-week private arbitration hearing that started on June 10 was focused on Associated Party Transaction (APT) rules, which City argued are unlawful and contrary to the Competition Act 1998.

Introduced in December 2021 in the wake of the Saudi-led takeover of Newcastle United, the rules were designed to maintain the competitiveness of the Premier League by preventing clubs from inflating commercial deals with companies linked to their owners. The rules dictate that such transactions have to be independently assessed to be of “fair market value”.

A central pillar of those new rules was a databank to which clubs are required to submit all commercial contracts, and which in certain circumstances can be used to validate the value of such deals.

The Times understands the 20 Premier League clubs were due to vote on an amendment to rules specific to the database at the shareholders’ meeting in central London on Thursday. The clubs were to be asked to vote on restricting access to the databank. The vote would have meant regulatory commissions and arbitration panels could not have given access to individual clubs to use the databank to acquire commercial information about rival clubs.

However, the planned vote on the amendment was removed from the agenda late last night, even though more specific details of what the amendment regarded were not included.

According to sources, the “last-minute” withdrawal is being interpreted as an indication that a City legal team, led by Lord Pannick KC, have certainly enjoyed some success in convincing an independent panel that the rules on sponsorship deals need to be changed.

Further to that, it may also suggest that it was deemed pointless making one amendment if an issue with the databank actually has wider implications for all the rules regarding APTs.

The development comes with the Premier League’s case against City for 115 alleged breaches of financial rules now in its second week. It remains to be seen how a change to APT rules could impact on the case concerning those alleged breaches, but many of the charges concern City’s sponsorship agreements. That hearing, which is expected to last ten weeks, could lead to huge fines for the club owners and possibly even relegation for Pep Guardiola’s all-conquering side.

City submitted a 165-page legal document challenging the APT rules. The English champions argue that they are the victims of “discrimination”, describing rules they say have been approved by their rivals to stifle their success on the pitch as a “tyranny of the majority”.

Clubs feared that, should City be successful, it could enable the richest clubs to value their sponsorship deals without independent assessment, vastly boosting the amount of money they can raise and therefore giving them far greater sums to spend on players.

The Premier League have been approached for comment. A spokesperson for City said: “As you know, we are not in a position to comment.”

 

Edited September 26, 2024 by Vesper

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Arsenal and Chelsea send scouts to watch Max Moerstedt

https://thehardtackle.com/transfer-news/2024/09/27/arsenal-and-Chelsea-send-scouts-to-watch-max-moerstedt/

Arsenal and Chelsea scouts were present on Wednesday to watch Max Moerstedt in action, thus sparking rumours of their interest. 

According to TBR, Max Moerstedt has emerged as a player of interest to the likes of Arsenal and Chelsea. The Hoffenheim teenager scored on his European debut for the Bundesliga side on Wednesday, as scouts from both teams were present to watch him in action. 

It’s not a surprise that scouts from top clubs are ever present to watch a given player. These sides with enormous resources often have a wide scouting network that allows them to be in different places at the same time, and that was the case with Arsenal and Chelsea. 

These are two Premier League sides with many young players on their radar. Chelsea in particular, have shown the knack to sign young and unproven stars for big money as they seem to be investing in the potential rather than proven talent, as they watched Max Moerstedt in action on Wednesday in the Europa League. 

Hoffenheim took on FC Midtjylland in Denmark, as Moerstedt scored in the 89th minute to salvage a draw. The 18-year-old Bundesliga attacker has come to the fore for his club this season since the departure of former Chelsea target Maximilian Beier last summer, as the forward chose to join Borussia Dortmund despite heavy interest from the Premier League. 

In any case, Hoffenheim has found a suitable replacement for Beier in Moerstedt and could look to develop the teenager into a far better striker than his predecessor. However, with scouts of big clubs such as Chelsea and Arsenal watching with intent, it will be soon that Moerstedt leaves for new pastures. 

Arsenal and Chelsea keen on Moerstedt

By now, it must be clear that Moerstedt is a player of interest to both Arsenal and Chelsea. While the Blues are clear with their idea of building a future project with young and unproven stars, the Gunners have different ideas as they are looking for a young forward to play close to the first team. 

Arsenal have Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus in their squad and need a new young player to replace the departed Eddie Nketiah. Having cooled their interest in Benjamin Sesko lately, they could potentially target a younger name to come into the side and stake his claim for a regular spot in the team. 

 

 

 

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EXCLUSIVE: Enzo Maresca requests Bayer Leverkusen wonderkid as Chelsea send scouts

Bayer Leverkusen Under-19s midfielder Francis Onyeka is being scouted by Chelsea after Enzo Maresca pinpointed the youngster as a possible addition, FootballTransfers can reveal.

https://www.footballtransfers.com/en/transfer-news/uk-premier-league/2024/09/Chelsea-transfer-news-enzo-maresca-requests-bayer-leverkusen-wonderkid-as-bliues-send-scouts

The 17-year-old has already caught the eye of several Premier League clubs, with the Blues and Tottenham being huge admirers.

According to sources close to Maresca, we are informed that the Italian had scouts also watching him while he was in charge at Leicester City. For Chelsea, meanwhile, the wonderkid fits their blueprint of bringing the world’s best young footballers to Stamford Bridge.

READ MORE: How a former Chelsea star's court case could KILL the transfer market

Onyeka is a product of Bayer Leverkusen's youth academy, and he is been called up for Germany Under-18s on several occasions.

The versatile midfielder can operate as a central attacking midfielder, central midfielder, or left winger. Onyeka's strengths include precise passing, incredible vision, and excellent link-up play, something which has impressed Maresca.

Bayer will play hardball

In April it was reported via Kicker that Bayer will now invest heavily in bringing through young academy players. There is a feeling that the club would be better served bringing in potential future first-team players rather than footballers who directly strengthen the first XI.

Despite being reigning Bundesliga champions, the club feel that they cannot compete financially with 'England and the multi-club-ownership models in the Premier League.'

Simon Rolfes, the club's director, said:: "That is why it is important to train good players in our own academy or sign them at the age of 16, like Florian Wirtz."

Another player who is highly regarded at the club is Onyeka and Bayer will fight tooth and nail to keep him at the BayArena.

Edited September 26, 2024 by Vesper

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Surprisingly low: Bayern's offer price for Wirtz

https://www.fussballtransfers.com/a1467119340200011389-ueberraschend-niedrig-bayerns-preisvorstellung-bei-wirtz

It has long been known that FC Bayern would like to complete the congenial national team duo Wusiala. But the record champions apparently want to put far less money on the table for Florian Wirtz than Bayer Leverkusen imagines.

This weekend there will be a big clash between the two wonderkids of German football. In the top match of the Bundesliga, record champions Bayern Munich will host reigning champions Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday evening (6:30 p.m.) . It will also be a duel between Jamal Musiala (21) and Florian Wirtz (21). Both have already proven in the national team that they can work magic together. If it is up to the Munich team, the two attacking players should soon do the same at club level.

While the record champions are working on extending Musiala's contract, they are still dreaming of signing Wirtz from Leverkusen. The club is said to be aiming for this, even if it will not be a cheap undertaking. In the spring, Bayer boss Fernando Carro announced in a widely watched radio interview that Leverkusen would "never let their top technician go for less than 150 million" . But FCB seems to have other ideas, as the 'Abendzeitung' is now reporting.

Bayern wants to push down prices

As a result, those in charge at last season's third-placed club are assuming that Wirtz will be available for significantly less next summer. The national player is expected to cost a maximum of around 100 million euros - so Bayern want to reduce the price by a third. It will be interesting to see what Leverkusen thinks of this asking price.

In addition, Munich will not be the only ones bidding for the playmaker. Real Madrid is also still considered to be interested. And Wirtz is also being watched from the Premier League. Arsenal FC, along with Manchester City, are also said to want to get into the poker game for the right-footer . Wirtz himself recently stressed that he has no idea of a transfer in mind and does not want to deal with the topic at the moment. However, this will probably only apply until next spring at the latest.

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Barcelona eyeing Mykhailo Mudryk swoop

September 27, 2024 

 

https://thehardtackle.com/transfer-news/2024/09/27/barcelona-eyeing-mykhailo-mudryk-swoop/