Chelsea Transfers

[Nero 1,870]

I wouldn't blame him if he wanted to leave.

Lamps has preferred Barkley over CHO 

[ZAPHOD2319 4,803]

Mendy is not playing today.

[shrenshah 186]

1 hour ago, Patrick Bamford said:

I wouldn't blame him if he wanted to leave.

Lamps has preferred Barkley over CHO 

We dont have any backup winger though

[killer1257 3,282]

We dont have any backup winger though

Lampard sees Mount as our no. 1 winger BU, so CHO is only our second choice BU

Gesendet von meinem VOG-L29 mit Tapatalk

[MoroccanBlue 5,378]

2 hours ago, Patrick Bamford said:

I wouldn't blame him if he wanted to leave.

Lamps has preferred Barkley over CHO 

So he can go from sitting on our bench to sitting Bayerns? 

I think many of you are forgetting the sheer amount of games we have this season. CHO will get enough playing time. 

 

[Vesper 30,118]

1 minute ago, MoroccanBlue said:

So he can go from sitting on our bench to sitting Bayerns? 

I think many of you are forgetting the sheer amount of games we have this season. CHO will get enough playing time. 

 

It does seem a strange play by Bayern. They already have 2 really class LWers in Sané and CL game winning goal scorer Coman. Maybe they want to use him as Gnabry's backup at RW, as they have no one really there unless you count Müller. Seems strange to but another right-footed winger though, as that means all four of their wingers would be right-footed.

[coolhead23 1,147]

Seems like we will have Kepa for the the weekend game as well ... 

[coolhead23 1,147]

20 minutes ago, Vesper said:

It does seem a strange play by Bayern. They already have 2 really class LWers in Sané and CL game winning goal scorer Coman. Maybe they want to use him as Gnabry's backup at RW, as they have no one really there unless you count Müller. Seems strange to but another right-footed winger though, as that means all four of their wingers would be right-footed.

Maybe it is more from the end that you took our young players lets take urs

I feel this could be more from an investment view, if games are divided between Gnabry and Odoi and if he clicks, PL clubs would come in for him at a higher ceiling. 

[lucio 5,418]

Should have signed boga for peanuts just in case this happened 

[Vesper 30,118]

2 minutes ago, lucio said:

Should have signed boga for peanuts just in case this happened 

I think Boga, at this exact point in time, is a better player than CHO.

I have no idea why we do not snap him up for (like you said) peanuts

he is a fucking weapon

[Vesper 30,118]

9 minutes ago, coolhead23 said:

Seems like we will have Kepa for the the weekend game as well ... 

dog help us

[coolhead23 1,147]

Just now, Vesper said:

dog help us

Well it would only be Marina now

[Vesper 30,118]

Four centre-backs, only one place alongside Silva – so who will leave Chelsea?

https://theathletic.com/2065068/2020/09/15/chelsea-thiago-silva-kurt-zouma-andreas-christensen-fikayo-tomori-antonio-rudiger/

The arrival of Thiago Silva to Chelsea has given coach Frank Lampard a bit of a quandary: which centre-back does he let go to keep the balance and morale of the squad healthy?

As expected, Silva was not in the first XI for the opening 3-1 win away to Brighton & Hove Albion, having only begun training with his new team-mates over the weekend. But it is pretty clear the former Paris Saint-Germain captain will be a regular once fully fit, potentially from this Sunday when Liverpool are the visitors to west London. You don’t acquire a player of his ilk to leave on the sidelines.

Lampard suggested as much during an interview with NBC. “Thiago will bring us the experience of playing in winning teams and what it takes to win,” the Chelsea coach said. “I hope that he can lead from the back in terms of how he holds himself, can communicate with others around him because we have some younger players in and around him. Hopefully that will address some of those defensive problems.”

Against Brighton, Lampard went with a pairing of Kurt Zouma and Andreas Christensen. Both enjoyed positive performances, the former even getting on the scoresheet, and the coach described their displays as “terrific”.

But memories of last season when Chelsea conceded 54 goals — the worst record in the top half of the table — are still fresh. Silva has been brought in to make sure that record significantly improves.

Chelsea have five first-team centre-backs on their books and four of those are going to be essentially fighting over one position more often than not. Playing with a back three is a possibility of course, yet unlikely to be a regular occurrence.

The situation looked straightforward a week ago when it emerged Everton were in talks about signing Fikayo Tomori on a season-long loan. The England international was pretty keen to go to get regular first-team football and that desire may have increased after being left out of the matchday squad for the trip to Brighton.

However, as The Athletic revealed — and Lampard would go on to confirm in his pre-match press conference — Tomori could still be part of his plans this season and a final decision hasn’t been made.

Tomori was in a similar situation on the eve of the last campaign. He was set to go to Everton on loan only to be promoted to the senior ranks following David Luiz’s departure to Arsenal.

Should history repeat itself, that automatically triggers the question, who is being lined up to leave instead? The fixture list is going to be intense over the next eight months, but managers don’t like to have too many individuals around the camp not getting many minutes and the players themselves don’t particularly relish the prospect either.

If Tomori is kept on, then one has to wonder what lies in store for Antonio Rudiger, Christensen and Zouma. Despite those last two names featuring on Monday night, there is a case for any one of the trio to make way.

Chelsea have spent more than £200 million on new players and will attempt to balance the books before the window closes on October 5 by selling personnel.

With his deal expiring in 2023 and still young at 25, Zouma is believed to have been a candidate to be sold for several months simply because of the fee he could command. However, he started more games for Chelsea in the Premier League (25) than any other centre-back during Lampard’s first year at the helm and was trusted at Brighton from the outset, so it would be a surprise if he departs now.

Readers have raised the prospect that Rudiger and Christensen are particularly in jeopardy. Both have reached the significant stage of having two years left on their contract, the time when clubs most like to sell to avoid an asset depreciating in value. Just to add to the intrigue, it is understood Chelsea haven’t begun talks over an extension with either of them.

The duo struggled for consistency in 2019-20. Rudiger wasn’t helped by seeing the start to his campaign delayed by a knee injury and then suffering a groin problem on his first game back, while Christensen went two months without an appearance at club level due to a hamstring strain.

Rudiger’s reaction to being named on the bench is uncertain. But sources at the club insist he is not going anywhere, is happy at Stamford Bridge and remains relaxed about when any negotiations over his future begin.

So that means bad news for Christensen, right? That doesn’t appear to be the case either. Christensen is also content at Chelsea and is ready to fight for his place. Indeed, insiders at Stamford Bridge suggest he is enjoying working under Lampard and is excited at the prospect of playing with Silva should the opportunity arise. There is certainly no desire to leave even though clubs in Europe have been in contact.

With the transfer deadline three weeks away, neither Rudiger or Christensen have been given an indication by the club that they may have to seek pastures new.

At present, it still seems the most likely move is for Tomori to leave on loan after starting on just three occasions in 2020.

Or could all five be kept on? Silva turns 36 on September 22 and there have to be doubts over whether he can handle the pace and physicality of England’s top division every week.

For now, it appears Lampard is keeping his options open. “As we saw last year it (the defensive pairing) changed a lot,” he said. “Some of that you don’t always want because you want a consistency in who you pick, but you also have to have competition at the same time.

“The challenge to the players at the back is: can you show with your training and the way you play that you deserve to be there and give a consistent performance which means I don’t change it? Then the challenge goes to those who want to get into the team.

“That’s how you generate an uplift in levels among the squad now, when you’re bringing in players that hopefully bring the general level up as opposed to anyone taking it as a negative and thinking ‘that’s me done’. Everyone has to rise and fight for their place in the team.”

[Nero 1,870]

21 minutes ago, coolhead23 said:

Seems like we will have Kepa for the the weekend game as well ... 

[Unionjack 7,531]

Cant we please just buy another and shift one on? I wouldn't mind , honest!