Chelsea Transfers

[Tomo 21,681]

17 hours ago, Iggy Doonican said:

I haven't read every post on here but we are jumping the gun no doubt about it. There is absolutely no guarantee that next summer we're going to go on a massive spending spree a la 2003. I'm not saying there won't be money to spend but finish finish top 4 a few new players yes but out of Europe completely then we become a less attractive proposition. Starting a thread about who we are going to buy before a ball had been kicked is a bit hard to fathom when you don't know how the players are going to perform. Starting a thread in January would have probably been a better time.

Besides Lampard might be terrible in the market and buy complete duds. There is a touch of the fantasy football / FIFA about this thread it's pure speculation and guesswork but come next summer there will be many unhappy with who we buy or don't buy that's a given.

I don't really see the issue with doing it on a football forum, i have experience in running a football club (all be it very low down on the pyramid) so i am more aware than anyone that it's not going to be as straightforward as getting all the number 1 targets in by July 1st. Also given we are in the early stages of (hopefully) building another title and CL challenging side discussion of how and where we can improve is natural and inevitable.

It's not really any different to posting lineups in the pre match thread that's unlikely to be reciprocated by the manager's selection.

[Tomo 21,681]

1 hour ago, NikkiCFC said:

Let's pretend the guy who wrote this knows what he is doing and these are our targets. 

These five players would definitely improve our team massively. But it matters who we drop for them. Most likely something like this:

Willian-Sancho 

Pedro-Neres

Giroud, Michy-Dembele 

Zouma-Ake 

Alonso-Chilwel

Sancho and Chilwell would cost together around 200m pounds. Neres and Ake 40m each and Dembele probably 70,80m. So around 350m I think we could do this. My only issue is we would still lack top world class CB which should be number one priority. So if possible I would rather go with Warner instead Dembele. It would save us 40+millions and we would be able to go for someone like Romagnoli instead of Ake. And looks like everyone agrees we don't need new midfielder? 

 

What's his record like reliability wise?

If this hypothetically comes to fruition i'd be delighted with Sancho and Dembele (initially wanted more experience on the wing but have strongly come round to Jadon now), content with Chilwell, mixed with Ake but not happy with Neres.

[NikkiCFC 7,582]

1 hour ago, Tomo said:

What's his record like reliability wise?

If this hypothetically comes to fruition i'd be delighted with Sancho and Dembele (initially wanted more experience on the wing but have strongly come round to Jadon now), content with Chilwell, mixed with Ake but not happy with Neres.

I don't know how reliable this guy is. 

Well I'm OK with Neres being fourth choice winger. Definitely not a starter with Pulisic, CHO and Sancho around. Like I said my biggest concern is CB. We absolutely need top, top central defender which Ake isn't. 

Also Thomas Meunier contract expires next summer with PSG. Very good right back for free. Upgrade on Azpi who should be sold. Meunier and James would be nice. 

[Tomo 21,681]

18 minutes ago, NikkiCFC said:

I don't know how reliable this guy is. 

Well I'm OK with Neres being fourth choice winger. Definitely not a starter with Pulisic, CHO and Sancho around. Like I said my biggest concern is CB. We absolutely need top, top central defender which Ake isn't. 

Also Thomas Meunier contract expires next summer with PSG. Very good right back for free. Upgrade on Azpi who should be sold. Meunier and James would be nice. 

Neres would still cost a lot and we need to look at depth from within, we should keep Pedro for the 4th choice rotation winger for aslong as he's happy and capable playing such role. He may not be his prime self anymore or even close but he's won everything there is to win and was part of the greatest club side ever, that type of experience and know-how is invaluable to young wingers still very much learning the trade. If he decides he would rather play reguarly elsewhere then we have enough versatility with Mount, Loftus and even Emerson to play on the wings if we get to stricken or we could change to a diamond until they return.

I disagree with Azpi for now atleast. I want to see if his performances improve playing more sparingly and if they do (and like Pedro is happy playing more bit part) I see no reason as to why we should get rid of him. Should James become an undisputed starter by next summer (which I think he will) we will be hard pressed finding any fullback of any real note that will sign just to play back up.

[Iggy Doonican 4,186]

3 hours ago, Tomo said:

It's not really any different to posting lineups in the pre match thread that's unlikely to be reciprocated by the manager's selection.

Of course it's different if I predict next week's starting line up against Wolves chances are I could be 100% right unless I said Willian and Kante to play at centre back. Having a christmas shopping list for next season is fantasy football there's no middle ground. We don't know where we're going to finish, who's going to have a poor season and with our revolving door when it comes to managers who's going to be in charge.

Unfortunately our days at the top table are over hopefully we might back but have a poor season and players of the calibre of Mbappe wouldn't even consider us. The days of marquee signings are over fans had better get used to it and let's not forget is Roman if things stay the same going to spend money hand over fist on players he's hardly ever going to see in the flesh.

[petre.ispirescu 4,928]

I personally don't think they'll be looking for a left full back, maybe a back up one should Alonso decide he wants out. Emerson has established himself a regular for both club and country, think the only way for him is forward and will improve a lot given he also seems to have the gaffer's trust as well. 

[Tomo 21,681]

22 minutes ago, Iggy Doonican said:

Of course it's different if I predict next week's starting line up against Wolves chances are I could be 100% right unless I said Willian and Kante to play at centre back. Having a christmas shopping list for next season is fantasy football there's no middle ground. We don't know where we're going to finish, who's going to have a poor season and with our revolving door when it comes to managers who's going to be in charge.

Unfortunately our days at the top table are over hopefully we might back but have a poor season and players of the calibre of Mbappe wouldn't even consider us. The days of marquee signings are over fans had better get used to it and let's not forget is Roman if things stay the same going to spend money hand over fist on players he's hardly ever going to see in the flesh.

Did we even get that calibre of player back in the day? Ronaldinho for example didn't go near us and Sheva was past his prime.

Also no CL won't really mean doom in terms of attracting players, if Arsenal without even a title challenge for a decade and a half alongside Europa for the 3rd succesive year can attract Nicolas Pepe (probably the best attainable player on the market summer just gone bar the Ajax pair) I'm sure we can get some quality in, after all, all our three current CM's (one of which the best at what he does) gave up CL football to join us while out of it.

[Tomo 21,681]

10 minutes ago, petre.ispirescu said:

I personally don't think they'll be looking for a left full back, maybe a back up one should Alonso decide he wants out. Emerson has established himself a regular for both club and country, think the only way for him is forward and will improve a lot given he also seems to have the gaffer's trust as well. 

The way he's surprised me is defensively, it's like he's learned how to defend almost overnight (i remember as recently as Fulham away in March i was truly horrified at his defending) however i'm unconvinced he gives us enough going forward, he can get in dangerous positions at will but never really causes any damage.

[Iggy Doonican 4,186]

2 hours ago, Tomo said:

Did we even get that calibre of player back in the day? Ronaldinho for example didn't go near us and Sheva was past his prime.

Also no CL won't really mean doom in terms of attracting players, if Arsenal without even a title challenge for a decade and a half alongside Europa for the 3rd succesive year can attract Nicolas Pepe (probably the best attainable player on the market summer just gone bar the Ajax pair) I'm sure we can get some quality in, after all, all our three current CM's (one of which the best at what he does) gave up CL football to join us while out of it.

No one knew Sheva was past  it you can't deny that wasn't a massive signing. The point is who you want us to buy and who we get are two different things entirely. And running a pub team or even a non league team has no bearing at all it's like comparing running a corner shop to running Harrods.

[OhForAGreavsie 5,775]

38 minutes ago, Iggy Doonican said:

No one knew Sheva was past  it

Not true. I certainly did and said so. I did also say however that if this was the price (signing a player who couldn't help us) we had to pay for having Roman, then I was happy to pay it. I remember someone replying to disagree with me by giving a lot of stats. I said that, having watched Sheva at the world cup that summer, I preferred the evidence of my own eyes. The other person responded to that with yet more stats.

I think both you and @Tomo make valid points. I agree with you that who you want and who you can get are not the same thing.

[Superblue 6,331]

The biggest 'unknown' for me is just how well these young players develop and flourish this season.

If Reece James comes back from injury and slots into right back seamlessly then that it one position we no longer need to prioritise.

If Tammy scores 20+ goals this season and continues to improve his all round game throughout the season we may go from desperately needing to find a goalscorer to instead finding another striker to complement him.

Hudson-Odoi, Pulisic, Mount and RLC are all talented enough to lock down spots in the attacking positions of the team. Does that mean that we retain the likes of Willian and Pedro for another season as their backup or we can perhaps take a little risk with more of a 'project' buy in that position who can be given the time to settle in as opposed to a star signing.

One of the defenders also may strike up an excellent partnership with Rudiger which continues to improve throughout the season. At the moment I believe Tomori, Christensen and Zouma are all very good, solid squad players but none are at the level yet where they're quite regular first teamer at the highest level. However if one makes that step up through the season and Rudiger takes up the mantle of leading that defence then in 8 months time we may all be looking completely differently at this area of the pitch.

At the moment, there are big gaps to fill in the squad but there is every chance that a number of those can be filled by these players as the season progresses. RLC in particular showed last season just how quickly players can develop and kick on rapidly and whilst this season may not amount to a successful one in regards to trophies and league position, it could be one of the more important seasons in recent years for laying the groundwork for future successes with a new core of players.

 

[Tomo 21,681]

12 minutes ago, Superblue_1986 said:

The biggest 'unknown' for me is just how well these young players develop and flourish this season.

If Reece James comes back from injury and slots into right back seamlessly then that it one position we no longer need to prioritise.

If Tammy scores 20+ goals this season and continues to improve his all round game throughout the season we may go from desperately needing to find a goalscorer to instead finding another striker to complement him.

Hudson-Odoi, Pulisic, Mount and RLC are all talented enough to lock down spots in the attacking positions of the team. Does that mean that we retain the likes of Willian and Pedro for another season as their backup or we can perhaps take a little risk with more of a 'project' buy in that position who can be given the time to settle in as opposed to a star signing.

One of the defenders also may strike up an excellent partnership with Rudiger which continues to improve throughout the season. At the moment I believe Tomori, Christensen and Zouma are all very good, solid squad players but none are at the level yet where they're quite regular first teamer at the highest level. However if one makes that step up through the season and Rudiger takes up the mantle of leading that defence then in 8 months time we may all be looking completely differently at this area of the pitch.

At the moment, there are big gaps to fill in the squad but there is every chance that a number of those can be filled by these players as the season progresses. RLC in particular showed last season just how quickly players can develop and kick on rapidly and whilst this season may not amount to a successful one in regards to trophies and league position, it could be one of the more important seasons in recent years for laying the groundwork for future successes with a new core of players.

I think in many cases investment is required regardless. Striker especially, even if Tammy hits over 20 we will still need another striker as the alternative would be Tammy going down/losing form away from being back in the shit again. Ultimately to compete long term we need serious depth, either through a 'B team' that in itself is top 6/8 quality or a solid 6-8 players that can play in multiple positions.

[Superblue 6,331]

8 hours ago, Tomo said:

I think in many cases investment is required regardless. Striker especially, even if Tammy hits over 20 we will still need another striker as the alternative would be Tammy going down/losing form away from being back in the shit again. Ultimately to compete long term we need serious depth, either through a 'B team' that in itself is top 6/8 quality or a solid 6-8 players that can play in multiple positions.

We definitely need to strengthen, we've made those mistakes before.

The success of our young players though will likely go a long way to determining who and what areas we strengthen. At the moment the assumption across much the fan base is that Reece James will take over at right back and be superb. If he isn't though, then right back could become a priority position. If he develops as we all hope he will though, Azpilicueta is more than capable of being a second choice right back so suddenly we go from it being a priority position to not needing anything there for the forseeable future.

I agree, I think we will definitely need a striker in the summer. However Tammy's success and development this season may well determine whether we are in the market for a plan A or plan B striker.

[robsblubot 3,221]

17 hours ago, Tomo said:

I think in many cases investment is required regardless. Striker especially, even if Tammy hits over 20 we will still need another striker as the alternative would be Tammy going down/losing form away from being back in the shit again. Ultimately to compete long term we need serious depth, either through a 'B team' that in itself is top 6/8 quality or a solid 6-8 players that can play in multiple positions.

Indeed! specifically a striker with different characteristics. More skillful? I understand folks are enthusiastic with Tammy atm, but it wouldn't surprise me if his form dipped esp against stronger opposition. To me Bats and Tammy are both very similar. Poachers. They are both not very good with the ball at their feet and don't hold the ball up particularly well. Tammy actually isn't that great in the air yet, despite his height - though this is def one area I expect him to improve on.

 

[!Hazard! 3,394]

I still think Belotti is a proper striker and would fit into Lampard's football like a glove. If there was a chance to get him for a reasonable price (not more than 60 million or so), he could be a great option

[killer1257 3,282]

1 hour ago, !Hazard! said:

I still think Belotti is a proper striker and would fit into Lampard's football like a glove. If there was a chance to get him for a reasonable price (not more than 60 million or so), he could be a great option

I don´t think that Belotti is good enough. Especially in the PL, he would not do well.

If Tammy performs that way he is doing now, I would be happy to have Batsman and Tammy for next season.

What we need more is a world class CB and a world class winger. Let us see how CHO will do because if he gets back to his best, he will be a starter again. But Pulisic is not doing that well and because he was never a consistent player, we need to buy a world class winger. There are sadly not many names that would make me happy. I would go for Ziyech, Zaha or Sancho. The last one would be ideal because of his age and potential. CB wise I would go for Konate or Skriniar. Romagnoli would be the third option.

[Special Juan 27,103]

If we want to reach the heights of previous years we need an out and out top class striker, whoever that maybe.

Wings backs are massive in football now, Reece needs to come in and offer us massive amounts like he has shown. Emerson has kicked on and is miles ahead of Alonso in terms of both defending and attacking. If Reece, Ruben and CHO come into the fold and be massive hits then we will save stacks of cash, but that doesn't mean it doesn't need spending elsewhere. A CB to play with Rudiger is a must, I really do not trust AC or Zouma I think they are way too inconsistent.

[Vesper 27,310]

6 minutes ago, killer1257 said:

I would go for Ziyech, Zaha or Sancho. The last one would be ideal because of his age and potential. CB wise I would go for Konate or Skriniar. Romagnoli would be the third option.

If not Sancho

I SO recco Federico Chiesa and Mikel Oyarzabal

both are pure class and so young but already have massive top flight experience and both can play both sides