Benzema joins Real

[EskWeston 696]

It's looks like he is going to be the big transfer story in the summer! All the major clubs are going to want to sign him. He will cost a fortune because a bidding war will start and also we all know what Lyon are like when negotiating transfers!!!

[KENT_BLUE 1]

hes really good him and anelka will be battling for the spot unless didder goes in summer hope not!

kent_blue

[BlueLion. 21,491]

It's looks like he is going to be the big transfer story in the summer! All the major clubs are going to want to sign him. He will cost a fortune because a bidding war will start and also we all know what Lyon are like when negotiating transfers!!!

You are quite right. The Big Boss has had no problems dishing out £100 million for Carvalho, Shevchenko, Drogba and Essien, so this shouldn't be a problem

[EskWeston 696]

You are quite right. The Big Boss has had no problems dishing out £100 million for Carvalho, Shevchenko, Drogba and Essien, so this shouldn't be a problem

Well if we want him THAT much then we will more than likely pay for him. He is certainly the sort of player i would like to see us sign.

[Steve 10,227]

i have nto seen to much of him but going off what you guys have said he seems like he has a promosing future so lets get him here and see what he can do

[Gianfranco_Z 202]

He might be worth the silly money or might not... (state the obvious GZ..)

But i'm unsure, we dont need to pay over the odds for players otherwise clubs will keep laughing at us...

[BlueLion. 21,491]

But the boy is quality and in my opinion, the best striker in Europe at this moment in time.

[Steve 10,227]

Drogba, Sheva Out, Benzema In?

British tabloid The Mirror claims that both Didier Drogba and Andrei Shevchenko are to leave Chelsea in the summer, with Lyon youngster Karim Benzema apparently being groomed as a replacement...

The Mirror recounted the long-standing story that Didier Drogba is reaching the end of his tether at the Bridge, with the Ivorian allegedly keen to follow Jose Mourinho in departing the London club.

AC Milan are said to be leading the race for the 29-year-old's signature, although the big two in Spain are also said to be interested: as such, there should be little problem in selling Drogba on in summer, should he in fact be eager to leave.

Andriy Shevchenko, meanwhile, has by and large been a disappointment since signing on from AC Milan in 2006 for a mammoth fee in the region of €40m, and could yet be sold back to his old club at a knock-down price.

Such moves would leave a vacancy in attack, with Benzema said to be the leading target among the Chelsea hierarchy to fill it.

The 20-year-old is already an established goalscorer and a French international, with Europe's top clubs all having apparently scouted him on at least one occasion.

Chelsea will no doubt have the financial clout to land him, but there are two major obstacles standing in their way.

The first is that Benzema has stated on more than one occasion that he's looking to complete another season at the Stade Gerland before moving on to pastures new, meaning that he'd be unavailable until July 2009.

The second is that, even if he is ready to move earlier than that, he has also declared that he'd be more amenable to a switch to Italy or Spain than England, due to the Premier League not really suiting his style of play.

Source: Goal

[Elliott 7]

I would settle for that!

[EskWeston 696]

I would settle for that!

Yup same here....

Our attack needs to be sorted big time

[BlueLion. 21,491]

Aguero, David Villa and Benzema would be brilliant in our squad, I feel. It would cost a lot of money but we can easily get £30 out of Drogba and Shevchenko together.

[misschief 24]

My worry is we'll struggle to sign the players we really want because of the mess we're in. Given a choice between the other big clubs in Europe and a laughing stock, which one would an ambitious player choose?

[EskWeston 696]

My worry is we'll struggle to sign the players we really want because of the mess we're in. Given a choice between the other big clubs in Europe and a laughing stock, which one would an ambitious player choose?

Depends who is in charge in the summer really doesn't it!

[Gianfranco_Z 202]

I agree, Aguero, Villa and Benzema would be amazing. Sell malouda, Kalou can play there.

Throw in Klass Jan Huntelaar too

[BlueLion. 21,491]

Aguerro and Villa are overrated IMO and Huntelaar doesn't tickle my fancy either. Benzema's signed a new contract anyway.

[Matthieu CSF'2006 0]

Karim Benzema was named tonight "Best player of Ligue 1 Orange" so maybe soon a CFC player after Drogba (2004), Essien (2005) and Malouda (2007).

Edited May 11, 2008 by Matthieu CSF'2006

[DavidEU 2,023]

Aguerro and Villa are overrated IMO and Huntelaar doesn't tickle my fancy either. Benzema's signed a new contract anyway.

Aguerro is not overated Alex. Looks a top player. Every time i've seen him hes been superb. Not just good, superb.

I agree about David Villa, as he doesnt score enough goals given the attributes and talent he has.

Huntelaar could either be a van Nistelrooy or a Kezman, and for the money Ajax wont, I dont really fancy risking it. He also said the other day that he's excited about working under van Basten (new manager) and wont be leaving.

[BlueLion. 21,491]

Aguerro is not overated Alex. Looks a top player. Every time i've seen him hes been superb. Not just good, superb.

I agree about David Villa, as he doesnt score enough goals given the attributes and talent he has.

Huntelaar could either be a van Nistelrooy or a Kezman, and for the money Ajax wont, I dont really fancy risking it. He also said the other day that he's excited about working under van Basten (new manager) and wont be leaving.

I'm not denying that Aguerro isn't a good player, I think he is excellent, but they way some people talk of him, you'd think he was Pele. Still, at his age, he could become as good as Pele. But it would take a lot of money to bring him here.

[bombayblue™ 55]

Aguerro and Villa are overrated IMO and Huntelaar doesn't tickle my fancy either. Benzema's signed a new contract anyway.

aguerro, for his age, is brilliant

I agree about David Villa, as he doesnt score enough goals given the attributes and talent he has.

Huntelaar could either be a van Nistelrooy or a Kezman, and for the money Ajax wont, I dont really fancy risking it. He also said the other day that he's excited about working under van Basten (new manager) and wont be leaving.

Villa's natural position is a second striker, he is one of the most clever strikers around imho..

he has a great shot on him, great at freekicks, both footed and creates for others..

problem is he's only been played as a lone forward or on the wing of a 4-3-3 in last couple of seasons..

if you haven't been following la liga regularly, ask any one who has and i bet 99% of them would say villa is better than torres..

huntelaar doesn't create but give him the ball and he scores.. but we don't play that type of football.. unless we get both of them or that type of players for a 4-4-2, both won't fulfil their potential..

[the wes 7,212]

Karim Benzema, star of Olympique Lyonnais (and of the French national team) is a wanted man. Many people expected him to move on during the summer, with any number of clubs, on his trail. In fact the list of those that were said to be keen on him read like the inventory of Europe`s most prestigious teams: Chelsea, Manchester United, Arsenal (he is French after all), Barça, Real Madrid, Inter.

And now a Lyon suit has declared that he has an offer on his desk from Chelsea. Unfortunately it`s in the same pile as an offer from Manchester United and Arsenal. Bernand Lacombe, OL`s Technical Director, says as much in an interview in a Spanish newspaper.

OL`s preference would naturally be to hold on to their player. Olympique Lyonnais, as a club, are head and shoulders above any other French side, whether on the pitch or in terms of finances, and their boss, Jean-Michel Aulas, has frequently declared that he wants to be able to keep the endless stream of top quality players from the club that are snatched away every summer. From Michael Essien to Mamadou Diarra to Florent Malouda, it would appear that OL cannot keep their best, and that is despite Aulas` negotiating style: hard-nosed barely begins to describe how tough he is.

Aulas has happily declared that Benzema (considered by many as the new Zidane) is worth €100 million. He probably is trying to scare off suitors. The player and his agent have insisted that there be a 'buy-out clause` in any renewed contract which could allow him to leave. When asked about the price of the player, Lacombe states that 'I`m not authorised to say the price, you would have to ask the player or his agents, but it is sufficiently high to deter many suitors`. For this reason Lacombe insists that Benzema`s departure would have a price, because Benzema should stay at OL at least until the World Cup in South Africa, 2010.

Lacombe is, however, prepared to say that it is 'less than €100 million`, and he is happy to declare to the Barça paper ('El Mundo Deportivo`) that he has written offers from English clubs (Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal) that state that the clubs are prepared to pay what it takes.

When asked about Barça, Lacombe declares that the Catalan club has talked with the player (with OL`s permission and knowledge), but that Barça haven`t tabled any offer since they knew that Benzema didn`t want to leave Lyon. Indeed, the player went on TV to state that his plan was to stay at the club.

Then the interview gets bogged down in one of those typically Spanish messes whereby the press want to know which club he really loves since he was a kid, Madrid or Barça, to which Lacombe suggests that both have good chances to sign the star. It will depend on the offer, although Aulas considers that he won`t go anywhere until 2010.

As news goes, the fact that Chelsea are prepared to pays 'what it takes` to sign one of the very best young players is encouraging. What is less encouraging is that Chelsea will be competing with any number of huge clubs, and are therefore likely to lose out on one of the best strikers in the world. Even if Chelsea can face negotiating with Aulas for a third time.

http://www.Chelsea.vitalfootball.co.uk/article.asp?a=512086 Edited December 21, 2008 by the wes