Transfer Talk Topic

[martin1905]

Just now, Original 21 said:

A naive question to those who understand these things. We’ve got this Mount deal done before 30 June presumably for FFP. Same with Havertz, Kovacic, Mendy, Koulibaly etc. That’s quite a pot of money. Does this mean that money is solely to cover the signings of Enzo, Mudryk, Fofana, Nkunku? Or is it money we can carry over into the rest of the window for buying Caicedo and others we’re planning to bring in such as another AM and centre forward? 

I'm not that clued on on FFP but read somewhere recently that we literally have money to burn due to the way it works and how much we have slashed our wage bill by.

I'm expecting us to go very big on Caicedo, at least one AM and a ST.

[Ham]

3 minutes ago, Original 21 said:

A naive question to those who understand these things. We’ve got this Mount deal done before 30 June presumably for FFP. Same with Havertz, Kovacic, Mendy, Koulibaly etc. That’s quite a pot of money. Does this mean that money is solely to cover the signings of Enzo, Mudryk, Fofana, Nkunku? Or is it money we can carry over into the rest of the window for buying Caicedo and others we’re planning to bring in such as another AM and centre forward? 

In a sentence, we're in a very healthy position now in relation to the signings already made and in terms of how much we want to throw at signings from 1 July onwards (new accounting period) thanks to amortisation. 

[martin1905]

1 minute ago, Ham said:

Martin's ITK in the mud 😉

He's done me up like a kipper this time 🤣

Not only that he also told me ages ago that Mount wanted to play for Klopp and no one else. 

Although to be fair he did say it was always about him wanting to play as a number 8 and the way United played last season opened that up for him, whereas previously it was all about Liverpool.

And he did say months and months ago that he was 100% off so at least he got that right.

[Ham]

7 minutes ago, JaneB said:

I am livid that Mason and the club couldn’t sort things out but without knowing what really went on it’s difficult to have an informed opinion.

Such a transfer would have been unthinkable a year or two ago.  Mason has been at the club since he was 6 (?) and was going to be Chelsea’s next homegrown superstar and possible captain.  
 

Something has gone terribly wrong but it is what it is.  I guess if Poch had really wanted him he would stayed.

Of course I don’t wish him any ill but I really hope the grass isn’t greener at OT.

I feel very let down 🙁

The real fear is that if this can happen with Mason, it can happen with RJ.  

 

[thevelourfog]

5 minutes ago, Original 21 said:

A naive question to those who understand these things. We’ve got this Mount deal done before 30 June presumably for FFP. Same with Havertz, Kovacic, Mendy, Koulibaly etc. That’s quite a pot of money. Does this mean that money is solely to cover the signings of Enzo, Mudryk, Fofana, Nkunku? Or is it money we can carry over into the rest of the window for buying Caicedo and others we’re planning to bring in such as another AM and centre forward? 

I doubt it's anything to do with FFP. We've been pretty comfortable with that because of the obscene contract lengths. The finances just making for something journalists can talk about. It'll be much simpler ... Wanting to move on players before pre-season starts and knowing ASAP how much actual money (like, in the bank account, not in FFP terms) we have to buy players.

This huge clear out is only really justifiable if we're going big on another 2 or 3 players, imo. Hopefully ones that have done more than play a few games in the Ukrainian league.

[thevelourfog]

I've said it before but I really do not like that our transfer dealings are so out in the open this summer. Every step of every deal has been with Romano, Jacobs or Ornstein immediately. None were that well connected with us 18, even 12, months ago. It is really clear it is coming from the club, and that it is sanctioned and not someone going rogue. I don't see the benefit of it. Loose lips and all that.

[Sleeping Dave]

11 hours ago, Thiago97 said:

I tend to agree on Kepa. Whilst GKs often improve with age and experience, I feel he has had more than enough chances now , and we simply have not seen enough improvement from him.

I firmly believe we will regret not bringing in a No1 if we start with Kepa. He makes few direct errors which lead to goals, but the flip side of that is he doesn’t make enough key saves. We still see weak wrists on a regular basis. How many genuine really great games where he has won us points can people think of ? I have one that sticks out in my mind and that was Villa away last season.  The fact that Villa game sticks in my mind , suggests their are not many more available.

If we are not spending big on a keeper, then we need a competent and experienced GK option who can firmly compete with Kepa and is not an obvious No2 .  Maybe Sanchez at Brighton(no longer No1 under De Zerbi) , Szcesny at Juve , Meslier at Leeds ( though form dropped off last season) . I fear Poch will regret putting his faith in Kepa. 

Yes, fully agreed. Kepa isn’t the one, it’s been clear for years and he will never be. Yes I understand there’s no way we can get rid of him - there isn’t a single team in world football that would be interested to sign him considering his wages (£100k/week). Even if we would take a hit on his book value and basically give him away for free there is no takers. So we are stuck with him until his contract is up. At that point there is only two options - release him or give him a new contract that matches his ability, say £40k/week and GK2. 

10 hours ago, Bison said:

It's absolutely ridiculous that Kepa's replacement (Mendy) was discarded at the first available opportunity after bad form but this joker has been allowed to continue his career here just because nobody else in world football will touch his contract with a bargepole.

Yes but see my reply above. The deal he is on makes it impossible to move him on. Unfair sure, but that is not his fault. The blame is all on us there. How anyone could imagine it being a good idea to buy him for £70m and 100k/week for 6(?) years (or was it 7?) is impossible to grasp. 

6 hours ago, xceleryx said:

Have you considered that we conceded a lot of goals from outside of the box because our midfield has been a dysfunctional mess? No proper holding midfielder to shield the defence or close down space, then often those who are playing aren't closing down or getting themselves back into the positions they need to be in. 

You only need to look at some of the longer range goals we conceded last season to see the midfield doing the defence or Kepa no favours. 

My lord, the Kepa apologists are absolutely hilarious. You are falling over yourselves trying to defend him. What RDCW says below - absolutely spot on. Most of the time he’s bad from a statistical point of view vs other keepers. But with the eye test it’s always been clear he lacks the basic platform to even be a top keeper. 

6 hours ago, RDCW said:

That may be true  but Kepa should still have saved many of the shots he did let in. We aren't basing our opinions on the performance of the defence because he OBSERVABLY let the side down at times with his inability to react quickly enough, judge the flight of a ball, move his feet quickly to overcome his deficiency in stature, or anticipate the intention of the shooter. These are all minimum requirements for a competent keeper. 

As such any criticism of the defence as a reason for Kepa's inadequacy is an irrelevance: We are not talking about the statistics, we are talking about the empirical evidence that he has been incapable of making saves which other keepers would have made in the circumstances in which he found  himself. 

I think we should keep looking and find someone better without spending a silly sum on a "new" superstar keeper. It does, in my opinion, represent a priority, because no side can challenge for honours without a trustworthy custodian!

 

[Ham]

This is AWESOME

 

[Sleeping Dave]

3 hours ago, thevelourfog said:

Doesn't seem there was anything in @martin1905's contact's story.

 

If true we need to sign another attacking midfielder imo. No way can we sell both Mount and Havertz and replace them with Jackson? Say what you want about their production, but over the last three seasons they have scored 39 PL goals between them, or 23% of all our PL goals in 20/21, 21/22 and 22/23. Of course we need to replace that..? 

[My Blood Is Blue]

1 hour ago, JaneB said:

All queries to @My Blood Is Blue 😉

@chara you’ll make it to the first team in no time, I have no doubt about it!

[chara]

1 minute ago, My Blood Is Blue said:

@chara you’ll make it to the first team in no time, I have no doubt about it!

Promises, promises.

My agent tells me that another big club is interested...loyalty isn't guaranteed!

[Bob Singleton]

12 minutes ago, Original 21 said:

A naive question to those who understand these things. We’ve got this Mount deal done before 30 June presumably for FFP. Same with Havertz, Kovacic, Mendy, Koulibaly etc. That’s quite a pot of money. Does this mean that money is solely to cover the signings of Enzo, Mudryk, Fofana, Nkunku? Or is it money we can carry over into the rest of the window for buying Caicedo and others we’re planning to bring in such as another AM and centre forward? 

Regarding FFP (and it's currently essentially the same for PL as for UEFA, though the way UEFA will monitor finances will change soon) the figures are worked out over a rolling 3 year period. We are currently coming up to the end of the 1st July 2020 to 30th June 2023 period. During that period we are allowed by UEFA (the stricter of the two) to spend €5m more than we earn. There are exceptions and exemptions, but I won't go into that just now.

For those talking about 'wages off the books', any savings from getting rid of big earners won't come into effect until the next accounting period (1st July 2021 - 30th June 2024), as this years' wages are already on the books. Transfer fees recouped, however, are a big deal. Any money coming in now goes in the "income" column. All of it. Unlike money spent on a player, which is amortized over the length of the contract (to a max of 5 years from 1st July 2023), the full value of the sale is counted. So selling a player for £100m allows you to buy FIVE players at £100m each on 5 year contracts (OK, it's not quite that simple, as wages also have to be taken into account, but you get the gist).

Regarding those exceptions/exemptions; one of them is that even if you have spent more than is permissible, UEFA will not sanction a club that is showing "intent" to abide by FFP.  They are as aware as anyone that sometimes transfers can take longer than anticipated. Even 'quick' transfers can straddle an accounting period (Mason Mount being a case in point... pretty much announced today but nothing official until next week when medicals etc have been done). As a club, CFC have ALWAYS abided by FFP rules. If selling a dozen or so players isn't also showing 'intent' I don't know what is. Even without the £55m for Mount (which won't find its way into our account until after 30th June), we are more than OK for getting through the FFP hoops for the 2020-2023 period.

And, yes... we can probably go out and spend another couple of hundred million come Saturday! 😁

 

[Blue Moon]

41 minutes ago, chara said:

Promises, promises.

My agent tells me that another big club is interested...loyalty isn't guaranteed!

You’re not off to RAWK????

[Rob B]

59 minutes ago, Sleeping Dave said:

If true we need to sign another attacking midfielder imo. No way can we sell both Mount and Havertz and replace them with Jackson? Say what you want about their production, but over the last three seasons they have scored 39 PL goals between them, or 23% of all our PL goals in 20/21, 21/22 and 22/23. Of course we need to replace that..? 

Maddison at £40m would have been a smart move.  English, good age and basically guarantees you 20 G/A per season (which  this season was for a team that were relegated!) 

[My Blood Is Blue]

1 hour ago, Ham said:

This is AWESOME

 

He’s added this to his story as well… proper Chels!

 

[ROTG]

20 minutes ago, Rob B said:

Maddison at £40m would have been a smart move.  English, good age and basically guarantees you 20 G/A per season (which  this season was for a team that were relegated!) 

Not sure he would have taken a pay cut to come 😀

[chara]

51 minutes ago, Blue Moon said:

You’re not off to RAWK????

WE are looking at our options.....its not about the money.... I'm at the stage where my career comes first.

I need first team football..............

[Bones]

Not a bad point tbh

[Chelsea_Matt]

1 minute ago, Bones said:

Not a bad point tbh

And to accommodate the nonentity that was Oscar….

[Blue Moon]

27 minutes ago, chara said:

WE are looking at our options.....its not about the money.... I'm at the stage where my career comes first.

I need first team football..............

Might want to think about relocating, Chara … ball’s the wrong shape in your neck of the woods, and they use their hands to move it. Word to the wise, eh?

[Bob Singleton]

Bye Rubes
 

 

[Holymoly]

2 hours ago, Original 21 said:

A naive question to those who understand these things. We’ve got this Mount deal done before 30 June presumably for FFP. Same with Havertz, Kovacic, Mendy, Koulibaly etc. That’s quite a pot of money. Does this mean that money is solely to cover the signings of Enzo, Mudryk, Fofana, Nkunku? Or is it money we can carry over into the rest of the window for buying Caicedo and others we’re planning to bring in such as another AM and centre forward? 

I don't think there is any danger of us not having the money for acquisitions but rather the FFP ramifications further on down the line, especially if we don't make CL next year although hopefully a new shirt sponsor will help at the end of next season

[Holymoly]

2 hours ago, Ham said:

I know the boys on here mean "Old Geezer" but as an ageing 90s hip hop fan, my mind always goes to "Original Gangster". 

I just assumed it was "Old Git". The wife is prone to calling me that anyway.

[chara]

8 minutes ago, Blue Moon said:

Might want to think about relocating, Chara … ball’s the wrong shape in your neck of the woods, and they use their hands to move it. Word to the wise, eh?

Hmm..I was thinking more of North of Watford....any language courses I can take?

[Chelsea_Matt]

3 hours ago, Ham said:

The real fear is that if this can happen with Mason, it can happen with RJ.  

 

Nope. Reecey is the face of Chelsea, not Mount.