Transfer Talk Topic

[Lump Of Celery]

This whole stockpiling players to sell for profit is a bit of a farce then. We have Angelo, Deivid Washington, David Datro Fofana, Casadei, Alex Matos and Chukwuemeka sitting in the reserves for the next 6 months. We are paying their wages and their value is unlikely to increase during that period.

£50m+ we spent on these players with no plan, no ideas of getting round rhe loan regulations. And we are having to sell off our academy players to finance this shitshow 😤 I actually feel sorry for the players listed too as their careers are being wasted at such a crucial time in their development

[My Blood Is Blue]

2 minutes ago, Lump Of Celery said:

This whole stockpiling players to sell for profit is a bit of a farce then. We have Angelo, Deivid Washington, David Datro Fofana, Casadei, Alex Matos and Chukwuemeka sitting in the reserves for the next 6 months. We are paying their wages and their value is unlikely to increase during that period.

£50m+ we spent on these players with no plan, no ideas of getting round rhe loan regulations. And we are having to sell off our academy players to finance this shitshow 😤 I actually feel sorry for the players listed too as their careers are being wasted at such a crucial time in their development

What I find so odd, is that it seems as though the club left it until the final day of the window to actively try and get deals for these players sorted. Shock horror, all the deals ran out of time!

[ROTG]

Posted on behalf or Paul Winstanley & Laurence Stewart 

 

7 hours ago, xceleryx said:

Not too disappointed about missing out on a striker. Would've obviously loved one, but the pickings are slim and the wages Saudi offer just aren't worth trying to compete with. Not even sure who'd I want anyway if it wasn't to be one of Toney or Oshimen.

Happy to have moved Sterling on, even if only on loan and with half his wages being covered. Beats having him stuck here paying the entirety, and it's not as if interest was rushing in.

Broja looks to have joined Everton, would've preferred a full on sale but his injury probably haters that somewhat. Option to buy at £30m probably won't be triggered but who knows I guess, it's Everton after all.

Totally fine with Sancho coming on board. Felt he should've joined us from Dortmund initially but wasn't' to be. Have a feeling Shields had a fair influence in this move happening due to his knowledge of Sancho from City. Obligation to buy next year for £25m could be a bargain should he recapture his Dortmund form. Even if he doesn't, he could likely be sold for more later on anyway. 

The defensive juggernaut that is Chalobah joining Palace makes sense, and about his overall level. Shame it wasn't an outright sale but interest in him was virtually non-existent for much of the window so will take a loan. Hopefully he does well and see what happens next summer. 

 

1 hour ago, xceleryx said:

For those unimpressed a couple quick ones if I may.

1. Who would've been your alternative to Toney and Osimhen?
2. With interest in Sterling virtually non-existent because of his contract, would you've preferred us to have kept him while paying his full wages to sit in the stands up until January as a best case? 
3. Sancho is obviously a luxury for a position we had options in, most likely lead by Shield's who worked with him at City. For what looks like a future £25m fee next season, is it not a gamble worth taking for a player whose value was 3x that amount only a couple years ago? And one we'd likely still sell for more than we're going to end up paying United even if he doesn't pan out entirely.
4. Which available "world class" goalkeeper would've satisfied and been realistic? 
5. Similar applies in the CB department. And don't say Chalobah - he's been on the market for months, drawn little to no grand interest, and isn't close to being any sort of remedy.

 

1 hour ago, xceleryx said:

This goes back to something I said a few months ago about player quality not being the only marker a transfer or player should be judged upon, their individual characteristics and systematic fit are also important, if not more so in some cases.

The goal is to naturally combine both ample ability and the desired attribute for the role they'll have within a system, however sometimes it's not always easy to find. 

At times it can be more beneficial to have a better suited player opposed to a more talented one. 

Not saying this is the case here across the board, but I do think it's something that's frequently glossed over as if it's not a relevant part of the thought process when certain decisions get made. Heck, we've all spent our share of time over the years moaning about x player not suiting their role or system despite their general talent level being decent. 

 

1 hour ago, xceleryx said:

Firstly, thanks for answering.

1. Problem isn't just finding a more talented striker, it's also finding one that has the qualities we're seeking from the role. Given the sort of strikers we've been linked with, it looks like we're wanting a more traditional #9 that has a presence, play with their back to goal, and is competent at both ground and aerial level.

2. Look, shit happens at the end of the day. After selling them Jorginho and Havertz in recent years, sending them Sterling for a season isn't going to concern me one way or another. He's a nearly 30 year old on wages that haven't justified his performances, a common complaint held here over the last two years with many wanting him sold. Not the best solution, but it's what we had to work with. 

3. We'll have to see on this one I suppose. Sancho fits the mould a bit more in terms of a versatile playmaker type of winger, as long as buys into things mentally then we could genuinely have picked up a pretty solid home grown player.

4. Most wanted Kepa out the door years ago, people would've moaned had he been our #1 this season. The rest are decent keepers but they're not really ball-playing types either. This is why Ramsdale was replaced at Arsenal, it's also not a strong point of Marmadashvilli, who is an excellent shot stopper however. The profile of keeper we're wanting is more specific and thus harder to locate. I'd just about bet had we signed a great shot stopper that was awfully limited at ground level we'd see complaints within 6 months.

5. Most of those are fairly unrealistic in fairness, or don't quite tick the boxes when it comes to our CB needs. I'd love Bastoni myself, but that's never going to happen either. Whoever arrives has to not only be a quality upgrade, but they also need to possess some important traits we'e lacking to truly elevate us. No point, for example, brining in another undersized or slow CB when we're needing a more imposing figure or quicker option.

 

59 minutes ago, xceleryx said:

1. See what I said to @Morgs. Isak doesn't suit what we're seemingly chasing, even if he is a good player in isolation -albeit with his own injury concerns.

2. Two weeks is still enough time for such a reputable player to draw interest, the issue is that he's on £300k+ in wages and that narrows his pool of teams unless he gives up a huge wad of cash. Am aware he's gone, yes. People are still complaining however because we're also partially funding it. 

3. No, I'm not thinking of selling him. However, it's a part of how the game is looked at these days - rightly or wrongly. The price point we'd be buying him at is certainly lower than his true value. Similar to Sterling, it's wages that put teams off or rule them out completely.

4. Addressed this also with @Morgs. 

5. Better is subjective to a degree. Even if you compare a player from a metric standpoint it still gets argued differently. Again, not saying we shouldn't have signed a CB, it's one area I wanted addressed the most, but at the same time stand out candidates are few and far between while also offering the sort of skillset we're seeking from the position. It's not just about overall quality needing to be better, it's quality + the attributes to plug our needs and fit the system.

 

[Sciatika]

The transfer window is like a game of chicken. Parties try to delay as long as possible to force the other side to given them their desired deal.  There is not much you can do about that. It is built in. 

[Bison]

14 minutes ago, thevelourfog said:

Nonsense questions bordering on whatabouttery. None of us are paid hundreds of thousands of pounds a year to have the expertise, contacts, knowledge and skills to address these, and no reasonable position is predicated on supporters being able to do that.

The idea we're poised to make a profit on Sancho is laughable. He needs to somehow play well enough for someone to want to buy him, but simultaneously not play so well that he can demand to have a huge wage sustained. It's about 4 years since he was especially impressive, and the pattern is crystal clear thanks to last year's loan; he can do it in the Bundesliga, but not here.

Very telling how the tone has suddenly changed. The club spent 280m but circumstances were tough and they tried their best!

[My Blood Is Blue]

I miss the days where we’d just sign 2/3 players in the summer and then sit back and watch others scrambling on deadline day.

[Lump Of Celery]

11 minutes ago, My Blood Is Blue said:

What I find so odd, is that it seems as though the club left it until the final day of the window to actively try and get deals for these players sorted. Shock horror, all the deals ran out of time!

I hope this doesn't put us in financial trouble. Seems the plan was that the profits from selling those young guys finances signings like Enzo and Caiceido, yet instead they are putting us even further into the red

[Original 21]

3 hours ago, Sleeping Dave said:

9 players who can all play in the three positions behind the striker. 

What striker? Did I miss something?

[Bison]

16 minutes ago, ROTG said:

Posted on behalf or Paul Winstanley & Laurence Stewart 

If nothing else, the sheer dedication in protecting the dealings of the worst set of directors in the sport is admirable. 

[ROTG]

33 minutes ago, ChelseaJambo said:

All I can think is we're roughly netting out the same for Sancho instead of Sterling in wages.

I prefer Raheem but Sancho has a better potential sell on value I think which will appeal to the club.

It's all I can come up with.

Two managers could not get a tune out of him a ManUre really says it all

It would seem this transfer window, the club have gone down of buying on cheap route of buying high priced potential players who flopped at the big clubs, and hoping they can reproduce the levels at Chelsea which demonstrates the level of expectation now at the club. One could say the club is become a Harlem Globe Trotter of football with lots to tricks and sideshows from the players but very little impact overall from the team - I Guess the new recruits will sell shirts and keep SB full of tourists to watch games, which will keep the bean counters happy

should the tactical genius start with Caicedo, Enzo "the racist & club captain", Felix, Sancho, those players have cost a club, nearly or more than £100m a pop, with none of them making any significant impact at the buying club

Its a funny old game 

[RDCW]

I'm surprised by the general negativity about the squad we have now and particularly about the "failure" to land Osimhen or Toney, especially since most people on here didn't want the latter anyway! I am happy we haven't broken the bank for Osimhen; no matter how good he is the figures quoted for his potential salary are ludicrous and potentially both destabilising and financially constricting going forward. His failure to back himself in an incentive based deal is significant to me. I think he'll probably go to Saudi over the weekend.

The upshot is that most people wanted to see a striker and a goalkeeper come in. We got a goalkeeper, so we were never going to splash out on another at the last minute; the strikers we wanted both chose financial security over footballing ambition and there isn't, frankly, anyone else on the immediate horizon who would be worth bringing in over Jackson, Nkunku and Guiu. 

I'm relaxed about the state of the squad and I still assume we will be top 4.

 

[east lower]

Just now, My Blood Is Blue said:

I miss the days where we’d just sign 2/3 players in the summer and then sit back and watch others scrambling on deadline day.

That was when we had football, winning football match’s and trophies as a priority. 

The owner saw the club as a vehicle for this and not profit.

Like I’ve said many times the current owners are not fit to own our club and their cronies have done their respective bits to line their pockets whilst creating a soulless shell. They’re well on their way to achieving that.

Theyve had at least 6 weeks to identify who they didn’t want and to move on. Failed, and we’re still left with massive numbers of players who’ll not kick a ball in anger for us this season. And we’re an injury away from the same position as last season up front.

Chelsea Finance Club. A team full of their recruits lost to a team most had never heard of this week,  with the most expensive central midfield duo in world football on the pitch during the game, albeit one at a time. 

A penny for Roman’s thoughts now.

[Box of Tricks]

Fofana and Colwill seem to be the chosen ones. I wonder how much of that is down to the (reported) assurances given to Colwill about first team football, so the club never looked to properly strengthen there and just went for an extra body in Tosin instead.

Veiga will probably end up playing DM because we made a mistake with loaning out Ugochukwu. So Chilwell needs to be brought in from the cold. With an apology.

The Sancho deal is 100% to replace Mudryk, but the club don't want to deal with the embarassment of that whole scenario so they'll find a way to save face and phase him out.

We needed a striker. If a transfer ban is on its way then it was madness not to get one. Maybe Maatsen should have been swapped for Duran (I'm still confused at Kellyman for 19m and 'conspiracy me' thinks we'll see something later down the line to balance that out).  I think Nkunku has to be played as a 9/False 9 to get consistency in that position now and we need to see Datro Fofana in front of Guiu.

I think it's a bad era for strikers and goalkeepers on the whole, but we should have done better in both areas than what we've ended up with, especially over 4/5 transfer windows.

Not complete doom and gloom though, I think only City and Arsenal are ahead of us (and sadly, by quite a way), but even with our flaws we should be challenging for the top four.

 

[Max Fowler]

We will not challenge for the top four this season. We may have added some talented players but we have no mentality left in this club. The squad is completely imbalanced and will crumble incredibly quickly. 

To those who say we should not have paid Osimhen’s wages, at some point we need to pay higher wages to someone or we are never going to compete at the top of the league, no matter how many counterexamples you can find.

[KingThistle]

3 minutes ago, Max Fowler said:

 We may have added some talented players but we have no mentality left in this club.

Or leadership

[RDCW]

I'm glad we got Sterling away. I don't think he is a bad lad and I'm relieved we are mitigating some of the costs associated with him. He underperformed for us (especially given his wages) and most people would be at least ambivalent about his departure. I should have liked to see Mudryk moved on, but frankly no-one would take him, so the best we can do with him is pray for a miracle and allow the amortisation effect to spread the cost of the mistake on the books. Whether Sancho turns out to be a success here remains to be seen, but I,for one, will be giving him a fair crack of the whip and  crossing my fingers that his signing heralds the phasing out of Mudryk. Massively in Sancho's favour is that he is reputed incidentally to be a Chelsea fan and that will drive a commitment from him which was not present in his feeling for Man U.

Glass 3/4 full for me. I'm glad the window is shut and I'm excited about our brilliant, mostly young squad.

[ROTG]

19 minutes ago, east lower said:

Chelsea Finance Club. A team full of their recruits lost to a team most had never heard of this week,  with the most expensive central midfield duo in world football on the pitch during the game, albeit one at a time. 

How much a team was will to pay of these lot 

Enzo £120m

Caicedo £116

Sancho £85

Felix £127

Only Felix has been part of a domestic league winning team 

[Bison]

23 minutes ago, RDCW said:

I'm surprised by the general negativity about the squad we have now and particularly about the "failure" to land Osimhen or Toney, especially since most people on here didn't want the latter anyway! I am happy we haven't broken the bank for Osimhen; no matter how good he is the figures quoted for his potential salary are ludicrous and potentially both destabilising and financially constricting going forward. His failure to back himself in an incentive based deal is significant to me. I think he'll probably go to Saudi over the weekend.

The upshot is that most people wanted to see a striker and a goalkeeper come in. We got a goalkeeper, so we were never going to splash out on another at the last minute; the strikers we wanted both chose financial security over footballing ambition and there isn't, frankly, anyone else on the immediate horizon who would be worth bringing in over Jackson, Nkunku and Guiu. 

I'm relaxed about the state of the squad and I still assume we will be top 4.

Footballing ambition? 😂

We play Conference League football, and have two charlatans in charge of the most dysfunctional 'project' in world football. Oh and we don't have a decent manager in place to offset the nonsense. 

There isn't a single player joining us now with the belief that they will be competing for trophies that matter.

[Max Fowler]

At some point if you think Sancho joining is a good idea imo you will probably think anything Clearlake does is. Terrible and completely unneeded signing 

[ROTG]

1 minute ago, RDCW said:

I'm glad we got Sterling away. I don't think he is a bad lad and I'm relieved we are mitigating some of the costs associated with him. He underperformed for us (especially given his wages) and most people would be at least ambivalent about his departure. I should have liked to see Mudryk moved on, but frankly no-one would take him, so the best we can do with him is pray for a miracle and allow the amortisation effect to spread the cost of the mistake on the books. Whether Sancho turns out to be a success here remains to be seen, but I,for one, will be giving him a fair crack of the whip and  crossing my fingers that his signing heralds the phasing out of Mudryk. Massively in Sancho's favour is that he is reputed incidentally to be a Chelsea fan and that will drive a commitment from him which was not present in his feeling for Man U.

Glass 3/4 full for me. I'm glad the window is shut and I'm excited about our brilliant, mostly young squad.

Lending a player who knows how to win the league to one of the club top 4 rivals and replacing his with a player who couldn't cut it under two managers at Manure is sound business.

Maybe it's the case that our ownership and maybe the fan base? level of satisfaction is top 4 these days

[RDCW]

2 minutes ago, Bison said:

Footballing ambition? 😂

We play Conference League football, and have two charlatans in charge of the most dysfunctional 'project' in world football. Oh and we don't have a decent manager in place to offset the nonsense. 

There isn't a single player joining us now with the belief that they will be competing for trophies that matter.

🤣 Get someone to top up your glass my bovine friend! Which of us is right remains to be seen. Let's see how the season pans out and try to enjoy the ride. I'm not a fan of the current ownership model, but the motivation to drive profit is contingent upon on-field success, so we can but hope that one thing leads to another.

[thevelourfog]

1 hour ago, Lump Of Celery said:

This whole stockpiling players to sell for profit is a bit of a farce then. We have Angelo, Deivid Washington, David Datro Fofana, Casadei, Alex Matos and Chukwuemeka sitting in the reserves for the next 6 months. We are paying their wages and their value is unlikely to increase during that period.

£50m+ we spent on these players with no plan, no ideas of getting round rhe loan regulations. And we are having to sell off our academy players to finance this shitshow 😤 I actually feel sorry for the players listed too as their careers are being wasted at such a crucial time in their development

 

Possible that some of these players are still on the move, but I'd doubt enough of them and for enough money for any of this to come out in the wash. 

[exiledblue]

13 hours ago, My Blood Is Blue said:

Tammy moves from Roma to Milan on loan.

Milan is becoming the new chelsea

[exiledblue]

Chalobah and Chilly?

[My Blood Is Blue]

2 minutes ago, exiledblue said:

Chalobah and Chilly?

Seems like both are still at the club. Personally, I’d bring them both back into the first team squad, especially Chilly, but it’s not going to happen.