CHELSEA F.C
http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m255/Farumbrosius/010268320616100.jpg

Stamford Bridge

http://www001.upp.so-net.ne.jp/takebou/img_0675.JPG

Owner - Roman Abramovic
Chief Executive - Ron Gourlay
Chairman - Bruce Buck
Manager - André Villas-Boas

The Squad

1- Petr Čech
2- Branislav Ivanović
3- Ashley Cole
4- David Luiz
5- Michael Essien
6- Oriol Romeu
7- Ramires
8- Frank Lampard
9- Fernando Torres
10- Juan Mata
11- Didier Drogba
12- John Obi Mikel
15- Florent Malouda
16- Raul Meireles
17- José Bosingwa
18- Romelu Lukaku
19- Paulo Ferreira
20- Josh McEachran
21- Salomon Kalou
22- Ross Turnbull
23- Daniel Sturridge
26- John Terry
33- Alex
39- Nicolas Anelka
40- Henrique Hilário

46- Jamal Blackman
47- Billy Clifford
48- Conor Clifford
49- Aziz Deen-Conteh
50- Aliu Djalo
51- Rohan Ince
52- Jacob Mellis
53- Marko Mitrovic
54- Todd Kane
55- James Ashton
56- George Saville
57- Archange Nkumu
58- Daniel Pappoe
59- Philipp Prosenik
60- Rhys Taylor


Transfers In:

Thibault Courtois (Genk)
Oriol Romeu (Barcelona)
Romelu Lukaku (Anderlecht)
Juan Manuel Mata (Valencia)
Ulises Davila (Chivas)
Raul Meireles (Liverpool)
Lucas Piazon (Sao Paolo)

Transfers Out:

Jack Cork (Southampton)
Gokhan Tore (Hamburg)
Michael Mancienne (Hamburg)
Jacopo Sala (Hamburg)
Jeffrey Bruma (Hamburg - Loan)
Thibault Courtois (Atletico de Madrid - Loan)
Yuri Zhirkov (Anzhi)
Slobodan Rajkovic (Hamburg)
Tomas Kalas (Vitesse - Loan)
Ulises Davila (Vitesse - Loan)
Patrick van Aanholt (Wigan - Loan)
Gael Kakuta (Bolton - Loan)
Yossi Benayoun (Arsenal - Loan)
Matej Delac (Dynamo Ceske Budejovice - Loan)

http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m255/Farumbrosius/chelsea_wideweb__430x300.jpg

So, there's talk of a final 30m bid for Modric as well as a final 22m bid for Lukaku. 8m for Parker and sounds like it's 7.5m for Courtois. The De Bruyne talk has died down for now, but I'm very eager for the 3 Belgians to be signed and come to the club, been hearing a lot of good stuff about this generation for Belgium.

Personally, I'd like for us to sign Parker, Modric (or Sneijder, hopefully we'll turn to him and not Kaka when the Modric deal goes sour, although Kaka would be cheaper), Courtois and loan him back to Genk, De Bruyne and loan him back to Genk (or Anderlecht to facilitate the Lukaku deal) and Lukaku.

There's also talk about Sturridge going out on loan again, and I'd consider loaning him back to Bolton or Newcastle.

Looks like Zhirkov might be leaving for Dynamo, hope he stays for another year, he has shown that he has the ability, and he's a good back-up to have.

Can't wait to see what AVB does with the squad, but I can't wait to see the youngsters get a chance to prove themselves.

There was so much hype behind Zhirkov, they even called him russian ronaldinho, but his performance was not that impressive. Maybe his style was not fit for Chelsea or EPL.

Midfield is your biggest problem right now. Lampard's old, Essian is injured, Ramires is ... Ramires ... Chelsea need to fill those voids.

Looks like Courtois could go to Atletico rather than Genk on loan. Seems that he prefers to go there and fight for a place than "the easy option" that would be staying at Genk. He thinks he'd learn more there.

I dunno, it's down to a fight for the starting spot in La Liga and possibly Europa League football, to a starting spot in a Belgian team and some CL football.

But it does appear that he will go out on-loan for now, possibly even for the next season and the one after that, and it sounds like he's fine with that.

I was disappointed to read that Terry called Modric disrespectful today, but Skysports misreported ir and and retracted the report.

Playmakers we are linked with: Modric, Pastore, Kaka, Sneijder, Vidal? I dunno if he's a playmaker. AVB has said that we'll only move properly in the market until we return, so we can focus on the pre-season matches in the Far East. I hope it doesn't cost us the playmaker we need.

I hope Luka will join Chelsea, he need club who plays Champions League, and in Chelesa he will adapt.
Go Luka!

Write to squad too Tomáš Kalas and Milan Lalkovič. :)

I'm surprised about Kalas because he only joined last year as a youngster and he's already travelling with the squad.

From what I can recall Lalkovic is one to watch, with a good ability to hold challenges as a winger or leading the line. But still a long road ahead.

That said, I don't understand your post.

You missed their names in the OP?

Ah, because they haven't played a competitive match, they're still youngsters.

Yeah, I figured there was a reason like that behind it, just interpreting what I thought he was saying.

I think Clifford, Chalobah and possibly Mellis haven't had their debuts yet, either, but I've definitely seen them on the bench with squad numbers.

Hasn't been announced by the club yet officially yet, but Courtois has signed a 5-year-deal and going on-loan for 1 season to Atletico de Madrid to replace De Gea.

I just saw him on the news getting his medical in Madrid, so I assume the clubs will announce the moves soon.

If he can establish himself as the 1st choice keeper at Atleti I'll be very pleased. If he can reach De Gea's level in this year, it would be superb, and would definitely be our 2nd best keeper, so I'd have him stay there for at least another season and then come to the club and challenge Cech for a spot. Or go out on-loan again for another season, maybe at a Premiership club, although European football at Atletico would be fantastic.

We've also bid for Oriol Romeu it seems, a deep-lying playmaker from Barcelona.

Right now, considering that we've lost our interest in Sneijder, I'd favour a move for Pastore. I love Modric, but I think he could jeopardise McEachran's development, who at the moment looks more fit for a deep-lying role than as a No.10, unless he bulked up, which he should do anyway. He'd also displace Mikel rather than Lamps, but Pastore would do the opposite.

We can't afford both, but I'd also look into getting an attacking, reliable RB, and better players for the wings, as well as Parker on loan.

Forgot to mention Lukaku, who would be HG if he came this transfer window.

Btw, here (http://www.weaintgotnohistory.com/) is a brilliant supporter site which I recommed any Chelsea fan to check out. Very insightful, and informed. I've started checking it daily.

So it looks like AVB has assesed his squad and now Chelsea are ready to do some serious business :D
By the looks of reports i saw today it looks like Javier Pastore will be next Chelsea signing :p

Palermo president: "Javier Pastore will be sold in 10 days."
Palermo Vice President Guglielmo Miccichè - "I say that Pastore will go to the Premier League, I can even bet on it. "
Zamparani says Chelsea are the favorites to sign him.

Chelsea's Ron Gourlay: "We will sign 2 players in the next 10 days."
Javier Pastore seems inevitable. Luka Modric or Lukaku seems like the second one.
Great signings for Chelsea if they go through.

Oriol is one of the two, the other is either Lukaku or Pastore. There's reports that our interest in Lukaku has cooled, which I hope is false. I doubt it's Modric because we need to agree price, terms and he needs to pass a medical. For the same reason it's possible that Pastore isn't that signing either, although Palermo's willingness to sell should ease the transfer.

There's also the chance that Gourlay meant Courtois and Oriol, which would be disappointing, although I'm looking forward to their arrivals.

Wishlist again: Courtois, Lukaku, De Bruyne, Pastore, Parker and a right-winger.

With the 3 Belgians sent on-loan for the season and Parker coming on-loan as well.

Would also be glad to see Modric, Romeu, and an RB come in. But not as much.

Well a comfortable win for AVB's Chelsea tonight :D

Here are the full HD highlights incase if someone missed :)

WbFbt2ng2og


So Far Chelsea have made one signing tht was Curtois who is now loaned to Athletico Madrid as a replacement for De Gea..Hope he does well (Y)

Pastore Saga

Todays reports reported more about Pastore than any other player i guess alot has been said abt him in recent times as to where he will end up :rolleyes:
First It was reported that "Chelsea or PSG? Both London and Paris are two beautiful cities, and both represent a great opportunity for Pastore," he told Calcio Mercato.

"At the moment there are negotiations in progress and it is a situation which is involving the president Zamparini, along with the boy's attorneys.

"We're talking about a major player and therefore important figures. We're looking for the best solution for both parties.

"I'm sure, however, that Pastore will join the team that shows the most desire to secure his signature."


Then PSG who are also the strong contenders for Pastores signatures, Leonardo (manager PSG) said " Players like Pastore, everybody wants them, but when you want players like these, it is always hard.I have a great relationship with Palermo president Zamparini. There is no logic in the transfer market, but we must take things step by step.
At the moment we are looking at what exists, but you have to know whether players like these believe in our project."

This may give indication that Pastore will not likely end up at PSG cuz he said he will only leave Palermo for a big club until he goes there for money cyz PSG gave offered more wages and money for Pastore.

Then A Turkish sports TV channel is claiming that Javier Pastore is going to join Chelsea tomorrow at the latest. A decision of Pastore will be made after Palermo's Europa League match tomorrow (Thursday) against FC Thun.

Lets Hope for the best !!!

Keep your fingers crossed... i hope v get both modric and pastore...and lukaku is ours only!!!!:D

I would love to see that, but there isn't much talk of any Chelsea outgoings, and we have the maximum 17 foreign over-21 players, as well as 7 out of a maximum 8 homegrown over 21 players for the Premiership. Assuming Rajkovic goes out on-loan again and Essien isn't registered until January, we'd have an extra space available for each category, so bringing in Lukaku, Modric and Pastore would mean that we'd need to sell 2 foreign players this year, at least once in this transfer window.

I've already said I'm backing the Lukaku deal because if he comes now he'll count as homegrown by the time he's 22. I assume the next players to leave the club are gonna be Ferreira, Anelka (apparently at the end of the season) and possibly Hilario if any the young GK prospects are good enough to become 3rd choice.

Seems extremely unlikely that Modric and Pastore will come, especially in the same window.

I am wondering who the club are going to sell to make room for new players, we also have Courtois and possibly Romeu who will take up foreign spots in the future, and the other young homegrown players as well.

I'm too confused what will Chelsea do in this window :/
Tomorrow Pastore agent will fly to London to held talks with Chelsea over the sale of Pastore and of tht deal goes through i cant see Modric coming in :P

God i dont knw wats wrong wid chelsea....they need some signings or get jose mourinho back!!!! the epic coach of chelsea!!!!!!

Shut up, it's fans that you that put so much unnecessary pressure on the team. It seems like you'll only be happpy with marquee signings every year and we need to cut that out.

Yes, we were very poor last season and need to improve, we need to sign new players. We've signed 2 players and 1 coach who is reluctant to get hurried into a decision in the market, which is a nice change. We're linked with players and have made concrete offers, now go **** yourself.

v have signed a GK....wake up dude!!! v dont neeed a GK....cech rocks!!!!!!!!!! v start of well in first half of season..but then v lose very easy games......dats bad!!!!and mind your language...coz i m not blaming you for the signings......so stop being rude and lick ur a**......

Haha **** off. I'm certainly not as desperate for a GK as I have been in recent years, but we did need someone to backup Cech competently and give him competition for the 1st choice spot. We're not assembling a starting 11, we're assembling a squad, and as a squad, we need 3 keepers, Courtois is a great signing.

We lost easy games? And that's bad?! Oh noes! I said we were poor, and that we need to improve, but not to the degree you're suggesting.

Its all done - Speaking Saturday morning to RadioRadio microphone, the president of Italian club did not beat around the bush.

" That night, around midnight, an agreement was reached for the sale of Javier Pastore PSG on the basis of 43rd. This sale is almost official , "

said Maurizio Zamparini our colleagues Alps. Palermo tried to the end to raise the stakes between Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea, but before the London club's radio silence is the PSG has won the bet.

And so we miss out on our another target as well !!!
Not too sure whether he was one of our target :P
anyways with this sad news tht broke ths morning i hope we can get the first silverware by beating Aston tonite and i'm begining to believe tht the two signings tht Goulray spoke of are Modric and Romeu :)

I actually think he meant Courtois and Romeu, the Asian Cup isn't silverware, it counts for **** all and I'd be very disappointed if that's true. I wonder who the club will go after now, they'll need to hurry up, though.

Sneijder, Hazard, Gotze, any other ideas?

wat about ganso...even he is good!!!! and i think its modric and romeu.....not courtosis....

I hope you're right, but I wouldn't count on it.

Sneijder, Hazard, Gotze, any other ideas?

Saw an article that McEachran was impressing. Maybe it will be an internal promotion. You foreigners need to forget about Gotze for a few years. He's a kid, he likes Dortmund.

hahahaha...mcEachran willl be too good if given chances...V should play him in imp matches as well...(champions league)....and Gotze is urs this season :D:D:D:D

Had Essien not gotten injured, McEachran would've probably gotten loaned out to another Prem club. Love the kid, but he still needs to improve, hope he claims a starting spot though.

@Fili: Apparently Kaby played in an advanced role in the hole in today's reserve match. Dunno how he played, but it seems that he's being played in his favoured position.

McEachran and Torres scored poacher efforts today.

torres first touch was a goal....haha....torres is back...i hope he scores 30-40 goals this season and we win the treble!!!!!!!!

torres first touch was a goal....haha....torres is back...i hope he scores 30-40 goals this season and we win the treble!!!!!!!!

HmRcknIafmc

Edit: even little jimmy could score that ;)

he was playing good yesterday......he is feeling confident nw......Dats good news!!!!!!!:D

torres first touch was a goal....haha....torres is back...i hope he scores 30-40 goals this season and we win the treble!!!!!!!!

Obviously not, and this underlies my point about fans like you being bad for the team.

Torres scored, which is good for his psyche, and from what I've read (couldn't watch, hoping to catch a rerun), he was very lively.

Certainly hope he scores 40 goals this season, but I'm not expecting it. It seems that AVB is trying out different formations and combinations to bring out the best in the team, although the Drogs Torres partnership might never take off.

So we lost out on Pastore and will no rush and make a huge bid for Modric. I like Modric, he'd improve the club, but I do worry that we're just gonna panic-buy an improved McEachran instead of giving our guy a chance. I'd rather we got someone who plays further up the field as an advanced playmaker, although McEachran could develop into either/both.

LOL Romeu already wants to return to Barca.

What are you talking about? you surely misunderstood his words. RAC1 made him an interview 2 days ago and the guy was so exited with Chelsea and AVB.

What are you talking about? you surely misunderstood his words. RAC1 made him an interview 2 days ago and the guy was so exited with Chelsea and AVB.

I read that from lol.com a "reliable" source :crazy:.
http://www.goal.com/en/news/11/transfer-zone/2011/08/05/2606912/chelseas-oriol-romeu-hopes-for-barcelona-return-in-the

I was just joking......but if he turns out to be a good player......:rolleyes:

Reports are we could be closing in on Lukaku, fingers crossed.

Also sounds like we've signed a 15 year old from Celtic.

Yup !! we've signed Islam Feruz from Celtic and he will join our youth academy :D
Todays game was an another great performance by Chelsea against the scottish champions Rangers, Sturridge showing his potential with scoring two great goals followed by one from malouda. Torres seemed to be a different player today, getting more invloved in the game, passing well, dribbling well and geting his shots on target, certainly looked sharper than ever.

Well the first player to leave Chelsea FC this summer is Yuri Zhirkov, who is sold for around 13-15 M to Anzhi, and i'm now 100 % sure Lukaku will be joining Chelsea by next week as he just tweeted on his official twitter account :

"I have an announcement to make... Next week i'm going to london for the medical tests! #chelsea... More news next week"

:D:D:D

You've been linked with Lukaku forever.

A bit disappointed to see Zhirkov go. But bearing in mind, I don't see him sitting on the bench forever when it's obvious that he won't get many games with Ashley in front of him.

Yury's contribution has been downplayed me thinks, he was mostly solid when he was given the chance, very direct and won us a lot of penalties with his runs forward.

Shame it didn't work out for him.

EDIT: Good solid game against Rangers. Danny is going from strength to strength, definitely see him banging a good amount of goals this coming season. Torres was sharp throughout the first half, went past players with ease and set up a nice chance for Kalou. Alex definitely looks in good shape again. McEachran also ended in a positive note. It'd be interesting to see what kind of role Romeu will play, McEachran and Mikel can play alongside each other, I reckon it'd more of a rotation between McEachran with Ramires and Mikel with Romeu.

Really hope we can at least sign a right sided winger to complement Malouda on the left, hopefully a player like Mata or Navas. Anelka drops a bit too deep most of the time and isn't suited playing as RW and I'd rather Sturridge try to get at the end of things which is what he's best at.

I agree, i too think the lad was good enough for EPL and also made some important contributions, i think he wasnt given the fair chance, he had a good start of games at the start of season but after injury again on the bench :(
He probably left because of lack of playing time, the same reason why Pastore didnt join chelsea :(
Too bad, but best of luck for his future at Anzhi

Good News is we have signed ROMELU LUKAKU and he will have his medical by next week.
Also Harry Rednapp and Luka Modric refused to show up to media after their match tonight and instead Tottenham first team assistant coach give his remarks :) something FISHY :P

AVB on Lukaku "The situation with [Romelu] Lukaku is that he's a very interesting young prospect and we have to be able to position ourselves to get this kind of talent. And not only him but other talent that we are scouting at the moment."

Other talent scouting ???
More signings to come for sure :D

Lukaku is confirmed. Finally we'll see if he lives up to the hype.

I’m interested to know which players are on Chelsea’s radar right now, I think they should sign a WC midfielder for sure.

Zhirkov out for 13m, he wasn't happy, so its best to get a good sum for him. We can pribably rely on either Bertrand or Aanholt for cover at LB but we now have only one proper LW in 31-year-old, starting-to-show-signs-of-decline Malouda, and we don't have a proper RW either. I hope we continue this trend of signing youth prospects and get our hands on De Bruyne.

Lukaku in on a possible 5 year contract, for 13m (euro) it seems, and possible add-ons adding to 20m. Good deal, although I've heard he's asked for a no-loan clause, which could be detrimental, because he's bottom oif the pecking order right now, and will mostly get cup matches. I'm hoping for him to stay for the year and learn from Drogba and then go to another Prem club next year and come back and fight it out for a spot in the squad. Gonna be HG this one, finally, and for 13m! Brilliant.

Also heard we might bid for Douglas Costa and I hope we get him, he could fit in nicely from what I've heard.

Also, we now have 2 (counting Essien (which would be until January)) open foreign spots, and I wouldn't be surprised if one of those becomes Modric, although I'd rather wait until January or next year and get Gotze or Hazard or Ganso, or get any of those now.

Please not Kaka though.

ya dats true.....v have a pretty decent side dis tym....wat formation is villas boas using...i am unable to watch matches...coz i hv tons and tons of school projects vch are dancing on my head.....
can any1 temme d new formation or tactics...vch he changed...
4-3-3 or 4-1-2-1-2.....diamond or triangle!!!!
coz in porto he used 4-3-3.....

Zhirkov out for 13m, he wasn't happy, so its best to get a good sum for him. We can pribably rely on either Bertrand or Aanholt for cover at LB but we now have only one proper LW in 31-year-old, starting-to-show-signs-of-decline Malouda, and we don't have a proper RW either. I hope we continue this trend of signing youth prospects and get our hands on De Bruyne.

Lukaku in on a possible 5 year contract, for 13m (euro) it seems, and possible add-ons adding to 20m. Good deal, although I've heard he's asked for a no-loan clause, which could be detrimental, because he's bottom oif the pecking order right now, and will mostly get cup matches. I'm hoping for him to stay for the year and learn from Drogba and then go to another Prem club next year and come back and fight it out for a spot in the squad. Gonna be HG this one, finally, and for 13m! Brilliant.

Also heard we might bid for Douglas Costa and I hope we get him, he could fit in nicely from what I've heard.

Also, we now have 2 (counting Essien (which would be until January)) open foreign spots, and I wouldn't be surprised if one of those becomes Modric, although I'd rather wait until January or next year and get Gotze or Hazard or Ganso, or get any of those now.

Please not Kaka though.

dats true...no kaka...plz
v want some young signings...i knw dey lack experience...but they are quick and go straight on d defenders and dats good..coz dey keep d defenders on their feet....i dont think ganso is good...coz v'll hv piazon in 2012....gotze,douglas costa or willian is good...coz we lack some decent wingers....even hazard or modric is good (Y)

Just read that Emenalo will attend the Nigeria-Ghana match at Watford specifically to watch Inkoom, the Ghanian right-back-sometimes-winger. He's apparently available for 4-6m, is 22, and was a member of the Ghanian side that lost to Suarezgate (he played 2 matches on the wing, but he's more of an RB).

He's young, he's got potential, he's got the physical traits (strong and not explosive, but fast enough to cover the ground), attack-minded, COULD serve as an auxiliary RW, although that's not a reason we should consider. He'd also be cheap, at 4-6m, because Dnipro are willing to sell him because he is consistently targetted by racist abuse by fans and he wants to leave, and that makes him a very intelligent purchase. 4-6m for someone who could become our starting RB in a Ramires-esque fashion (slowly push Ivanovic back to CB and get a regular spot by next season) for the next 8 years or so? Sounds good to him.

It also sounds like if we were to bid for him, we'd be likely to get him. Can't see Fulham or Villa outbidding us, and he's said that if a big club (and he mentioned us by name) comes knocking he'd seriously consider it. We also have a Ghanian in our side which could help him settle.

Admittedly, I haven't seen much of him, but we haven't been linked with anyone for our right side in ages, and he'd make a good purchase on paper. Fits into our current buying pattern, and with Zhirkov gone we have a free foreign spot to give to him.

Right now, I'd rather we got him than Modric.

Assuming Romeu proves an adecuate cover in midfield for Essien (if he doesn't I'd add Parker on loan, as unlikely as it may be), I'd like for us to sign Inkoom for 5m, De Bruyne for 9m (and loan him back to Genk or a Premiership club if he's ready, possibly in January after he's trained with the team for a while), and get that work permit for Rajkovic so he can start playing for us already.

That still leaves 3 areas that need to be addressed, and those are 1. current back-up LW which should also solve our future starting LW issue. De Bruyne could be that guy, but I highly doubt that he's ready, and while we can make due for a year, we need someone to take over from Malou and work the flank wide, with De Bruyne being more of a cut-inside sort of player from my understanding.

2. Advanced playmaker. We could move for Douglas Costa for 10-14m in this window, as well bid around 20m for Ganso. Since it's not a burning need, and we could just as well get one next summer, we could loan Ganso back to Santos until January as he seems to want. Other options would be to try and get Gotze next summer, hopefully with BVB more inclined to sell him (fingers-crossed that they fail to qualify for the CL) or Hazard this winter or next summer under similar circumstances. A short term, highly expensive option would be to get Sneijder, but I'm not as eager on that one as I have been in the past. We could also just hope Piazon or some other academy player steps up (or McEachran gains a few pounds and holds off challenges better), but that's not very likely in the near future.

3. Right wing. All of the above except for Wesley and Ganso would fill in at right wing as well, at least until the 2013 summer window, at which point, if it's still an issue, we could look to spend big on a right winger. With Inkoom coming in and one of Kalou, Sturridge, Kakuta, Hazard, Gotze or Costa playing on the right, we could have the right hand side settled for a while.

Out of all of the options I've said, Hazard is the one I like the most, especially if we get De Bruyne, because I very much fancy an offensive trident or foursome comprising 3 Belgium talents. Gotze would be my 2nd choice.

All of that could amount to:

De Bruyne - Lukaku - Sturridge/Kakuta
------------- Hazard
----McEachran - Ramires
PVA/Bertrand - Chalobah/Rajkovic/Kalas/etc - Luiz - Inkoom
------------Courtois

By the next WC or something, and that would sounds like a good squad (being optimistic about player potential.

But yeah, HIGHLY unlikely, but one can dream.

Forgot about Adam Johnson, we've been linked with him, and he could be a good player for us on either wing.

he only plays on right and he is selfish as well

He's left-footed and can therefor play as wide left winger on top of his favoured position on the wing. I have no problem with him being selfish. If he comes I assume he'd do so below market value because City will have Nasri to replace him, he'd be HG, proven as a top Premiership player, offer options in two positions we need backup or improvement in, he'd be one of very few players in the starting lineup willing to take players on and assuming he stays at the club, will do us for 2 contract lengths, since he's just 24.

The drawback in signing him would be that he'd demand high wages. I heard that he's on 50k a week at City, and so it wouldn't be unrealistic, should he wish to join, that he'd do so for 65k a week or less, which isn't that terrible.

The more I think about it, the more I like it, although it's highly unlikely.

I guess stupid international timing paid off.

Torres injury was concussion or ankle injury? it didn't look good.

**** internationals.

Inkoom is very excited to be linked with us. I'd imagine we could sign him up on comparatively low wages, as well as a low transfer sum because of the whole racism thing.

No word on an offer being tabled, and since the match was cancelled I'll assume it could still be a while, but I'm hopeful.

Rajkovic played 90 minutes for Serbia in the friendly, which would help his case for getting a work permit.

if i m not mistaken inkoom scored against roma....right????he is a RB...but can play RM/RW???? am i rong???
ii read some vr dat villas boas wants to buy hulk from porto.....dis can be false...but i read somevr....just curious to knw...any1 knws abt it???

Not gonna happen.

i think de bruyne is not comin to chelsea....read dis:
http://www.goal.com/en-us/news/69/transfer-zone/2011/06/17/2536871/genks-kevin-de-bruyne-admits-he-is-close-to-joining-chelsea

If you read it it says that he's poised to join us and is hoping Genk don't come in his way to move to Anderlecht on loan for a season.

While Goal.com isn't a credible source, it's not so bad so as to think that whatever they say will happen won't.

Certainly hope the source is true. Him signing for us and staying in Belgium on-loan is great, and hopefully he'll spend the next season at a Premier club on loan before trying to establish himself here, or possibly spend this season at Anderlecht, the first half of next season here and then the following season and a half at a Premier league club.

Would rather he was at Anderlecht instead of Genk, so I can wish for Haifa to advance without meaning I don't get to see De Bruyne in Europe.

Fingers crossed.

McEachran will wear No. 20, Romeu 6 and Lukaku will probably be 14.

I assume now that Josh won't be loaned out, and I am hopeful.

Do you think Chelsea will sign any other player?

I think you need someone to fill Essien void.

However, signign young talents is a good move.

As I previouisly outlined, I'm hoping for: De Bruyne, Adam Johnson, Scott Parker on loan, Inkoom and one of Hazard, Ganso, Costa or Gotze, probably in one of the next 2 windows.

EPL will start in a day, It's little bit late to sign new players.

Are Chelsea officially negotiating with anyone or those names are just your hope list?

Btw, can you post possible lineup for this week's match.

We can sign players until the end of August.

We've been linked with them all bar Gotze. But not heavily.

Malouda - Drogba - Anelka
Lampard - Ramires
Mikel
Cole - Terry - Alex - Bosingwa
Cech

Most likely. I expect Torres to either come on at some point or start and Drogba will come on.

We might also play:

Drogba - Torres
Anelka
Lamps - Ramires
Mikel
Cole - Terry - Alex - Bosingwa
Cech

I expect McEachran will also feature.

thanks

Gotze will not come to Chelsea in the next two windows. Concentrate on a realistic target. I honestly wouldn't expect to see him anywhere other than Dortmund, Madrid, Barca, or Milan until he's past 30.

I don't know man, he's young - just like André likes 'em. If Villas-Boas pulls a Mourinho this season, I'd say Chelsea are favourites to get him actually.

I like Chelsea and I think they can win the Champions League in any given year (unlike many people). That said, they aren't a big or successful enough club to sign Gotze. I get that most of you don't watch the Bundesliga, so just trust me that the kid is beyond special. He is Real Madrid-AC Milan kind of player. The mistaken belief that you will get him has been going on with fans of the other EPL clubs too, so you aren't alone.

Yes I understand that pretty well, I followed Dortmund closely last season as they've been my favourite German team ever since Paulo Sousa. And I know what you mean, what I'm saying is that you are talking about normal circumstances - Villas-Boas is changing things up a bit, specially if he has some success.

I like Chelsea and I think they can win the Champions League in any given year (unlike many people). That said, they aren't a big or successful enough club to sign Gotze. I get that most of you don't watch the Bundesliga, so just trust me that the kid is beyond special. He is Real Madrid-AC Milan kind of player. The mistaken belief that you will get him has been going on with fans of the other EPL clubs too, so you aren't alone.

Yeah the kid is really beyond special. He is unbelievable. His first touch is perfect and everything is so easy for him. I would be over the moon if he got to wear the Arsenal shirt but won't happen unless something drastic happens.

EDIT: I personally think Chelsea should have got Ashley Young. He is comfortable on both wings and also not bad behind a striker. Intelligent player.

Yes I understand that pretty well, I followed Dortmund closely last season as they've been my favourite German team ever since Paulo Sousa. And I know what you mean, what I'm saying is that you are talking about normal circumstances - Villas-Boas is changing things up a bit, specially if he has some success.

I honestly don't think him winning the treble would change anything. There's a pecking order regardless of who's actually winning the trophies, and Madrid/Milan are on top. That's where he's going. Everyone wants him, even I'm secretly wishing that Bayern pull some Neuer **** and convince him that it's better to play with international teammates in his home country, but it just won't happen.

Honestly, I don't think he'll leave Dortmund for 2 seasons at least. I could see 4 or more. They'll take care of that boy, and won't **** up his contract like Sahin.

But I suppose I could be wrong, I clearly don't see straight when it comes to Gotze. I even briefly considered buying a BVB jersey the other day before realizing I had gone crazy.

Yeah, I suppose... And there's definitely the chance Borussia just hang on to him; Let's just see what he does in the Champions League (Y)

My first choice, as I previously said, is Hazard. Assuming Gotze would be open to a move elsewhere, should Borussia fail to make it past the group stages and back into the CL, making a big bid for one of their star players could wind up accepted.

I thought they were going to stumble this year without Sahin. I did not quite grasp how phenomenal Gotze is. Klopp is a top manager too, and Gundogan is like a Sahin clone stepping right in.

Most german german players want to stay in their club for a long time and unlike Latin players who have La Liga dream, they actually prefer EPL and Serie A.

I hope he stays at Dortmund for few more years and then makes a move.

Yeah, but Mourinho has brought 3 Germans to Madrid in the last 12 months.

Yeah, but Mourinho has brought 3 Germans to Madrid in the last 12 months.

they are not german german, read my post again(Y).

Yeah, okay, whatever. I don't remember many Germans in the EPL... Huth, Hamann, and Klinsmann? Madrid did go through a time when they had a few German White Christian Aryan Germans on the team.

Yeah, okay, whatever. I don't remember many Germans in the EPL... Huth, Hamann, and Klinsmann? Madrid did go through a time when they had a few German White Christian Aryan Germans on the team.

+
Lehman
Ballack

You can barely find a player in top european countries who plays abroad (I mean NT XI players).

Inter had lots of German players in early 1990s. A German Inter vs. Hollandi Milan, I guess.

Hitzlsperger

Take it somewhere else guys. Too much OT going on here.

Disappointing result against Stoke today, but Stoke, as always, are very tough to play at home.
The plus side was Torres and Ramires, both performed very well, especially Torres.
Looks confident and wasn't afraid to ride some hard challenges by Shawcross, turned the Stoke defenders inside out numerous times.

We clearly missed Sturridge, Kalou was on the pitch far too long and offered virtually nothing, I thought AVB should've subbed Anelka in for Kalou instead of Malouda.
Our defense also looks good, Alex and JT dealt comfortably with the whole Stoke routine of long balls and throw ins. Bosingwa looked solid for once as well.
We should've had a penalty when Lampard got clipped by Wilson(?).

It was so bloody obvious, Halsey's contacts probably fell off somewhere.

All in all, disappointing result but a couple of positives that can be taken out. Plus, it's always tricky to start away from home in the opening fixture.

Couldn't watch it, won't comment.

Apparently Mikel insisted on playing despite needing painkillers and more importantly, being informed before the match that his father's gone missing.

Hope it all works out. Credit to him for playing anyway.

@Fili: http://www.weaintgotnohistory.com/2011/8/15/2363768/one-to-watch-this-year-aliu-kaby-djalo#storyjump

OMG just read about Mikel. Best wishes to him and his family. Hope all is well. Really sad incident.

Top guy Mikel, by all accounts, hope it all ends well.

In Chelsea news, it's unclear whether we'll be getting a playmaker this window, and if we get one, it will 95% be Modric. Modric would certainly improve the team now, but in the long-run he doesn't solve our problems and would get in the way of McEachran's development most likely.

But we might still get some signings for the future with De Bruyne, who has said that his agent has had good talks with the club, and if he signs he'll stay at Genk for a year. Hope it goes through, I want this kid.

And anyone wondering about Lukaku, he has trained with the team already, buy any announcement will be made this week.

Az cheers, I read it on FourFourTwo.com and his Facebook page (Y)

Speaking about players coming from reserves, I really hope Rajkovic does get himself sorted out regarding the work permit matter.

It would definitely help if he can get a loan a Premiership or Championship club.

I think he's ready for the first team, as a backup. If he gets a work permit it's possible that Alex will be sold, but if they're both at the club I could get a behind a loan to another Prem club. Hell, Arsenal need a defender.

But Everton or a promoted club would be nice.

Just heard the update on Mikel's family situation, hopefully everything will turn out alright for them.

It would be tough for Mikel to focus come Saturday's game, but we do need him.

Romeu just came back from the U-20 World Cup(Spain lost in the QFs), not a wise idea to push him into action so quickly.

Rumours:

Kevin De Bruyne wants to join by the end of August, and the club is pursuing him.

Juventus have bid 8m for Alex, which has been rejected.

Lots of silly cash plus player rumours for Modric, although they're gaining momentum, and I think we'll end up signing him, a few signs seem to indicate this.

The club have bid for Mata and will look to make another bid soon.

I still prefer Hazard, but I won't complain if Mata arrives, we need better creative options out wide and behind the striker.

De Bruyne rumours seems legit to me. There are quotes from the kid himself, a good deal for him since he spends another season at Genk and depending on his performances throughout this season, he'll hook up with us next season.

I don't see us selling Alex. Iva will most likely go back to RB and rotate with Bosingwa when he's fit as Alex and JT are the better defensive partnership in my opinion.

Been hearing a lot of noise regarding Modric too, some sites say we're offering Benayoun plus cash for him.

I actually welcome our attempt to sign Mata, great player and has a great future. Should be able to provide the much needed width up front.

I think AVB would rather use Iva as CB, but unless I hear something new about Inkoom, Iva will probably rotate at RB.

Selling Yossi for Modric would be stupid, and makes no sense, he's the only one who can play behind the striker in a 4-2-3-1.

Gordon gone to Peterborough for 6 months, and he'll have to perform if he doesn't want to be sold in the summer, Bertrand and PVA are above him in the pecking order and they have long contracts whereas his expires next year.

Lalkovic gone for a month to Doncaster, we'll see how that goes.

Lukaku officially signed, wears the No. 18 shirt.

Cech out for a month, crap. Thankfully our next two matches are West Brom and Norwhich, but a trip to Sunderland and another to ManU follow, so he'll need to be fit by then.

Mikel will play, Luiz won't.

A bit of a worry, because last time Cech was out I thought we were well covered with Hilario, and we end up losing to City. :D

With all due respect to Norwich, I'm thankful they're the next team coming up, instead of a physical team like Stoke or Bolton. The defense should be able to protect whichever goalie(Hilario or Turnbull) played on Saturday.

Not sure to what extent Lukaku's role is this season, reckon he'll probably just play mentor/protege' with Drogba and feel his way into the team for the season.
More will be expected from him starting next season. Not much pressure for him since he's not replacing anyone for the time being.

He'll get minutes off the bench and cup matches, not much else unless he really impresses.

Mata is a great signing. Wegner is a complete ******* moron.

Mata is a great signing. Wegner is a complete ******* moron.

Great partner for Torres.

Not ours yet, although with a lack of rumours for Hazard, I'll be glad to see him sign. Just 23 as well.

Clearly signing Modric and Mata will improve our squad for the better, but I hope it doesn't put McEacrhan's development in danger. Although if this means he gets sent on loan (it won't, we're thin on mids as it is), I'll be glad.

There were rumours of us negotiating for Eden Hazard and that Lille are asking 30m.

Mata would be a good signing for Chelsea........( WTF Wenger?!?!)

Not ours yet, although with a lack of rumours for Hazard, I'll be glad to see him sign. Just 23 as well.

Clearly signing Modric and Mata will improve our squad for the better, but I hope it doesn't put McEacrhan's development in danger. Although if this means he gets sent on loan (it won't, we're thin on mids as it is), I'll be glad.

yeah, those two can play a big part indeed but it needs a big splash. I think just one will happen, probably Modric.

I actually think we'll get both, although if we get one, I'd much rather we got Mata.

Not entirely happy about either transfer, but I'd be glad to see them wearing Blue.

Tottenham's bid for Diarra looks to be accepted. Cannot confirm officially nor deny atm, looks like they have indeed got Diarra, its all twitter talk, am still trying to verify these rumours. Hence from here, rumours going around that 3rd bid for Modric has been accepted.

Reports in Spain suggest Chelsea are continuing talks with Valencia over Juan Mata - but they are demanding nothing less than €30million. - via @SkyGraemeBailey

Lets hope for the best for transfers and tomrrows match !!!! :D

I'm seeing another rumor regarding Hazard, which says 22m plus Kakuta. Sounds kind of terrible, I'd much rather spend 30m, or even 35m on him, than let Kakuta go, who despite not being as far along the development curve as I'd like, was still relatively effective as a squad player for Fulham and could still turn out good for us.

If the deal is Hazard for 22m plus Kakuta on LOAN, then that sounds great. I'd rather Kakuta go out on loan in the Prem again, but after half a season at Fulham, where he got some first team football and has a general idea of what's needed to succeed at this level, having a year back in France as a squad player (hopefully a direct replacement for Hazard) and seeing some CL action would be pretty good.

I prefer this deal than the Mata one, but Mata sounds more likely, and it will probably be one or the other, although both would absolutely make me overjoyed, even though it will mean 1-2 Chelsea players will have to leave by February (Mata gets Zhirkov's spot, Modric gets Essien's temporary spot, meaning someone sold in January to make room for Essien when he gets back, and another player sold now to make room for Hazard, out of most likely Anelka, Kalou, and Malouda. The best option would be Anelka, whose contract ends this summer, and Malouda can still offer a lot to the team (not to say Anelka can't, he's still a good player), and Kalou, although the worst of the 3, doesn't mind being a bench player for now.

So, in my book, a perfect (and impossible) end to this transfer window will be:

Hazard in for 22m plus Kakuta on-loan, Mata in for 27m, Anelka leaves for around 5m, Modric in for around 30m, Inkoom in for 6m, Ferreira out for around 4m, Parker in on-loan, Rajkovic gets a work permit, PVA goes to Newcastle on-loan, McEachran goes to Bolton or such on-loan and De Bruyne arrives for 9m and stays at Genk on-loan for the year.

All this would mean that we have a full 25 man squad (not counting the youngsters, who don't qualify yet), with one foreigner needing to leave. This could be Hilario (unlikely since he's probably still 2nd choice, although if Blackman impresses he could stake a claim as 3rd and Hilario could be expendable since he's not much better than Turnbull), Alex (who is a good player for us, but has been linked with a move and we have a lot of depth at CB, so could afford to let him go), or Kalou, who with Mata and Hazard coming in, is pretty expendable as well.

No chance of this all happening, but I'm pretty sure, we'll see some new players at the Bridge in the coming weeks.

I pretty much agree with all that except the Anelka bit. I also thought it was time for him to leave last season, but watching him, he was solid during pre-season and probably the most threatening striker(behind Sturridge) we had when played in that position.

Problem with him is that he drops deep too much, he's best as an out and out striker playing on the shoulders of defenders, he might have lost the pace he once had but he's still one of our quickest players. Pace is definitely something we lack in this team. That's why the arrivals of Lukaku and possibly Mata are most welcome.

Anelka's finishing has always been class, he just needs to sort himself out and stop believing that he's the playmaker of the team.

Considering the long-ball mentality the team tends to gravitate to in times of need, I sort of welcome Anelka's drifting into the centre and wings. When he's making intelligent movements (and he doesn't always, he sometimes seems to just move for the hell of it), he opens up space and links up well with the midfield, and he and Malouda are probably the best fit to flank Torres, and I feel like Lamps also benefits from their combined movements.

I have no beefs with Anelka's level of play, overall, but his contract situation and age (which influences his contract situation) are why he'd make the most sense to leave. I see no talks of any contract renewal, nor any intention for it from either side. The club seem to be content with him leaving, and despite him being a good player, you can see why. He's past 30, he plays in a position where we need improvement and his best position is one where he's unlikely to ever play for us again, with 1 veteran, 1 marquee signing, and 2 youngsters to compete with for the ST spot.

I highly doubt Anelka will still be here by this point next season, which is why, if we sign Mata now, I can see the club trying to offload him now, although whether he agrees is a different matter. I don't mind him staying, as he offers depth and a different playing style, but he takes up a foreign spot, and if Chelsea are smart, they'll try and buy Hazard from Lille and January and offer him as an exchange, which would benefit everyone involved. We get a young, promising player for the RW position, Lille get money and a direct, temporary (although good) replacement, and Anelka gets playing time in his home country in a team that could still be in and around Europe until he retires.

The question is whether the board considers Mata as a one-fits-solution for our LW, RW and AMC problems (which is isn't, although he's versatile, and Modric won't help with either, btw). If they don't, and I hope they don't, they'll still be looking for an AMC/RW even if he comes in one of the next windows.

We should tread carefully though because Arsenal and United have similar deficiencies to ours and I fully expect at least one of them to beat us to a player I'd like.

Also, word is Alex would welcome a Juventus move, and if Rajkovic gets a permit, I'd let him leave. I like him, he's one of the best CBs in the world, who unfortunately has 3 other top CBs to contend with and at 29 he'd much rather be a starter for a Europa League club than backup at Chelsea, which is understandable. I'd be sad to see him go, but we can handle his departure. Although the ideal solution would be for Rajkovic to get his permit and an RB to be signed to free Ivanovic up from starting RB duties. Please god don't let Alex go unless at least one of those things happens.

******* bull****, how does Juventus keep bumbling into our transfer targets?

Spanish media says Mata is your for a €28M amount.

Yeah, it's on The Guardian website too. Deal looks done.

******* bull****, how does Juventus keep bumbling into our transfer targets?
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/it/2/27/GiuseppeMarotta.jpg

Lots of sources are coming out with this, so it looks like a matter of time before it's on the website, I assume if this is true, it'll be confirned by the site on Monday/Tuesday.

Mata will probably stake a starting spot on the team, either behind the striker in a 4-2-3-1 or out wide in a 4-3-3. Wondering which would be best for him. He tends to come inside from the left, so he probably won't offer much in the form of crossing, although Cole can offer sufficient width out there and he would probably link up well with Torres.

Arnau, what do you think? No. 10, RW or LW?

In a 4-3-3 i'd play him on the right, he played very well there in the European U-21 changing his position with Adrián often, Torres could do this because he is a dynamic striker but he can play in the 3 positions of attack, cut back pass is one of his best weapons.

Why on the right though?

Because is left footed and likes to go to the center, his style is far from the classic winger, very creative player + you have Malouda in the left.


Check this

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Vilas Boas plays standard 4-3-3 doesn't he? Probably as a winger then, and an inverted one seems like a good idea to occupy some of that space behind Torres.

Also if Bosingwa is full fit, Mata could create a lot of space for his runs.

I'd rather he played on the right, too, mostly because it's our weakest position right now.

I assume Mata will act as first-choice AMC when we play 4-3-2-1 as well as 4-1-2-1-2 diamond (and we will probably play both at some point, AVB has stated that he wants us to have different approaches) and 1st choice RW as well as possible LW when Malou is out or something.

I'm starting to get excited now, he'd make a nice addition.

******* André.

What?

He's messing up my favourite English team now. Granted, Arsenal are their own worst enemies, but I have to blame someone, and I love blaming André.

looks like Juan Mata deal will be confirmed after tonites match, most probably tomorrow :D
He is at the bridge where he was greeted by Romeu, and currently is taking a tour of the bridge, watch out for him during the match, he may well get spotted :D

He is along with his dad (agent) to finalize his deal :P

I'm just hearing about this young talent from Georgia called something Chanturia, who plays at Vitesse, with whom we have a good link. Barcelona apparently failed to sign him after a loan deal (Arnau, did you see him play?), and we were going to but work permit troubles apparently stopped us.

After just 2 matches there seems to be a bit of buzz around him, and if he plays well for a few seasons at Vitesse he will certainly be a starter for Georgia and have no problems getting a permit. If he is good, I think our good relationship with Vitesse will give us a first option of sorts.

Anelka - Torres - Kalou
Lamps - Mikel - Ramires
Cole - Terry - Alex - Jose
Hilario

With Hilario in goal I might've prefered Bane, but AVB wants the fullbacks to offer width, and Jose will. I assume Anelka will play on the left and come inside. Never really made sense that he did it from the right, just seemed like he was placed there because no one else played there, with Malou on the left. AVB seems to have realised this in preaseon, and I think both wingers will come in side a lot today.

Drogs on the bench for the 2nd game running.

Twitter says Mata's been spotted at the Bridge. Just about confirmed then.

1-0 down at halftime, and we've now switched formation at the 30 minute mark to the diamond, with Malouda coming on for Kalou and plaiyng on the left with Diamond on top. We tried this before and it didn't work, Lamps isn't good there. The main switch is that Ramires and Torres are in the lineup, but it was the Drogs-Anelka combo that made it work.

Anyway, the same problem as last year, and always really. Pinning them back and no creativity so we just move around the area and hope for a lapse or speculative effort or pass. No vision, and their direct counters are hurting us. This is why we need creative players, and right now I'd welcome Modric and Mata in a heartbeat. Bring Yossi on.

We really need to do better.

Drogba on bench again?

2-1 win, missed Anelka's goal, trying to find it now, but Malouda's was nice, brilliant run from Jose, and if keeps being such an attacking outlet and manages to do his part in defense, we won't need another RB like Inkoom (not that I'd say no to Inkoom).

Anyway, don't let ths 3 points mask the poor performance, we were dominant in possession but offered little in the way of chances, and I certainly hope that Mata and whoever else comes fixes that. The ball doesn't move around well vertically, Lamps has wonderful wide vision, and can move the ball from one flank to the other beautifully, but we nee someone who can transition forward, we need an advanced playmaker.

Anyway, Torres looked energised, Jose and Cole looked pretty good. The team looks fine, but we need to create better chances. Tactically, AVB's change seems to have yielded results, scoring 2 goals with the diamond vs the 1 conceded with the 4-3-3, but I'm not too sure about it. We were able to pin West Brom back and move Ramires and Malouda wide often because they're we're simply better than them, but it won't work against the big sides.

Norwich next (and I expect a signing by then, and for us to show signs of improvement and get a better result), then Sunderland and ManU, and I hope the teams gets it together by then. Really, for a long time it looked like same old problems. If we don't score early, the opponent sits back and we don't know how to break them. We're good with spaces and on counters, but we will be pegged back sometimes, and whilst we did well to bounce back, we should open up defences better.

Odemwniegie or whatever looked absoultely frightened when Terry grabbed him, but then repeated the same bull**** with Cole, he was looking for a beating that kid. And Olsson's gonna get sent off soon, he jumps with his hands forward, and he once punched Hilario and handled the ball in the area on another.

Hilario looked decent, although he went to the ground too early with Long.

Get used to these, André works wonders at half-time breaks.

I'm just hearing about this young talent from Georgia called something Chanturia, who plays at Vitesse, with whom we have a good link. Barcelona apparently failed to sign him after a loan deal (Arnau, did you see him play?), and we were going to but work permit troubles apparently stopped us. .

I heard about Gio Chanturia, apparently is a playmaker.

Get used to these, André works wonders at half-time breaks.

Credit to the man, if it was Carlo we would've waited until HT or the 60th minute for a change of system. Andre did it instantly and you could immediately see that it worked better when Malouda came to play wide left.

First goal was a mess, I thought it was initially Ramires' pass that caught Alex off guard, and Alex should've done better, but he was probably blind sided when Long came in.

Like I said before, Anelka up front is threatening. He needs to play on the shoulder of defenders and drop deep less. Great run and cross by the Boss to setup Malouda.

EDIT: Ben Andrews(ChelseaTV) said at HT that Mata was at the Bridge. Watch this space. :D

Do you think anybody will leave if Mata comes? you already have 7 forwards.

Torres, Drogba, Anelka, Kalou, Lukaku, Sturridge, Malouda (in 4 3 3)

Not in this transfer window.

Mata deal confirmed by Valencia. :)

That just leaves Modric and De Bruyne.

I think the game against Utd could to a small extent determine whether Modric leaves or not. The chances will be bigger that he'll be joining us if he isn't selected(with the exception of injury of course).

He would be great addition. I think this EPL will be on the best ever, great additions, great teams.

Mata confirmed by both clubs, just medical and personal terms left, although it sounds like those have been agreed.

So, what do I think about this transfer? I like it, why?

1. We need him. Mata offers versatility and technical ability at the front which we could use, we generally have mostly physical specimens at the front and he offers a different style which could get more out of Torres, and he isn't as injury-prone as Yossi, and he's better than Yossi. He can slot in at the right, left, or behind the striker, which are all areas we need to improve in. He won't be the perfect No. 10 we've wanted, but considering that we won't be playing a No. 10 with Lamps on the side without Lamps getting pissed that he's being played in a double-pivot, this actually makes more sense, since in our formation we need the creativity to come from the guys on the wing, and Mata will offer that.

2. It makes sense from a business persepctive as well. Given the current market, Mata's price is very reasonable at 27m more or less. Fact is, guys like Gotze and Hazard don't need to be sold by their clubs to offset debt, and so would cost more, not to mention that they're younger and currently aren't as good. Although their potential growth could (probably will) see them become better than Mata, but Mata has international experience, CL experience and has been a regular at a top Spanish side for years now. He's also just 23, and has been signed on a 5 year 55,000 per week contract. That's much cheaper than guys like Nasri or Young, and if he doesn't work out, his contract runs out when he turns 28, meaning that we would be selling at the pinnacle of his career, and would have good resale value. Not to mention that 55,000 a week for such a player is a great contract to have him on.

3. Regarding Young, I recently said that Ashley was the sort of player we should've signed. Positional versatility being the main point. Young is homegrown with Premier experience, but I don't think he's much better than Mata (I'll see if he is once I get to see them both play a few matches for their new teams), but he's also 3 years older than the Spaniard.

4. My friends all love Mata and stealing him from them forr such a price makes it extra sweet.

We have up-and-coming talent on the wings, especially if we get De Bruyne too, but I wouldn't say no to Hazard or Gotze in one of the next windows.

Anyway, I don't think this will mean that we don't sign Modric, I think the idea is to combine them, so there's that. We'll probably see Mata in action against Sunderland, and I assume the Modric saga will end a few days after the Spurs match.

Rumours about Storari plus cash for Alex. Not a fan, I'd rather get more hard cash.

Also a new rumour linking us to Jovetic. Don't know enough about him. Sounds like a bull**** rumour though.

He was injured all last season. Doesn't seem like now would be the time to buy.

The rumour suggests AVB thinks he can get him for half (10m) of his proper value, probably because of that injury. Still doesn't sound good.

Another rumour that makes no sense is Meireles for Sturridge. Yeah, right.

Storari isn't consistent with the kind of deals André looks for... I think it's papers just talk crap again.

Yeah, I'd say they've looked at our match and seen that Cech hasn't started and decided we need a keeper. We actually don't anymore.

This would be such a brilliant summer if we go ahead and snatch Hazard for 30m after Arsene decides he's not bidding that high. Add De Bruyne for 9m, Modric for 30m, and our new additions (that's Lukaku, Romeu, Courtois, and Mata bitches), we've got a lot of great signings, which will have a major effect in the short term, long term and are all good bids financially (barring Modric and Hazard).

Hazard won't happen, but I'm going to bring up again that should Lille crash out of Europe (and chances are they're 4th seeds, although I haven't checked), Hazard could be available for somewhere around 20-25m in July, possibly Jan.

Word that Rajkovic is out to Hamburg for 3m, which sucks. This guy puts it best:

This is annoying in a few ways. Firstly, €3M is well below Rajkovic's actual worth, in my opinion. Chelsea were put in a pretty hard place by this news, one would suspect, and as a result they couldn't get full value for their asset. Secondly, this now blocked on-loan Jeffrey Bruma at Hamburg, which means in losing our top centre half prospect we've also somehow managed to impede the development of our second-best one.

Thirdly, this means that unless another player is brought in at defence, Alex is now un-sellable. Rajkovic could have slotted into the fourth-choice place Alex occupies and freed up the Brazilian for a reasonable-money move to, say, Juventus, and that's no longer an option, which is going to cost Chelsea a good bit of money. Last and certainly not least - it wasn't very difficult to imagine Rajkovic becoming a very good player someday. Now it won't be with Chelsea.

Crap. The news he refers to is that he didn't get a permit apparently.

Looks like Kalas is out on a season-long loan to Vitesse. Hope he gets a starting spot and plays well.

But now our heralded depth at the back is not that deep. Bruma and Kalas out on loan, Rajkovic possibly sold (hopefully it was just a rumor and he does get a permit), Alex is linked with moves away (although it will be one or the other, we won't be letting so many CBs go), Mancienne has gone already, Luiz is currently injured, Terry is forever dogged by back problems, Chalobah is 16 and Iva is also our cover for RB (The Boss seems to be favoured by AVB who wants him to offer width at the back, and he's playing more like Scolari and early Carlo form than last year's Bosingwa).

We still have 4 CBs who would start for most other teams, 3 CBs with a lot of potential (and Pappoe and Ince aren't too shabby either, from what I've seen), and possibly another who both has potential and could act as cover now, if he stays.

Hope it all works out soon.

Just an edit by me :D Hope you guys like it :D

http://www5.picturepush.com/photo/a/6376353/img/6376353.jpg

i loved it....

Modric out of the Man Utd game.... I think Chels has done best in the transfer window if this goes through

Modric would be perfect for Chelsea, the team need a player like him

Mata looks damn good in Chelsea's shirt. However, # 10 is for Benayoun.

With Mata in, Yossi plus cash for Modric makes more sense for Chelsea than it did before, especially if we're going to try ad sign another creative forward (unlikely, but the Jovetic rumours seem to indicate this), although it still doesn't make sense for Spurs, and I think it's a bad idea. We need Yossi.

Adam Phillip out for 6-9 months, which I think marks the end of his Chelsea career. He's fast and could play all across the front 3, but he has been injured in every season so far and was at the point of starting the loan circuit this year (like Lalkovic) which obviously won't happen. Hasn't shown enough to merit a new contract, and he won't get much chance this year. I hope it's only 6 months so he can get back on track, but it doesn't look good for him. Especially since we have more youth options in attack.

Mikel's father has been found alive, and that's great, Mikel has been a real trooper, playing despite it all, and I'm glad it's all worked out.

Modric rumours intensifying, and it sounds like 30m or 30m plus Yossi, would much rather the first, obviously, although a straight swap of foreign players would mean we don't have to offload anyone else.

Heard nothing new about Inkoom, but a new rumour suggests AVB wants to sign Van der Wiel for 10m, and Rolando for 18m (release clause). Dunno much about Rolando, but heard good things about him, I assume Fili will now feel me in. If he does arrive (don't count on it), it'd mean Alex goes out to Juventus, most likely. Van der Wiel for 10m sounds like a steal, and he's better overall than Inkoom right now, although he's more technical whereas Inkoom is better physically.

Van der Wiel and Rolando (assuming Rolando is as good Alex, and I dunno that he is, but if we push a deal like this through then it's because AVB prefers him to Alex (he's younger too) for 28m and Alex out for 8m (and I assume we'll try and offload Ferreira too, would be a pretty good deal. We'll see.

Quite simply, it's Rolando +3 at the back. The fact that all four of Portugal's centre backs at the moment came from Porto (Carvalho, Pepe, Alves and Rolando) tells you how good we keep it at the centre of our defence, and Rolando always has his spot. Otamendí is class and he's the one who rotates with Maicon. We conceded 16 last year, half the goals of second place Benfica and Rolando played every game except for one.

So yeah, I think he would be a great buy.

What sort of centrback is he? Tall and strong? Agile? Good with the ball at his feet? Penalty area defender?

If he's as good as Carvalho I'd sign him up now, I love that man.

He is tall and strong, wouldn't call him Piqué-like with the ball in his feet, but he gets in there, steals plenty of balls (not only interceptions, I mean stealing the ball from the attacker). Great header, scores much more than Carvalho, who you mentioned.


He's not Carvalho. No one is Carvalho. A certain German tried in the 70s, didn't quite make it. An Italian tried it in the 90s, failed. Carvalho is the one.

Mata having his medical. Finally you're getting a real winger other than Malouda. Kalou and Anelka just don't look good on the wing. Thats not their natural position.

He's not Carvalho. No one is Carvalho. A certain German tried in the 70s, didn't quite make it. An Italian tried it in the 90s, failed. Carvalho is the one.

He sucks. I'd rather have Titus Bramble.

Mata having his medical. Finally you're getting a real winger other than Malouda. Kalou and Anelka just don't look good on the wing. Thats not their natural position.

Mata cuts inside, he's not a real winger.

Here's what Harry said about Mata.


The Spurs boss said: ‘We were in for Mata and close to doing a deal. But he didn’t come and Chelsea came in.
'Obviously they can blow you out of the water wage wise, and then he
changes his mind and they get him. It’s all about wages.’

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2028969/Juan-Mata-blasted-Harry-Redknapp-midfielder-opts-Chelsea.html

Must be a case of sour grapes.

Sure it's all about wages, nothing to do with Champions League football and the fact that we've finished in the top 3 for the last couple of seasons. We're paying Mata 55k per week, so how much were Spurs going to pay him exactly?

55k/week really isn't bad for a starting player at this level.

Yeah, the point is Harry said he came solely because of wages, which is rather bull$hit since I doubt Tottenham just gave up because we offered Mata 55k/week, that's well within their range.

It can't be that they offered 30-40k/week and then gave up after they learned we were offering around 10k pounds more.

But I'll give a benefit of a doubt to Harry, he is a nutter when it comes to the press.

Spuds highest wage is 65k. They can't offer 55k to a newly signed player. What happened with us is a mystery.

You are inferior teams to Chelsea, that's what happened. Both teams can afford Mata's wages, it's not about the money.

Well yeah, and Mata said as much himself.

Spuds highest wage is 65k. They can't offer 55k to a newly signed player. What happened with us is a mystery.

I repeat again, Mata is on about £55k a week which is less than Van Persie, Nasri, Defoe, Van Der Vaart respectively. I'm willing to guess that even Crouch earns around the same amount.

So you can't say he chose Chelsea over Arsenal/Spurs for money. I also reiterate that we have automatically qualified to the Champions League for the past 8 seasons. Spurs didn't qualify and Arsenal might find themselves in the same position after the Udinese game.

You are inferior teams to Chelsea, that's what happened. Both teams can afford Mata's wages, it's not about the money.

Exactly.

And Mata will probably be wearing Number 13. Last worn by the great Michael Ballack. :D

Don't talk bull**** without knowing what happened with Arsenal. It was pretty much a done deal and his father was also positive about things going through. That means the player must have been positive too. I don't know what happened so I am not creating a theory. I read that it was about wages but it was not concrete and I think it might have been that we couldn't agree with Valencia. That was also before Chelsea came in and it was confirmed that we were not interested anymore.

So you can't say he chose Chelsea over Arsenal/Spurs for money

I never said he didn't come to Arsenal because of money and neither did I suggest that was the case. Spurs obviously can't sign him in the first place for various reasons but I just pointed out that they can't just sign a young player like him on 55k. They have a wage structure and you would have to offer higher for a better contract. Its how things go.

Don't talk bull**** without knowing what happened with Arsenal. It was pretty much a done deal and his father was also positive about things going through. That means the player must have been positive too. I don't know what happened so I am not creating a theory. I read that it was about wages but it was not concrete and I think it might have been that we couldn't agree with Valencia. That was also before Chelsea came in and it was confirmed that we were not interested anymore.

Yes, I'm sure you were there when this all panned out. Mata himself came out and said it was about Champions League football along with other factors, such as Torres and his meeting with AVB that convinced him.

And to say that you don't know what happened and to say you're not creating a theory when you've just came out with that bull$hit is quite contradicting.

Either way, if you want to continue deluding yourself with that, go ahead and moan about it in the Arsenal thread. This was about Harry's comments originally after all.

I never said he didn't come to Arsenal because of money and neither did I suggest that was the case. Spurs obviously can't sign him in the first place for various reasons but I just pointed out that they can't just sign a young player like him on 55k. They have a wage structure and you would have to offer higher for a better contract. Its how things go.

Arry was the one suggesting that Mata turned the other offers down was solely due to wages. When did I imply that you said that..

I just pointed out that they can't just sign a young player like him on 55k.

Can't sign a young player like him on 55k? You're acting like it's never been done before.

Besides, he's only a year younger than Fabregas.

Yes, Redknapp has come out and said he chose us for the money. Because he can't say that he chose us because we're a better team than them, and the same applies for Arsenal.

Here's what Mata has said: "I want to come to England to win trophies - and that's why I accepted Chelsea's offer. It was also a question of sporting achievement, not money. Arsenal and Tottenham were both interested in me but they did not compare with the Blues. I want the Premier League title and this is possible at Chelsea.

Fernando Torres helped influence my decision but speaking directly with Villas-Boas was the decisive factor. He explained how his style will be based on 4-3-3 and how important I will be to his plans."

So, there you go. Cesc could have easily convinced Mata that going to Arsenal was a good idea, they know each other just as well as Torres and Mata do, but he didn't, because it's not, and having seen Arsenal block Cesc's move, I doubt he'd want to go there in fear of running the same fate (not that I think Arsenal behaved inappropriately in the Cesc saga).

Wenger could've convinced Mata to come too, Mata fits in his system, but he didn't, AVB did.

And Valencia are willing to sell for a good price, so there's no reason that an agreement wouldn't have been agreed.

Basically: Chelsea are better than Arsenal, and even if they weren't, Mata thinks so, which is what matters. And make no mistake, if Mata thinks so, so will other players.

Yes, I'm sure you were there when this all panned out. Mata himself came out and said it was about Champions League football along with other factors, such as Torres and his meeting with AVB that convinced him.

And to say that you don't know what happened and to say you're not creating a theory when you've just came out with that bull$hit is quite contradicting.

Either way, if you want to continue deluding yourself with that, go ahead and moan about it in the Arsenal thread. This was about Harry's comments originally after all.

You are stating this stuff and he just made a provocative comment for no reason.

Thats why I said this could have been the case but I don't know for sure. I am still not creating a theory.

I'm not moaning about anything. Ask your friend why exactly did he have to reply to something thats not even offensive in that way???

Besides, he's only a year younger than Fabregas.

Which is very young. Cesc looks older because he has been playing in EPL since he was 16, but that's not usual.

What comment? I'm just saying Chelsea are better than Arsenal.

Arry was the one suggesting that Mata turned the other offers down was solely due to wages. When did I imply that you said that..



Can't sign a young player like him on 55k? You're acting like it's never been done before.

Besides, he's only a year younger than Fabregas.

I was just saying thats why they couldn't offer him better wages. Why would I want him to join Spuds anyway?

I'm not acting like that at all. Just said thats how they do it in their wage structure.

Fabregas is only 24.

Spuds highest wage is 65k. They can't offer 55k to a newly signed player. What happened with us is a mystery.

It really isn't unusual to make your new signing your highest earner...and even if Spurs matched the wages do you really believe he'll turn Chelsea down?

He'd rather stay in Valencia than playing for Spurs.

It really isn't unusual to make your new signing your highest earner...and even if Spurs matched the wages do you really believe he'll turn Chelsea down?

Did I say that? I just said thats how they do it. That may not be unusual but do you really think making Mata their highest earner would keep their wage structure in shape? Would the other players not ask for pay rises? Thats Spuds for **** sake not Real.

poet11, you're the one who popped out of nowhere and made butt-hurt comments about Le Arse.

Don't talk bull**** without knowing what happened with Arsenal. It was pretty much a done deal and his father was also positive about things going through. That means the player must have been positive too. I don't know what happened so I am not creating a theory. I read that it was about wages but it was not concrete and I think it might have been that we couldn't agree with Valencia. That was also before Chelsea came in and it was confirmed that we were not interested anymore.

Read again what you just wrote, and by the way you started that post, in this Chelsea thread, what kind of response were you looking for?

Anyways in other Chelsea related news,

http://www.skysports.com/story/0,,11095_7119098,00.html

Rajkovic seemingly on the way out. Arnesen(which coincidentally can be misspelled as Arsenne) and Hamburg apparently once again going after one of our youngsters.

If it's because of the work permit, it's a damn shame.

I just said why Spuds can't sign him for that and I don't know why Arsenal couldn't because its pretty clear wages couldn't be an issue as we let a few high earners go. If Harry said it was because of wages then he is wrong cos its because of Spuds wage structure.

EDIT: Popping up on Chelsea thread?? Is there a rule??? If theres one why does that dude do it in the Arsenal thread???

I just said why Spuds can't sign him for that and I don't know why Arsenal couldn't because its pretty clear wages couldn't be an issue as we let a few high earners go. If Harry said it was because of wages then he is wrong cos its because of Spuds wage structure.

EDIT: Popping up on Chelsea thread?? Is there a rule??? If theres one why does that dude do it in the Arsenal thread???

Let me make this clear for you: He. Preferred. Chelsea.

Why go to not-yet-in-the-CL Arsenal when Valencia are in the group stages already? It's not like he was desperate to leave.

I just said why Spuds can't sign him for that and I don't know why Arsenal couldn't because its pretty clear wages couldn't be an issue as we let a few high earners go. If Harry said it was because of wages then he is wrong cos its because of Spuds wage structure.

EDIT: Popping up on Chelsea thread?? Is there a rule??? If theres one why does that dude do it in the Arsenal thread???

Popping up for the sake of discussion is different than just doing it for the sake of bitching.

Rajkovic gone to Hamburg on a permanent deal. Shame, but I've discussed this already, and won't get into it again.

This means Alex is staying put unless we sign another defender (not if we sign a right-back, must be a CB) and then he could be allowed to leave for Juve. Expect a few rumours of us going after CBs to intensify, the Rolando rumour specifically.

Haha! Now that the Perreira rumours make no sense since we have cover at both LW and LB, the new spin on it is that AVB will let Malou go and bring the Uruguyan in. Don't buy it, and I don't see the point of making a loss on someone to sit on the bench when Malouda can still deliver (he scored and provided in quantity last season despite not playing as well as the previous one, and played well against West Brom).

I get that the media thinks that our spending power will make AVB want to revamp the team, but some of thee rumours are just silly.

Talks are that Spurs will reject a 30m deal and that this could mark the end of the saga. Honestly, I wouldn't mind that much either way. Modric will bring immediate quality to the squad, but could get in the way of McEachran's development, who could be our ticket to glory in a season or two, if he gets to play.

Rajkovic gone to Hamburg on a permanent deal. Shame, but I've discussed this already, and won't get into it again.

This means Alex is staying put unless we sign another defender (not if we sign a right-back, must be a CB) and then he could be allowed to leave for Juve. Expect a few rumours of us going after CBs to intensify, the Rolando rumour specifically.

Cue a reported interest in making an 18m bid for Cahill (the same amount as reported for Rolando), which I assume is just talk and won't materialise. That said, I wouldn't mind such a deal.

I'll preface by saying that I love Alex, I think he's worldclass, and though he's not that fast and has been dogged by injuries, he's more dependable than Luiz at the moment and is a brilliant, strong, CB with a cannon for a foot. But the fact of the matter is he's 29, with a ready-made replacement capable of stepping in (and likely displacing him) and taking over the starter spot permenantly, and he takes up a foreign-player spot and has shown that he's willing to leave.

Cahill meanwhile, would count as homegrown, is younger than Alex and while not as good nor as strong, he's better tehnically and would make a very good back-up for the CB spot.

For the 18m price, I'd rather have Cahill over Rolando becuse he has Prem experience, is homegrown,m and I've seen him play and know him fairly well, whereas I know little about Rolando.

Cahill for Alex would free a foreign spot, allowing us to bring in someone like Modric, too, for example. The rumour makes good sense for us, but I'm more than happy with Alex, and am not suggesting that we should hurry into such a deal, but I wouldn't object it to either.

Also, we'd be taking one of Arsene's transfer targets, and that's not bad either.

Am now hearing about Malou to Juventus for 5m, ridiculous. What is with this rumours lately? I get that the board and AVB are looking to rejuventate the squad, but that doesn't mean that they will just sell everyone over 30 and buy younger alternatives.

Also forgot to mention the Ulises Davila rumours. He's a 2m Mexican target who featured prominently for Mexico in their tournies this summer (not the Copa America) and apparently played well. He seems to play in an advanced midfield role or on either flank, and this seems like a pretty legitimate rumour. Dunno much about him, but I welcome any reasonable bid for a young, talented player.

Why do you rate Alex that high? He's slow and awkward, David Luiz is better, i'd love to have him in Barça.

Why do you rate Alex that high? He's slow and awkward, David Luiz is better, i'd love to have him in Barça.

I never understood it either. Even Luisão is better than Alex, let alone David Luiz..

Alex is not that slow, and he's certainly not awkward. He positions himself well (and therefor doesn't require much speed anyway) and is great at muscling players off the ball and is a good tackler who commits few fouls. He's very good in the air too and commits few mistakes. Actually, him getting outmuscled by Long is his only mistake in a long long time, and that was partly Ramires' fault anyway.

Luiz is brilliant, and will certainly displace Alex, as he's quicker, better on the ball and generally very good at this job, but at the moment he just commits more mistakes and more fouls, getting caught out of position.

Alex was our best player multiple times last season and injuries really ruined his season, but he's one of the best defenders in the world.

Frankly, I like Alex more because I've seen them both play and he's simply more assured and played better overall. I love Luiz, but he got overhyped and in terms of current ability, is not one of the starters, he's not even the 3rd best centreback yet. He'll get there, probably this season because Carlo trusted him and so will AVB.

Frankly, I like Alex more because I've seen them both play and he's simply more assured and played better overall. I love Luiz, but he got overhyped and in terms of current ability, is not one of the starters, he's not even the 3rd best centreback yet. He'll get there, probably this season because Carlo trusted him and so will AVB.

You should let him pop your cherry since you "like" him that much.....

If anyone's gonna pop my chocolate cherry (other's been popped already), it wouldn't be Alex.

Lamps the way to go.

http://www.soundoffcolumn.com/images/Frank-Lampard-6-25-09.jpg

Sexy. As. ****.

Mata officially, officially ours. Announced by the site, the deal is signed, but no number yet, probably because the club are waiting to see if a cash plus Yossi deal goes through for Modric, which will leave the 10 shirt open.

You better give up for Modric already, for this amount you can get Valero which is as good or better.

As I said already, I'd be fine either way, with or without Modric. If Valero is better, why did you choose Modric in the draft?

It's all a part of a plan.

Lampard class all written in him. Just wish they give the guy more credit to him in the NT. So how is Torres doing ? I'm still shocked to this day he picked another big club in England and not go to Serie A. But since he is as fragile as glass well thats another debate I do not want to get into. Where's that English player from your youth team that is playing first team at another club in the premier league? forgot his name. Please tell me you guys are only loaning him for first team experience?

Sturridge? He's at the club.

People have disliked Lamps ever since the 'daddy's boy' image in West Ham, and he's never deserved any of it.

Torres is doing better than last year.

our president and king Pinto da Costa has confirmed tonight to have received an offer from Chelsea for Alvaro Pereira, and that it took him only 30 seconds to reject it (H)

It's a lot of talk for something that really makes little sense. Does AVB not trust our LBs at all? I don't get it, and I'm not sure what Porto would get out of making up a fake bid, unless they want someone to come in and take him off their hands for a higher price,

AVB has officially come out and said that he wants to sign Perreira, but that it's unlikely that we will sign him this window. I assumethere are loan deals on the cards for PVA and Bertrand and that he plans to use Mata on the right.

Still seems redundant, especially for the price. And I'm not liking the Malou for 5m rumours at all.

Well, I'm not against the signing but I'd prefer we actually give a chance to Bertrand and PVA than sign a new player. We've got the talent at our disposal, why not give them a chance to prove themselves?

I think that the idea is for Perreira to be a backup for the LW moreso than for LB, and perhaps act as a stopgag cover for LB until one of the young LBs takes over. There's no point, having recently signed both of them to long contracts, to bring in someone older to stand in their way when we're trying to rejuventae the squad. We won't be selling Cole any time soon either, he's still the best LB in the world.

Malou's a different matter, and I think we should keep him, especially when the offered price is just 5m, but it seems like anyone over close or over 30 is on his way out soon.

Pereira.

Are the Malouda rumors believable? Seriously, the guy scored the winning goal in our last game, and is always a handful when coming on as sub. Definitely should keep him. He was one of our main sources for goals the past two seasons. Especially with Lampsy seemingly subdued so far.

If anything we should be selling Kalou. The guy has had so many chances from the start and I honestly don't know what his best position is. It seems AVB prefers Nico and Nando up front followed by Drogba and Torres. So if anything, Kalou is only getting minutes from the start because Sturridge is suspended. So far he hasn't done much to aid our attack.

Don't think Kalou will get much of a sniff in now that we've got Lukaku.

Kalou plays on the wings as an impact sub, and he's willing to be a bench player, which is quite valuable. Don't think we should sell either of them, at least not yet.

Valencia, Leverkusen, Genk. Kind of tough, but we should get through. Unforunately, should we sign De Bruyne, he won't be getting much CL experience, and probably not Europa league either.

Other rumours:

Modric might or might not come, but the fees are now being reported to as high as 40m, which is crazy.

Pereira (**** you Fili) might be coming, but again, 20-30m for a backup player? I don't get it, we'd basically be paying 10m or so to replace Zhirkov for Pereira, both left-sided utility players, only the latter isn't as good techically as the former but offers more power and (hopefully) less injuries. Don't really get it.

Malou isn't going anywhere, AVB appreciates his contribution to the team so he isn't leaving.

Chelsea want Krasic in any deal regarding Alex, which basically means no deal. Although I'd definitely enjoy seeing Juve swap Alex for Krasic and then we can go ahead and buy Cahill (and take one of Arsenalps targets in the process).

Getting kinda antsy with the De Bruyne link, I know he's currently injured, but are we gonna wasit for him to heal before signing him?

Also hearing that Yossi will give Mata the 10 shirt regardsless of whether he leaves.

With Nasri in at City, I wonder if we can get Johnson for a cut-price deal now.

City seem to have no problems bringing in players, but so far they've still got a bunch of players they have yet to offload. Not sure if Johnson is one of them, might need to wait until January for their players.
That's when the noises of discontent is usually made. Lack of games, etc etc.

Problem is, he'll probably be cup-tied at that point.

Luiz and Torres were cuptied for different competitons, hardly an issue.

Lots of transfer rumors for just 5 days.

Chelsea-Norwich
tv: FSC
streams: http://stream.forumx.hu/viewtopic.php?t=77&mforum=stream

Nasty KO, I hope he's Ok.

WzyKG4TGjPo

****, poor Drogs, hope it's minor, not worried about missing him, we have cover, but it looks nasty, hope he heals.

Couldn't catch a stream, gonna tape a rerun tomorrow and watch it as soon as possible to catch Lukaku and Mata's debuts. Sounds typical, though, lots of possession, no creativity.

EDIT: I couldn't update some stuff earlier, so I will now.

Essien is not a part of our 25-man squad until January, which pretty much guarantees that we'll be signing someone, probably two, foreign players, since we have two spots available. Doesn't make sense to gamble away the possibility of Essien returning early if it's not because we're going to sign someone to take up the spot (and then sell in Jan).

We got Fulham in the 3rd round of the Carling, though, which kinda sucks.

EDIT: Mata apparently got a debut goal in the 11th minute of injury time! I'm gonna enjoy that rerun.

Apparently van der Wiel is in London, possibly agreeing a 28m deal with us, which is FAR too much considering his meh season at Ajax and the fact that Bosingwa has done quite well so far. Wiel offers a young alternative that will probably become a starter soon, but it just sounds like a lot of money.

Also hearing about Anelka to Betis for free, which is ridiculous, he's gone on a free transfer next season, and is currently in and around the starting squad, so why let him go for free now?

Yossi not even in the squad today, which could mean he's going to Spurs in an exchange deal, although it could just be that AVB prefered Mata and McEachran on the bench.

Holy crap that fall!

OMG i just saw the video. The landing almost had me in tears. Please tell me he's gonna be okay. How unfortunate you can't really blame it on the goalkeeper to be honest. *unless he was outside his box

Yeah, Bosingwa is the tits right now, don't replace him.

Poor Drogba. He got knocked the **** out. I hope he recovers soon.

Davila signed, no word on what he'll do this season, but Vitesse is likely.

Drogba had a mild concussion, and we'll soon know how serious it is.

De Bruyne still sounds likely, and there's also the chance of Pereira, van der Wiel and Modric still in this window.

Just saw the clip, that was a nasty landing by Drogba.

Who is this De Bruyne guy? I've seen him mentioned throughout the thread and I've never seen his name anywhere else. Large transfer fees are usually next to his name too, which I find odd.

Hope Davila doesn't become Vela 2.0

Who is this De Bruyne guy? I've seen him mentioned throughout the thread and I've never seen his name anywhere else. Large transfer fees are usually next to his name too, which I find odd.

He's one of the next big Belgian stars, a right-footed left-winger if I remember correctly, he definitely plays on the left mostly and cuts inside, has a good shot and I think he led the Belgian league in assists last year, and helped Genk win the title.

He wants to join us, has said that we're in negotiations, and a potential deal would be around 7-9m and a loan-back to Genk, or possibly a loan to Vitesse.

Btw, Lukaku,m who apparently played well yesterday (will confirm when I watch), says his brother Jordan is better than him technically, and would like him to join us. Jordan plays as a left-winger, and I've heard he has a lot of potential too. Can't hurt having Lukaku here in case we ever want to sign him.

You can see Driogba being unconscious before he even hit the ground. Looks nasty.

It's a bit soon, but City and ManU look far better than us. They've demolished CL-aspiring teams (although both have obvious problems) whereas we've struggled against poorer teams. I'm fine with this being a transition year. We've bought young players, we're in the process of rebuilding the squad with a good, young coach at the helm, and rumour is he won't get sacked even if we don't win anything (but the manner of the not winning is important). I find it hard to imagine us not getting a CL spot this year, and when things start to click we could be up there, and we're always a candidate for the title, but if we show signs of improvements in the areas we've been bad at recently and rejuvenate the squad with players who show potential and improvement, I'd be fine with a 3rd spot.

Modric apparently asked not to play the Spurs match, so that's definitely not over yet.

28m Van der Wiel rumours persist, although it could just be the same rumour getting rehashed by different sources.

Signing both would mean one player would need to be sold or not put in the 25 man squad, with Ferreira being the most likely candidate unless Yossi goes to Spurs in the deal.

I'm hearing Kalas could be a starter RB for Vitesse this season, and will probably be joined by Davila soon. I wonder if he plays well there, since RB is the position we seem to have the least youngsters coming in, with Kane and Clifford being the only ones off the top of my head. I actually taped the Ajax match in the hope of seeing Kalas but he didn't feature, which is just as well as they shipped 4 goals. Still, I'll prolly watch it to catch a glimpse of Chanturia who I have a feeling we'll wind up signing if he performs.

Courtois has kept 2 clean sheets in 2 matches for Atletico, and I think he's gonna be the starter for now, and if he stakes a starting spot it'll be hard to prise it away from him. A starting spot for a Europa League team in Spain is a very good place for Courtois to learn and develop. If Atletico get into the CL, I'd let him stay there for another season to get a whiff of that too, before having him come back and challenge Cech, or possibly play a season in a Prem club, although I doubt we can squeeze 3 seasons of decent reserve-keeping from Hilario. Very excited about Courtoius, though.

Lalkovic got an assist with his club, which is encouraging.

I'm expecting Davila and someone else to go to Vitesse, hopefully not Delac but someone who will get actually playing time, maybe Mellis. I'd rather Delac go to League 2 and get games, than sit for the whole season on the bench at Vitesse.

Bruma sat out the last Hamburg match with Rajkovic taking his spot, but they still shipped 4 goals, so he could still get lots of playing time there.

Also hoping that PVA goes back to Newcastle or something, or Bertrand does the same, and stake a starting LB spot, with the other being Cole's backup for the season, assuming we don't sign Pereira.

Considering how well we've done in the market so far (and we have, we might not have improved the squad that much for the next season, but we've signed lots of players, on the cheap (relatively) for the future, many of whom will contribute now), I can't see us getting De Bruyne for 9m, Pereira for 25m, Modric for 40m and van der Wiel for 28m in the next 2 days, especially since it'd mean 2 players (not counting Essien) will have to be omitted from the squad or sold. They'd improve the squad this season, but we'd be overpaying.

Rumours:

Yossi is 95% leaving. He's apparently negotating with several clubs, as he has twitted as such, and Mata getting his number and him getting the silly 30 shirt kinda signalled that something was going down. I don't like this. I know that I'm biased about Yossi, but he (and now Mata) are the only proven players able to play in the AMC role. Yossi has never played badly for us, and has actually impressed quite often, but injuries took him away last season and he's never gotten much of a chance.

Now we're offloading him because he's old, which is fine, but only if we replace him. With him gone, we will have 2 foreign spots left, and one of them should go to a midfielder, and it's very possible that that midfielder will be Modric. If we don't sign someone, then I expect AVB has a lot of trust in McEachran and Kakuta, which would be slightly encouraigng and I will never oppose our youth players getting an actual chance (which Lamps has indicated will happen, although the same was said last year, and look how that went). But I can't see us challenging the Manchester clubs with our current side minus one of ouronly source of creativity, although if it means that youth gets a chance, I don't mind that much.

A Bola has apparently reported that we will pay the 30m buy-out clause for Pereira. He's a good player, but I don't get it. He's not that young, he doesn't fill any position we really need filled, and he will be expensive. Paying huge bucks for Modric, who is the midfield passer we need is one thing, paying big bucks for a back-up utility player is another. I'd welcome him with open arms, but I think our money is better used elsewhere.

Newcastle are in negotations with Santon, and as the Stephen Schmidt has said, I dunno why we aren't going for him. He won't take up a foreign spot yet, he'd fill a position we need (up-and-coming RB), and we will likely get good value for him, if Toon are able to sign him, much better value than van der Wiel. He can also play in other positions, so I really hope we move for him and not sign van der Wiel for 32m, although again, I won't say no to VdW.

De Bruyne price has apparently been agreed at 10m, which is great news. Agreeing terms is a non-issue, Kevin wants to join, and he'll probably stay at Genk for the season, but won't play against us in the CL, which would make Genk an easier opponent for us. Also, his injury might not be as bad as initally thought, and he could be back after the international break, instead of another 4 months from now. Excellent news.

The Alex to Arsenal are silly. We currently need him, and if we sign Cahill or another CB (or RB and move Ivanovic permanently to CB, although I don't want our 4th choice to be a youngster again, and this time, we'd be in a worse position because Chalobah isn't as good as Bruma yet), we won't be selling him to a direct rival when we can sell him to Juventus and possibly even get a player in return. **** Arsenal.

Also, I watched the Norwich match, although barely, I couldn't pay attention after knowing what went on, but Mata looked good, and Lukaku seems promising, and he's HUGE, holy ****, that kid is a mountain. I mean, I thought he was big for his age, but I wasn't expecting him to be big for every age group put together.

I understand what you're saying about putting that money elsewhere, but Palito will take Cole's place AT MOST next year. Plus he can do every position in the left-flank, like he does for Uruguay.

Cole is currently the best LB in the world, he was good last year, and he still peforms, and we have two talented youngsters in van Aanholt and Bertrand waiting in the flanks to get some games and take over. Considering how we're buying youth and hopefully giving them games, bringing in a back-up to stand in their way doesn't make much sense. Although he'd improve the squad currently, and make a good player to have because of his usefulness, it's just too much money. It's not much less than Modric, and Modric is similar to Pereira in the sense that he's in his mid-20s a good player, would be expensive and could get in the way of a youngster's development, but he'd fulfill an actual first-team need.

Right now I think the end of the transfer window will be: 8m for De Bruyne, 35m (hopefully, since it won't be less but it could be more) plus Yossi for Modric and 25m for Pereira.

I wouldn't be disheartend about it, I mean, it's not my money, but I won't be that glad either. I think the Wiel rumours were just the media hyping his tweet about London, and I don't think it'll go through.

Yossi is class. Obviously Mata is younger, but I think Yossi is more dangerous, but don't they play different positions?

Mata looks like he'll play at LW, but he can play at RW and AMC as well as a false 9. Yossi's best at AMC, but he can play deeper and at Pool he played a lot on the wings coming inside.

With Mata in, it seems having Yossi as someone to come in and unlock defenses is no longer necessary. I think it's a stupid decision, but there's not much I can do. I can't see Yossi leaving without someone else coming as a creative midfield outlet, which is why a Yossi plus cash for Modric sounds most likely.

I just read that Dortmund rejected Arsenal's bid for Gotze, saying 35m is the asking price, and I'm going to quote Graham MacAree because he puts it well:

Obviously, that's hardly definitive, but Dortmund's reported asking price of €35M is at least €10M lower than what most people were imagining, and at that sort of money Goetze becomes a viable option for teams to pursue (including Arsenal - it's confusing why they didn't just snap him up at that amount). Frankly, with Chelsea being linked heavily to Porto's Alvaro Pereira at €30M, it would be criminal to ignore Goetze at that asking price. Chelsea need to get in touch with Dortmund and find out if they're serious, because if so they could find themselves in possession of one of the game's most exciting young talents.

Let's see, spend 30m on a back-up left-sided utility player (which we don't need right now, although again, he'd come in handy, it's just not a pressing need), or spend 35m on one of the brightest talents in the world who WOULD fulfill a need for us.

I don't think Gotze will move anywhere in this window, but if the asking price is true (and it's not certain), I'd certainly hope that Chelsea try to sign him. A perfect situation here right now would be for us to sign him at that price and for him to stay at Dortmund for another year, won't happen though.

Just read that Lille are interested in both Kalou and Yossi. Hazard isn't going anywhere now, but I do hope we can give them Kalou plus cash for Hazard in January, after they've hopefully been knocked out of then CL. I think Yossi is more likely to go to Spurs, although Arsenal and Pool are also interested, but I'd definitely prefer for him to go to Lille and not play for a rival.

That said, Yossi plus cash for Modric and Kalou plus cash for Hazard is a pretty interesting prospect.

There's also more rumours about a player plus cash deal for Meireles, this time the player in question being Yossi.

I just read that Dortmund rejected Arsenal's bid for Gotze, saying 35m is the asking price, and I'm going to quote Graham MacAree because he puts it well:



Let's see, spend 30m on a back-up left-sided utility player (which we don't need right now, although again, he'd come in handy, it's just not a pressing need), or spend 35m on one of the brightest talents in the world who WOULD fulfill a need for us.

I don't think Gotze will move anywhere in this window, but if the asking price is true (and it's not certain), I'd certainly hope that Chelsea try to sign him. A perfect situation here right now would be for us to sign him at that price and for him to stay at Dortmund for another year, won't happen though.

His asking price could be 35 euros and it wouldn't matter. I don't think he'd agree terms with another club right now.

He wants to stay for 2 more years at Dortmund apparently.

Ulises officially gone to Vitesse on-loan.

He wants to stay for 2 more years at Dortmund apparently.

I mean, we'll see about THAT, particularly if Dortmund don't finish in the top 4 this year, but yeah. He lives with his parents, and he seems to understand the importance of development and that a lot of guys have flopped by going abroad at too young an age. And even if he does wait 2 full years, he'll still be nearly a year younger than Ozil was when he left Germany. And speaking of Ozil, it would shock me if it wasn't to Real Madrid. I would say "or Barca", but they sure do have a lot of similar players these days.

Apparently Chelsea sent an 45 mil Euros + Drogba or Benayoun for Luka Modrić. Damn, that's a lot of money and + one of those two. I hope Modrić will at the end go in Chelsea. This is the last chance.

Apparently Chelsea sent an 45 mil Euros + Drogba or Benayoun for Luka Modrić. Damn, that's a lot of money and + one of those two. I hope Modrić will at the end go in Chelsea. This is the last chance.
And now I read that Redknapp said that Modrić is staying Spurs 100%. Looks like offer is rejected.

No he said "one million percent" (H)

Modric is 'dead', but I'm not gonna believe anything until tomorrow. Modric and Pereira are on-again off-again, and we're apparently bidding for lots of players. With Yossi 99% leaving we need reinforcements in midfield, we needed them before, too.

Looks like Kakuta, Bertrand and PVA (and maybe someone else I can't remember, but not Josh) could be going on-loan, which if all true, would require us to sign Pereira to fill the gap.

apparently BBC is saying that the negotiation for Alvaro broke up.

Yeah, but I'm hearing a lot of different rumours, ranging from different prices (even one that said Lukaku for Pereira (no)) to simply deal is dead or deal is alive.

Lukaku can't play for 3 different clubs in one season (Anderlecht+Chelsea+Porto) so it wouldn't even make sense.
Just fork over the €30M of the release clause and get it over with, it's not like a couple of millions more is gonna make any difference to Roman's pocket.

I know, it's why I said no.

I think that with Pereira (and possibly Moutinho), if we don't get our way we'll just bid the release clause and get it over with. Hope we have a better Plan B though.

Btw, Genk rejected the bid for De Bruyne, and we've re-bid, hope to here good news on this front soon.

CFR Cluj President said that he thinks Porto and Chelsea will reach an agreement for Pereira (I'm sure he has reliable sources in this case). I just saw him live on tv 3 minutes ago. They have an interest in this transfer, as they'll get 20% of the amount, which would mean 4-5 mil. And that's a huge for Romania!

Moutinho's release clause is €40M, in case Roman decides to cash out €70M for both him and Pereira there's absolutely nothing our board can do...it'd be great to get that kind of money but also I'd be ******* pissed for losing such tremendous players and not having time to get appropriate replacements before January :(

First deadline day deal, PVA goes to Wigan on-loan. Good, first-team footie at a Prem club is what he needs and I think he'll be a starter for them. Wigan are pretty woeful defensively though, and he's going to get caught out, which I hope will make his choose his runs better and improve his defending.

So, if Bertrand wants to go on-loan, Pereira will have to come first, but Porto won't budge from the 30m buyout clause.

Kakuta on-loan to Bolton until January 1st, good place for him, hope he does well, he needs to do well. Wilshere and Sturridge did well there, and if he does well we'd have a player to cover for Kalou in January. But yeah, Kakuta needs to start delivering on his potential.

Pereira said he's staying put and a 40m bid has been rejected for Modric so those two look dead. Not that disheartened since they would've come for obscene amounts of money. We still haven't reinforced the midfield, despite AVB saying we will and Yossi being on his way out to (probably) Arsenal (possibly on-loan), which, without any reinforcements makes no sense. I don't think we should sell Yossi at all in this window, much less with no cover coming in. Well, 1.5 hours left in the transfer window, there could still be more deals.

Yossi nearly officialy out on loan to Arsenal, which makes little sense. Really hoping that the club have been super secretive and have 1-2 midfielders signed and will be announcing them shortly (like... 45 minutes shortly).

No De Bruyne deal in the end, not now anyway. Seeing as we were gonna loan him back it's not too critical. He wants to join us, we've made our interest known and have established contact and negotations with Genk, so we have a few months to scout him and work out a deal with Genk. I'm still optimistic about a deal here.

No word on any midfielder other than Pastoro from Cesena, but word is that's not happening either. No midfielder would mean McEachran gets lots more playing time, which is an upside, but if we want titles this season, we need more midfielders, especially since Mikel is out in January (probably).

Raúl Meireles asked to leave the club, it's on their website. He could be on his way to Chelsea..

Breaking news is that Meireles has submitted a transfer request. Doesn't mean anything yet (and we'd better not give them Sturridge for him), and he's my least favorite midfielder reinforcement that we've been linked to, but he'd be cheaper and would still be helpful. Better than nothing, anyway. Frankly, I'd rather overspend on Moutinho or Modric (and we haven't tried to sign Montolivo is beyond me) than spend 15m or so on Meireles (which would be overspending, just less in terms of gross amount).

Yossi to Arsenal on-loan. Still not seeing the sense, especially of it being a loan deal, maybe the playing time will jack up his eventual price, but still don't get selling one of our creative players who never really got a chance when we are in need of creativity.

Transfer window shut, and now we'll see if we got Meireles or anyone for that matter.