Hazard Warning Signs - The Chelsea Transfer Thread

Is it though? Barkley is a sub at best, Drinkwater isn’t even that, RLC is out for most of the year and Baka has already failed to impress once before. We aren’t overflowing with great options!

 

As much as it pains me,

Kova > BarkleyBakaDrink

We've spent more than Arsenal and we have a transfer ban.

 

He’s very clearly better than all of them.

 

I'm curious to see how Lampard uses our midfield. At Derby, he played in a variety of formations. 4-3-3, 4-4-2 with a holding midfielder, 4-2-3-1, 4-3-1-2, etc. Kante is the best in the world at what he does. I hope we utilize him fully.

 

He is and I think many in here were overly harsh of him. But still think it’s high and we have larger issues. This comes back us spending players that are good squad depth vs spending more on top class talent and growing squad depth. Just think it could be used better.

 

Kovacic's not a bad player, the same way that Willian isn't too. It's just the overall lack of creativity which stiffles us when we play with these two. Vision and awareness is something which a player is largely born with and very hard to change with tactics.

 

If this is true then I really hope we sell some CMs. Drinkwater + 1

 

Kante’s best role isn’t as a pure holding mid tho.

 

No one wants Drinkwater's wages. He doesn't have to go anywhere if he's happy training in reserves.

So bizarre.

 

I know just hoping we find a taker or he lowers his wages

 

Yeah. The paycheck is stronger than his desire to play, unfortunately.

 

Kovacic better than Barkley? Yes, he is a technically superior player, however, Kovaic doesn't score a lot of goals or make any assists. That is, he doesn't score ANY goals. He has never been a goal scorer. Nor does he have many assists to his name. So it is hard to define his overall usefulness for the team. I never fully understood Sarri's assertion of like-for-like in the Barkley-Kovacic substitutions. With the middle 3 being Kovacic-Jorghino-Kante we were more than a little flat and uncreative.

Trapattoni described Kovacic as "a mixture of Kaka and Clarence Seerdof", because of his style of play and technical characteristics. Trapattoni did not mention Barkley.

 

Marcos Alonso, 28, and Davide Zappacosta, 27, are looking to leave Chelsea this summer.

 

And I get it I do. It’s his largest pay check and likely his last big one. But damn. He’s really hamstringing us.

 

I’ll fly to England and drive them to the airport myself. A little harsh for Alonso but he’s a horrible fit in a 4 backline in England with all this pace.

 

Disagree. With our 1 in 1 out policy we can’t afford to have players like him miss and sit on our bench. We can’t afford to keep spending on squad players but that’s another topic. His wages and lack of transfer fee to recoup will sting over the next couple of seasons. Think 2 more.

 

He was hurt most of first season then on day 1 of sorri, was told he was out with absolutely no chance to earn a spot (would piss me off a bit) and last Jan probably thought, as he did, he would outlast sorri, so with the ban if Lamp thinks he wants to give him a go could be of good use, I thought he had decent minutes at points when healthy year before and he partnered well with Kante for the League.

Is he an everyday Chelsea Starter, hopefully not, but other than Kante and RLC when he returns, we don't have any midfielders without big question marks and we can't get more or upgrade. He can deliver a good long assist when we go that direction and will stick it in.

And so easy to say sure take a half cut in wages, if it ain't your wages, when who here really would give up $252,000 extra a year, let alone a quarter million a month like he is expected to forgo.

If Lamps does not want him this season, then bite the bullet and subsidize a loan to a mid-table team where he will be an everyday starter and get his value up.

 

73 games for Real Madrid with one goal. Seems familiar to him last season tbh. No doubt the skill is there. He had a great performance in the Europa Cup final. But for a lot of last season it was Kovacic and Jorghino playing the ball sideways to each other. With the occasional through ball to the attacking Kante. It wasn't very exciting.