Re: The 2016 Summer Transfer Window Thread

[Kick]

Two interesting reports from Italy:

Nainggolan:
Football Italia are reporting we've bid 42m Euros for Nainggolan, which is 32.5m pounds or, the Telegraphs valuation.
http://www.football-italia.net/84687/chelsea-bid-%E2%82%AC42m-nainggolan

While GdS are reporting that we're about to make a 'concrete' offer of up to 25m euros for Koulibaly. We'd also look to massively increase his wages.
http://www.gazzettaworld.com/news/transfer-market/napoli-defender-chelsea/?refresh_rum

I'd be fine with both, tbh.

[Kick]

Also, other sources are saying we've sent Marina to get the Nainggolan deal done

[Robespierre]

A question : what about Courtois ?
I read often " Chelsea will replace Courtois " , and infact  Italian rumours report Chelsea are on Inter GK , Samir Handanovic.
Is the Belgian really leaving the Chelsea (and the reason of it ?? ) ?

[Katy Perry]

I don't think Chelsea wants to get rid of him, ffs, we sold one of our greatest players ever in his prime precisely for not losing him. That's how much Chelsea valued him. This season the whole team was sub-par plus all the injuries he had to go through. He just had an unlucky year.

[Kick]

I don't think he'll leave, either.

Unless he absolutely wants to go, We'll do everything to hang on to him.

[Kick]

Reports out of Portugal (picked up by the express) are saying we're ready to pay almost 40m pounds for Man Utd target Joao Mario.

http://www.express.co.uk/sport/football/672997/Chelsea-transfer-news-Joao-Mario-38-7m-Manchester-United-Premier-League-news-gossip

From what I gather, he is an energetic midfielder, probably another Nainggolan alternative. We've generally had good luck when buying from Portugal (Ferreira, Carvalho, Matic to name a few) so I'd be open to this move.

[Kick]

ESPN sources say we're favourites to sign Lukaku and he wants to return to us.

http://www.espn.co.uk/football/soccer-transfers/story/2879182/everton-striker-romelu-lukaku-wants-chelsea-return-sources

4-2-4?

Courtois
Azpilicueta Zouma CB Baba
Fabregas Nainggolan
Willian Lukaku Costa Hazard

[Kick]

We've been linked to Simon Kjaer recently

http://www.express.co.uk/sport/football/673476/Chelsea-transfer-news-defender-Simon-Kjaer-Fenerbahce-Premier-League-gossip-rumours

The express are suggesting that we're ready to offer 30m Euros for Koulibaly, which could be enough to land him.

http://www.express.co.uk/sport/football/673172/Chelsea-Napoli-Kalidou-Koulibaly-second-bid-transfer-gossip

[Shed]

Suddenly we're supposed to believe Lukaku is pining to come back to the same situation he was said to have left over in the first place? I'm not buying it.

[Kick]

Well, he left because of Ba, Eto'o and Torres.

He now has Diego Costa and Traore to compete with.

While Costa is the best out of the lot, he'd easily be 2nd choice and if Conte wants a 2 CF system, he'd be a starter.

I don't mind it, I just dislike the rumoured price

[Shed]

He left like a month after Costa was signed When Eto'o and Ba were already out the door, and Torres was on his way too. So it was effectively the same situation then as he'd have now.

[Kick]

He left on loan because he didn't want to compete with Torres, Eto'o and Ba.

I think he left permanently because he wasn't automatically first choice.

So nothing has changed in that regard, but I think he has more of a shot now than he did previously.

[Kick]

Metro are reporting that we've held talks with Joao Mario in Lisbon.
http://metro.co.uk/2016/05/25/chelsea-in-talks-to-seal-joao-mario-transfer-ahead-of-manchester-united-5903564/

Meanwhile, Pato's agent has said he's yet to hear from us over whether or not we're keeping him.
http://www.standard.co.uk/sport/football/chelsea-transfer-news-alexandre-pato-has-not-had-contact-from-blues-or-antonio-conte-about-future-a3256936.html

It sounds less and less like we will by the day.

[Kick]

The Telegraph are reporting that Conte wants to sell Oscar

I'm linking the dailystar but they are referencing the Telegraph, fight me.

While Rudiger has claimed he is happy in Rome.

And Courtois has claimed he will remain with us unless strange things happen.

All good rumours

[S]

Suddenly we're supposed to believe Lukaku is pining to come back to the same situation he was said to have left over in the first place? I'm not buying it.

Lukaku says he has already decided his next destination and Chelsea seem to be the strongest link so far.
I would've bet on United if Mourinho wasnt their manager.

Looks pretty set to me.Chelsea will happily pay Everton's asking price which a lot of big clubs would hesitate to at this point.

[S]

Anyway how likely are the chances of Oscar leaving ?

Is he the kind of guy who would bury his career to play in China ?

[Kick]

I don't think we'll happily pay 60m to Everton.....

[S]

I don't think we'll happily pay 60m to Everton.....

Trust me,no abroad club would even come close to meeting Everton's demands.Only an EPL club would.
There's a 90% chance he stays in the PL.

[Kick]

I don't think we'll happily pay 60m to Everton.....

Trust me,no abroad club would even come close to meeting Everton's demands.Only an EPL club would.
There's a 90% chance he stays in the PL.

And I am saying no EPL will want to pay 60m for him

Arsenal would top out at 40,000,001. City and Utd won't want or get him, Liverpool won't be in the race because they have and don't want Benteke, and Spurs won't get him because they're Spurs.

And as for us, I doubt we'll break our record transfer fee on a player we sold for half of that money 2 years ago. If Everton drop their asking fee, a deal could be struck, if not. He'll stay at Everton and be unhappy because of his muppet decisions.

[Kick]

La Repubblica are reporting that Rudiger's agents are in London, meeting with Marina to negotiate a deal worth almost 20m.
http://www.repubblica.it/sport/calcio/serie-a/roma/2016/06/01/news/roma_spalletti_bocciati_falque_calciomercato-141093942/


Sounds like he's the only Roma player we'll be getting

[Kick]

The Sun, BeIn Sports, ESPNFC, and Tancredi Palmeri are all reporting independently that we're in advanced stages of signing Kante for around 20m. However, Arsenal and PSG are also keen and Kante is waiting until after the Euros to make his choice.

Meanwhile, Roma are adiment that they won't sell Nainggolan or Rudiger. http://gianlucadimarzio.com/en/eng/roma-pallottanainggolan-isnt-going-anywhere-pjanic-is-staying-but-if-someone-pays-the-clause/

Despite reports from other Sky Italia journalists saying Rudiger would be our first Signing from Roma.

Elsewhere, Villa and Newcastle are both looking to acquire Bamford. Villa want him on loan while Newcastle are looking at purchasing him. the fee is believed to be around 10m.
http://weaintgotnohistory.sbnation.com/chelsea-fc-transfer-rumours-news/2016/6/5/11863208/patrick-bamford-aston-villa-newcastle-transfer-rumor

I'd be open to selling Bamford for 10m, tbh.

[Kick]

We also sent Piet de Visser to scout Kante during France's friendly against Scotland.

[Kick]

So, with the Kante rumours hotting up (ignore the PSG links ) I thought I'd look at how he would or could fit into a team with us.

I personally favour the 4-3-3 and I think Conte will use it with us, at least initially or if he cannot snag a top CF to partner Costa. I also think Matic and Kante could be used in a midfield three together:


The main benefit of Kante over Nainggolan is the ability to utlise Baba at LB. Now this may sound strange to begin with, but Baba is not a fantastic defender, however, he is very good going forward. Kante is an outstanding defender, but keeps it simple in attack. On the other side, Fabregas' defensive frailties could potentially be hidden by Azpilicueta, Willian and Matic all chipping in. This all takes pressure off Fabregas and Matic to perform defensively (This doesn't mean they should slack off, though). It could also mean Hazard doesn't have to be as defensively solid as he was under Mourinho, allowing him to be more of a threat going forward.

When we have the ball, Azpilicueta or Ivanovic, and the two CB's sit back, while Baba bombs forward (there is an arrow on the diagram, trust me) providing an option out on the left flank. Fabregas and Hazard occupy the central attacking areas and Willian provides the width on the right. Kante and Matic sit deeper as simple options. Kante would also cover Baba in the case of a turn over, while Matic holds the CDM role:


When we don't have the ball, we tighten up into a 4-5-1 formation, with Kante providing cover for Baba, Willian providing assistance to Azpiliceta and Matic covering the CBs. Thus leaving our main attacking threats, Cesc, Hazard and Costa, ready for any potential counter with Cesc being the first option after winning the ball:


If we manage to sign Kante, the next few questions would be, who do we want as a CB? Who should be our back up CF? Do we keep Oscar, or do we give that spot to van Ginkel, or do we buy someone new? And finally, do we keep Amelia or should our 3rd GK spot go to a young player, like Collins?

Overall squad:


Thoughts?

[Kick]

Apparently we're set to offer Kante over 105,000 pounds per week to make him choose us over PSG.
http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/transfer-news/chelsea-ready-treble-transfer-target-8126877?

While Roma have rejected our latest bid for Nainggolan. 32m Euros + 3m in bonuses.
http://www.football-italia.net/85480/nainggolan-no-chelsea-%E2%82%AC35m?

Finally, the guardian have published an interesting article, it's based around us wanting Morata, but it also says that we've decided against keeping both Flopcao and Flopato. It also says Remy is likely on his way out too.
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2016/jun/06/chelsea-alvaro-morata-juventus-antonio-conte?

[Andrew]

Morata would definitely flourish at Chelsea with Willian, Hazard and co around him but with Costa already there I doubt he would be considered as the 1st choice and being the 1st choice striker is what he really wants.

Anyhow, I'm a bit surprised with how quiet this transfer campaign has been for Chelsea so far. It's understandable though since your squad doesn't need a lot of improvement and also because Conte is 100% focused at the Euro's but he must have given a shortlist of players he would like to be signed, right ? We've seen you guys before sign players in an instant, regardless of their cost. Why is your management hesitant to raise the bids for Naingollan or Pjanic now ?

[Kick]

I could see us playing more of a 4-2-4 if we sign Morata.

Courtois
Ivanovic Zouma CB Azpilicueta
Nainggolan Kante
Willian Costa Morata Hazard

Unfortunately, it'll come at the expense of Fabregas.

I don't think it's been quiet, I think we've spent too long chasing Roma players (why? ) and we'll get down to proper business now. We only really need a defender, a midfielder and a back up CF.

Conte is somewhat of an issue but I feel he is not in charge of transfers, despite what the media are pushing. So we should be able to get new players without Conte.

As for the bid raising, I get the feeling it's a tactic. we did something similar with Stones last season, so I am not surprised we're trying it again. I believe we've had 3 bid rejected for Nainggolan, now. We're no longer interested in Pjanic, either.

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