Chelsea190512

Wouldn't be a fan of this. I don't think he would offer anything we don't already have in our midfield ranks. Playing Khedira next to Matic would be overkill imo too defensive and little attacking potency. Matic is more than capable of pushing up the field to support attacks as we know from his time at Benfica but is he better at supporting the attack then say Ramires or Fabregas would be? As these two are the most obvious choices for the more attcking central midfielder.

There isn't much reason for Torres to go to Monaco he's already on 175k p/w and the lure of staying and seeing out his contract would also mean the potential for more silverware. He isn't dumb, the Premier League is the one that has evaded him throughout his time in England. So to think he'd leave for an extra 50k a week or so to play in Ligue 1 seems unrealistic. To add to that I think he feels that he is too good to be playing in a 'lesser' league. Atletico - boyhood club and all but I still feel he wants that PL medal to complete his collection.

Great news! Wonder if Costa and Torres will play alongside each other or switch at half time. Interesting to see.

All of the squads deficiencies were answered in the transer window. Got our business done early no lengthy transfer sagas and bidding wars. Striker - check. Centre mid - check. Left back - check. If i was being spoilt maybe Vidal as well (best B2B in the world if not joint top with Wah Wah Toure) but our signings are a massive improvement on what we had last year. I still feel that there is one more surprise to come if Lukaku is to leave. However having the players is one thing but how they are utilised is another. Hopefully against the teams that like to sit back and stay deep against chelsea we can see only one holding player and someone that will join the attacking trio and actually be effective, which probably explains the signing of Fabregas.

The key word with Zouma is one we are all too familiar with and that is 'potential'. I hadn't watched much of Zouma at St Etienne last season but he has always been described as being a 'raw' player. From my understanding he has all the foundations of a good/potentially great CB but needs time to hone his skills. In the end Jose will do as he sees fit and if that means staying with the first xi then so be it as most of the time he is right in his decisions.

Thought 15 mil seemed too good to be true. 25 mil seems about right

Personally I feel that one of Omeruo or Kalas should have stayed as CB cover as Zouma doesn't look ready. Admittedly it is only pre-season but his problems seem to be unrelated to fitness and sharpness which pre-season would solve but rather positional awareness and discipline. Best solution would be a season loan in the prem. At this moment in time Omeruo seems the best candidate - so young and seems to play like someone who is a lot older than he actually is. A regular in the Nigerian national team and didn't look out of his depth against the worlds elite in the WC.

Spurs have had a 15 mil bid rejected apparently. Seems a very reasonable price Not needed at Chelsea though.

This is something the club would have considered before signing Salah so they must have felt that the positives he could offer throughout the season outweigh the decline in his performance over a month of fasting and I can tell you that ramadan won't affect Salah's perfomances in competitive fixtures for at least another 3/4 years. As this is when Ramadan will commence towards the latter stages of the season i.e Mid May if we are still competing in the CL I agree with the back to football comment.

Hoping Costa brings his Atletico form with him to Chelsea colours. What he lacks in silky skills and dribbling ability he makes up for with his tenacity and bullish attitude on the pitch. One thing is for sure and that's Costa will give 100% every game, something I feel some of our current/most recent crop of strikers could learn from. I'd be happy with 20-25 goals in all competitions and other players who have just had their first season to step up.

Hi all I'm 18 and from a relatively small town in the midlands, I've visited this site an awful lot from sometime early last year as I felt it was a good place to hear other Chelsea supporter's thoughts and feelings in to all that is blue. I have to say that sometimes I have agreed and thought 'I was thinking the same' when reading posts but other times I have disagreed. Now that I have finally joined I look forward to posting and being an active member. Here's to another season of ups and downs ( I have a sneaky feeling this season will be full of ups)

22 jump street! Awesome film 8/10 but sadly same as all sequels as it's not as good as the original.

Each to their own and all but surely a thread about a pre-season game is not the place to vent your frustrations towards the religion?

An awful lot of overreactions on this thread. Jose knew Salah was fasting but still chose to include him as he felt the importance of the game or lack of it didn't warrant leaving Salah out. So to suggesting selling him because he is fasting is crazy, if this was a Pl game or any competitive fixture for that we wouldn't see Salah in the team. Why is this so hard to understand?

Totally uncalled for, everyone is entitled to follow their own religions and there is no need for such insulting comments "non existent god". Ridiculous. Also "These Muslims" somewhat of a generalisation no?