The Skipper

Not at all. Huge, huge downgrade. Especially when there's a lot of special goalkeeping talent out there.

His performance vs. Juve a few days back:

Luiz would be my most important penalty taker in a penalty shootout, the guy has guts. Depending on the situation I don't know if I would place him first or last. Follow that with Hazard, Fabregas, Costa and maybe Pedro and that's actually a very solid 5.

We have an amazing opportunity to grow into a true European elite for the next 5 years if we get our signings right this summer. Conte has been a magnificent appointment, and I genuinely can't wait to see what he can do when he has better players in the side. It's truly incredible how he's managed to guide the team 10 points clear. Absolute winner. He's managed to do so whilst sort of integrating some of the academy guys as squad players as well. At managerial level we're truly set with one of the best. Now it's time to give him the right players. In my opinion, we need to upgrade on 4 positions next summer. CM, LWB, RWB, RF. So essentially an upgrade on Matic/Fabregas, Alonso, Moses and Pedro. We do this successfully and we're set. Realistically, there are a few options for us this summer. There seems to be a mix of top players and up and coming superstars available next summer from particular leagues and teams that I feel we should raid. Specifically the French league which is bursting full of talent right now. At CM, I would look into getting Kante a partner that is a lot more complete defensively and offensively. I would rather them be more inclined towards the latter though due to Kante's defensive ability in midfield. The players I have in mind that are possibly attainable are Tolisso, Naby Keita and maybe Bakayoko. Maybe a cheeky bid for Renato Sanches who hasn't settled at Bayern at all? The pipe dream would be Verratti though. At WB, Alonso and Moses have done very well this season as a couple but they aren't good enough if we want to be a top European side. Of course, they stay and provide crucial squad depth (which we severely lack in the position). I would look at getting in Semedo from Benfica the most, he is a top top full back. Maybe look at other options like Aurier? Cancelo? On the left, again there aren't that many exciting players available but I heard we're interested in Lemar, who plays LM at Monaco. Maybe could be converted into a LWB, would be a very interesting option. We can also possibly take a plunge on one of the best young English talents to come through recently, Ryan Sessegnon, who at 16 would need a few years to bed in but he is doing very well at Fulham at the moment and starts regularly now. Maybe Grimaldo from Benfica is an option too. RF is where it gets fun. We have loads of options here, there are many young talents or even superstars available that we could get. Pedro is doing a magnificent job this season, close to being CPOTY for me. However, he is 31 later this year and we need to invest into that position for the future. If we could manage to steal Alexis, that would be fantastic. Bernardo Silva would be excellent too. Then you have someone like Mbappe which would be a ridiculous statement. Maybe make a huge offer for Ousmane Dembele. The sort of player we need to have there needs to have the 'Pedro profile' if anything in my opinion. You can even look at possibly getting in strikers like Lacazette or Aubameyang who could perform really well in that Pedro role, Anelka style. So someone with a goal scorers mentality when in the box and good off the ball movement. That potentially gives us a team of: Courtois Azpi Luiz Christensen Semedo Kante Tolisso Grimaldo Mbappe Costa Hazard That above is a truly exciting side, and should be pretty achievable next season in my opinion. Hopefully we can make even bigger signings though, you never know. The squad depth would be ridiculous as well with guys like Fabregas, Pedro, Willian, Moses, Ake etc. to call on. Good times ahead hopefully, as long as the board and Conte don't mess up the summer transfer window. We need to spend big, because our competitors will. City and United, and Arsenal and Liverpool potentially too. The PL is going to be exciting next season. This is highly optimistic and idealistic but don't see why we can't be. We'll be champions with a lot of cash to spend.

Zouma is an interesting case. He needs to go on loan for two reasons. Firstly, he needs to get all that rust off and get some consistent game time, get a feel for regular football again. He's been out for so long, it's not a surprise he looks off the pace. Secondly, I'm not sure he fits the 343 schematic as it stands now. I have a feeling we won't forever play 343 to be honest - I might be completely wrong, we'll only know in the summer. However, as of right now, Ake and when he comes back, Christensen, are ahead of him in the pecking order. That's without mentioning Azpi as well. That leaves us next year with: Luiz Azpi Christensen Ake Cahill Which I'm quite comfortable with. Also don't forget Marcos Alonso can always fill in, which is why it's imperative we sign a top LWB. People might say 'injuries - need more bodies at CB' but the most important thing is for Zouma to get game time. Putting a recall clause in his loan would be smart in this case. If it ever gets so bad, we call him back in January, and he'll probably have loads of game time under his belt by then too so will be a lot sharper.