Luiz4Chelsea

It does, but the wages a part of the consideration. I like the idea of the Cavani deal because it could improve us immediately while not standing in the way of future plans. I'm wary of targets like Zaha and Dembele for the risk of them ending up as expensive deadwood that once again doesn't mean a real improvement but that we drag along for a long time, while the some money could be used for one major player in the summer. But with a £20m price tag and £360k wages Cavani loses that advantage to a degree... However I agree with you that cementing 4th is worth investing some money in, it's a fine line

That may generally be true, but not applied to the example of Cavani. He's a fantastic player and I believe he still would be a strong improvement and a great deal on the cheap, but given his age Cavani couldn't possibly turn out to be a great deal at van Dijk's price because a) he won't be able to make the same impact on the club any more and b) he won't hold or even improve his resale value (imagine what van dijk would be sold for today). The only way Cavani for 80m€ would be a good deal is if he means the difference between KO vs Bayern and winning the Champions League, and that's too much to ask from any player

It matters because these funds will be missing for other transfers. FFP calculates over a 3 year period.

How would that help us for the rest of the season though? The purpose of the Cavani signing would be an immediate improvement while not standing in the way of any long term plans e.g. Tammy's development or signing someone like Werner (next summer or now with loan back, which is obviously not gonna happen). So the appeal of the Cavani deal is that it isn't competing with summer signings like Werner Sancho etc as opposed to targets like Zaha and Dembele...

I don't see why Dortmund wouldn't be willing to do a pulisic type deal. Earlier money is always worth more than later money, I believe that's what the concept of interest is based on.

I'm pretty surprised by the general consensus on here. Sure in my dreams a new CB would be the Koulibaly body type, 4' taller than Ake and roughly 90kg but apart from that I find him quite an exquisite defender. The way I see it our main deficit currently isn't height buy spacial awareness and discipline and Ake is brilliant at that. Plus he's fast and very capabke on the ball with his left foot, which would be invaluable for playing out of the back. Him and a Koulibaly type CB would be a great paring actually, and maybe tomori can turn into that player for us long term. A back 3 would suit him even better. In fact the only argument that doesn't excite me that much is his often mentioned ability to play as LB, as for me he wouldn't be more than a stopgap in that position. We really need to buy some more explosive options there. Contrary to popular believe I therefore think he'd be a great addition to our backline and would make us immediately more stable, and considering the imminent profit his buy-back-clause price tag would cause this should be a no brainer imo

Imo the second best or maybe even best draw regarding progression chances. Also promises to be a stunning game. Nobody can look three months into the future but i think we can take them.

I'm rather devastated that you rate our title winning chances at only 29% :/

I believe the 3-5-2 with Hazard-Morata as front two would be excellent, due to their different physique and possibly strong technicl compatibility it could work out perfectly. It gives you so many options, one of the two might move to the wing while the other stays in the middle, one might fall deeper while the other stays up front, and both have the technical abilities to do both. I feel like this would add such great offensive flexibility and unpredictability, especilally with Fabregas in behind, which the rather fixed 3-4-3 was maybe lacking in some games. What it does require though, is very strong wing backs (as they are even more vital than in the 3-4-3) and sufficient MF back-up for three positions. So, for the 3-5-2 to be effective, we'd probably have to do a bit more transfer business. But when talking about the 3-4-3, Sanchez might indeed be a bit of an update on Pedro, but the latter was also very strong last season, and I believe there are bigger concerns in the starting 11 than him on RW.

How can these newspapers be so dumb and seriously state we might buy van Dijk?

Cedric Soares would be my favourite RWB purchase. Check this guy out, pacey, composed, good crosses, a great defender and PL experienced. Actually the better player than Bertrand in my opinion, even though the latter could also challenge Alonso for the spot. But Sandro for LWB and Cedric for RWB would be my absolute dream solution!

A thread with the completely surprising and shamelessly radical title 'Alexis Sanchez', written with a capital A and S. Those Chelsea Fans must have gone mad!

Actually I just read recently that we have had the highest transfer income worldwilde over the last 4 years, and the best transfer balance of basically any big european club (even after Morata)! But if people want to stultify themselves, I don't mind...

As my gal Taylor tends to say: haters gonna hate

I know, what's coming next? MOST ATTRACTIVE HAIRCOLOUR FINALLY REVEALED? My sister suggested I should colour my hair blonde. If you wanna know what my collueges think about that idea, read on...