Socrates

Doing the rounds on Twitter... @ChelsTransfer: Chelsea are set to give up their attempt to sign John Stones & instead take Monaco defender Aymen Abdennour in a deal worth £15m (Mail)

Could be relevant that Juventus are in negotiations for Draxler: @DiMarzio: #Juventus, si continua a cercare l'accordo con lo #Schalke per #Draxler: le ultime http://t.co/Reja6vxfY2 Or they might just buy all the decent midfielders on the market and still not sell us Pogba. Leaving us just holding our dick in our hands - as Sonny Corleone would say.

Keeping a player who has handed in a transfer request and has his head elsewhere isn't very clever either.

Got a feeling this is only going to happen if we offer Juventus our half-season wonder Oscar as part of any deal. Then we go hijack Man United’s deal for Felipe Anderson to replace Oscar. If only because it would be very funny.

Everton could have chosen to negotiate in good faith, come to a mutually beneficial agreement, wished the player well, pocketed the huge transfer fee and explained to the fans that this was a terrific deal and in the best interest of Everton football club. Instead we've had stupid posturing and a cynical attempt to turn the fans against a vulnerable 21 year old kid who has done nothing more than to want to further his career. This is what Martinez describes as 'looking after' John Stones. What a sorry shambles of a football club. The sooner Stones gets out of there the better for him.

Not optimistic on either the Stones or Pogba deals... http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/transfers/john-stones-to-chelsea-blues-made-final-38m-bid-this-week-but-feel-they-can-do-more-to-persuade-everton-to-sell-defender-10475621.html

If we don't get Pogba this window then he's likely off to Barcelona next summer. That's why we're pushing the boat out for him now. I'd be really surprised if we pull this off. I just don't see the incentive for either player or club to sell him to us now. Unless Juve and the player have been told by Barca that they're no longer interested or we're offering more money than Barca will be prepared to match. Witsel was always the more realistic option even if he's half the player Pogba is. And Koke might be available next summer. I just hope we have a contingency in place if this deal for Pogba falls through, as we definitely need strengthening in midfield this window.

Right. All off to the Varane thread...

Odd that both Ramires and Cuadrado didn't even make the bench yesterday. Might just be wishful thinking...

Pedro was superb. Followed by Courtois.

Every time we play, Stones gets more expensive. That's another five million after today. On the plus side, I don't think there's much doubt that he'd get a decent run of games. It's not as if any of our defenders are undroppable right now.

Must be a better option than Ivanovic at right back. Zouma, Azpi even Stones (if he comes) can do a better job. As for Matic/Fabregas as our defensive pivot, something needs to give. Seriously hope we've got a good fall-back if Pogba isn't coming.

Pedro was just superb. What a player. But we're after Stones and Pogba for a reason.

Pedro turning out to be quite a signing. But we really need a defensive midfielder as this Matic-Fabregas thing is a hopeless mess.

@tancredipalmeri: “Talks ongoing this morning for Pogba between Chelsea and Juventus. New contact later in the day. But still no agreement has been reached.” Likely the problem is they want Oscar as part of any deal and we are offering Cuadrado and/or Ramires.

35m is a lot of money for a centre-back. Although Man City just paid 32m for Otamendi. And about the same for Mangala. I guess we're calculating that over ten years, Stones is a good investment and might eventually come to be seen as a bargain. That depends, of course, if he turns out to be as good as people say he is.

Since we're playing this game, I'd offer Mikel, Ramires, Cuadrado plus 40m. Gets rid of our dead wood all at once.

55 million euros? Someone's making this stuff up.

Shame we didn't sign him last January instead of Cuadrado. What a cock up that was. Anyway, he's here now and I'm looking forward to seeing him play. It's been a long journey but hopefully our right-wing is sorted now.

Rumour is we’ve offered £50m plus Cuadrado for Pogba. While trying not to laugh.

Details emerging of ‘Operation Pedro’: “Chelsea's dramatic Pedro heist that has left rivals Manchester United red-faced was masterminded by manager Jose Mourinho, director Marina Granovskaia, Cesc Fabregas and the midfielder’s girlfriend Daniella Semaan. Pedro is poised to complete a £22million move to Chelsea after flying to London on Wednesday to complete a medical, just two days after United executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward had travelled to Barcelona to try to close a deal for the forward. But while Woodward was haggling with Barcelona, Chelsea were putting ‘Operation Pedro’ into practice with Granovskaia conducting discreet negotiations with the Spanish club and, with the permission of Barca, Mourinho and Fabregas both speaking with the forward directly. With Mourinho and Fabregas working on Pedro, Semaan made contact with the Spaniard’s wife, Carolina Martin, about moving to London.” http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/chelsea/11812584/Revealed-How-Chelsea-pulled-off-dramatic-hijack-of-Barcelonas-Pedro-and-left-Manchester-United-red-faced.html

This sounds plausible to me: http://www.express.co.uk/sport/football/599368/Pedro-Barcelona-Manchester-United-Chelsea-transfer-move

United supposedly ‘dropping their interest’ just sounds like saving face after having lost out on the player. Looks like this is the end of the road for Cuadrado. Stones next. Then Lacazette for Remy. And a central midfielder. Then we can call it a day.

All a bit weird from Man United. Are they really that incompetent? “Pedro was understood to be unimpressed by United's pursuit after failing to be convinced that they really wanted him to join.” “Pedro's camp were unaware of United chief Ed Woodward's trip to Barcelona to try to get the deal over the line in what became a breakdown in United's attempt for his signature.” http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-3203285/Chelsea-set-seal-22m-Pedro-transfer-Manchester-United-Barcelona-forward-rivals-hijack-deal.html#ixzz3jG4pefkF

Well that didn't take long, did it? Took a whole summer to buy Baba Rahman.