Socrates

http://www.express.co.uk/sport/football/593908/Pedro-Manchester-United-transfer-news-competition

Decent second half performance. Now if we could just replace Mikel and Cuadrado with Witsel and Pedro, we'd be set up for the season.

I don't think Pedro would’be been brought in as an upgrade on Willian but as an alternative to Hazard and Willian if either needed a rest or got injured. Last season they were forced to play practically every game. In hindsight we were probably lucky we got knocked out of two cup competitions early otherwise we didn't have too many options especially given that Cuadrado was plain awful when he got to play. I reckon Pedro would’ve been an upgrade on Cuadrado and Moses. But it looks like a moot point now anyhow.

Have to say that Mourinho's comments on RLC this week didn't offer much optimism regarding his playing time. I think Witsel would be an upgrade on Mikel and Zouma in that position but I can see why bringing him in would impact on RLC's long-term chances.

What happens if Matic gets injured? Or is suspended? Is Jose planning to play him every game next season?

Man United seal £22.8m deal for Liverpool and Chelsea target Pedro http://www.dailystar.co.uk/sport/football/455812/Pedro-Manchester-United-news-transfers

If it was up to me I'd cut our losses with Cuadrado and spend the money on Pedro. Who knows though? Maybe Moses will come through or Willian will find the knack of scoring regularly. But I'm not convinced.

Looks like he could be a good signing. And for a decent price. I like Luis though. Technically good, excellent going forward but got caught out a couple of times at the back and suffered I think from not playing enough. Unsurprising when up against Azpi though. I guess the signing of Baba Rahman is to allow a transition of Azpi to right back. Interesting if this deal goes through.

The fact we might have to consider it shows there's a problem in our midfield. What happened to the midfielder we were supposed to be signing anyhow?

Judging from last night's game at least Moses showed he deserves another chance. But Loftus Cheek and Traore looked short of being ready for the first team. You know what you're going to get with Oscar, Mikel and Ramires. Not expecting much to change. We're going to be heavily reliant on Hazard again and hoping that Costa loses his rustiness fast. Disappointing we haven't strengthened in any significant way this transfer window.

I think the plan was to give everyone a run out but to save the big guns for the second half. So Hazard, Costa, Matic, Terry, Ramires all come on and put these Yankee upstarts in their place. Well that didn't happen.

Only bright point was Moses looked lively for the first half. The second half was a shambles. It wasn't just the kids (Traore, Loftus-Cheek) who looked out of their depth either. Blimey. Humiliation by the youth team of a middling American side. Talk about coming down to earth with a bang.

Latest news and other unsubstantiated stuff: Axel Witsel and Chelsea fail to agree personal terms http://russianfootballnews.com/axel-witsel-and-chelsea-fail-to-agree-personal-terms/?

Good profile of Pedro which disappointingly ends on the suggestion that he might end up at Old Trafford: http://www.eurosport.co.uk/football/premier-league/2015-2016/how-luis-suarez-could-be-key-to-pedros-united-move_sto4830482/story.shtml

Point taken, but it looks like they are basing it on reports from Italian media sources: http://www.football-italia.net/69555/callejon-chelsea-talks

Chelsea are reportedly in talks with Napoli over a transfer deal for Spanish forward Jose Callejon. http://metro.co.uk/2015/07/22/chelsea-in-talks-with-napoli-over-jose-callejon-transfer-5308320/#ixzz3gdjnJtbB

I guess our one-out, one-in transfer policy means we're in the market for a new left back now.

Report from Marca is that a fee has been agreed for 16m euros for a three year deal. Makes more sense than a loan deal considering we paid 16m pounds, I think, for him just a year ago.

Be a good experience for him. A chance to develop, play abroad, learn a new football culture. It'll make him a better player all round. Good luck to him, I say.

What it seems to boil down to is Jose has been told that Pedro can come if we can get rid of Cuadrado. Now, plenty of clubs in Italy would like to take Cuadrado off our hands. But either on a loan or a greatly reduced fee. So unless we're prepared to take a big loss on him, it looks like we may well be lumbered with Cuadrado and Pedro will go to Man United.

The Board will know that we scraped over the finishing line last season and we were helped by the ineptness of our main rivals. But none of our rivals have stood still this transfer window. Whereas we've arguably just replaced like for like. We haven't noticeably improved our squad. We will still rely on Hazard and Costa for goals and heaven help us if Matic gets injured. Which makes it difficult to imagine that our only remaining business will be to bring in an inexperienced if promising central defender, in an area we're not noticeably deficient. Still hoping that Jose is lying through his teeth and we're making plans for two or three quality signings.

Strange quote from Jose. Why would Pedro hang around waiting for us to sell Moses first? Bit of an insult if you ask me. If we really want Pedro then surely we should sign him then sell Moses. Is it just me who thinks Pedro would be an upgrade on both Moses and Cuadrado?

From talks are ongoing to a done deal in a matter of days to now United entering the fray. Hard to know what's going on, if anything. At least with John Stones the manager has said we've put in a bid.

Sorry mess... ‘It sounds like Jose Mourinho is truly fed up with Mohamed Salah and he's not the only one to be fair, the footballer has managed to turn his transfer situation into a farce and whilst agents can be blamed and often are, it's the players who employ those agents and instruct them how to proceed. Mourinho is absolutely determined that Salah goes and he wants him gone by the end of the week, he wasn't too chuffed to see him back in London this week and Salah was sent to train with the kids. Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport say that Salah can't follow instructions the way Mourinho requires of his players., He's too instinctive and can't remember patterns of play when asked to. He doesn't make an effort to adapt to systems that he's instructed upon and there's not enough defensive effort for Mourinho's liking. It was never likely to work. Gazzetta call Salah the 'Messi of Cairo' and it's that kind of tag which has seen him become an Egyptian superstar and perhaps gone to his head a little. Salah's excellent start at Fiorentina made it look like his troubles at Chelsea were all down to Mourinho and it was expected he'd stay in Florence. However, Salah thought otherwise and despite agreeing new terms with Fiorentina his agents spoke to Inter Milan. Fiorentina made it clear they'd fight for his signature, now they've lost interest and Inter Milan may not be so keen either. Roma is stated as a new destination. Chelsea are going to have to compensate Fiorentina, likely through the loan of another player, because they contractually should have Salah next season. If Fiorentina aren't pleased then they'll take it to FIFA and try and get Salah suspended for ignoring a contract.’ http://sportwitness.ning.com/forum/topics/mourinho-determined-chelsea-transfer-done-this-week-star-in-londo

If we were going to sign a Barca player surplus to requirements then I'd rather it had been Sanchez. Saying that, Pedro is an upgrade on Salah and Cuadrado and 21m for a player of his pedigree looks like a smart deal. Seeing him play with Fabregas, Hazard and Costa will be interesting. Plus he's a winger who scores goals which should take some pressure off Hazard. I expect this means a swift end to the Chelsea career of Cuadrado.