BaneIvanovic

To clarify (for the 17th time) I've never had a problem with Hulk, per sé, because you can see the ability he possesses but the thing that irks me is the price tag and the transition needed to make it to the Prem and I had my preferences to who we should get. Oh, and this transfer seemed out of character from the board and a weird one from the footballing board given the transfer policy recently by them however, despite being cautious about this transfer, I'll be there to support Hulk because after all we all want what's best for the club. (Side note - yes he's a winner, but there is a difference in being a winner in Portugal and being a winner/succeeding in the Prem/top 4 league, just ask AVB among others)

No, ofc we don't need a LW but you missed the trick already by calling Schurrle a LW which he isn't as he's as much of a LW as Sturridge is. Look at his season before joining Leverkusen (where he was at Mainz) and you'll see that he was playing as a striker for Mainz and had 15 goals in 30 or so appearances in the Bundesliga. However, he joins a Leverkusen side that has Kiessling, Derdiyok and at the time had Helmes in their books (if I'm not mistaken) so they used his versatility to play him wide - not excusively as a LW but also as a RW when Sam was out injured.Onto your questions. I would say if you gave me a choice between Schurle (see - Willian because I'd probably take Willian over Schurrle on the strength that he's more accustomed to the right) and M'Vila or Hulk, yes I would take the latter because it makes more sense long term. Hulk will probably take a season or two to get accustomed to the Prem so when he's 28 he'll probably be Chelsea standard which gives you two/three good seasons out of him. Schurrle/Willian and M'Villa are 20 (Willian 23) so will be the blueprints for the future and would give you more 'value for money' as it were. Schurrle would have a vacant RW spot and M'Vila would slot into the pivot spot alongside Mikel if they were to join. So, in your opinion you see Hulk as a £38m worthy/calibre player (judging by that opening paragraph)? Also, on a side note, he may not have scored against us at the Bridge but look at that Leverkusen side and it generally screams average bar a few individuals.

Definitely needs to move onto bigger and better things. He is also deceptively strong.

I thought it was an interesting experiment from Wilmots to play Hazard as a 'false 9' - as it's the first time I've seen him play in that role - and you could tell from the off that he was a handful (when Ash just hacked him after getting done by him ). He's very quick off the ball but his pace on the ball is exceptional too which was impressive and his technical ability was on show for everyone to see how good he is. He definitely looked more dangerous and got more people involved when they brought on Lukaku and had a proper striker's presence up front and it backs up my feelings about him that he looks more devastating when cutting inside (looking at some of the build up play that was going on 2nd half, and he was behind it all - for instance, the Gilet cannon that hit the bar and other chances in the box that fell to Felli and Romelu). All in all, was impressed by his performance.

*waits for Davey to take off his blinkers* Yet overpaying for a player short term constitutes as good business? I bet you've not watched a single game of Schurrle - do you even remember how he ripped Bosingwa a new one when they came to the Bridge and lost 2-0, a game where he was their only bright spark in attack and Bosingwa was given such a run around he didn't know where he was. You mention how Hulk changes game yet you haven't backed your point with a case that backs it up

There have been no more indications about this transfer in the papers bar the DoF of Partizan denying that he's been sold or that he's moving (or I think it was the DoF) but I'd expect us to strike a deal with him during the offseason - could well happen during the Euros and for us to get away with this being a very low-key deal and coming out of the blue. My two cents on Lazar - I strongly dislike Partizan, obviously as a Crvena Zvezda fan, but I can't help but to admire the kid. He's incredibly talented with a high potential level, and is a versatile player which is useful (ie. Has the ability to play CF, ST, RW/RM to a high standard) but after the winter break in Serbia, Grant came in as Partizan boss (left now) and he didn't quite grasp how to use him effectively. The previous Partizan manager had been, mainly, playing him out wide on the right with great success due to his ridiculous pace, acceleration, agility and passing ability but has also played quite often as a secondary striker before Grant came. He provides natural width and the willingness to run at a defence and use his dribbling, technique and pace whilst also knowing when to pass and when to shoot in certain scenarios which shows maturity and not the naivity that you sometimes associate with young players. Whilst I don't think he's ready for Prem football next year I see him in the same boat as KDB (could play the odd cup game but will most likely spend a year out on loan). Oh, and he's become a full international this year, playing up front against Cyprus this year.

Zamora Trophy (goals conceded per game)1. Valdes 0.8 2. Casillas 0.84 3. Courtois 1.14 Clean sheets in La Liga 1. Valdes 17 2. Courtois 15 (24 in all comps) 3. Casillas 14 So yeah great season for Courtois. Imo, has what it takes to start at the Prem level but we've got the luxury of having Cech in goal for a few more years to come

As painful as it is to admit it, it's time for us to part ways with Essien as it's horrible watching him nowadays as he's gormless. A complete shadow of himself. I'd like to keep Paulo on the basis of how great a servant he's been to the club but I would want us to get VdW, especially for the money being talked about. I still think Hutchinson's fitness/health is too risky to make him backup RB, imo.

Yeah, I thought Courtois had recently established himself as Belgium's no.1 keeper based on his quality season. Hazard will be playing as a false 9 apparently today which will be intersting to see how that unravels as it's his 1st time playing in that role. Courtois, Hazard to start and Lukaku to come off the bench. Should be awesome

You bang on about him being some game-changer, yet in reality, how many games has he actually changed? I'm not talking to you in terms of scoring a brace or a hattrick against a bottom half side in a game you'd expect Porto to breeze through, I'm talking big games (1 goal against Benfica this season - out of 5 that Porto scored in the two encounters they had this season. Was unspectacular in their dire CL campaign and was fairly irrelevant vs City). I appreciate that you're clearly a fan of Hulk and are eager for him to join us, look at it objectively because from your description of the player, he's perfect - no flaws to this player whatsoever.Also, I don't see how the Drogba comparison is relevant either (other than comments made about how well he'd do due to the price etc) because you can hear people chiming away with similar things about Hazard (ie. the risk involved with him and how the French league is apparently naff etc) and with any big money signing there'll be an element of sceptisism (I was sceptical over signing a 30 yr old Shevchenko but I don't recall too many papers/fans etc having many worries). To be fair to the critics, Drogba wasn't exactly prolific or showing value for money in his first two seasons but that's a whole different story.

He got injured in France's friendly vs Serbia two days ago, so it's touch and go if he'll make the Euros.Unsure if KDB could do well at CM, he seems to lack the fundamentals to play the pivot role effectively (from a defensive aspect)

I don't think that the RW position is a short-term filling position though. The likes of Willian, Lucas, Schurrle (or even Marin) would be perfect long term and would be able to fit in and do well short term. Mind you, I wouldn't mind just playing Rambo at RW. We won the CL with a weaker squad than what we'll have next season, so not many transfers are really needed after the Hazard signing (apart from a backup RB and ST). M'Vila would play next to Mikel as a deep-lying playmaker, imo, and knows the defensive aspect of the game very well so would be able to do the defensive side of the game as well as having an impact offensively.

Basically, I'm saying what Ozz is.

There are crap teams in the Prem but it's a massive step up on the dross in the Portuguese League. Also, if he scores solely against crap teams or something like that and goes hiding against big teams, I won't be pleased.I think it's unfeasible for him to get 20 goals (and assists for that matter) on the strength that I think our goals for next season will be spread over quite a few players now (Mata, Hazard etc) and I reckon Torres will be the one - maybe the only one - to break the 20 goal barrier

You do realise he won't be playing in the Portuguese League?

He won't be getting 20 gls + 20 assists season in the Prem (if he can't average that at Porto, then how will he at Chelsea). Reasonably, if he gets more than 10 gls and 10 assists next season it'll be a good season for him

Right, just because I don't agree with you = trolling. Did I criticise any member of staff at our club? No I didn't but you're very quick to jump to conclusions (which are false).My last point on Hulk - the problem is not so much the weakness or not of the league, just the gap between Porto and the other Portuguese teams, which is arguably bigger than the gap between Barcelona/Real Madrid and the rest of Spanish teams. His goals per game ratio is impressive no matter what, but I doubt he will come close to replicating it at Chelsea as: 1) He won't be Chelsea's biggest star 2) The Premier League is a more even league than the Portuguese League, so Chelsea can't dominate games in the Prem like Porto dominate in Portugal Also from a National stand point, in Brazil's national team, where he is just another player and not a star, his goals per game ratio is very poor (11 caps, 2 goals). He didn't start some of these games though (but I doubt the stats would be much different if he had as when he did start, he was generally average too). That being said, I'd like him to prove me wrong for the benefit of the club.

Not sure, tbh, because the Brazilian League is more level a playing field (in terms of quality) in the sense that you've got the quality sides (Santos, Sao Paulo, Palmeiras, Flamengo, Corinthians, Fluminese and Internacional) who are always in the title running and tend to make it to the Copa Libertadores - and put on a good showing - with there being a tier of solid teams below them. The Portuguese League in reality is dominated by Benfica and Porto and there is a chasm in quality between them and the rest of the league (Sporting have dropped back to mediocrity and Braga have practically caught up with them and they tend to battle for 3rd)

No, I'm saying how I love your thing about my opinion vs scouts + your eyes which reads as if I've never seen Hulk kick a ball or somehow your perception/vision is better than mine.Also, for all we know, this could well be another Roman signing in which the scouts have little to no input. Just saying.

Don't think anyone compared his talent with Neymar, just the fact that Ganso provides many goals for Neymar in the tandem they have at Santos.'Just another talent in the Brazilian League' that alone is a farcical statement. It's easy to dismiss the Brazilian League but it's quite strong nowadays (deceptively so, as many may laugh at it) and as for Ganso as a player, he's amazing and given how transfer fees are going around these days £15m is a bargain for him

Yes, because I've never seen Hulk play .....

Whilst I think you make some valid points, this comes across as if you know Hulk personally with some of the sentences in here. You cannot be that certain that he'll be a success in the same way that I'm not certain he'll be a flop, I'm just reluctant and uneasy with this transfer. Also, I was happy to entertain your idea of how Lavezzi isn't a match winner yet there have been performances where he has catalysed the change in outcome (for the better) for Napoli and you must be forgetting how he absolutely tore us a new one in Naples (if it weren't for Di Matteo, most of us would still be having nightmares about that night in Naples). It's this mentality that needs to be removed from our transfer strategy, imo, as it won't be fine if he isn't a success as it will probably leave us at square one with regards to the RW position (or it'll mean Marin will become a starter) which is why I find this particular transfer rather strange and uncharacteristical of the previous few transfers made by the footballing board at our club (the likes of Mata, Lukaku, KDB, Marin, Courtois etc)

I liked the prospect of Wilian, tbh, especially as before the Marin signing there was noise out of Shakhtar that he was ours in the summer provided we just hit their asking price (around £15m if my memory serves me right). Either that or, if we're going for BIG money, I'd have gone for Lucas Moura (he can play at RW) and would be one for the future and from what I've seen of him is an immense talent

Physically, he's ready and is a phenomenon but it's the technical side of the game where he is still raw and has room for improvement so hopefully with a loan out to a side that plays a decent passing game (basically away from West Ham, Stoke) to improve his touches, passing etc

Lavezzi's off to PSG for £21m, which given the current transfer climate etc, is a good price for a guy who's at his peak but yeah I'd agree that we should've been looking at a younger target or played Marin at RW.