It's all gone very quiet on this front... can't stand it! What's happening? Is Robben going and more's to the point: is Alves coming?

It's all gone very quiet on this front... can't stand it! What's happening? Is Robben going and more's to the point: is Alves coming?

Yeah and where's Alex?

BBC are reporting that Sevilla have turned down 2 bids from unnamed clubs for Alves. Both bids were over 20 million pounds so that gives you an idea about how much they are looking for. I'm pretty sure 1 was from us and 1 from Real.

Yeah and where's Alex?

I would like to know that aswell.

It seems as though we have once again left a lot of transfer dealings to the last minute. Regardless of the Robben situation which is somewhat out of our control at present why are we leaving it so late to sort out Alex's Visa and why are we only now bidding for Alves? Have we only just decided that we need a right back or is are we now interested in Alves because we are assuming we will get money for Robben? If it is the latter then it doesn't really make sense.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/footbal ... 940940.stm

On Friday president Jose Maria del Nido said: "Sevilla has rejected two offers for Daniel.

"One was for 31.5m euros (?21.3m) and the other for 35m euros (?23.7m)."

Del Nido insisted: "We fulfilled the promise of listening, valuing and, in this case, turning down the offers that came in for Daniel."

This is absolute madness. Alves is good but paying this kind of money for a right back is unheard of. Fark off Sevilla.

If this is the kind of money they're asking for Alves i'd like to see what we're selling Robben for.

It seems as though we have once again left a lot of transfer dealings to the last minute. Regardless of the Robben situation which is somewhat out of our control at present why are we leaving it so late to sort out Alex's Visa and why are we only now bidding for Alves? Have we only just decided that we need a right back or is are we now interested in Alves because we are assuming we will get money for Robben? If it is the latter then it doesn't really make sense.

Its very annoying at all. If we need a right back then we should try to get one, we have enough money so we dont need the money from an other transfer to buy players that we really need.

It's crazy money and there is no way surely we will stump up that kind of cash. I think this deal is dead in the water frankly, unless someone has a major change of heart.

As for Alex he has finally been confirmed as being signed and here's a pic of him actually signing!

Alex signs

And here is what he had to say on joining:

Alex completes transfer

That is good news about Alex. With his arrival I would actually say we should walk away from Sevilla and test their resolve just as Madrid are doing with us and Robben. Sevilla now have an unhappy player and his immediate value will diminish if he plays in the Champions League. What is the length of his current contract too? If he has a year or so left they risk getting nothing for him if they don't cash in soon.

He has a contract untill 2012 so it's not a problem for Sevilla. I think that talk about two bids from unnamed clubs is bs. Time is running out for them as they would have to use the cash from this transfer on some replacement and it's a desperate try to put some pressure on us.

Given they're being such c*cks over Alves, can somebody tell me exactly why we were so nice as to agree a load deal with them for Boulasnooze?

Nice going Kenyon.

Maybe they have just realized what a quality defender Boulharouz is.

Maybe they have just realized what a quality defender Boulharouz is.

It's not a case of needing money from the Robben deal to go ahead with the Alves deal. I think it is more that Robben's departure opens a squad vacancy for an in-coming player. Hang on a minute, I hear you say, but the two do not play in the same position! I know, but we have many "adaptable" players who can play in "wide" positions, e.g. SWP, Joe and Malouda who can play either side, i.e. also left side opening a slot for Alves on the right if we need it. Also, if Robben leaves, we will likely be playing 4-4-2 diamond a lot more than if he stayed, and in that formation a quality attacking right full back to complement Ash or Bridgey on the left will be crucial. Johno is good attacking, but his positional sense in defense leaves a lot to be desired.

Cheers,

Butch

I'm pretty sure 442 diamond is way down on JM's to do list this season, Butch, if JM's interviews are any indication.

It's clear from Jose's mention about Alves that if he comes he comes but if he doesn't then okay he doesn't.

The club has put in a sensible bid according to him, they are not going to go crazy over this.

As Sevilla appear to want us to pay a record busting price for this guy publicly, then something is going to have to give - either they cave and lower their asking price or we up it or we just walk away from the deal and Alves stays where he is - unhappy or not.

I think at the moment it looks like the latter option.

Unless our RB situation implodes over the next week and Jose becomes genuinely unhappy about their performances then I can't see us upping that bid.

And remember, we have no way of knowing if Alves will actually be a solution to our problems there, people are talking as if buying Alves will automatically be the answer - there is no guarantee of anything - just the possibility that he will work out well.

He could just prove a very expensive, panic buy that actually causes more problems than it solves.

Equally it could be a masterstroke being great for our attack and defence - I guess you take your pick!

And remember, we have no way of knowing if Alves will actually be a solution to our problems there, people are talking as if buying Alves will automatically be the answer - there is no guarantee of anything - just the possibility that he will work out well.

He could just prove a very expensive, panic buy that actually causes more problems than it solves.

Equally it could be a masterstroke being great for our attack and defence - I guess you take your pick!

Couldnt agree more. Alves is a big doubt. Brazilian players in the epl, you never know if they perform.

Jose admits we've put a bid in for Alves. Pumping up the pressure on Sevilla. I don't think he'd come out and say it if they weren't set on this player.

[web]http://www.chelseafc.com/xxchelsea180706/index.html#/page/NewsHomePage/list_2209129_0[/web]

The ideal situation, of course, would be to have Alvez AND Robben with us this season.

Alvez will undoubtedly improve us - fixing a problem area in the squad, and regardless of what anyone thinks of Robben's contribution over the last 12 months or so, surely it is better to have him in our squad rather than Madrid's.

I don't know why as I have barely ever seen this guy but I've got really good feeling about Alves. I hope we will snatch him soon even if it means Robben is goingo to Spain. If we had him Johnson could be used as a backup winger/RB and correct me if I'm wrong but isn't Alves really good at free kicks? We really need someone who is.

Allegedly, according to TVE (Public TV in Spain) Sevilla and Madrid have agreed to transfer Alves to Madrid for about 40 M Euro.

:-((((

My mate was saying that Liverfool were quoted ?12m last year when they expressed an interest in Alves, how come his value has shot up, is it purely because of who we are? If so, talk about being held to ransom, here's the latest bit of info, I don't now how reliable the source is though.

[web]http://www.teamtalk.com/football/story/0,16368,1773_2678286,00.html[/web]

My mate was saying that Liverfool were quoted ?12m last year when they expressed an interest in Alves, how come his value has shot up, is it purely because of who we are? If so, talk about being held to ransom, here's the latest bit of info, I don't now how reliable the source is though.

Alves had an incredible year last year...

...and we're chelsea

Okay, sorry to bring up an old topic, but who do we think was responsible for this?

I find it embarrasing that we had a chance to sign this guy, the absolute best full back in the game right now by an absolute mile, and we said we didn't want to because £25m (or however much it was at the time) was too much for a right back? What the hell?

We've spent well over that on Bosingwa and Ferreira, and neither of them even come close. They're not even in the same league as Alves defensively, and they sure as hell don't come close to him in offense either. It's ridiculous.

So, does the blame lie with Kenyon? Roman? Jose? Sigh.

Okay, sorry to bring up an old topic, but who do we think was responsible for this?

I find it embarrasing that we had a chance to sign this guy, the absolute best full back in the game right now by an absolute mile, and we said we didn't want to because £25m (or however much it was at the time) was too much for a right back? What the hell?

We've spent well over that on Bosingwa and Ferreira, and neither of them even come close. They're not even in the same league as Alves defensively, and they sure as hell don't come close to him in offense either. It's ridiculous.

So, does the blame lie with Kenyon? Roman? Jose? Sigh.

All three are to blame, Roman and Jose weren't talking at the time, Jose wanted to run the side his way, Roman wanted to buy who he wanted, Kenyon was stuck in the middle. If a happy medium could have been reached then we might not be Robbenless, trophyless and two managers further down the line.