If this is true then there are a few pieces of a jigsaw beginning to take shape:

Glen Johnson comes in as replacement for Bosingwa who is used as bait to get Ribery whilst Malouda is farmed out to make way for Zhirkov and Deco makes way for Pirlo. Only piece missing now is who makes way for Aguero

Chelsea Offer Malouda To Barcelona - Report

With the winger apparently not fitting in to Carlo Ancelotti's plans, Chelsea want to know if Barca are interested...

13 Jun 2009 21:49:57

Florent Malouda has been offered to Barcelona, but the Blaugrana are unsure of whether or not to make a move for the midfielder.

According to AS, a Chelsea representative has contacted Barca to inform them of Malouda's availability, suggesting that he does not feature in Carlo Ancelotti's plans. Barca had been interested in the French winger last summer, but were put off by his asking price. The situation is similar this time, with Chelsea demanding a a fee in the region of €20 million.

Barcelona are said to be in the market for a left sided player, and should they fail in their pursuit of Franck Ribery, Malouda would offer a decent alternative. However, the Catalan club have doubts over his off-field behaviour, according to reports they have received.

Should Malouda make the switch to Camp Nou, he could link up with Eric Abidal on the left flank, as they did for Lyon.

Whats wrong with Malouda's off-field behaviour? Despite his end of season form, I would definitely offload Malouda for 20 million.

I second that; would even take €15m

Selling Malouda would only make sense if we had already secured the signing of Zhirkov, Robben or Ribery (or another left winger). If we sold him without having that sorted then we have less sense than G4 had when he agreed to attend Risk parties on a Friday night.

I second that; would even take €15m

I wouldn't! He finished the season what we've been screaming out for, for a while.

I think it would definitely be worth waiting till January Transfers to see how he fits into Carlo's line up and continues to play like Guus tought him to come the new season!

i agree with loz, if we already had a deal in place for someone to replace him and did this it would make sense, maybe they do, who knows really.

Now Zhirkov, Robben and Ribery would be one hell of a combination. Robben + Ribery > anything any other team can come up with, even Madrid.

This years close season is resembling the past, lots of rumours but as yet little substance other than we need another right back. To sell Malouda without having good backup already in place would be madness but yet again we are Chelsea so who knows,

Edited June 14, 200917 yr by charierre

I am sorry but I don't get this sudden love for Malouda; why would a player give a 'steady' performance for 2 months in a 24 month period and be deemed class? I stand by my opinion that he is an average player at best and with all things equal probably a shout for the '3rd choice' left midfielder in the French team. Why such a player should be caught stuttering his footwork for a top level club as a shout for a guaranteed starter next season baffles me!

I have got stats to back this up & sorry for this short rant but he is a MEDIOCRE player who at best should be playing for a mid-table team!

Sorry Everyone but it is the blatant truth.

Sorry Everyone but it is the blatant truth.

It's a blatant opinion of yours, that much is clear.

I've said this before, but I'll say it again. Malouda performed well when he first arrived, and we thought we found a decent left sided player. Sure he's not a Robben or a Duff, but he was good. Then the next thing he knows is the manager that signed him was off and he was put into a bit of a tail spin! Grant really didn't seem to have the man management skills to get the best out of him, and then Scolari seemed to never really put in any effort.

Add to all this, you had Drogba mouthing off about how he wanted to go to Inter, and how he never wanted to play for Chelsea! Drogba was Malouda's friend and I believe he also recommended Malouda to come to Chelsea. So Malouda arrives, his manger leaves, and now his friend is telling anyone and everyone that he wants out! It's no wonder Malouda lost all confidence that he might have had.

Then Guus comes in and we start seeing the Malouda we all thought we had originally. I think it'd be a bad move to sell him, unless it was vital to secure someone of a better calibre. Other than that, I say we keep him. We're not exactly bursting at the seams with attacking players...unless we suddenly start playing more youth products, which I doubt

Scott

This years close season is resembling the past, lots of rumours but as yet little substance other than we need another right back. To sell Malouda without having good backup already in place would be madness but yet again we are Chelsea so who knows,

Why do we necessarily need another right back?

With our current squad we have the following that can play at right back

Bosingwa

Ferreira

Belletti

Ivanovic

Mancienne

Essien

With our current squad we have the following that can play at left back

A Cole

Ferriera (sort of)

Surely left back is the area we should focus on out of the two full back positions.

2 areas we dont need to strengthen...central mid and right back!

2 areas we dont need to strengthen...central mid and right back!

Centre half makes a third area.

@ mad_mac

Great post Scott. You said everything I was thinking. Malouda had no real time to adjust with Jose going, Avram, then Scolari and that affected a lot of players, not just him! I remember a game (think Newcastle at the end of the season last year when Avram was in charge) Malouda had a shocking first half then came out second half and turned the game around! He is a great player, but just needs a manager to put a rocket up his arse when needed!

I think we'd be crazy to get rid of him now (unless we are thinking of bringing in a younger left winger)

I don't want to see him leave.

But in the same respect, I think it's an area we could improve on, especially if players like Robben and Ribery may be available (Aguero too, I guess he could play there?) - but I hope he stays either way, he's been brilliant lately.

Next season is make or break for both Malouda and Cole.

Selling Malouda just when he started playing well is very stupid. We have spent millions of pounds for him, paying his wages, and now he has adjusted to the prem.

Did you guys SEE the last few games he played? Every time he touched the ball something good happened. It reminded me of when Drogba was the best striker in the world. It was magic. I'm sure he hit the post at least 3 times, which was unlucky.

from my position on the fence I think he should stay but I wouldn't be overly gutted if he went.

Edited June 14, 200917 yr by jezza

If this is true, doesn't it remind you of last season?

We sell our only half-decent 'winger' without securing the services of the next one?