It's worth bearing in mind that Kalou, Anelka, Zhirkov and Bosingwa are all in the last year of their contracts. Assuming that we're not planning on giving any of them an extension, we need to sell them this summer or else risk losing them on a free.

I think Kalou will be the only one to be offered a new contract unless Anelka has an amazing season. But it is anelka so i doubt that will happen.

Anelka would be one of my first choices to be sold, 32, awful last season and on massive wages

Anyone want to know which Paper to trust on rumours? Go here then...

http://www.footballtransferleague.co.uk/newspaper_statistics.aspx

If you cant be arsed then the Guardian is the best with 33.5%, bottom is Metro with 5.2%......No surprise over Metro then.

Anyone want to know which Paper to trust on rumours? Go here then...

http://www.footballtransferleague.co.uk/newspaper_statistics.aspx

If you cant be arsed then the Guardian is the best with 33.5%, bottom is Metro with 5.2%......No surprise over Metro then.

I'm not suprised the Metro finshed bottom,they were sh*te little cars!.

Mind you,not half as bad as the Maestro,(total toss on four wheels).

I'm not suprised the Metro finshed bottom,they were sh*te little cars!.

Mind you,not half as bad as the Maestro,(total toss on four wheels).

Montego Turbo was awesome though, unless it had to stop or go round corners.

Montego Turbo was awesome though, unless it had to stop or go round corners.

That's if you could find a gear & the front wheel bearings didn't break :D .

You could normally find a gear, it was just rarely the one you wanted.

Chelsea boss Andre-Villas Boas has identified French midfielder Yann M’Vila as the ideal replacement for the injury prone Michael Essien, as he looks to bolster his midfield by the start of the new season.

Essien has been ruled out of action for up to six months with a serious knee injury, and despite reports suggesting that an attempt to resign Scott Parker on loan was on the cards, The People claims it is the Rennes star man that is now top of Chelsea’s wish list.

At just 21, M’Vila has established himself as a key part of the Rennes set up and one of the most consistent midfielders in the French league. Chelsea are expected to complete the signing of Barcelona reserve Oriol Romeu for around £4.5m in the next day or so, however the French international is likely to cost the Blues at least £15m after signing a contract last year keeping him at the French club until 2015.

Chelsea have been relatively quiet in the transfer window so far, with Villas-Boas believed to have been keen on assessing the current crop fully before looking at players to bring in. With chief executive Ron Gourlay adamant the club will be making at least two signings over the next week or so, M’Vila has been identified as the ideal immediate replacement for Essien, as well as a player for the future at Chelsea.

Chelsea have lacked consistency in previous campaigns where Essien has been ruled out, with the likes of both Mikel and Ramires unable to fill the Ghanaian’s boots adequately when asked. Despite being relatively inexperienced at the top level, M’Vila has proven himself as one of the great young talents in Europe at the moment and is believed to have attracted attention from the likes of Manchester United, Liverpool, and Tottenham.

With the signing of goalkeeper Thibaud Courtois complete and Remou awaiting his medical at the club, Chelsea are also reported to be interesting in signing Adnerlecht forward Romelu Lukaku. It seems that what has often been described as an ‘ageing’ Chelsea side are now looking to youth rather than experience in their attempt to challenge on all fronts and rectify the failures of the last campaign.

With the backing of Abramovich behind Chelsea, Rennes will undoubtedly be looking to push the transfer fee above £15m, but if M’Vila is able to replicate the kind of consistency and ability that he has demonstrated in Ligue 1 over in the Premier League, then this kind of fee would be far from outrageous and may even turn out to be a bargain for the West London outfit.

http://www.footballtransfertavern.com/2011/08/premiership/quite-frankly-at-15m-the-guys-a-gem-and-boas-knows-it

gabriel torje.

http://www.fanatix.com/news/chelsea-set-sights-on-talented-10m-playmaker-852/

Edited August 4, 201114 yr by David Luiz4

gabriel torje.

http://www.fanatix.com/news/chelsea-set-sights-on-talented-10m-playmaker-852/

Surely worth a punt rather than giving spurs 35m

Surely worth a punt rather than giving spurs 35m

Modric is proven in the prem while torje is just another youtube search.. but hes known as the romanian messi so could be impressive!

If he was anywhere near as good as messi he would already be at a big club.

Modric is proven in the prem while torje is just another youtube search.. but hes known as the romanian messi so could be impressive!

Modric seems to get injured every season & is hugely over priced. Despite some writing him off I expect to get a better season from Super Frank, add in the fact we have Josh coming through, I see 35m far too much.

Chelsea to demand exciting Juventus winger as part of defender transfer

ok, it's fanatix lol, but what are u guys think about this ? :D

Anyone got info on this player?

No way that deal will happen. Juventus are looking at central defenders and I think Alex might be one of them, but if they can't get him they will get someone else.

Krasic was a success in his first season and they will not let him go, especially not just to get Alex.

And I wouldn't like to see Krasic here. Great player, but he has his ups and downs. Also, he's a diver. Refs barely gives him any freekicks or penalties anymore because of his bad reputation.

Krasic is just the kind of player we needed, but we should've signed him before Juventus did.

Modric seems to get injured every season & is hugely over priced. Despite some writing him off I expect to get a better season from Super Frank, add in the fact we have Josh coming through, I see 35m far too much.

Couldn't disagree more Ben. I think he is worth every penny of 35m. He is in my mind the best midfielder in Europe not playing for a big club.

Here is a blog from whoscored:

What Makes Luka Modric So Much In Demand

Note the fact that he has the highest passing completion rate yet also the second most long passes per game. The number of key passes he puts in a game is equal to someone to like Charlie Adam. Make no mistake Modric has superb passing range. His small numbers are largely due to the fact that he plays deeper and is regularly the player who plays the ball before the assist rather than the assist itself. Also the fact that Spurs strikers are pants. His defensive work is underrated and his quick dribbling skills in midfield give us a good option there as well.

It should come as no surprise that in the rankings of whoscored (based on Opta stats) he is 4th behind the three standout midfielders Fabregas, Gerrard and Lampard.

Just on Krasic he is reportedly good mates with Branislav as well. As SC says we most definitely missed a trick on him. But we've missed plenty of tricks over the past two or three seasons.

Edited August 5, 201114 yr by Spiller86

What Makes Luka Modric So Much In Demand

Good read although it is only stats. Great to see him being up there with Frankie, Cesc and other prem stars.

Do you guys think there is development on Modric during the weekend? Season starts next weekend so we should make a move. If we do get him Spuds need to find the replacement as well so time really starts to be key here.

No idea to be honest. I think push might have to come to shove and Luka may have to refuse to play for them next week to move to us. I can't see it getting done otherwise. I think he has to realise that if he leaves Spurs and joins us under any circumstances he'll be hated by them forever. If he wants the move he might as well take the extreme option and force it through.

But this is sort of the wrong thread for that.

Good read although it is only stats. Great to see him being up there with Frankie, Cesc and other prem stars.

Do you guys think there is development on Modric during the weekend? Season starts next weekend so we should make a move. If we do get him Spuds need to find the replacement as well so time really starts to be key here.

I don't agree with the assertion it's "only stats". Stats are factual observations. You can question the interpretation or even the validity of certain stats, but you need to have damn good evidence to the contrary.

.............................some stuff............................. The number of key passes he puts in a game is equal to someone to like Charlie Adam. ...............................some other stuff

And see, you were doing so well up until that point - then you went and shot yourself in the foot, big time! Adam was worth £8 plus some knocked off shell-suits, Modric is probably worth a bit more than that, but not much!

Alex to Zenit St Petersburg. The Mail's Simon Jones reckons it's as good as done. Writing as "The Insider" he gives the story a 5/5 (done deal) rating:

The Russian side made a bid for the Chelsea defender in May and are considering a fresh approach following Juventus's interest in Bruno Alves.

In a tangled twist of events. Juventus had originally drawn up a list of three targets which included Alex and Bruno Alves. However, they have spent a big part of their budget and wanted to bring in a defender on loan with a view to sign next summer.

Chelsea are reluctant to let Alex go on loan but in the meantime Zenit have asked Juventus if they can have Leonardo Bonucci as part of a deal for Alves.

Juventus have said no but still hope to negotiate over Alves even though they have little financial muscle to play with. Chelsea value Alex at £10m although they are flexible over how that can be brokered.

They remain hopeful of a work permit for Slobodan Rajkovic but may sell him instead if they are not successful.

Done deal? There's a fair bit of waffle in that little lot, to put it mildly.

LINK