6 minutes ago, Andy2461 said:

whats the point of a great youth system if not one of them comes through

£20m in the kitty? 

Edited June 26, 20179 yr by the special one

15 minutes ago, Scott Harris said:

I'm not that fussed in all honesty. I rate Christensen higher and think he has a better chance at making it here. I think Ake is a decent player, but he is an erratic defender, i think he would cost us a lot of goals in the long run. With Luiz, Cahill, Azpilicueta, Christensen and possibly somebody else coming in, i just don't see a spot for Ake, i feel the same towards Zouma too.

Completely agree, he is a good player buy dives in a lot and gets pulled out of position far too easily. I would love to see him make it here but I just don't think he has the quality.

14 minutes ago, Andy2461 said:

This lad is gonna be awesome in a cpl years. 

Pissed off if he goes

whats the point of a great youth system if not one of them comes through

Or what's the point of promoting players if we promote the wrong ones, case in point, United and Lingard.

Part of our flawed profit making scheme, sell for a profit if he isn't good enough, that's fine, but I think Ake is. You have to wonder why Conte was watching academy games if he's going to sell out most talented academy players, what's the point? Whole thing is a waste of time.

Edited June 26, 20179 yr by Floyd25

53 minutes ago, Floyd25 said:

Part of our flawed profit making scheme, sell for a profit if he isn't good enough, that's fine, but I think Ake is. You have to wonder why Conte was watching academy games if he's going to sell out most talented academy players, what's the point? Whole thing is a waste of time.

He'll develop somewhere he gets regular playing time he wants/ needs and our buy back option is there if he is good enough in the future. 

Apparently after learning lessons from KdB and Lukaku, all future sales of our younger players will have sell on and/or buy back clauses inserted...

Edited June 27, 20179 yr by doctorblue

Says who? Fans on the internet, or someone from the club?

16 hours ago, JM7 said:

I do wonder if him coming back in January was more of a "club decision" than a Conte one. Conte never seemed keen on him. 

Other than an FA Cup semi-final against the Spuds, obviously.

20 hours ago, Argo said:

Maybe with Lukaku and KDB (although we didn't sell them unaware of there quality) but contrary to popular belief selling an academy player has never come back to bite us.

I never said an academy player, I was referring to our young players in general irrelevant and you've just given two prime examples to back up my point.

1 hour ago, EdinburghBlue said:

I never said an academy player, I was referring to our young players in general irrelevant and you've just given two prime examples to back up my point.

KDB fair enough but Lukaku wouldn't accept being Costa understudy so we had no choice.

Statistically the chances are much higher we won't regret a sale than will.

4 hours ago, doctorblue said:

Apparently after learning lessons from KdB and Lukaku, all future sales of our younger players will have sell on and/or buy back clauses inserted...

Traore doesn't?

4 minutes ago, MissouriBlue said:

Traore doesn't?

Apparently he has a 15% sell on clause...and although French law forbids buy back clauses, the information around seems to think that a gentlemen's agreement is in place with OL...

1 minute ago, doctorblue said:

Apparently he has a 15% sell on clause...and although French law forbids buy back clauses, the information around seems to think that a gentlemen's agreement is in place with OL...

 

Always a dangerous phrase when it comes to business.

21 hours ago, the special one said:

£20m in the kitty? 

20mil? Good we had Ake to sell, otherwise the club might have to file for bankruptcy.

Also, its hardly 20mil in the kitty when we will be buying some overrated flavour of the month for triple his prize and then looking to buy Ake for 50mil in 2 years' time.

There's more chance of Torres getting his prime back then Ake becoming a £50m player.

3 minutes ago, Argo said:

There's more chance of Torres getting his prime back then Ake becoming a £50m player.

Ya sure, is not that what people said of Lukaku and KDB. Turned out perfectly did not it?

 

 

5 minutes ago, Argo said:

There's more chance of Torres getting his prime back then Ake becoming a £50m player.

50 Mil don't go very far these days in the transfer market. By the time Ake reaches his max potential, 50 Mil might be more like 30 is today.

6 minutes ago, didierforever said:

Ya sure, is not that what people said of Lukaku and KDB. Turned out perfectly did not it?

 

And they were right to say that.  Doesn't matter that those are the sort of prices being asked, neither one is worth it.

Just now, yorkleyblue said:

And they were right to say that.  Doesn't matter that those are the sort of prices being asked, neither one is worth it.

Sure. 

8 minutes ago, didierforever said:

Ya sure, is not that what people said of Lukaku and KDB. Turned out perfectly did not it?

 

De Bruyne was clearly with a high ceiling. Ake is a versatile jack of all trades, overrated because he's an academy product/signed as a teenager like many still at the club (RLC, Kennedy) and from the past (Stoch, Cork, Mancienne).

1 hour ago, Argo said:

De Bruyne was clearly with a high ceiling. Ake is a versatile jack of all trades, overrated because he's an academy product/signed as a teenager like many still at the club (RLC, Kennedy) and from the past (Stoch, Cork, Mancienne).

Hahhaha. Stoch, Cork, Mancienne. Seriously?

None of them were anywhere near as talented as Ake. 

I would say RLC is as talented but we have literally wasted him for 2 years. I would say 2 years ago, him and Alli were on the same level, but game time, experience, trust has seen one become a player who is now linked with Barca while the other is now seemingly a Championship level player according to many on the forum.

None of them were either half as talented or had 2 very successful loan spells in PL. There is a reason why Bournemouth are buying Ake for 20mil despite having a squad cost of around 80-85mil.

A. They know he will be a main feature of their back line for a couple of years.

B. In a couple of years, he will be a beast and will probably fetch them double their current amount.

1 hour ago, Argo said:

De Bruyne was clearly with a high ceiling. Ake is a versatile jack of all trades, overrated because he's an academy product/signed as a teenager like many still at the club (RLC, Kennedy) and from the past (Stoch, Cork, Mancienne).

I rarely get wound up about a player leaving be it a first squad member or indeed a fringe player. We all have opinions about the quality of a player but we don't get to know the other issues that a manger or the club has to factor in

It is reported that it is a general policy that if a player wants out they will not stand in the way. There was a little snippet in the press to the effect that Ake wanted almost guaranteed playing time so that may have been an issue.

. Next we have no idea which players can and which can't easily take on board and indeed deliver what the manager expects.We have no idea how well they train, how well intergrate within the group, what the players wage demands are, what needs to be sorted in terms of FFP, what does the overall wage budget in relation to short term cost controls and so it goes on

Nathan for me will carve out a decent career in football will he ever be a regular starter at the top 4 club? That's a real interesting one for whilst he is to a level I haven't seen enough to suggest he has the X factor and whilst so so many go on about bringing through players at the top clubs it is more often than not the exception rather than the rule that you have more than the odd one or possibly two starters  that have come through the ranks.

 

Edited June 27, 20179 yr by terraloon

3 minutes ago, didierforever said:

Hahhaha. Stoch, Cork, Mancienne. Seriously?

None of them were anywhere near as talented as Ake. 

I would say RLC is as talented but we have literally wasted him for 2 years. I would say 2 years ago, him and Alli were on the same level, but game time, experience, trust has seen one become a player who is now linked with Barca while the other is now seemingly a Championship level player according to many on the forum.

None of them were either half as talented or had 2 very successful loan spells in PL. There is a reason why Bournemouth are buying Ake for 20mil despite having a squad cost of around 80-85mil.

A. They know he will be a main feature of their back line for a couple of years.

B. In a couple of years, he will be a beast and will probably fetch them double their current amount.

After Stoch and Corks successful loans at Twente and Burnley respectively, fans in there thousands were demanding they "got a chance" and we're equally furious when both got let go that summer. Stoch particularly was apparently going to end up at a rival and rip us apart for many years.

I'm not convinced Ruben would be at the same level as Alli, 90% of the time he's played in the PL he's been massively out of his depth.

 

1 hour ago, Argo said:

There's more chance of Torres getting his prime back then Ake becoming a £50m player.

True story! 

30 minutes ago, Argo said:

After Stoch and Corks successful loans at Twente and Burnley respectively, fans in there thousands were demanding they "got a chance" and we're equally furious when both got let go that summer. Stoch particularly was apparently going to end up at a rival and rip us apart for many years.

I'm not convinced Ruben would be at the same level as Alli, 90% of the time he's played in the PL he's been massively out of his depth.

 

RLC "was" at the same level as Alli 2 years ago. Both were starting their respective careers and RLC looked the real deal. I have already said what the difference in their development has been. In one short word: GAME TIME.

Performing a year in the eredivise compared to 2 very successful PL loans, looking great at an age of 17 playing in the europa and literally whenever given a shot. Not even comparable.

As for Cork, no one, not even he himself would have ever thought that he was Chelsea first team material. He had some very average loan spells too. If I remember correctly he was sold in 2011. A time when we were in dire need of a CM. Essien was gone, injured and battered. Mikel was well Mikel. Rambo had a shaky first season (10-11) and Lamps was on the decline. It was in those conditions that people wanted Cork to be given an opportunity. 

Comparing any of these players to Ake simply means that you dont rate him, meanwhile I feel he is one of the most talented players in the academy. "Jack of all trades" because he has the talent to play those roles as well as the footballing IQ. Selling such a player, that too Home grown, that too club trained  (for CL purposes) is one of the stupidest moves we could have made.