16 minutes ago, Deino said:

An Italian club won't fork out 70-80m this late into the transfer window. Especially after their recent purchases.

We should only go for Ndidi if we ever sell Kante.

That being said, it's stupid to sell Kante with the season so close to starting. We have to integrate 6 players at the moment, we still need Kante's characteristics in the team as well as a semblance of stability in the team.

Inter did last year though with Lukaku. They seem to support Conte with whoever he wants. 

Seems like they are in the process of moving on players to fund a new cash-bid for Kante so it will be interesting to see what happens.

I definitly wouldn't rule out a sale.

2 hours ago, Imran_CFC said:

Last season our 2 biggest weaknesses defensively were set pieces and getting caught on the counter, hopefully the Set piece issue is somewhat resolved with a new keeper coming in alongside the leadership and organisation skills of Thiago Silva however Kante is the best midfielder we have when it comes to defending on the transition.

Just doesnt make sense selling him, we have a long list of players who should be sold ahead of him, unless we are getting someone like Ndidi or Rice at 40m this should not even be considered.

Would getting a new keeper be a viable option if we sell Kante? If not, we shouldn't sell him.

We have signed around 5 players that will be in the starting lineup, an extra one e.g. Ndidi or Rice is maybe too many new players, it would take half a season to sync in everything and everyone.

2 hours ago, Sindre said:

Inter did last year though with Lukaku. They seem to support Conte with whoever he wants. 

Seems like they are in the process of moving on players to fund a new cash-bid for Kante so it will be interesting to see what happens.

I definitly wouldn't rule out a sale.

Wasn't that because they sold Icardi afterwards? I doubt they're able to make a big purchase again post-covid especially after having spent 80m already. 

It might happen but they still need to make a sale and I doubt anyone wants to buy their ageing players this late in the window

14 minutes ago, Gol15 said:

Would getting a new keeper be a viable option if we sell Kante? If not, we shouldn't sell him.

We have signed around 5 players that will be in the starting lineup, an extra one e.g. Ndidi or Rice is maybe too many new players, it would take half a season to sync in everything and everyone.

I don't think the keeper deal is dependent upon the Kante sale however I think the Declan Rice bid may be dependant upon the sale of Kante. If we sell Kante for 80m and buy Rice for 80m then that makes absolutely no sense as we are paying 80m for mainly potential, if we were to splash the 80m on Nidid I would be all for that as I think Ndidi is already the finished article and the best DM in the PL.

I understand the question marks over team chemistry and fluidity especially when we have 5-6 new players in the starting lineup, the narrative in the media seems to be FL needs to deliver silverware and compete for the PL but realistically this season again is going to be one of transition.

Too many players to integrate. Frank showing a bit of naivety if he’s pushing for another signing 

 

I don't think we will sell Kante.

I think Barkley and Jorginho are probably the surplus midfielders ...

I just don't get why we would sell Kante and get Rice.  When hes fit I feel hes a world class defensive player....  What % chance would you say Declan Rice will be as good as Kante in the near future?  

On 11/09/2020 at 23:33, Gol15 said:

Would getting a new keeper be a viable option if we sell Kante? If not, we shouldn't sell him.

We have signed around 5 players that will be in the starting lineup, an extra one e.g. Ndidi or Rice is maybe too many new players, it would take half a season to sync in everything and everyone.

Very few teams have been successful solely by using the transfer market. In recent memory I can only think of Liverpool (signing VVD/Alisson) and Chelsea (2014/15 when we signed Costa + Fabregas). In both instances it was a team who were already capable of challenging for titles but had clearly identified needs to take them to the next level and became unambiguous contenders.

I can't think of many teams in history that have made this many changes and been successful in the same year. In 2004/05 we made six changes, but that can be understood in the context of a two-year upgrade from a top-6 EPL side to EPL and CL contenders. We have made 5 signings this season but such is the gap between Man City/Liverpool and the rest of the league, and Bayern/PSG/Madrid and the rest of Europe, that it is still difficult to objectively argue that Chelsea are contenders for any title.

That isn't an excuse for us to still challenge for trophies (and win them) but the fact we are spending ~200m gives you an idea of the gap we need to close. New, better players won't close the gap on their own however, we also need improvement in terms of our tactics and the players we already have. Players win games, but squad management wins titles.

 

Edited September 14, 20205 yr by SydneyChelsea

Funny isn't it, we've signed five players and already come the first match of the season and two are injured.

3 minutes ago, Strider6003 said:

Funny isn't it, we've signed five players and already come the first match of the season and two are injured.

I'm maybe a bit off but it does look like we have had more injury problems than our rivals in recent years. 

2 hours ago, Gol15 said:

I'm maybe a bit off but it does look like we have had more injury problems than our rivals in recent years. 

There is something to this.  Training methods and game approach do make a difference.  We certainly need to improve on the injury front (beyond just some bad luck, this can be partially prevented also).

7 hours ago, Browerkid said:

I just don't get why we would sell Kante and get Rice.  When hes fit I feel hes a world class defensive player....  What % chance would you say Declan Rice will be as good as Kante in the near future?  

Because Rice is a natural sitting DM, Kante isn't and wasn't even in his prime.

That said I'm not particularly enamoured by Rice, my preference for the role in front of the back four is a deep playmaker, people really underestimate how important it is for first phase build up, for example, three of our four goals against Everton (plus the Mount chance saved from Pickford) came about because of Gilmour's speed of thought, Bayern's winner in the CL final wouldn't have happened without Thiago's quick pass between the lines about ten seconds earlier.

Edited September 14, 20205 yr by Argo

3 hours ago, Strider6003 said:

Funny isn't it, we've signed five players and already come the first match of the season and two are injured.

We've also only had 3 weeks "off season" so not exactly a normal first game time. 

Frank keeps bringing up parallels between our current project and what Liverpool & Klopp have achieve over the last few years, I remember when Klopp came in Liverpool suffered a similar number of injuries to key players especially when fixture congestion took place either at Christmas or at the back end of the season. I think its a transition from a particular style and method of training to maybe a slightly different style which challenges different muscle groups hence why we kept on getting muscle injuries throughout the season.

The injuries are basically due to a number of unfortunate circumstances firstly obvious the change of management like I've mentioned above but also 3 key players (CHO, Kante & RLC) were coming off lengthy injuries which puts pressure on a young squad & secondly we had a squad which was at 2 opposite end of the spectrum when it comes to age. We had players either 30+ and in the twilight of their careers and more prone to injury and on the other side of the coin players very young trying to acclimatize to the physical demands of an elite competitive league, I personally think we don't have enough players in the squad who are between the age of 25-30 which is usually when an outfield player peaks.

6 hours ago, Gol15 said:

I'm maybe a bit off but it does look like we have had more injury problems than our rivals in recent years. 

We also had a grueling end of season due to covid. Hard not to get injured when you have a game once every 3 days or so. Especially with our high pressing and our player's workrate.

Looked pretty good last night, hopefully he's over the injuries because he's still comfortably our best midfielder. 

Absolutely solid defensively which is good to see, but still, the distribution was poor. But it helps when you've got someone there with him like Jorginho, keep it simple with Kante and do the defensive duties. 

He's been good for a few weeks now, it's great to see, I'm really hoping he proves me wrong. 

Everywhere on the pitch performance, please keep it up N'Golo Kante!

Having a fully fit Kante is going to be like a brand new signing this season, you could tell he was operating at 70% for majority of last season.

Last night's game was his MO, less possession and a two man midfield with someone sweeping up behind him, he will always do well in these conditions for aslong as he still has his stamina.

My worry remains games like the one we have coming up at WBA, especially if he's playing as a sitter.

21 hours ago, Argo said:

Because Rice is a natural sitting DM, Kante isn't and wasn't even in his prime.

That said I'm not particularly enamoured by Rice, my preference for the role in front of the back four is a deep playmaker, people really underestimate how important it is for first phase build up, for example, three of our four goals against Everton (plus the Mount chance saved from Pickford) came about because of Gilmour's speed of thought, Bayern's winner in the CL final wouldn't have happened without Thiago's quick pass between the lines about ten seconds earlier.

What we need is playmaker, that is defensive sound, and decent athletically. I think Rice could be that player, but in England we dont really produce that type of player that can do it at the highest level. So i have my reservations too, which is why i would keep Jorginho for the time being. 

 

43 minutes ago, Argo said:

Last night's game was his MO, less possession and a two man midfield with someone sweeping up behind him, he will always do well in these conditions for aslong as he still has his stamina.

My worry remains games like the one we have coming up at WBA, especially if he's playing as a sitter.

That's what I'm dreading, I don't like him in the sitter role at all. But last night he was definitely back to his best, looked much sharper. Recovered the ball well, always on the edge of our box when needed, that's the Kante we want to see. 

 

38 minutes ago, big blue said:

What we need is playmaker, that is defensive sound, and decent athletically. I think Rice could be that player, but in England we dont really produce that type of player that can do it at the highest level. So i have my reservations too, which is why i would keep Jorginho for the time being. 

 

Kovacic can also do that role imo, although Jorginho is better defensively, I would say Kovacic has better legs. 

I continue to think he's holding our team back and surrounded by people who think he's still our best player. 

Either he plays as a DM (and I imagine he plays that role poorly) or he needs to contribute in the final 3rd.

Kovacic has a role of sorts in his position, he can carry it out of danger and lay it off to a better player. Kante I don't understand.