I forgot De Rossi is out of contract this summer, would be a very astute signing if we got him for a year or so I reckon, vast experience and a definite, if older, upgrade on Matic. 

16 hours ago, RMCM said:

I forgot De Rossi is out of contract this summer, would be a very astute signing if we got him for a year or so I reckon, vast experience and a definite, if older, upgrade on Matic. 

We tried before when is contract was running out a few years ago and failed to get him. I can't see him leaving Roma now, he has spent his whole career with them, i think he will be another Totti.

Watching him tonight, he's got quite a bit of the Matic/Pogba about him, in that he strolls around the pitch a lot, looking lazy/not bothered. I think I'd get pretty frustrated with him.

Edited May 9, 20179 yr by Zeta

And from me. Looks bang average

40 minutes ago, charierre said:

And from me. Looks bang average

Agreed. A very nondescript performance.

As a Lille fan (it's where my family are from - they're still second to Chelsea, promise!), I tend to watch a lot of Ligue 1, and agree that Bakayoko looks fairly average. He has been a useful presence in the centre of the midfield with his strength, but some of his passing and decision making is nowhere near where we'd need it to be. He also has the tendency to get caught on the ball, which could cause problems with our tactic of playing out of trouble. I paid attention to him tonight against Lille, and he was clumsy and wasted some good counter-attacking opportunities with poor passes. From the Monaco team, Mbappe is clearly the real deal, Lemar is talented and could benefit from another season there, Silva is probably ready for a move and Sidibe/Mendy look good too. Bakayoko would probably be bottom of my list in honesty.

However, if Conte sees something he can work with and improve, then I'm happy to stick by a decision to buy him. We've all seen how Luiz, Alonso and Moses have surpassed our expectations under Conte, and Bakayoko is young and does have a lot of positive qualities too.

10 hours ago, Remy10 said:

He has been a useful presence in the centre of the midfield with his strength, but some of his passing and decision making is nowhere near where we'd need it to be. He also has the tendency to get caught on the ball, which could cause problems with our tactic of playing out of trouble. I paid attention to him tonight against Lille, and he was clumsy and wasted some good counter-attacking opportunities with poor passes.

This is pretty much how I would describe Matic. Would be very disappointed if Bakayoko was signed

2 hours ago, Xfaxtor said:

This is pretty much how I would describe Matic. Would be very disappointed if Bakayoko was signed

Bakayoko at 22 does have a lot of room for growth unlike Matic.

Chelsea apparently moving swiftly to close the deal with a €45m-€50m bid. 

On May 4, 2017 at 09:11, RIP Mourinho said:

Bakayoko would be a project in the short term. I'd rather us sign a stop gap such as Naingollan for a couple of years until RLC is ready to take the position and make it his own. Get someone that is ready to do a job for a few years like Ballack did with us. 

What if Ruben is never ready? It's quite persumtious to think he will be at some point. He's 21 so hardly a kid anymore, for perspective Oscar was a trusted starter at that age.

On May 6, 2017 at 20:09, Barrettinator said:

And Matic isn't slow? f**k me, he turns slower than a truck ffs.

Bakayoko had a bad game against Juventus. As do many players, including a lot of the world class players in the Barca team.

He's 22 and still growing as a player. Already better than Matic still. Under Conte's tuitelage, he could really become something special.

 

This is a better picture of what he can do on an average day (and what he's been doing for most of the season)

Vs PSG

 

From that video i really like what i see, especially those long busting runs in the middle that wipe out 2-3 of the opposition players.

7 minutes ago, Argo said:

From that video i really like what i see, especially those long busting runs in the middle that wipe out 2-3 of the opposition players.

That video was really underwhelming, especially for someone supposedly worth 40-50 mill. Im not a fan of Matic at all, but I cant see the upgrade. Slow, not a good passer, clumsy on the ball but shields it well, offers feck all offensively. Yeah he can "burst a run" when he has a huge gap, should be expected of a professional footballer. The more I see of him the less I like him

Edited May 19, 20179 yr by Xfaxtor

No thanks.

Did anyone watch him and Kante get destroyed against Spain? 

I'd rather pair Kante with someone else.

Dunno about anyone else, but i like Chalobah, would have to be someone better than this guy to get me excited. 

Watched him again tonight v Rennes. He was captain but I prefer matic by some distance.

Bakoyoko is decent, but honestly id much prefer just starting Chalobah instead

On 2017-5-19 at 22:12, Argo said:

What if Ruben is never ready? It's quite persumtious to think he will be at some point. He's 21 so hardly a kid anymore, for perspective Oscar was a trusted starter at that age.

RLC would be a trusted starter had he cost 25mil. 

14 hours ago, RIP Mourinho said:

RLC would be a trusted starter had he cost 25mil. 

Or maybe he wouldn't have been good enough to command that fee in the first place. 

5 hours ago, Argo said:

Or maybe he wouldn't have been good enough to command that fee in the first place. 

If Bakayoko is commanding it RLC would have. If RLC came through the Monaco academy i would put my house on him being a starter, but to much greater effect than Bakayoko. Clubs would be queuing up for him. Its the classic Chelsea syndrome of 'if they don't cost much, they ain't good enough'. 

 

Edited May 22, 20179 yr by the special one

25 minutes ago, the special one said:

 

DDR is one of my favourite players ever, and he's out of contract this summer, we should absolutely sign him if the chance comes, a proper midfield general. Come on Conte, make it happen

17 minutes ago, RMCM said:

DDR is one of my favourite players ever, and he's out of contract this summer, we should absolutely sign him if the chance comes, a proper midfield general. Come on Conte, make it happen

Same here, reminds me of Essien. If we're looking to sign a DM Bakayoko would make sense from a longevity point of view, but as you say if the chance comes. If it was up to me I'd probably say no to Bakayoko just to have DDR for a season or two. 

If he leaves Italy I have a sneaky feeling he may go to Liverpool or United.

Edited May 22, 20179 yr by the special one