31 minutes ago, Sconnie Blue said:

Think we will be fine with one more. 

 

Enzo

New CM

Kante

Kovacic

Santos

 

There is then Gallagher and/or Ruben for emergencies. 

Realistically there's teams that will pay 40-50m for Gallagher so we aren't keeping a player worth that 'for emergencies'. Potter will either deem him a key squad player or he'll be sold I imagine. If Mount goes we'll probably keep him anyway.

we need to keep gallegher because we need homegrown players

He's a good player, but his injury record is extremely annoying, it makes him unreliable. Every season he has an injury period and he's playing catchup because it takes him 2-3 games to get caught up to speed again. 

I would still keep him, we don't want to remove too many senior players in the team right now, he has his uses. But Enzo has the ability to fill that void that we desperately lacked from both Kovacic and Jorginho, creativity. 

2 hours ago, Victor90 said:

He's a good player, but his injury record is extremely annoying, it makes him unreliable. Every season he has an injury period and he's playing catchup because it takes him 2-3 games to get caught up to speed again. 

I would still keep him, we don't want to remove too many senior players in the team right now, he has his uses. But Enzo has the ability to fill that void that we desperately lacked from both Kovacic and Jorginho, creativity. 

Feel sorry for Kova he has been on the end of some very nasty challenges that several refs just ignore and suspect these have taken a toll.

Looks to me like he doesn't want to sign an extension. Apart from the rumours about Guardiola it seems his representatives alrdy met with Milan?

https://www.footballfancast.com/chelsea-graham-potter-mateo-kovacic-stamford-bridge-blues/

Interesting take. Will probably resonate with @Nibs and @loz

 

29 minutes ago, just said:

https://www.footballfancast.com/chelsea-graham-potter-mateo-kovacic-stamford-bridge-blues/

Interesting take. Will probably resonate with @Nibs and @loz

 

Yep. No qualms about letting him go if that's what we end up doing. What I would say about him is he a good professional, not once made any kind of fuss when he wasn't a first choice and just got his head down to work his way back into favour.

But his overall contribution simply isn't at a high enough level to merit keeping him.

I think we should encourage Kova to move on this summer.

Obviously we need to strengthen if he goes.

He has been one of our best  midfielders  in the last few years though feel we need better options going forward.

 

 

Shows his glaring limitations again by scoring another two goals. All the more reason to get rid. 

3 minutes ago, Dean said:

Shows his glaring limitations again by scoring another two goals. All the more reason to get rid. 

Doing his best to pass his Bayern audition LOL

Been in some form since receiving the armband. 

 

9 minutes ago, Sconnie Blue said:

Been in some form since receiving the armband. 

 

It's a great night so far for hithero non-scoring midfielders. As well as Kova, Scott McTominay now has two for Scotland, who unbelievably are leading Spain 2-0 !

Was poor last night. Not having a great season overall. 

3 hours ago, just said:

Was poor last night. Not having a great season overall. 

He was our best midfielder last season but he has been horrific this season. I don't understand why he keep playing after the WC, I thought he has a knee problem. He should have just gone under the knife and get it over with. 

What happened to the forum member who kept describing Kovacic as the "Complete Midfielder"?

Kova has been playing like a complete something but it ain't midfielder!

He’s not having a good season. I maintain he’s an excellent player. He’ll be gone at the end of the season probably but will be missed too, as people will realise he’s a good player after all while the club is still broken. 

3 hours ago, Nibs said:

What happened to the forum member who kept describing Kovacic as the "Complete Midfielder"?

Kova has been playing like a complete something but it ain't midfielder!

I don’t think I used those words but I’ve defended him many times, and still think he’s an excellent player. Have at me if you will. He’s been terrible last few games. Has anyone been good though? Do we have a single complete player right now? 

Never understood the great love in with Kova. I see a player who whilst capable of beating two players then goes on to pick the wrong pass or runs the ball into blind alleys and giving a foul away. Zero end product and very poor shooting ability. If we got a reasonable bid this summer, I’d definitely accept.

10 hours ago, Nibs said:

What happened to the forum member who kept describing Kovacic as the "Complete Midfielder"?

Kova has been playing like a complete something but it ain't midfielder!

Hmm, either he is carrying an injury or he is already checked out. He struggles to even dribble right now which is a big red flag because that is his biggest strength. 

1 hour ago, Bob stark said:

Hmm, either he is carrying an injury or he is already checked out. He struggles to even dribble right now which is a big red flag because that is his biggest strength. 

Yeah that's extremely worrying, Kovacic normally glides past players and right now he is well off the pace. He looks sluggish and unable to beat players at all.

Genuinely didn't realise he was even playing the other night. Kante and Enzo were trying to force things and were everywhere, can't remember a single action by Kovacic.

ChelseaFansSolutions on full display again, Roman-era conditioning. Do people not see it?
 

Whenever a player isn’t performing, the path of least resistance is always to sell them.

I like Kovacic so I want him to stay and play well. I have a bias admittedly. I’m able to cast that aside and say - no he isn’t playing well. There are many potential reasons. But if one of them is that he may genuinely be impaired, why is this the time to vent one’s anti bias? 

It’s not just about Kovacic, but other players too. Few bad games - “sell.” There isn’t a single player that fans will get behind if they have a bad spell. It was the same with Kante couple of seasons back. It’s never - “ok he might be carrying some sort of injury, maybe needs help with physio… or surgery.”
 

Is anyone else troubled by this? im not saying I’m above it. But what does it say about us fans? I mean, fans often complain about what mercenaries footballers are these days. But what can we expect when there isn’t a single player fans want to get behind when the going gets a bit tougher?
 

I fear we’re going to get punished for this, left with nothing. There must be an Aesop fable or fairytale along these lines. 

Just as an addendum, if it counts for anything at all, Kova is a really good lad, an exemplary pro as he’s shown on numerous occasions and as has been noted by all those who’ve coached or played with him. His words on Potter sacking showed his class.
 

That being the case, why not give him SOME benefit of the doubt when not performing?
 

 

4 hours ago, SydneyChelsea said:

Yeah that's extremely worrying, Kovacic normally glides past players and right now he is well off the pace. He looks sluggish and unable to beat players at all.

I'll be very surprised if he is not carrying some kind of injury. 

 

Sell