So depends on what Tuchel does, Silva hasn't got 2 years left in him, maybe one. However, I think Tuchel wants Christensen for his replacement as he is a technically good footballer on the ball. 

So really it depends on who Tuchel sees as those two outside CB's, whether he sticks with Rudiger/Azpi or whether he rotates Zouma in or whether Guehi/Sarr/Tomori can come in and take a spot.

OR does he sign a new CB.

I'd think he keeps his defence as is... Striker may be our key position and he will target that. 

Personally i reckon we will see Guehi/Sarr loaned in Prem if possible, Tomori back and maybe Zouma leave dependent on what happens. 

In an ideal world I see Tuchel going for Marquinhos (or somebody close to that profile). With Silva (and Azpi) it's just not really feasable playing 433. If Silva would leave (and maybe Azpi too) after winning the CL for example I wouldn't be sure if Tuchel will just put Christensen into Thiagos spot and keep playing 3 CBs or rather go for more flexibility. A guy liek Marquinhos could play the Thiago role without any problem but could eventually just as well play a line before as a CDM (which would give us way more options). That'd would rather mean getting a backup for James (maybe Azpi could do it one more year).

 

But that's incredible hard to comment on from the outside because we have no idea what and how they train - I guess not a lot because there just isn't enough time.

Edited May 12, 20215 yr by weetee

I’m gutted that he’s going to sign for Milan, I think he could have been a big player for us.

AC Milan are apparently forking out 106% of their turnover on their current wage bill ... absolute madness. I highly doubt they have the money to sign Tomori.

Our options at centre back already look very decent even without any new "world class" signings : Silva, Christensen, Rudiger, Zouma, Tomori, Guehi, Sarr, Ampadu ... and that's without considering Azpilicueta !

1 minute ago, Sexyfootball said:

AC Milan are apparently forking out 106% of their turnover on their current wage bill ... absolute madness. I highly doubt they have the money to sign Tomori.

Our options at centre back already look very decent even without any new "world class" signings : Silva, Christensen, Rudiger, Zouma, Tomori, Guehi, Sarr, Ampadu ... and that's without considering Azpilicueta !

I know nothing of the last three...would you say anyone of them would be able to play as a CDM? Or say, have an exceptional skill at passing/opening play?

Ampadu would be able to play CDM too, he's good on the ball and will definitely have gained a lot of experience at Sheffield. Heard he was doing well for them earlier in the season, not heard much since then...

2 hours ago, Sexyfootball said:

AC Milan are apparently forking out 106% of their turnover on their current wage bill ... absolute madness. I highly doubt they have the money to sign Tomori.

Our options at centre back already look very decent even without any new "world class" signings : Silva, Christensen, Rudiger, Zouma, Tomori, Guehi, Sarr, Ampadu ... and that's without considering Azpilicueta !

Decent is not enough though. If we want to play a 4 backline we do need a proper CB for that system and our current players haven't been good enough without T.Silva.

I'm still not convinced Milan can afford him. 

Financially they're a mess at the moment. They keep speaking publicly about wanting to keep Tomori and I think it's their way of trying to set things in motion of trying to put pressure on Chelsea to agree a new deal with them. 

Chelsea will want to stand firm on the £25m deal though, if Milan won't pay it I think someone else will. 

Personally feel Tomori did very well for us when he featured under the previous manager, with plenty of qualities that if coached  and developed well would certainly put him in the mold of a very solid and reliable first team defender for most top 10 teams in the league. 

I wonder what scale of a fall out or disagreement he had with the previous manager that saw him go out of favour. 

If I were Milan, he's the type of player to go into debt for as £25m is not a lot of money for the defender they're going to get out of him. He's still ridiculously low mileage for that position and the effect he's had in the team is really good. 

I think he's gone, except there's another reason apart from football to come back to England. Playing for a Milan giant (though not what they once were) and helping in their rebuild would be very appealing to most. Plus it's a sure thing at the moment, as opposed to coming back to Chelsea unsure of where he stands. 

AC Milan qualify for the Champions League... So let's wait and see what happens. 

With Milan qualifying for the CL i think there is no doubt that they will sign him. Very successful loan, kinda sucks that we include a buy in clause but i think its the best for both parties that he goes to Milan next season since Rudiger got the LCB on lock and Tomori wants to be a starter.

Edited May 23, 20215 yr by DidierDrogbalala

About to be sold to AC Milan.

That's a terrific deal for Milan you would have to say. Shame it didn't work out here, hope to get the story of what really happened between him and Lampard one day but should be a good career move for Tomori.

8 minutes ago, Sindre said:

About to be sold to AC Milan.

That's a terrific deal for Milan you would have to say. Shame it didn't work out here, hope to get the story of what really happened between him and Lampard one day but should be a good career move for Tomori.

He took his chance there and did really well. Good on him, and good to see a youth product move to a really good club.

I feel like he's going to be a player we're going to re-sign for £80m one day

I hope we won't regret this because we really need a good quality CB for the future.

We're making a big mistake. He'd be perfect for us next season if Silva doesn't continue.

Edited May 25, 20215 yr by Luca Vialli

Balls not really in our court now. We’d have to convince him he’d be playing most weeks for him to reject. 

Good luck to Fikayo. I imagine we'll have a buy back clause somewhere. Go and continue to get the experience at AC Milan and then come back fully formed. 

They'll be playing CL football next season which will only help him get better. 

I think Thiago will do another year and I am pretty comfortable with our options assuming no one departs. 

Well at least we can put the 25 m to good use. I liked Tomori and would have given him more first team chances when he was here. But that boat has sailed

What an utterly stupid deal with AC Milan, 25m is far too risky. That’s a really good price for a player like Tomori.

It’s official now. He’s gone.

I really don't get what Lampard was doing letting him go. It's a shame cause he did such a good job with the rest of the academy lads yet he completely froze Tomori out this season. Considering how awful our defence was he could've at least got a few games. 24m for a defender playing week in week out for the 2nd best team in Italy is a joke, especially given how young he is. It's on the board as as well for giving AC Milan such a cheap buy option. 

 

He got player of the season over Mason Mount at Derby, that should show how much potential he has, I wouldn't be surprised if this turned out to be another KDB/Salah level error.

Nice to get our first bit of transfer business sorted. £25m seems small but for an academy player that has only spent a year and a half in the first team is actually very good. There's nothing to say we can't work out a buy back deal. With Cesar in a back 3 Tomori was our 6th CB so he had to go unfortunately. Wish him the best and hopefully we'll see him in blue again one day.

I don't think £25m, plus whatever Milan paid as a loan fee, is a bad bit of business. 

Clubs haven't got the money post Covid to be throwing around the £30m plus fees that were the norm before the pandemic. We've secured income for a player that isn't as good as what we already have and it'll help with whatever planned investment we have this summer for key areas of the team. 

Hang on it's not official yet. Word is that Milan are sturggling to pay it all in one go and want to negotiate a way to pay in instalments as they still want Tomori. If we want to keep him we can insist on the contract terms and they would be forced to back out of the deal.

Don't know if Tuchel has had any time to look at him and make a decision, or if he even has any say though. Knowing Marina she is probably trying to get more money but spread over a longer time if we are to sell.

23 minutes ago, sonic90 said:

Hang on it's not official yet. Word is that Milan are sturggling to pay it all in one go and want to negotiate a way to pay in instalments as they still want Tomori. If we want to keep him we can insist on the contract terms and they would be forced to back out of the deal.

Don't know if Tuchel has had any time to look at him and make a decision, or if he even has any say though. Knowing Marina she is probably trying to get more money but spread over a longer time if we are to sell.

That's my take as well ... wouldn't surprise me if the club view Guehi as the long term prospect ahead of Tomori. I think we will do business as long as Milan can actually pay what we want ...