Romelu Lukaku back to Chelsea - and gone again!

[Argo]

Also what's not being mentioned is Rom's record when it matters most, he's pretty much the anti Drogba.

For all of Havertz, Werner and Ziyech's first season struggles all of them delievered clutch contributions on our run to the UCL trophy, moments Lukaku has traditionally disappeared.

[LongtimerLurker]

9 minutes ago, Argo said:

I think people are sleeping on just how good Kai can be/already is in that position, not just in himself but how compatible him playing there is for a successful modern system.

I was really hoping unless a bonafide world class 9 was avaliable (and even then I was unconvinced that would improve us in general play) we would have persisted with this hugely promising system, the fact we seem to be prepared to scrap it for Rom of all players is hugely depressing.

And an absolute hard pass on Aubameyang, he is finished as a world class striker.

^Glad there's still some people that have faith with Kai playing through the middle.

Yes he's not proven there in the prem for a full season. Yes he's still young and adapting to the prem.

But, he looked the most comfortable there since Tuchel took over. In terms of balance, him and Timo work perfectly as a 2 or 3 up top they offer different things that complement each other. 

The guy is a generational talent and if he learns to smash them in like in the friendly he would score a lot more 1v1s. Although granted he skied a 1v1 against the gunners last season so I should say if he learns more precision.

 

Let's look at our UCL winning 11 I think that's good enough to beat most teams ofc winning the league is a different conversation but, if Tuchel is experimenting with CHO on the left and Pulisic in the right. We essentially could get lopsided 343 formations with a full back on one side as a wing back and and fwd winger on the other side. 

A team with Mount, CHO/Pulisic, Werner and Havertz all in attack sounds quite exciting to me. I think our best attack was a front 3 of Mount, Havertz and Pulisic since TT took over.

Now if Pulisic can play at wing back that adds space for Timo. I don't see us losing to much defensive security since both players (Timo and Pulisic will know they have to work hard off the ball) add in Kai and Mason's work rate and I think this could work.

Also CHO and Pulisic would be interchangeable assuming this is the next evolution of the 343 (I'm aware this was the first iteratiom before he started sticking with James, Chillwell, Alonso and Azip)

[Gol15]

I think that everyone knows that Kai Havertz is a generational talent. Personally I see him as one of our best signings in the Roman Empire era but I'm biased.

Kai is a good false 9 but IMO he's still the best as a number 10 or 8 behind the main striker because he has great vision as well, I think it would be shocking if we as the CL winners don't end up strengthening our squad. The goals of Giroud last season were absolutely vital, we don't have enough depth for this season and I think that the club is working on a new signing that would make us a title challenging team.

Man City is looking to get new signings, Man United keep spending... We have no reason to stop now, 2 key signings would make us extremely strong. 

[forbzy]

I fully expect to see a lot more from Kai this season and that is reason for optimism. However I don't think he should be our main striker, and at the very least we need cover if he got injured. If we are unable to bring a new striker in then we should keep Tammy and Broja as our striker options.

[ducavis]

1 hour ago, LongtimerLurker said:

^Glad there's still some people that have faith with Kai playing through the middle.

Yes he's not proven there in the prem for a full season. Yes he's still young and adapting to the prem.

But, he looked the most comfortable there since Tuchel took over. In terms of balance, him and Timo work perfectly as a 2 or 3 up top they offer different things that complement each other. 

The guy is a generational talent and if he learns to smash them in like in the friendly he would score a lot more 1v1s. Although granted he skied a 1v1 against the gunners last season so I should say if he learns more precision.

 

Let's look at our UCL winning 11 I think that's good enough to beat most teams ofc winning the league is a different conversation but, if Tuchel is experimenting with CHO on the left and Pulisic in the right. We essentially could get lopsided 343 formations with a full back on one side as a wing back and and fwd winger on the other side. 

A team with Mount, CHO/Pulisic, Werner and Havertz all in attack sounds quite exciting to me. I think our best attack was a front 3 of Mount, Havertz and Pulisic since TT took over.

Now if Pulisic can play at wing back that adds space for Timo. I don't see us losing to much defensive security since both players (Timo and Pulisic will know they have to work hard off the ball) add in Kai and Mason's work rate and I think this could work.

Also CHO and Pulisic would be interchangeable assuming this is the next evolution of the 343 (I'm aware this was the first iteratiom before he started sticking with James, Chillwell, Alonso and Azip)

Hope we haven’t fallen into the trap of thinking our CL squad is good enough to compete in the league, because it isn’t. For me the stars aligned just like the first time, backs against the wall, and we were destined to win it again. Not going to read much into it.

Not a fan of the 3-4-3, and I hope if it’s going to get found out, it’s found out early in the season so the manager and the players have enough time to rejig. 
 

 

[Frankie8Lampard]

I'd rather we sign Ings as a stop gap to get Haaland next summer than waste 100mil on Lukaku. 

[coco]

1 hour ago, ducavis said:

Hope we haven’t fallen into the trap of thinking our CL squad is good enough to compete in the league, because it isn’t. For me the stars aligned just like the first time, backs against the wall, and we were destined to win it again. Not going to read much into it.

Not a fan of the 3-4-3, and I hope if it’s going to get found out, it’s found out early in the season so the manager and the players have enough time to rejig. 
 

 

What the hell is all this 'stars aligned' nonsense, Tuchels Chelsea beat city THREE times from THREE last season, and THREE of the Spanish top 4. This team can win the league if Werner just starts firing home his chances, which i think he will do this season now he's settled.

[ForeverCarefree]

3 hours ago, enigma said:

The club knew Norway were not in the Euros and Dortmund needed time to find a Haaland replacement. I refuse to believe we don't have enough money to put down for Haaland. 

The Haaland deal would be enormous. You're looking at a transfer fee of at least £130m which is almost double our record fee paid for any other players. Plus you'd probably be looking at paying something ridiculous like £30m upwards in agent fees. Then you're probably going to be making Haaland your best paid player. 

A deal like that would take weeks and weeks to negotiate and agree and it'd likely be the only piece of transfer business we'd be able to do this summer. 

3 hours ago, axman2526 said:

Lewa is a level above Lukaku though, the former is truly an elite striker.

I wasn't comparing Lukaku's ability to Lewandowski's more pointing at that a players quality doesn't just magically decline because they've turned 30.

Lukaku at 28 is at his peak and will be for at least the next 4 years if he stayed fit. 

He's the ideal age for wanting a "finished product". 

Whether he is the "right" player for us to sign is a whole different argument. 

[big blue]

I wanted Lukaku in 2017, and i still take now 100%. 

Theres a real lack of quality strikers at the moment, Lukaku is one of them. He has his flaws, but he scores goals everywhere, and is a menace when used correctly. Big game record wasnt great at United, but he scored some big goals for everton against the top 6, bagged a hat trick and a goal at Anfield at west brom, and at inter he had scored in 5 consecutive milan derbies, which was a record. 

I think there is just a stigma that surrounds him, without wanting to put down Abraham, there are fans that think Abraham has the potential to fire us to a title, but at the same time have never rated Lukaku, when for me, Lukaku was the better more polished players at the same age. 

Transfer fee seems very excessive, but its clear the club want as close to guaranteed goals as possible, they dont want roll the dice on potential.

Haaland is still very much the number 1 for me, and also wouldnt be disappointed if Havertz leads the line. However if we get Lukaku in, we will have a team closer to challenging for the title in my opinion.

[forbzy]

I think if Lukaku was available for about 60m there would be less resistance on here to his signing. But even though I think he is a decent striker 100m+ does seem crazy, especially when we decided to let him go for a fraction of the price.

[axman2526]

56 minutes ago, ForeverCarefree said:

I wasn't comparing Lukaku's ability to Lewandowski's more pointing at that a players quality doesn't just magically decline because they've turned 30.

Lukaku at 28 is at his peak and will be for at least the next 4 years if he stayed fit. 

He's the ideal age for wanting a "finished product". 

Whether he is the "right" player for us to sign is a whole different argument. 

Fair enough. It depends on the player. His style of play, his pace, his injury record.

Players who use their brain and technique go on for far longer, Zola, Bergkamp, Maldini etc.

Players who rely on physically attributes burn out far faster, like Owen. I just have a feeling Lukaku will burn out quicker than many expect.

[axman2526]

7 minutes ago, forbzy said:

I think if Lukaku was available for about 60m there would be less resistance on here to his signing. But even though I think he is a decent striker 100m+ does seem crazy, especially when we decided to let him go for a fraction of the price.

That is the Chelsea tax for ya.

[ozboy]

The biggest obstacle seems to be lukaku doesn’t want it. It will never be a success without 110% buyin from the players. 

[True Blue23]

1 hour ago, coco said:

What the hell is all this 'stars aligned' nonsense, Tuchels Chelsea beat city THREE times from THREE last season, and THREE of the Spanish top 4. This team can win the league if Werner just starts firing home his chances, which i think he will do this season now he's settled.

I definetely agree that our CL win wasn't the "stars aligning" but in fact very deserved, but I think winning the CL is very different from winning the league. We won the CL because TT made us a team that's extremely hard to beat. That was enough in a competition were we had two legs apart from the final, and we might go far again next season in the CL, but we won't win the league playing like last season. We don't score enough goals which is going to lead to too many draws with some defeats creeping in here and there. And I wouldn't gamble on Werner starting to fire home his chances. He came to England with a reputation of needing many chances to score (just ask the german fans) and after his confidence took a hit last season his chance conversion went from "nothing special" for a supposed top striker to abysmal. And judging from his first Pre Season outing, he hasn't put his woes behind him yet.

[Argo]

7 minutes ago, True Blue23 said:

I definetely agree that our CL win wasn't the "stars aligning" but in fact very deserved, but I think winning the CL is very different from winning the league. We won the CL because TT made us a team that's extremely hard to beat. That was enough in a competition were we had two legs apart from the final, and we might go far again next season in the CL, but we won't win the league playing like last season. We don't score enough goals which is going to lead to too many draws with some defeats creeping in here and there. And I wouldn't gamble on Werner starting to fire home his chances. He came to England with a reputation of needing many chances to score (just ask the german fans) and after his confidence took a hit last season his chance conversion went from "nothing special" for a supposed top striker to abysmal. And judging from his first Pre Season outing, he hasn't put his woes behind him yet.

I think winning the league will be tough purely because Pep is a cheat code in league football but i am absolutely convinced Havertz pushes a 20 goal season if he plays up top and while i'm not under any illusions Werner will suddenly become a cool as ice finisher the sheer volume of chances he gets will surely see an improved tally.

[Ballack & Blu]

2 hours ago, coco said:

What the hell is all this 'stars aligned' nonsense, Tuchels Chelsea beat city THREE times from THREE last season, and THREE of the Spanish top 4. This team can win the league if Werner just starts firing home his chances, which i think he will do this season now he's settled.

100% agree Coco baby, if Tuchel handoff been in charge all season i think we would of won the PL, our record against our contenders was unbelievable, a slight tweak, and a full season, and i cant see us falling off a cliff, if we sign Haaland the pressure to smash it from the get go will be Tremendous..

[Gol15]

2 hours ago, True Blue23 said:

I definetely agree that our CL win wasn't the "stars aligning" but in fact very deserved, but I think winning the CL is very different from winning the league. We won the CL because TT made us a team that's extremely hard to beat. That was enough in a competition were we had two legs apart from the final, and we might go far again next season in the CL, but we won't win the league playing like last season. We don't score enough goals which is going to lead to too many draws with some defeats creeping in here and there. And I wouldn't gamble on Werner starting to fire home his chances. He came to England with a reputation of needing many chances to score (just ask the german fans) and after his confidence took a hit last season his chance conversion went from "nothing special" for a supposed top striker to abysmal. And judging from his first Pre Season outing, he hasn't put his woes behind him yet.

Obviously our second CL win was a bit different from 2012, we were in control most of the time with the new tactic and manager. But this tactic might get figured out just like @ducavis says and then it's all about adjusting but if things go south our plan B shouldn't be to play someone that Tuchel apparently doesn't even want to count on like e.g. Tammy.

Werner could improve a little bit at least and it's almost a given that Mount and Havertz will only get better and better but I don't think that we have the depth in order to challenge the Manchester teams and Liverpool. It's a long season and even if we won most of the bigger games against Man City we have also failed to win some smaller games as well, those smaller games where we drop points make the most difference from challenging for the title and just being a decent top 4 team, after all we are banking on the fact that many players have the potential and just need the time to further develop and to get the experience needed - that alone can cost us a title challenge this upcoming season.

Also Tuchel last season went all in, he isn't going to change that mentality so we will be competing for the PL, CL, FA Cup... Sure we can now play Barkley, Sarr and Michy in the FA Cup and simply rest the key players but it would be really strange if we don't buy any quality player after winning the CL, are we now Liverpool that doesn't have the power to buy? Last time when we won the CL we spent 100m on Hazard, Oscar and so on and that was when the market wasn't so exaggerated...

We are expecting the 36 year old T.Silva and soon enough 32 year old captain Dave to play most PL games + CL games aren't we? Then Jorghino as the only real sitting DM also needs to play 40+ games just like Mount and Werner. In some of the positions we have multiple decent choices like Pulisic for example but in comparison Man United has great depth now and Liverpool isn't going to under-perform with the new defender they signed + when Van Dijk gets back and in addition to those 2 rivals we can expect that Man City will get their Aguero replacement in the form of Kane and maybe even Grealish so all of our rivals are basically trying to improve or have already done it.

There is no way that the board is going to just let Tuchel go into the season without any new big signing, our potential is far too good to gamble it on Werner's ability to finish chances.

[ozboy]

Kounde, assuming he comes, is an alternative to Silva. We do need a replacement for Gilmour, none of the loanees really can play Jorginho's role. Its madness to assume Kante will last a whole season, he might but its an exceedingly obvious risk as is Jorginho being tired and or injured from over work. Jorginho "only" started 28 premier league games last season, but Tuchel will likely pick him as often as he can. So some backup is needed there. Maybe James/Kounde could do that job but I see the skill set as different. People talk about Jorginho's issues off the ball but its on the ball and the partnership with kante/kova thats where he's at his best.

And then there is the alternative up front.

Lukaku is plenty good enough. England is tougher than Italy, but Italy won Europe of  course, but Lukaku also plays well for Belgium and is likely to be a better player now than he was for Man U particularly if he is motivated. But I am not convinced he actually wants to do it. Haaland, Kane,  Lewi all very unlikely this season. Methinks a plan B is required.

[Frankie8Lampard]

 

[evissy]

I hope we fail in this pursuit. 

[coombsie]

6 hours ago, Ballack & Blu said:

100% agree Coco baby, if Tuchel handoff been in charge all season i think we would of won the PL, our record against our contenders was unbelievable, a slight tweak, and a full season, and i cant see us falling off a cliff, if we sign Haaland the pressure to smash it from the get go will be Tremendous..

I also agree 100%, Havertz is starting to look like the player we all thought we were getting and Timo just needs the confidence boost of a decent start (anyone remember Drogba's first year at Chelsea??) I WOULD take Lukaku back but only if he really wants to come, as everything I have read says he is keen to stay at Inter. Haaland simply will not happen, Roman & Marina will not be dictated to by Dortmund, all this you must lodge a bid by xxx date is bollocks and I am still not convinced he is 150 million Euro striker yet. If we do not buy a striker, Tammy will stay, He will get into double figures and is still a reasonable back up.

[Guest Sindre]

100 million euro + Alonso bid rejected.

It seems we are already starting to get a bit desperate. Also don't quite understand why we are prepared to spend that much money on someone with very little resale value but are buckling at Haalands price. Yes, it's a lot more but we'd almost certainly get our money back for him in the future and with Lukaku we won't.

[True Blue23]

6 hours ago, Ballack & Blu said:

100% agree Coco baby, if Tuchel handoff been in charge all season i think we would of won the PL, our record against our contenders was unbelievable, a slight tweak, and a full season, and i cant see us falling off a cliff, if we sign Haaland the pressure to smash it from the get go will be Tremendous..

We had an average of two points per game in the PL under TT. Over a whole season that would equate to 76 points. Even with Mount and Havertz improving, which I think they will, getting to 90+ points, which will probably be required against this City team, without making improvements in attack, seems a bit far fetched.

[coombsie]

6 minutes ago, True Blue23 said:

We had an average of two points per game in the PL under TT. Over a whole season that would equate to 76 points. Even with Mount and Havertz improving, which I think they will, getting to 90+ points, which will probably be required against this City team, without making improvements in attack, seems a bit far fetched.

TB, I completely understand why you are ignoring Timo, but honestly believe that he will come good in a "two" with Havertz and we will all be thanking our lucky stars that we did not waste £100million 😉

[Ballack & Blu]

2 hours ago, Frankie8Lampard said:

 

Wtf, we apparently match what they want and Alonso, but reject the offer, prize f**king melts, makes IM look ridiculous, we won’t get Lukaku because they’ll keep morphing the Goal posts…..move on Chelsea, or we will get mugged!!!