2 minutes ago, azpi28 said:

but they got Robertson for cheap because he is mentally challenged 

Which makes him being the best left back in the league even more impressive.

5 minutes ago, axman2526 said:

Which makes him being the best left back in the league even more impressive.

uncanny the resemblance 

all that asthma medication they give out to all of their players probably helps as well 

Edited August 4, 20223 yr by azpi28

3 minutes ago, azpi28 said:

uncanny the resemblance 

all that asthma medication they give out to all of their players probably helps as well 

Cucurella is a fine player but no getting away from the fact Todd has got royally mugged here. 

United paying more for cr@p is irrelevant.

Watching that YouTube Sindre posted I was struck by (1) upper body strength (2) speed (3) effort (4) good reading of the game (5) good quick use of the ball. Youtube videos can prove anything but I will bet Axeman that Cucu ends up being worth the money. I suspect he will be the no 1 left wing back this season and its chiller that will have to earn his place. And that is no disrespect to Chilwell a fine footballer.

£55m plus Levi Colwill for Cuadrado Cucurella is a pretty insane fee. Leveraging our future for the present, how very Barcelona of us!

Cucurella is a good player though and I think probably more in line with what both Chelsea fans and Tuchel want to see from the players. While Chilwell is the latest in a long line of classy, silky-smooth Chelsea fullbacks, Cucurella is all about graft, fight and tenacity. He is a real high-tempo player very similar to someone like Park Ji-Sung and the kind of player you want in your team in crunch time. He's also hyper-aggressive in possession which is very contrary to the slow patient "style" we seem to have developed, always looking forward to pass first-time or interchange with other players.

At his best, it would be like signing a left-sided Reece James.

The only problem is that he isn't as quick as Chilwell and definitely doesn't have the same scoring ability. He's arguably better in the air than Chilwell but doesn't have Chilwell's positional sense. He'll look to pass instead of shoot, which might seem counterproductive given our current 'attacking' situation, but perhaps it is not optimal having your fullbacks taking up shooting positions in the box instead of creating better chances for their teammates.

His energy would be somewhat wasted at LCB, especially in bigger games where we need him to hold position, but I do wonder if his future actually lies in DM.

 

Chilwell must feel pretty gutted about this

19 minutes ago, Adamrb said:

Chilwell must feel pretty gutted about this

If the competition doesn't bring out the best in him then this isn't the right club for him anyway.

Edited August 4, 20223 yr by HazardousChoice

39 minutes ago, ozboy said:

Watching that YouTube Sindre posted I was struck by (1) upper body strength (2) speed (3) effort (4) good reading of the game (5) good quick use of the ball. Youtube videos can prove anything but I will bet Axeman that Cucu ends up being worth the money. I suspect he will be the no 1 left wing back this season and its chiller that will have to earn his place. And that is no disrespect to Chilwell a fine footballer.

Like I said I think he is a fine player. However to be worth that sort of outlay he needs to be as good as Roberto Carlos or Ashley Cole for me to say he is worth that amount of money. And no amount of Lukaku cost 97.5mill and McGuire 80mill and they are mince, will make his fee any better.

I don't think Chilwell was worth the 52mill we paid for him either BTW. 

19 minutes ago, SydneyChelsea said:

.

His energy would be somewhat wasted at LCB, especially in bigger games where we need him to hold position, but I do wonder if his future actually lies in DM.

 

He does have a midfield side to him. For me wingbacks have a lot of positional freedom. Chilwell and alonso and James often end up in the centre when we are attacking and I don’t see why it shouldn’t happen in midfield. Moses who did such a great job for Conte was inclined to make those long diagonal runs. That flexibility like a back coming forward can upset a defence. 

19 minutes ago, axman2526 said:

Like I said I think he is a fine player. However to be worth that sort of outlay he needs to be as good as Roberto Carlos or Ashley Cole for me to say he is worth that amount of money. And no amount of Lukaku cost 97.5mill and McGuire 80mill and they are mince, will make his fee any better.

I don't think Chilwell was worth the 52mill we paid for him either BTW. 

Worth is very subjective right now. If you think we will get bargains when all the clubs are stacked, you might want to rethink. We will get bargains or youth players like Colwill, Gallagher, etc, but at this point he was needed and is quality. If you want to win, you have to pay for quality. City wanted him so he clearly is. They had less need for him so didn't splurge. Todd is trying to close the gap to the top 2 and not just secure top 4. So kudos to him.

35 minutes ago, axman2526 said:

Insane, truly. If he was Ashley Cole or Robert Carlos fair enough, but wow. I get Chilwell costing 50mill, English tax ads at least 25% but Cucurella at 62mill after one decent season?

Wow, Todd got mugged here I hope he called the cops on them.

Eventhough I rate Cucurella, I must say I agree that the numbers look bad from a financial pov. Add-ons included this will be a transfer record for a fullback and we let Brighton quadruple the price they paid just last summer for him, after a good but not great season.

Honestly I think the initially reported 50m valuation was fair and generous of us to let Brighton triple their initial investment for him after one season, plus a replacement will probably cost them max around half of that, so without a doubt it should have been possible to negotiate a fee in this pricerange.

If the numbers are true, it kinda looks like Boehly just pays whatever fee the other club wants, if we want their player, so i could see us pay the 80m Leicester are reported to want for Fofana next.

If this happens we could be at expenditure of around £240m with having almost no income made on the transfer market and then maybe are still not done either, it would be kinda wild if we break our own transfer record in the first transfer window under the new ownership. What do you guys think will we break it?

29 minutes ago, Blue2 said:

Eventhough I rate Cucurella, I must say I agree that the numbers look bad from a financial pov. Add-ons included this will be a transfer record for a fullback and we let Brighton quadruple the price they paid just last summer for him, after a good but not great season.

Honestly I think the initially reported 50m valuation was fair and generous of us to let Brighton triple their initial investment for him after one season, plus a replacement will probably cost them max around half of that, so without a doubt it should have been possible to negotiate a fee in this pricerange.

If the numbers are true, it kinda looks like Boehly just pays whatever fee the other club wants, if we want their player, so i could see us pay the 80m Leicester are reported to want for Fofana next.

If this happens we could be at expenditure of around £240m with having almost no income made on the transfer market and then maybe are still not done either, it would be kinda wild if we break our own transfer record in the first transfer window under the new ownership. What do you guys think will we break it?

Yes. 

Glad we got him because he's class. I also think we might play him as a LCB rather than a replacement for Chilwell.

That being said, the fee we've paid is absolutely eye watering. While I think he's going to be really good for us, Brighton have had our pants down.

1 hour ago, RomansRoubles said:

Worth is very subjective right now. If you think we will get bargains when all the clubs are stacked, you might want to rethink. We will get bargains or youth players like Colwill, Gallagher, etc, but at this point he was needed and is quality. If you want to win, you have to pay for quality. City wanted him so he clearly is. They had less need for him so didn't splurge. Todd is trying to close the gap to the top 2 and not just secure top 4. So kudos to him.

In some cases yes, in some cases no. All depends on your quality of scouting. Nobody gets it right all the time, however this signing, all be it a fine player, is not needed to make a record fee for a full back.

I dont like it but we clearly need a top CB so I understand the drive for Fofana, as the club appear to believe he will be a top CB and we have only 2 of those for a 3 man backline. He would replace an aging Dave or Trev, and as much as I like both of them, neither are world class now and Fofana would be a huge upgrade.

However we already have a very good, Wayne Bridge level, LWB in Chilwell. If an Ashley Cole or a Roberto Carlos is available then sure 60mill for that class by all means, instant upgrade.

Cucurella is not those players. He is not better offensively or defensively than Chilwell imo. He is also a Wayne Bridge level player for me.

I wonder if he was right sided and looking at competing with Reece would you be so happy to spend 62mill on him?

There is an element of farce in all this in the sense that if any of us were any good at actually making enough money to buy chelsea fc or picking and valuing talent or managing teams to win comps we;d actually be doing it. I used to sit behind the Sydney FC coach and I gave him plenty of advice and the team did well but he never acknowledged the advice. 
 

in addition management know more about the fitness and long term health of players. Still doesn’t mean they get it right but they have inside knowledge. 
 

nevertheless I’m sure we all continue to opine on what Tommy and Boehly are doing. Tuchels future career will maybe depend on how these transfers work out. 

I welcome the signing, but am somewhat puzzled.  Chilwell is/was first choice and we should look for an appropriate understudy or persist with Alonso (who has a knack with goals).  I mean, is Cucurella really that much better than Emerson?  Trouble with Chelsea is players seldom get a long enough run to show consistency like Cucurella did at BHA.

Additionally, given other LBs we have, would this not be better spent on a 21 year old CB?  Anyway, hopefully we sign him and he is superb.

9 minutes ago, PhilH930 said:

I mean, is Cucurella really that much better than Emerson?

Absolutely.  Emerson shouldn't be anywhere near our first team whilst Cucurella will be pushing to be first choice.  There's no doubting his talent, it's just the insane figure we had to pay to get him which is the issue here.

4 hours ago, SydneyChelsea said:

£55m plus Levi Colwill for Cuadrado Cucurella is a pretty insane fee. Leveraging our future for the present, how very Barcelona of us!

Cucurella is a good player though and I think probably more in line with what both Chelsea fans and Tuchel want to see from the players. While Chilwell is the latest in a long line of classy, silky-smooth Chelsea fullbacks, Cucurella is all about graft, fight and tenacity. He is a real high-tempo player very similar to someone like Park Ji-Sung and the kind of player you want in your team in crunch time. He's also hyper-aggressive in possession which is very contrary to the slow patient "style" we seem to have developed, always looking forward to pass first-time or interchange with other players.

At his best, it would be like signing a left-sided Reece James.

The only problem is that he isn't as quick as Chilwell and definitely doesn't have the same scoring ability. He's arguably better in the air than Chilwell but doesn't have Chilwell's positional sense. He'll look to pass instead of shoot, which might seem counterproductive given our current 'attacking' situation, but perhaps it is not optimal having your fullbacks taking up shooting positions in the box instead of creating better chances for their teammates.

His energy would be somewhat wasted at LCB, especially in bigger games where we need him to hold position, but I do wonder if his future actually lies in DM.

 

From some of the games I watched last season, ignoring Sindre's You Tube video, which of course only shows 'the best of'  he's border line red card on occasion with his tackling; while he appears to have loads of energy and enthusiasm I feel he will have to learn to control his aggression somewhat.

We’ve signed a good player who will fit the system. Flip side is the fee, have we not stored problems for ourselves for future bargaining? 62 million  is an astronomical fee for a full back with one decent season under his belt. Brighton have shown all you have to do is stand firm,add a few million and we will pay. The need for a competent DoF is highlighted in this deal. The plus side is a loan for Colwill under a very progressive coach, I hope we do have a recall though in case Potter moves onto bigger and better things. Overall a good deal that fills a hole in the squad though what a fee!

8 hours ago, azpi28 said:

i see people put both Arsenal and Man Utd above us. 

Based on what? 

If Man U doesn't get De Jong they will finish 10th

I've put us behind Arsenal, it's an elaborate counter jinx 

Seriously though, I expect one of Arsenal, Spurs and Newcastle to surprise us. Newcastle may not be ready for a top 4 push yet, and I'll be damned if I put Spurs above us. 

So not based on incredible insight and know-how 

5 hours ago, RomansRoubles said:

Worth is very subjective right now. If you think we will get bargains when all the clubs are stacked, you might want to rethink. We will get bargains or youth players like Colwill, Gallagher, etc, but at this point he was needed and is quality. If you want to win, you have to pay for quality. City wanted him so he clearly is. They had less need for him so didn't splurge. Todd is trying to close the gap to the top 2 and not just secure top 4. So kudos to him.

There are enough players that want to play for them that they never pay over the odds. Not in transfer fees anyway

6 hours ago, SydneyChelsea said:

£55m plus Levi Colwill for Cuadrado Cucurella is a pretty insane fee. Leveraging our future for the present, how very Barcelona of us!

Cucurella is a good player though and I think probably more in line with what both Chelsea fans and Tuchel want to see from the players. While Chilwell is the latest in a long line of classy, silky-smooth Chelsea fullbacks, Cucurella is all about graft, fight and tenacity. He is a real high-tempo player very similar to someone like Park Ji-Sung and the kind of player you want in your team in crunch time. He's also hyper-aggressive in possession which is very contrary to the slow patient "style" we seem to have developed, always looking forward to pass first-time or interchange with other players.

At his best, it would be like signing a left-sided Reece James.

The only problem is that he isn't as quick as Chilwell and definitely doesn't have the same scoring ability. He's arguably better in the air than Chilwell but doesn't have Chilwell's positional sense. He'll look to pass instead of shoot, which might seem counterproductive given our current 'attacking' situation, but perhaps it is not optimal having your fullbacks taking up shooting positions in the box instead of creating better chances for their teammates.

His energy would be somewhat wasted at LCB, especially in bigger games where we need him to hold position, but I do wonder if his future actually lies in DM.

 

Essentially he is a good signing but it is very expensive.

That is pretty much the story of our window so far. Koulibaly is good but 35 m for 31 year old is very expensive. Sterling for 50 m is a very good buy but there is a concern with the mileage on his leg. 

 

1 hour ago, charierre said:

We’ve signed a good player who will fit the system. Flip side is the fee, have we not stored problems for ourselves for future bargaining? 62 million  is an astronomical fee for a full back with one decent season under his belt. Brighton have shown all you have to do is stand firm,add a few million and we will pay. The need for a competent DoF is highlighted in this deal. The plus side is a loan for Colwill under a very progressive coach, I hope we do have a recall though in case Potter moves onto bigger and better things. Overall a good deal that fills a hole in the squad though what a fee!

Agree so far our dealing probably show that we need a dof. 

Let's not forget that Chilwell is a injury prone player. Or maybe some of you wanted to see Alonso or Emerson as LWB for another half season? 

 

I reckon the team is stronger than last season.