1 hour ago, Wearyourblue said:

I'd be happy with both Casadei and Santos starting...

Jackson
Mudryck, Casadei, Nkunku
Enzo, Santos
Chillwell, Colwill, Silva, James...

I'm good with that... use the $60 -80 on a GK

You want to spend £60m-£80m on a keeper?

Andrey has been among our best players during this pre-season for sure., he has good technique and is good on the ball.

 

56 minutes ago, Gol15 said:

Andrey has been among our best players during this pre-season for sure., he has good technique and is good on the ball.

 

Completely agree, keeps it simple and reads the game well. As much as i think Caicedo would be a fantastic signing Santos makes me think spending more than £50m on that position is a waste of money. 

You know what, I've changed my mind. 

Keep him, throw him into the deep end and reevaluate in January. 

He's been good in pre-season but the Premier League is such a different ballgame. Yesterday was the first pre-season game I actually watched and it was very clear the game was played at walking pace compared to how it will be when it counts v Liverpool in two weeks.

Kenedy and Batshuayi was always terrific in pre-season for example but also always fell completely through when it got serious.

Jackson's been good too obv but i'm far from sure he'll be a great hit when the season starts.

42 minutes ago, OriginalS said:

He's been good in pre-season but the Premier League is such a different ballgame. Yesterday was the first pre-season game I actually watched and it was very clear the game was played at walking pace compared to how it will be when it counts v Liverpool in two weeks.

Kenedy and Batshuayi was always terrific in pre-season for example but also always fell completely through when it got serious.

Jackson's been good too obv but i'm far from sure he'll be a great hit when the season starts.

I know it's good to not get carried away in pre season but you really can't compare it to last year.

Last year tuchel was praising those players when we were scraping wins against MLS sides before getting thumped by arsenal and then not playing any of those players against Udinese.

This year we've had 3 competitive games against PL competition and have Dortmund to come. The level of football was much higher than walking pace yesterday, yes it's going to go up a notch against Liverpool but I think it's closer to PL level than we've had in any pre season I can remember. 

For me, Santos and Jackson are clearly PL ready based on their performances. I'm convinced Jackson will be a star for us.

55 minutes ago, OriginalS said:

He's been good in pre-season but the Premier League is such a different ballgame. Yesterday was the first pre-season game I actually watched and it was very clear the game was played at walking pace compared to how it will be when it counts v Liverpool in two weeks.

Kenedy and Batshuayi was always terrific in pre-season for example but also always fell completely through when it got serious.

Jackson's been good too obv but i'm far from sure he'll be a great hit when the season starts.

I'm fairly confident on Jackson, but I agree, I think people are getting way too carried away with Casadei and Santos. To a point where people think we can just go into this season without a new midfielder. 

Just now, Victor90 said:

I'm fairly confident on Jackson, but I agree, I think people are getting way too carried away with Casadei and Santos. To a point where people think we can just go into this season without a new midfielder. 

From my point of view, I'd rather see this season through with Santos and that French CM we just bought and go back in for Caicedo next summer for 100m if we need to and he maintains his level or January if really needs be. 

We may turn out not to need to sink 100m on a CM if Santos comes good, in which case we can focus that spend elsewhere. 

1 minute ago, bisright1 said:

From my point of view, I'd rather see this season through with Santos and that French CM we just bought and go back in for Caicedo next summer for 100m if we need to and he maintains his level or January if really needs be. 

We may turn out not to need to sink 100m on a CM if Santos comes good, in which case we can focus that spend elsewhere. 

Ugochukwu looks bang average imo, big worries if he's in our squad next season. 

4 minutes ago, bisright1 said:

From my point of view, I'd rather see this season through with Santos and that French CM we just bought and go back in for Caicedo next summer for 100m if we need to and he maintains his level or January if really needs be. 

We may turn out not to need to sink 100m on a CM if Santos comes good, in which case we can focus that spend elsewhere. 

I think Caicedo would be a good addition to the team but I also don't want us to keep submitting to Brightons demands. If Pochettino trusts Santos, then I'll be willing to have more faith. But Pochettino has made it obvious he wants some experience there also. I think it would be wise to keep Santos in the rotation option, and not rely on him. Also like RIP Mourinho said, really unsure on Ugochukwu...   

13 minutes ago, RIP Mourinho said:

Ugochukwu looks bang average imo, big worries if he's in our squad next season. 

If Denis Zakaria was considered surplus to requirements I can't see how this guy is going to be any better ... 

 

45 minutes ago, bisright1 said:

I know it's good to not get carried away in pre season but you really can't compare it to last year.

Last year tuchel was praising those players when we were scraping wins against MLS sides before getting thumped by arsenal and then not playing any of those players against Udinese.

This year we've had 3 competitive games against PL competition and have Dortmund to come. The level of football was much higher than walking pace yesterday, yes it's going to go up a notch against Liverpool but I think it's closer to PL level than we've had in any pre season I can remember. 

For me, Santos and Jackson are clearly PL ready based on their performances. I'm convinced Jackson will be a star for us.

It was a general point and not exclusively about last seasons. Here's Bats looking like a world-beater against Arsenal in pre-season for example.

I really hope they are ready as they'll clearly be important players for us this season but its a major risk.

 

1 hour ago, OriginalS said:

He's been good in pre-season but the Premier League is such a different ballgame. Yesterday was the first pre-season game I actually watched and it was very clear the game was played at walking pace compared to how it will be when it counts v Liverpool in two weeks.

Kenedy and Batshuayi was always terrific in pre-season for example but also always fell completely through when it got serious.

Jackson's been good too obv but i'm far from sure he'll be a great hit when the season starts.

Have to agree 100% with you OriginalS.

10 minutes ago, OriginalS said:

It was a general point and not exclusively about last seasons. Here's Bats looking like a world-beater against Arsenal in pre-season for example.

I really hope they are ready as they'll clearly be important players for us this season but its a major risk.

 

Yes it could go wrong, but so could signing Caicedo for 100m as we've seen from so many signings!

I would also say that Jackson looked better in all his appearances for us than Bats looks in that game. Nice finishes but poor decision making.

2 minutes ago, bisright1 said:

Yes it could go wrong, but so could signing Caicedo for 100m as we've seen from so many signings!

Always a possibility of course but Caicedo's a proper player so I very much doubt it.

We've basically already spent 100m this summer though and not upgraded the team at all. I'd rather have one player that will significantly strengthen us and give us a real shot at Top 4 instead of 3 players that may come good in the future (Lesley, Gabriel, Disasi)

I know we are trying to save money and what not but you know what's also expensive? Missing out on Top 4 and we aren't getting there with Santos, Enzo and Lesley.

24 minutes ago, OriginalS said:

Always a possibility of course but Caicedo's a proper player so I very much doubt it.

We've basically already spent 100m this summer though and not upgraded the team at all. I'd rather have one player that will significantly strengthen us and give us a real shot at Top 4 instead of 3 players that may come good in the future (Lesley, Gabriel, Disasi)

I know we are trying to save money and what not but you know what's also expensive? Missing out on Top 4 and we aren't getting there with Santos, Enzo and Lesley.

Nkunku > Mount

Jackson > Havertz 

Angelo > Pulisic 

Spent 100m but have a +150m net spend.

Other than CM, which a player will obviously come, we've upgraded pretty much every position.

9 minutes ago, RIP Mourinho said:

Nkunku > Mount

Jackson > Havertz 

Angelo > Pulisic 

Spent 100m but have a +150m net spend.

Other than CM, which a player will obviously come, we've upgraded pretty much every position.

We'll know the answer in a few months time at least.

But I wasn't really thinking of most of those you mentioned. I specifically mentioned Lesley and Disasi for example because we've bought them for a lot of money and we had good/decent academy players for free that could do the same job. That money could/should have gone towards Caicedo in my opinion but selling academy lads for peanuts and replacing them with expensive players seems to be our thing these days.

20 minutes ago, OriginalS said:

We'll know the answer in a few months time at least.

But I wasn't really thinking of most of those you mentioned. I specifically mentioned Lesley and Disasi for example because we've bought them for a lot of money and we had good/decent academy players for free that could do the same job. That money could/should have gone towards Caicedo in my opinion but selling academy lads for peanuts and replacing them with expensive players seems to be our thing these days.

I agree about Leslie, don't think he suits us at all but looks like he's more a gamble for the future. Don't expect to see him in a Chelsea shirt for minimum another season. 

Personally think Disasi is a very good player but a waste of funds when we have Chalobah already in the squad. However, if we can get £45m for Trev and spread the £35m transfer fee of Disasi over a 5 year contract i suppose it makes sense from a financial side of things. I don't think he's an immediate upgrade but looks just as good as Trev and will hopefully free up funds for more signings (Caicedo) with Trev's departure.

8 hours ago, Sexyfootball said:

If Denis Zakaria was considered surplus to requirements I can't see how this guy is going to be any better ... 

 

Oh Denis…

Fukking hell people, @Munkworth is still in mourning, don't mention his hero's name! Let the man grieve.

 

So, Andrey Santos, great hairdo, right!

3 hours ago, Munkworth said:

Oh Denis…

 

 

On 31/07/2023 at 12:05, RIP Mourinho said:

Nkunku > Mount

Jackson > Havertz 

Angelo > Pulisic 

Spent 100m but have a +150m net spend.

Other than CM, which a player will obviously come, we've upgraded pretty much every position.

At this point in time, the jury is still out in all three of those.

And certainly not upgraded between the sticks. I think that position is being neglected and massively undervalued. At top keeper will make a greater difference than any two outfield players.

Even with an improved outfield team, Kepa is like putting retreads on a formula one car.

52 minutes ago, Snedger said:

At this point in time, the jury is still out in all three of those.

And certainly not upgraded between the sticks. I think that position is being neglected and massively undervalued. At top keeper will make a greater difference than any two outfield players.

Even with an improved outfield team, Kepa is like putting retreads on a formula one car.

What keeper would you sign this summer? People keep banging on about a new keeper without actually offering any actual upgrade, we can't just magic one out of thin air. 

I’m not a scout and I don’t watch other teams play, but the Brentford keeper seems to be well thought of and there MUST be a keeper out there somewhere better than Kepa. I think people forget just how bad he is by focusing on outfield issues like strikers.

1 hour ago, RIP Mourinho said:

What keeper would you sign this summer? People keep banging on about a new keeper without actually offering any actual upgrade, we can't just magic one out of thin air

We were offered to bid Onana back in July. Just because he's gone NOW doesn't mean we never had the opportunity to upgrade for a decent price.

It's quite obvious why we aren't doing anything about the GK situation. They don't want someone on Kepa's wages to be the second choice goalkeeper so when they couldn't shift him they made a financial decision and kept him on as 1st choice.

That could backfire of course when we miss out on Top 4 again.