Bob Singleton

Two cracking games today. Two unexpected results.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2024/03/08/chelsea-drop-oman-air-sponsorship-deal-spending-rules/ Chelsea mysteriously drop Oman Air deal as club fight to meet spending rules Exclusive: Airline deal was thought to be worth £2 million-a-year deal but sources tell Telegraph Sport the partnership has been terminated Matt Law, Football News Correspondent 8 March 2024 • 5:20pm Chelsea have mysteriously terminated a sponsorship deal with Oman Air, as the club works to avoid breaching profit and sustainability rules. The deal for Oman Air to become Chelsea’s ‘airline partner’, thought to be worth £2 million-a-year, was proudly announced by the club at the start of July. But Oman Air no longer features on the ‘club partners’ section of the official website, where Chelsea’s other sponsors are listed and sources have told Telegraph Sport the deal has been terminated. That means Chelsea currently do not have first-team front-of-shirt, sleeve or airline sponsors confirmed for next season. Chelsea and Oman Air were both approached for comment and mystery surrounds why the sponsorship has been cut short just eight months into what was described as being ‘a multi-year deal’. Head coach Mauricio Pochettino posed with Oman Air officials for the announcement, which was confirmed by Chelsea chief executive Chris Jurasek and Oman Air chief executive AbdulAziz Al Raisi. Sources have suggested the problem over the deal arose on the Oman Air side, which forced Chelsea to agree to a termination, but neither party has commented or disclosed any details. While £2 million-a-year is a relatively small figure in Premier League terms, Chelsea need sponsorship deals to help them comply with profit and sustainability rules. The club announced a £90.1 million pre-tax loss in the 12-month period up to June 30, 2023. The club insist they can operate within the Premier League’s PSR and Uefa’s Financial Fair Play, despite doubts among rivals, who believe they need to raise at least £100 million in player sales by June 30. Other than losing the Oman Air sponsorship deal, Chelsea are searching for new sponsors for next season’s first-team shirts after starting this campaign without any. Infinite Athlete, who took the front-of-shirt sponsorship until the end of the campaign last October, will become the sleeve sponsors for the training kits next season. BingX, who were announced as first-team sleeve sponsors in January, will be the club’s training kit sponsor from next season. Other than losing the Oman Air sponsorship deal, Chelsea are searching for new sponsors for next season’s first-team shirts after starting this campaign without any. Infinite Athlete, who took the front-of-shirt sponsorship until the end of the campaign last October, will become the sleeve sponsors for the training kits next season. BingX, who were announced as first-team sleeve sponsors in January, will be the club’s training kit sponsor from next season.

Thanks @Holymoly That was fascinating.

It's always darkest before eternal nothingness!

Found this interesting

Saw this and immediately thought of @Dwmh

Maybe one day you'll write something in English.

22 of those 24 games you point to had Havertz, Mount, Ziyech, etc playing around him, none of whom are here now. He was also deployed far deeper as a DM. Time to use your eyes rather than relying on stats alone. Mind you, given your métier, I'm not surprised how you treat evidence. Good bye.

The thing about such stats is that they take no account of the ability of the player attempting to convert a chance into a goal. Better finishers around a creator will see an increase in that player's assist stats. Best to use your eyes, too, rather than just stats.

Not quite the whole season... six or so weeks by most accounts https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/66578739

If Caicedo and Lavia have trained well enough - and clearly neither had for Sunday, given no Lavia in the squad and a very under-cooked display from Caicedo - then my only slight tweak would be Maatsen over Mudryk given how Maatsen and Jackson seemed to be on the same wavelength in pre-season. (Maatsen's contract also has less than a year to run, so a few starts might also make him more amenable to signing a new contract, should one hopefully be offered)

Chalobah is injured (as are two other central defenders and a right back 😞 ). The choice currently available to Pochettino is Silva, Colwill, Disasi and Humphreys in central defence.

I see Paquetá starts for West Ham in spite of the illegal betting investigation

Based on Pochettino's press conference on Friday, Lukaku knows this. From The Guardian: ❝The aim is still to sell Lukaku and the Saudi window does not shut until 20 September. Hopes of a rapprochement are low. Chelsea and Lukaku were seeking to end the relationship long before Pochettino took over in June and the impression is of a player who has checked out mentally. “Nothing changed,” Chelsea’s head coach said before Sunday’s trip to West Ham. “I didn’t talk with him. The situation was clear before we arrived between the club and the player.” Pressed further, Pochettino made clear he was not thinking about reintegrating Lukaku if nothing has changed after the window shuts. “We need to be focused on the team. We cannot expend energy on a situation that was clear before we started at Chelsea.”❞ From The Metro: ❝When asked if Lukaku could return if he fails to secure a move away from Chelsea this summer, Pochettino said: ‘It is not only one side – it is two sides needed to find the best solution. You cannot put it only on the club, it is about both sides. The situation is where it is because of both sides. Both sides have arrived at an agreement.' ‘We were informed before we signed about the situation of every single player. After we signed, we had the squad that we had.' ‘It is so clear that nothing has changed, and if there is something to inform then we will inform. There is nothing for us to do – I need to be focused on my team to try to perform.' ‘We cannot spend energy on a situation that was clear before we arrived at Chelsea.’❞ Plenty of similar articles elsewhere. Essentially when Pochettino was in negotiations to become Chelsea manager he was made aware that a) the club wanted rid of Lukaku and b) Lukaku equally wanted to leave. Lukaku was never going to be a squad option. Pochettino is fine with this. He's not even spoken to him, and by the sound of things, in his mind, Lukaku doesn't even exist. The only ones that exist are the players who have chosen Chelsea. The problem is Chelsea aren't the only club that don't want Lukaku.

Unlikely to be how we start, but I'd like to see this line-up I think it's a little too early for Lavia to start, but may see him come off the bench, and bar the first half hour against Liverpool (where no Chelsea player covered themselves in glory) Gallagher did OK and doesn't deserve to be dropped, especially as this line-up means he can do his box-to-box stuff. Disasi starts ahead of Silva as his height will be valuable against West Ham's taller players at corners & free kicks Sanchez Gusto Disasi Colwill Chilwell (C) Caicedo Gallagher Enzo Sterling Jackson Mudryk

First rumours emerged in early July. Had a good loan at Reims last season. Lots of other clubs interested. Monaco bid around £34m which was rejected as Arsenal want £40m. Could have represented England or Nigeria, but has thrown his lot in with the USMNT

Increased talk of us maybe being interested in Ivan Fresneda (Real Valladolid), an 18 year old right back with (currently) a €10m/£8.5m release clause. Also wanted by Barcelona and Arsenal. First link was just over a week ago in Sport.es but since Reece James' injury the stories have now spread to the UK press (Metro, Mail and a few Twitter ITKs)

As always this is just a bit of fun. Info as correct as I can manage up to and including midday 18th August 2023 Anything in red is either a new rumour or a change in circumstances (such as new contract signed) since the last update (1st July). In most cases I've only noted the first rumour seen, but where a story changes (for example one claims a swap deal where no swap was in the original story) this has also been included. Blue represents players signed by Chelsea. Players greyed out and italicised have either signed contract extensions or signed for a new club. To avoid confusion, only transfers confirmed by either or both clubs are considered as official. Until then, they remain 'rumours' * Linked in Summer 2022 or January 2023 GOALKEEPERS Robert Sanchez * (Brighton & Hove Albion) - 1st Feb, Simon Philips (Twitter) - 31st July, (undisclosed) bid made, Andy Naylor, The Athletic - 5th August, Transfer confirmed TOCWS David Raya * (Brentford) - 1st Feb, Daily Express; 8th March, Fabrizio Romano (Twitter), - 30th April, TNT Sports Argentina via Fichajes (if Pochetino joins CFC) - 15th August, Loan to Arsenal confirmed Jordan Pickford * (Everton) - 5th Feb, Ben Jacobs (Twitter) Diogo Costa * (Porto) - 6th Feb, Simon Philips (Twitter) Yassine Bonou (Seville) - 13th Feb, Football Insider Gregor Kobel (Borussia Dortmund) - 2nd March, Blick Andre Onana (Inter Milan) [possible Mendy + cash swap] - 18th March, Inter Live & Fichajes [possible Kepa + cash swap] - 26th April, Gazzetto dello Sport [possible Chalobah & RL-C swap] - 30th April, Football London [straight purchase] - 5th May, Calciomercatoweb 20th July, Transfer to Manchester United Confirmed Ilan Meslier * (Leeds United) - 18th March, Football Insider - 30th May, Tuttomercatoweb (Relegation) Jan Oblak * (Atletico Madrid) - 21st March, Football Insider Dean Henderson (Manchester United) - 27th March, The Hard Tackle Giorgi Mamardashvili (Valencia) - 6th April, COPE.es Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa) - 11th May, TyC Sports (via Daily Mail) Mike Maignon (AC Milan) - 13th May, Footmercato Wojciech Szczesny (Juventus) - 24th May, Calciomercatoweb Anatoliy Trubin (Shakhtar Donetsk) - 27th June, Fabrizio Romano, Substack Kasper Schmeichel (Nice) - 12th August, Metro DEFENDERS Denzel Dumfries * (Inter Milan) - 9th Feb, TuttoSport Joao Cancelo (Manchester City, was on loan at Bayern Munich) - 13th Feb, 90min Merih Demiral (Atalanta) - 1st March, Fotomac Josko Gvardiol * (RB Leipzig) - 2nd March, The Times - 5th August, Transfer to Manchester City Confirmed Alessandro Bastoni * (Inter Milan) - 29th March, Gazzetta dello Sport Alejandro Balde (Barcelona) - 31st March, Sport.es Mohammed Salisu (Southampton) - 3rd April, Football Fancast Antonio Silva (Benfica) - 7th April, Fichajes Ridle Baku * (VfL Wolfsburg) - 9th April, Christian Falk, Twitter Luka Vuskovic (Hajduk Split) [16 years old] - 25th April, Daily Mail Alex Moreno (Aston Villa) - 5th May, Footmercato Pau Torres * (Villareal) - 11th May, Daily Mirror - 3rd July, Transfer to Aston Villa Confirmed Kim Min-Jae (SSC Napoli) - 14th May, Il Mattino - 18th July, Transfer to Bayern Munich Confirmed Jules Koundé * (Barcelona) - 25th May, Sport.es Mikayil Faye (18, Senegal) (NK Kustosija, Croatia) - 6th June, Daily Mail Castello Lukeba (Olympique Lyonnais) - 10th June, But! (Fr) Alvaro Odriozola (Real Madrid) - 13th June, Mundo Deportivo (via Daily Express) Axel Disasi (AS Monaco) - 22nd June, RMC - 30th July , David Ornstein, The Athletic, fee agreed - 4th August, Transfer confirmed TOWS Gleison Bremer * (Juventus) - 26th June, Daily Mail Rafa Marin (Real Madrid Castilla) - 28th June, Venê Casagrande, Twitter Ishe Samuels-Smith (Everton) [17 years old] - 3rd July, Daily Mail - 8th July, Transfer confirmed TOCWS Tino Livramento * (Southampton) - 3rd July, Daily Mail - 8th August, Transfer to Newcastle United confirmed Goncalo Inacio (Sporting CP) - 3rd July, Fichajes Aymeric Laporte (Manchester City) - 8th July, Ruy Galetti, Twitter Benjamin Pavard (Bayern Munich) - 13th July, Christian Falk, Sport Bild Marc Guehi (Crystal Palace) - 19th July, Evening Standard Luiz Felipe (Real Betis) - 21st July, Estadio Deportivo Tosin Adarabioyo (Fulham) - 24th July, Simon Phillips, Substack Ivan Fresneda (Real Valladolid) - 9th August, Sport.es MIDFIELDERS Sofyan Amrabat (Fiorentina) - 1st Feb, Sport Bible Declan Rice * (West Ham United) - 1st Feb, Adam Newson (Twitter) + various others - 15th July, Transfer to Arsenal Confirmed Romeo Lavia * (Southampton) - 1st Feb, Daily Mail; 16th Feb, Simon Philips (Twitter); - 14th May, Daily Mail, Guardian, Telegraph & elsewhere after relegation - 18th August, Transfer Confirmed TOCWS Moises Caicedo * (Brighton & Hove Albion) - 9th Feb, Ben Jacobs (Twitter) - 2nd March, New Contract to 2027 +1 year on B&HA website - 14th May, Daily Mail, Rumours restart in earnest. No 1 target - 3rd June, cash + Colwill (loan), Simon Philips (Twitter) - 14th August, Transfer Confirmed TOCWS Jude Bellingham * (Borussia Dortmund) - 15th Feb, Daily Telegraph - 14th June, Transfer to Real Madrid Confirmed Kendry Paez, (Independiente del Valle ECU) [15 years old] - 15th Feb, 90min; - 24th Feb, Fabrizio Romano (Twitter), Agreement to sign once 18yrs old James Maddison * (Leicester City) - 16th Feb, Ekrem Konur (Twitter) - 28th June, Transfer to Tottenham Hotspur Confirmed Giannis Konstantelias (PAOK Salonika) - 20th Feb, Inside Futbol Marcelo Brozovic (Inter Milan) - 26th Feb, Gazzetta dello Sport, - 29th June, Transfer to Al Nassr Confirmed Yunus Musah (Valencia) - 1st March, Metro Dominik Szoboszlai (RB Leipzig) - 3rd March, TuttoMercatoWeb - 2nd July, Transfer to Liverpool Confirmed Manu Koné (Borussia Monchengladbach) - 5th March, Christian Falk, Twitter and BILD Frenkie de Jong * (Barcelona) - 7th March, Fichajes Daichi Kamada (Borussia Dortmund) - 8th March, Daily Mail Bruno Guimaraes * (Newcastle United) - 10th March, Newcastle World Joao Palhinha (Fulham) - 13th March, The Sun Ethan Nwaneri (Arsenal) [15 years old] - 14th March, Daily Telegraph - 3rd April, Metro (Jack Wilshire interview) - 29th June, Signs Scholarship terms with Arsenal Edson Alvarez * (Ajax Amsterdam) - 14th March, De Telegraaf - 1st August, Rumours re-emerge, The Times Ibrahim Sangaré * (PSV Eindhoven) - 16th March, Twente Insite Alexis Mac Allister * (Brighton & Hove Albion) - 25th March, ESPN - 7th June, Transfer to Liverpool Confirmed Nicolo Barella * (Inter Milan) - 9th April, Calciomercatoweb Gavi (Barcelona) - 11th April, Barca Blaugranes via AS Youssouf Fofana (AS Monaco) - 1st May, Daily Mail Manuel Ugarte (Sporting CP) - 3rd May, FootballTransfers - 30th May (cash + D Fofana on loan), Record Portugal - 7th July, Transfer to PSG Confirmed Ismael Bennacer (AC Milan) - 4th May, Calciomercatoweb Khephren Thuram (OGC Nice) - 8th May, Rudy Galetti, Twitter Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg (Tottenham Hotspur) - 14th May, Fichajes.es Stanislav Lobotka (SSC Napoli) - 17th May, Il Mattino Jean-Ricner Bellegarde (Strasbourg) - 20th May, Daily Express Ismael Doukoure (Strasbourg) - 20th May, Daily Express Habib Diarra (Strasbourg) - 20th May, Daily Express Leandro Paredes (PSG) - 24th May, ESPN - 16th August, Transfer to Roma confirmed James Ward-Prowse * (Southampton) - 26th May, Football Transfers - 9th August, Transfer to West Ham United confirmed Federico Valverde (Real Madrid) - 1st June, SPORT.es Gabri Veiga (Celta Vigo) - 6th June, The Guardian Sergej Milinkovic-Savic * (Lazio) - 11th June, The Sun - 12th July, Transfer to Al Hilal Confirmed Amadou Onana * (Everton) - 14th June, Sacha Tavolieri, Twitter Sandro Tonali (AC Milan) - 16th June, David Ornstein, Twitter - 4th July, Transfer to Newcastle United Confirmed Rayan Cherki (Olympique Lyonnais) - 2nd July, Simon Phillips, Substack - 29th July, CFC withdraw interest due to “attitude”, Nathan Gissing Matheus Franca (Flamengo) – 3rd July, Daily Mail Marco Verratti * (PSG) - 19th July, Kaveh Solhekol, Sky Sports Lesley Ugochukwu (Rennes) - 28th July, L'Equipe - 1st August, Transfer confirmed TOCWS Tyler Adams (Leeds United) - 1st August, Daily Mail Arsen Zakharyan * (Dinamo Moscow) - 2nd August, to Strasbourg (circumvent HMG sanctions?), Nizaar Kinsella, Evening Standard Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall (Leicester City) - 8th August, Simon Phillips (Substack) ATTACKERS Victor Osimhen * (SSC Napoli) - 4th Feb, Daily Mirror; 19th March [Swap deal – Pulisic] Calciomercatoweb Rafael Leao * (AC Milan) - 4th Feb, La Stampa; 20th Feb, Fichajes; - 10th May, 5 year contract extension, official AC Milan web site Dusan Vlahovic * (Juventus) - 10th Feb, Ben Jacobs (Twitter); - (Lukaku + cash), 3rd June, Gazzetto dello Sport - 15th July, CFC Not interested in Vlahovic, Fabrizio Romano, Twitter - 31st July, Lukaku + cash stories re-emerge, Gianluca Di Marzio Joao Felix * (Atletico Madrid on loan to Chelsea) Permanent move - 10th Feb, various via AS; Swap deal (Cucurella and Aubameyang) - 9th May, Evening Standard & Daily Express; Atletico Madrid confirm return to club, 30th May, Daily Mail & elsewhere Gonçalo Ramos (Benfica) - 10th Feb, Sporting Life; 22nd Feb, Correio da Manha Marcus Thuram * (Borussia Monchengladbach - Out of Contract 30 June 2023) - 10th Feb, Daily Mail - 1st July, Transfer to Inter Milan Confirmed Vitor Roque (Athletico Paranaese) [18 end of Feb] - 10th Feb, Goal - 7th July, Transfer to Barcelona Confirmed, Will join Jan 2024 Abde Ezzalzouli (Barcelona) - 12th Feb, Mundo Deportivo Neymar (PSG) - 15th Feb, Le Parisien, 30th April, Football Insider - 15th August, Transfer to Al Hilal Confirmed Ivan Toney * (Brentford) - 17th Feb, Dean Jones (Twitter); 30th April, TNT Sports Argentina via Fichajes, - 17th May, 8 MONTH FA BAN Evan Ferguson (Brighton & Hove Albion U-18) - 20th Feb, The Sun Tammy Abraham * (Roma) - 28th Feb, Football Insider; 1st March, SiamoLaRoma Khvicha Kvaratskhelia * (SSC Napoli) - 1st March, Gazzetta dello Sport Wilfred Zaha * (Crystal Palace) - 4th March, Daily Mail - 24th July, Transfer to Galatasaray Confirmed Hirving Lozano (SSC Napoli) - 8th March, Raffaele Auriemma (Radio CRC) Trevan Sanusi (Birmingham City - 16 in April) - 10th March, Transfer Tavern Raphinha * (Barcelona) - 13th March, Daily Mail Dujan Richards (Phoenix All Stars Academy, JAM) - 13th March, Pre-contract signed, Various Will join on 11th Oct 2023 (18th birthday) Brahim Diaz (Real Madrid) - 19th March, Sunday Mirror Wilfried Gnonto (Leeds United) - 21st March, Gazzetta dello Sport Harry Kane * (Tottenham Hotspur) - 21st March, The Metro; [Lukaku + cash swap] - 24th March, Fichajes; - 14th May, Daily Mail, Metro & elsewhere - 12th August, Transfer to Bayern Munich Confirmed Filip Kostic (Juventus) - 21st March, Calciomercatoweb Samuel Iling-Junior (Juventus) - 23rd March, 90min, Evening Standard & others Federico Chiesa * (Juventus) - 24th March, Calciomercatoweb Alex Matos (Norwich City) - 25th March, Fabrizio Romano (Twitter); Confirmed TOCWS 3rd May Mason Melia (St Patrick’s Athletic, RoI) [15 years old] - 26th March, Football Insider Rasmus Hojlund (Atalanta) - 3rd April, Daily Mail, Daily Mirror + elsewhere - 5th August, Transfer to Manchester United Confirmed Adama Bojang (Steve Biko FC, Gambia) - 10th April, Daily Mail Julian Alvarez (Manchester City) - 17th April, Goal Diego Moreira (Benfica B) pre-contract signed? - 22nd April, Record.pt; Confirmed TOCWS 30th June Makise Evans (Stevenage Borough) [16 years old] - 1st May, The Sun Sadio Mane (Bayern Munich) - 1st May, Football London via Christian Falk Emanuel Emegha (Sturm Graz) - 4th May, Foot Mercato Lionel Messi (PSG – free agent on 30 June) - 5th May, football.london - Transfer to Inter Miami Confirmed Lautaro Martinez * (Inter Milan) - 5th May, foootball.london; 14th May Daily Mail, Metro & elsewhere - 20th June, “No discussions” Javier Zanetti – Inter VP Jonathan David * (OSC Lille) - 5th May, L'Équipe Gift Orban (Gent) - 18th May, Evening Standard Habib Dialo (Strasbourg) - 20th May, Daily Express Ferran Torres * (Barcelona) - 24th May, Simon Phillips (Substack) Aleksandar Mitrovic * (Fulham) - 26th May, Simon Phillips (Substack) Marco Assensio (Real Madrid – Contract ends 30th June) - 27th May, Fabrizio Romano & Team Talk - 6th July, Transfer to PSG Confirmed Randal Kolo Muani (Eintracht Frankfurt) - 27th May, Christian Falk Dominic Calvert-Lewin * (Everton) - 10th June, Dean Jones in GIVEMESPORT Kylian Mbappe * (PSG)) - 13th June, Daily Mail & elsewhere Nicolas Jackson (Villarreal) - 14th June, Nizaar Kinsella via Evening Standard - 30th June, Confirmed TOCWS Dominic Ballard (Southampton - 18yrs old) - 18th June, The Observer Mohammed Kudus (Ajax Amsterdam) - 27th June, Simon Philips, Substack Ângelo Gabriel (Santos) - 28th June, AS - Confirmed TOCWS 16th July Folarin Balogun (Arsenal) - 6th July, Football Transfers Elye Wahi (Montpellier) - 10th July, L'Équipe Ousmane Dembele * (Barcelona)) - 15th July, Football Transfers Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa) - 21st July, Simon Phillips, Substack Michael Olise (Crystal Palace) - 22nd July, Fabrice Hawkins, RMC Sport - 17th August, New Crystal Palace contract signed Deivid Washington (Santos) - 4th August, Globo Esporte (Brz) repeated elsewhere - 9th August, £17m deal agreed Bradley Barcola (Olympique Lyonnais) - 17th August, Foot Mercato Brennan Johnson (Nottingham Forest) - 17th August, Nottinghamshire Live and elsewhere

Swansea and Stoke are both very interested in taking him on loan, but he's currently still at Cobham training with the first team squad.

No... but Caicedo can! 😉 😉

I think it's more a case of the player knowing his level already and wanting more game time rather than the club wanting rid, but yes, if true, we should be all over him. City have the same "problem" as we have; an academy that produces many young talented players who simply can't all make it to the first team. Carlos Borges was their Lewis Hall .

We still have shirt and sleeve sponsors to announce/find. That's a possible £75m/year based on similar deals with "top four" clubs. Given how much news has been generated by our squad revamp ("no such thing as bad publicity" etc), should we get off to a good start and show ourselves capable of qualifying for the Champions League, I doubt we'll be without sponsors for very long (indeed we already seem to have one lined up, subject to PL/FA approval). Given how the new owners have operated thus far - long contracts, low base wages with higher incentives, etc. - in a way not previously seen in the PL (and certainly never on such a scale), I wouldn't be surprised if they pull another rabbit out of the hat in terms of previously unheard of operating procedures and finding new revenue streams.

From We Ain't Got No History: ❝Some bad news coming out of Cobham today, with Reece James and Trevoh Chalobah reportedly both sustaining hamstring injuries in training. Chalobah was already dealing with one but apparently has re-aggravated it and will now miss another month. And the situation could be even worse for James, who is “not expected to make a swift return”. James had just returned from a hamstring injury sustained at the end of last season, to start our first game over the weekend, where he was able to complete 70 excellent minutes before being substituted off due to “fatigue”. Our new club captain has of course had more than his fair share of injury issues over the past couple seasons, and this latest development certainly won’t attenuate the growing fears that these will be a constant concern with him. Thankfully, we did sign Malo Gusto to cover the position, and he’s looked excellent in preseason as well. Chalobah was not slated to be a starter, but the injury will affect his future planning as well, especially if he (or we?) had any designs on him moving teams before the end of the transfer window.❞

If he wants to go, he wants to go, indeed! BUT... it's being suggested by some that we pulled out of the deal to avoid an official complaint of "tapping up" (I think we all know and accept that player's agents talk to potential buying clubs regarding wages, incentives, etc., but we may have overstepped the mark in this instance). If that's the case - that we pulled out - then where does he go, unless another club makes an offer. That he has signed a new contract suggests at the very least that, even if other clubs may have enquired, his agents have told him that none of them were either serious or offering anything substantial. However it's played out, he's increased his wage and, even if not Chelsea, he's at a club that wants him.