Bob Singleton

That's a shame. He would have offered us something no other Chelsea player has done for a while... intelligent (i.e. look up and pick out a target) crosses into the box, rather than "cross and hope someone gets near it" balls. He could also have deputised for Nkunku in the second striker role.

... don't forget another possible £25m/£30m for the sleeve! 😉

Blimey, reading this thread you'd think no academy player is ever going to be allowed to be a success here. Who is the club captain? Who is currently wearing the 26 shirt? While some may yet be sold (Chalobah? Gallagher?) there are nonetheless 8 players in the current squad who have come through the academy, and while others such as Mount, Loftus-Cheek etc have also recently been disposed of, the problem is not that we are unwilling to give academy products a chance, but that we maybe produce so many good players via the academy that a) not all of them can play at the same time, so b) only the truly elite ones are retained. Regarding Lewis Hall in particular; he's probably best being played on the left of a midfield 3 in a 4-3-3, with the ability to play as a wing-back in a 5-3-2/3-4-3 as a secondary role. Under Pochettino, who prefers a 4-2-3-1, we are unlikely to play those formations, other than as one-offs due to injuries/suspensions and maybe the odd "disruptive tactic" to make the opposition think. If we do play a 4-3-3 I can see Enzo, Caicedo and Lavia being the preferred 3, with Gallagher as "1st reserve" and even Santos ahead of Hall. If playing with wing-backs - no matter how well Hall is perceived to have done last season - Chilwell, Cuccurella (I know many will disagree, but he is actually better than some here think) and Maatsen are ahead of Hall. Timing is everything. Maybe if Hall were 21 and not 18, we'd be talking about selling Maatsen instead? Sadly he's coming through at a time when we have a host of young players - some barely older than him - who are more developed and experienced. On the whole, the vast majority of our top level academy products we've let go (and neither de Bruyne nor Salah were academy products) have gone on to have decent careers but not one has "bitten us on the bum". Hall might be the first, but for around £30m for a largely untested 18 year old, who seems to want to join the club he supported as a kid (Caicedo, anyone?), then I'm OK taking that risk. We turned down a whole load of money for Hudson-Odoi, whom we are having difficulty getting around £5m for now.

This afternoon it was being reported that he had passed his medical.

The loss of Nkunku won't be truly understood until such time as he hopefully comes back fully fit after Christmas. He offers the team things no other current squad player can give us. For a start, if playing Pochettino's favoured 4-2-3-1, he is the ideal secondary striker playing off Jackson. It's not that Nkunku couldn't lead the line if called upon to do so, just that his skills suit the former role far better – especially when Jackson is perfect as the primary target man. I can't wait to see the two together once they've built up an understanding of each other's game. I think they could be the most devastating partnership we at Chelsea have seen for quite a while. Imagine Gudjohnsen and Hasselbaink at the top of their game for the next five or six seasons! Nkunku is intelligent, hard working, ruthless yet also 'generous'. It's a long time since we had a forward who could not only create for others but would continue runs into the box to pick up any scraps. Too often in the past, the likes of Mount, Havertz, Ziyech and Pulisic would put a team mate through and then, instead of bursting forward to join the attack they had created, would almost sit back and admire their handiwork. Nkunku has the intelligence to find teammates who are better placed than him, but also the ruthlessness to be in the right place at the right time to finish the half-chances that fall to him. The chances he both created for others, as well as finished for himself in pre-season were typical of his previous few years at Leipzig. In a 4-2-3-1, he can play in any of the four attacking positions. With Sterling able to play either of the wide positions as well as the “10” role, that gives us a versatility we have been lacking for a while. With him unavailable, we lose that natural second striker as well as potential back-up for Jackson should he get injured/need a rest. Nkunku is a strong and speedy player with good ball control. Playing out wide and attacking defenders with the ball, on the rare occasions he doesn't get past his man, he wins a free-kick. He is probably the most versatile and dangerous attacker we have (until Mudryk learns that he doesn't have to play at 100mph all the time... I'm sure he's sometimes too quick for his own good as his legs carry him faster than his brain can think. Sort that out – which will come with experience – and he'll be equally as dangerous).

Seems Ziyech has passed his medical and will shortly be a Galatasaray player

Not officially announced yet, but already for sale in the club shop...

Sanchez has now swapped the 31 shirt for the number 1

Not every pupil at Eton becomes Prime Minister, but wealthy parents continue to send their male offspring there! I think most parents of boys going through the academy recognise that even if their lad doesn't make it as a regular Chelsea first team starter (and very few do!) they receive both a sporting and academic education that will stand them in good stead for the future. Some go on to have Premiership careers of some sort. Quite a few more have decent careers in the championship or abroad. The academy at Chelsea is seen by many parents of young footballers as one of the places to 'learn the trade'.

Man City have accepted a bid from a Saudi Arabian club for Ameyric Laporte, while Liverpool goalkeeper Alison is also being targetted (and apparently is tempted to move). These are hardly players coming to the end of their careers. Clearly money talks for some. Trophies or cash? I'll have the cash, please! We've tied down our new signings to long-term contracts, which may backfire if they don't reach the levels expected and we then have difficulty moving them on, but I do wonder - apart from the 'amortisation' side of things, which makes sense - if our new owners (who have business links with Saudi Arabia, including with many who help run the sovereign wealth funds) knew in advance of this new league with almost unlimited wealth, and have mitigated against us being pillaged in similar fashion? Timing is everything. We needed a squad overhaul and we've got it in spades. At the same time, almost unlimited money has appeared from the middle east, luring players of all ages. As we've rebuilt, so we have ensured the club have greater 'control' over the players. As that money weakens our rivals, we hopefully can continue to build this 'new project' with exciting young players, managed by a coach who enjoys moulding young talents.

Brave of you to only play with 10 men in both formations!

👆 £53m + £5m in add-ons, apparently... which is less than the reported £60m odd that Liverpool offered.

He and Musiala played together and completely dominated games. Considered as good as him 3 or 4 years ago. Then he had an injury which laid him off for around a season, so his development stalled a little, but he was still very highly rated. Can't remember off hand his contract status; it's possible he may have been out of contract as of 1st July. I do know that the club were desperate to keep him and offered him a new deal in the winter (which they offered again more recently).

Ben Elliott joins Reading on 3 year deal. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/66515967 https://www.readingfc.co.uk/news/2023/august/15/ben-elliott-signs-for-reading-fc-from-chelsea-fc/

Awful news if true. Seems a really likeable guy, and a decent defender for his age with what looked like a pretty high ceiling. Let's hope he gets all the help he needs if the worse comes to the worse. From a club point of view; yes I hope we've got decent insurance cover for him. From a squad perspective, I think we're OK with what we currently have.

Harvey Vale on loan to Bristol Rovers (League One) for the season https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/bristol-rovers-confirm-season-long-8679717

... and with Salah throwing his toys out of the pram, a lot of Fantasy Football players are going to have to have a major rethink! 🤣🤣 https://twitter.com/RudyGaletti/status/1691232996081164288?ref_src=twsrc^tfw|twcamp^tweetembed

Is it "too many players" though? Not included: W Fofana (likely out for the whole season), Nkunku (unlikely to return this side of Christmas), Cucurella (hopefully off to Newcastle... we can but pray!), Chalobah (probably surplus to requirements and "pure profit" on any sale for FFP reasons), Ugochukwu (always seemed likely to go on loan in spite of a few minutes against Liverpool), Hall (a loan playing a full season with 'men' will do him good), Broja (some say he'll be kept as back-up to Jackson, some say he needs a loan to get match minutes into him after a whole year out), plus the four who have no squad number and need to be sold (Sarr, Lukaku, Ziyech & Hudson-Odoi) I've listed players alphabetically rather than any particular preference

Quite refreshing from Sky Sports. Now all they have to do is get rid of all the former Liverpool and United players who haven't kicked a ball for ten or more years from their match day studio. I know some on here have discussed how we're being and will continue to be pilloried in the media for our spending, BUT... what I've noticed recently is an increase in the number of articles and podcasts/broadcasts explaining FFP, explaining over a billion in player sales over the last ten or so years etc., and explaining how we're NOT breaking rules but being clever in using the system (as it then was prior to the last minute rule changes) to our advantage. In other words, we've been smart (certainly in the short term... we now need to win things and get new sponsors in to help in the longer term) and with younger 'voices' with a less 'stuffy' and north-west centric bias, the old narrative pushed out by the likes of Neville, Carragher, Nichol, Murphy, etc., is starting to get drowned out.

I loved Zola as a player, but did his 25 shirt deserve to be permanently "retired" over and above Terry's 26 (which clearly hasn't been retired), Lampard's 8, Drogba's 11, Cech's 1, Hazard's 10? As @paulw66 said, it's been 20 years since the little maestro left. I think that gap in no-one using the number is a suitable 'honour' in itself.

This was him prior to the 2015-16 Europa League Final. Sevilla beat Liverpool 3-1 to win the trophy for a third year in a row and for a (then) fifth time overall.

Well, we were never going to be allowed to be 'smarter' forever Apologies for the link to the DM, but they're the only ones currently running this story. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-12406001/Premier-League-CLOSE-Financial-Fair-Play-loophole-Chelsea-accounting-rules-UEFA.html

29 currently listed including 4 (Sarr, Huddson-Odoi, Lukaku and Ziyech) who hopefully should be gone soon, 4 'keepers of whom one is 19 and the other 18 (so unlikely to be ACTUAL squad members), 1 long-term injured (W Fofana) and several U-21s who may yet go on loan. Also, what happens to Broja? Back-up to Jackson or sent on loan to rebuild fitness, game movement etc after a year out?

It's official... https://www.chelseafc.com/en/news/article/chelsea-complete-moises-caicedo-signing