Hakim Ziyech

Even with Sancho he'd have been a good buy. Destined never to have good depth.
 
We should have just employed Chelsea's board and saved ourselves a ton of cash. They have got some serious good deals over last 10 years. The money they got for Ramires n Oscar too was mouth watering. We struggle giving away our surplus players.

This club is a joke from top to bottom still. Can't believe Ed is going to survive yet another manager. Ole will be soon gone and the cycle repeats itself. When will the owners wake up and realise he needs replacing more than any manager we've ever had? He's a glorified accountant trying to run a football club and has no idea what he's doing. We won't get near another PL or CL trophy until he's gone and most likely the owners too because they clearly either don't care about trophies or are delusional to still believe in this model.
 
Chelsea aren't bad at these pre deals are they. Can't remember when we done a transfer like that
 
youngrell said:
Ajax's pride over losing their star players is bizarre to me.

I understand they are not a super power in Europe currently, but they seem to celebrate the success of their players over the success of the team.
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Think they just accept the situation.

It's not going to change anytime soon (because the league's weak not because Ajax aren't a big club) so they may aswell enjoy and celebrate the players and the success they brought instead of going all Liverpool/Sterling on their players when they inevitably decide to move on.
 
Adnan said:
I wouldn't be surprised if Ajax made a move for Mohammed Ihattaren from PSV as a potential replacement. Still only 18 but looks a talent.
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Yeah, he is (and is going to be even more) special. Don't think PSV will sell him to Ajax.

I think Ajax will make a move for Stengs. And they are in the process of getting at least one Brazilian but maybe two (Anthony and Gabriel).
 
Dancfc said:
Think they just accept the situation.

It's not going to change anytime soon (because the league's weak not because Ajax aren't a big club) so they may aswell enjoy and celebrate the players and the success they brought instead of going all Liverpool/Sterling on their players when they inevitably decide to move on.
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No, @Renegade said it perfectly.
 
Sjaakmeoff said:
Yeah, he is (and is going to be even more) special. Don't think PSV will sell him to Ajax.

I think Ajax will make a move for Stengs. And they are in the process of getting at least one Brazilian but maybe two (Anthony and Gabriel).
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PSV will be reluctant to sell but I thing Ajax have made alot of money in sales in recent years and could possibly test the resolve of PSV for Mohamed Ihatteran who looks potentially better than Ziyech and is still 18.
 
Dear Ed.

Can United please take note of this and look to do business early. Thank you.
 
youngrell said:
Ajax's pride over losing their star players is bizarre to me.

I understand they are not a super power in Europe currently, but they seem to celebrate the success of their players over the success of the team.
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For them developing and making stars is a huge part of football and carries big pride.

Let's not forget they're earning MILLIONS, making a huge profit. They'll find another Ziyech, De Jong, De Ligt etc, they'll get them for pennies and sell them again for Millions.
 
PoTMS said:
Bugger. Sancho will cost £100m more than Ziyech and there's no guarantee Sancho will come to us. We should've been looking at Ziyech as an alternative. Risk free signing.
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But even if we did persue Ziyech there would be weeks of negotiating story after story in the media bla bla we never get things done swiftly always a long big mess.. The only deal we did quickly and out of the blue was assign Ole as caretaker and then assign Ole as manager unfortunately.
 
Noodle said:
Doesn't matter which way round we do it, 6 of those players leaving are pretty much done deals already (3 on a free and 3 with clauses to buy).

I don't know if we'll get those players, like i said it's a wish.

CB wise we're covered, we can certainly sell one of Tomori, Rudiger, Christensen and Zouma so that we can buy another.

regarding the £200k salary we don't have an issue with paying that if someone was worth it, we have done several times in the past (Lampard, Terry, Drogba, Hazard etc), but we may not have to.

I don't personally think we'll go for Sancho, but the money should be there should we want to
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Agreed, but getting 3 players in and then shifting players is not always easy because clubs know you need to shift players so the value of players drop.

I know Chelsea will pay the salary, they already do to Pulisic, CHO, Kante, my point is another 3 signings on a high salary is a big thing as well.

Ziyech is a brilliant signing because he has great value.

I reckon there will be a 3/4 way fight for Sancho.
 
we really missed the boat with ziyech. such an awesome player and bang for the buck. utter trash from ed and co.
 
He was always available for a reasonable price. I remember there was reports he almost joined Swansea before he opted for Ajax for €11m from FC Twente in the 2016/17 season. It was pretty obvious he was a top talent at FC Twente and his 17 goals and 10 assists was evidence of his growing potential in the 2015/16 season. There's really talented players like Ziyech who could be picked up from midtable clubs around Europe like Ajax did when Ziyech was at FC Twente.
 
I 100% guarantee that Chelsea will not pursue Sancho. Apart from him being available in the summer, he is both too expensive and also does not fit the age criteria the club will look at.

Ziyech is 26, already has plenty of ability and in a couple of years will enter his peak. Sancho is 20 next month and while talented, is just a boy with limited men's experience.

The average age of Chelsea's squad is about 25. Now who will leave in the summer:
Definites: caballero 38, giroud 33, pedro 32, Van Ginkel 27
Maybes: willian 31, Alonso 29 or emerson 25, Batshuayi 26, jorginho 28

Excluding these players the average age of the squad is 23.4 from 16 players.

Now of I'm not mistaken Frank has already spoken about the need to add more experience into the squad. He knows he needs players with winning mentalities.

I firmly expect us to target players between the ages of 24-28, who are both affordable and about to peak.
 
SirReginald said:
I 100% guarantee that Chelsea will not pursue Sancho. Apart from him being available in the summer, he is both too expensive and also does not fit the age criteria the club will look at.

Ziyech is 26, already has plenty of ability and in a couple of years will enter his peak. Sancho is 20 next month and while talented, is just a boy with limited men's experience.

The average age of Chelsea's squad is about 25. Now who will leave in the summer:
Definites: caballero 38, giroud 33, pedro 32, Van Ginkel 27
Maybes: willian 31, Alonso 29 or emerson 25, Batshuayi 26, jorginho 28

Excluding these players the average age of the squad is 23.4 from 16 players.

Now of I'm not mistaken Frank has already spoken about the need to add more experience into the squad. He knows he needs players with winning mentalities.

I firmly expect us to target players between the ages of 24-28, who are both affordable and about to peak.
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When did he say this? Was this during the transfer window when he was hoping to get someone like Mertens in?

For me, this absolutely doesn't rule Sancho out. It makes it a bit less likely as Chelsea will have a suitable plan should the transfer fall through, but guaranteeing that we aren't going to pursue him when there have been multiple reports explicitly saying that Ziyech signing will not curb Chelsea's interest in Sancho is silly.

In terms of the squad age, this is a more interesting question. I fully expect Chelsea to push to sign Mertens on a free - even at 32 he's an excellent backup option who can play anywhere in a front 4. Boga is another one who seems nailed on - at only £12.5m it seems an obvious choice to exercise his buyback clause given that he seems to be doing a Salah and thriving in Italy. I could also very much see Chelsea being dissuaded by Chilwell's price tag and going for someone like Telles or (if rumours are true and he's available) Alaba.

Given that Chelsea are likely to have something in the neighborhood of £220m to spend (CL this season, Morata fee, Hazard fee):

Sancho - £130m
Alaba - £40m (out of contract in 2021)
Ziyech - £35m
Mertens - free
Boga - £13m
Total - £218m

Seems feasible to be honest.
 
SirReginald said:
I 100% guarantee that Chelsea will not pursue Sancho. Apart from him being available in the summer, he is both too expensive and also does not fit the age criteria the club will look at.

Ziyech is 26, already has plenty of ability and in a couple of years will enter his peak. Sancho is 20 next month and while talented, is just a boy with limited men's experience.

The average age of Chelsea's squad is about 25. Now who will leave in the summer:
Definites: caballero 38, giroud 33, pedro 32, Van Ginkel 27
Maybes: willian 31, Alonso 29 or emerson 25, Batshuayi 26, jorginho 28

Excluding these players the average age of the squad is 23.4 from 16 players.

Now of I'm not mistaken Frank has already spoken about the need to add more experience into the squad. He knows he needs players with winning mentalities.

I firmly expect us to target players between the ages of 24-28, who are both affordable and about to peak.
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Unless you work for Chelsea front office you can't possibly know the club's plans in the transfer market, let alone guarantee what they will or won't do. Sancho is an established world class talent already at 20 and he's English and available. Him being a Chelsea boyhood fan and friends with a few Chelsea youngsters who are now part of the first team may not mean much but may count for something if it comes down to him choosing between clubs.

If Chelsea won't go after Sancho, it'll be down to only one thing, money.
 
antihenry said:
In reality Chelsea have done pretty poorly in the transfer market over the last two-three years, wasting an absolute fortune on the likes of Morata, Bakayoko, Drinkwater, Batshuayi, Zappacosta etc. Kepa was a world's record fee for a keeper and has been shocking this season. Only Pulisic looks a promising signing in that period, but that's about it. The last time we've signed a difference maker was back in 2016 with Kante.
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I agree. The success you've had in the last few years has been in spite of most of the signings you've made in the past four years rather than because of them. Hazard, Kante and Costa have been your key players, then last year Giroud produced in the Europa.
 
Damien said:
I agree. The success you've had in the last few years has been in spite of most of the signings you've made in the past four years rather than because of them. Hazard, Kante and Costa have been your key players, then last year Giroud produced in the Europa.
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Yep absolutely. The success Chelsea have had this season makes it all the more frustrating - given how strong the academy is, we should never be purchasing squad players unless it's an outrageous bargain (much as I detest him personally, Ross Barkley applies here). These minutes should be going to young players, thus giving them a chance to prove themselves and proving there is a demonstrable path from the academy. Meanwhile, the funds saved should be pooled on genuine world class talent. Imagine if in summer 2017 Chelsea had given Bakayoko's spot to RLC, Zappacosta's place to Aina, Drinkwater's to Chalobah, then taken the surplus £100m and spent it on Paulo Dybala. I know which version I'd prefer to watch personally...
 
TheMagicFoolBus said:
When did he say this? Was this during the transfer window when he was hoping to get someone like Mertens in?

For me, this absolutely doesn't rule Sancho out. It makes it a bit less likely as Chelsea will have a suitable plan should the transfer fall through, but guaranteeing that we aren't going to pursue him when there have been multiple reports explicitly saying that Ziyech signing will not curb Chelsea's interest in Sancho is silly.

In terms of the squad age, this is a more interesting question. I fully expect Chelsea to push to sign Mertens on a free - even at 32 he's an excellent backup option who can play anywhere in a front 4. Boga is another one who seems nailed on - at only £12.5m it seems an obvious choice to exercise his buyback clause given that he seems to be doing a Salah and thriving in Italy. I could also very much see Chelsea being dissuaded by Chilwell's price tag and going for someone like Telles or (if rumours are true and he's available) Alaba.

Given that Chelsea are likely to have something in the neighborhood of £220m to spend (CL this season, Morata fee, Hazard fee):

Sancho - £130m
Alaba - £40m (out of contract in 2021)
Ziyech - £35m
Mertens - free
Boga - £13m
Total - £218m

Seems feasible to be honest.
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Wait, Chelsea with the terrible defence they have are going to spend 218 mostly on midfielders and wingers? What?!
 
35 million seems to be a bit of a steal. Sincerely hope Fernandes is the better of the two given he's cost us much more.
 
Something about how Chelsea are dealing with transfers outside of the transfer window doesn't sit well with me.

Fair enough they aren't actually breaking any rules but the windows were put in place to so clubs don't transfer players outside of them. I don't think many clubs are operating in the same manner.
 
amolbhatia50k said:
Wait, Chelsea with the terrible defence they have are going to spend 218 mostly on midfielders and wingers? What?!
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The defence isnt that bad. Weve conceded like the 2nd or third least amount of shots at goal. The keepers toss and a lb is needed.
 
Pow said:
The defence isnt that bad. Weve conceded like the 2nd or third least amount of shots at goal. The keepers toss and a lb is needed.
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So aren't you going resolve the defensive issues ? Get a new keeper maybe? Think you should be getting in a CB or a proper DM and be willing to spend on these areas
 
amolbhatia50k said:
So aren't you going resolve the defensive issues ? Get a new keeper maybe? Think you should be getting in a CB or a proper DM and be willing to spend on these areas
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I reckon a new keeper and a lb will be bought.
 
Nou_Camp99 said:
We should have just employed Chelsea's board and saved ourselves a ton of cash. They have got some serious good deals over last 10 years. The money they got for Ramires n Oscar too was mouth watering. We struggle giving away our surplus players.

This club is a joke from top to bottom still. Can't believe Ed is going to survive yet another manager. Ole will be soon gone and the cycle repeats itself. When will the owners wake up and realise he needs replacing more than any manager we've ever had? He's a glorified accountant trying to run a football club and has no idea what he's doing. We won't get near another PL or CL trophy until he's gone and most likely the owners too because they clearly either don't care about trophies or are delusional to still believe in this model.
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That's what happens when you don't hold managers accountable for improving or even playing to the strengths of the players at the club. You tank their values, and our fanbase does a good job of accelerating this process by eagerly chucking them into our famous 'deadwood bin'.
 
sometime next year, we'll realise his a good player and start makign excuses for not even (seeminglhy) looking at him. the club is a fecking mess
 
amolbhatia50k said:
Why would we pay 100 million for a player that just 35 million? And seriously, is Zayech this good in your view?
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Yeah he is class. Of course don't think he would do that well under Ole. Since he is very creative and likes playing in a team that attacks.
Rather than just defend and counter.
 
The fee is crazy when you look at what clubs are demanding and even receiving for top class wingers over the past couple of years. Mahrez was £60m, Pepe was £70m, Palace want £80m for Zaha, Dembele was over €100m, and Sancho will cost more than £100m. Even we payed £60m for Pulisic a year ago and he was in and out of the Dortmund team.

Just ~£35m for an elite playmaker is mad.
 
mitchmouse said:
sometime next year, we'll realise his a good player and start makign excuses for not even (seeminglhy) looking at him. the club is a fecking mess
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You will probably realise about 20 players that you don’t currently know or think are that good, are indeed good. We should probably sign all 20 to avoid being 'a mess’.
 
Makes you wonder WHY other clubs didn't take him for that money. £35m really is peanuts in todays prices, there must be something wrong with him?

I assume it's the ridiculously high shot % from silly angles and distances.
 
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