I haven't done one of these articles for ages, used to love doing them on the old 606 & haven't seen one on our board in a very long time, always fun gauging the opinions of others on this. I've tried to keep this as realistic as possible in terms of budgeting/wages/player interest and working on the assumption we miss out on Sancho. It's more surgical than a massive fire sale (which don't really happen anymore) and has Lampard/Morris's idolized style of play in mind as well as their fondness for youth.
GK - Predrag Rajkovic (if Lampard wants to offload Kepa)
The FM legend himself lol. Our type of keeper, the Cech similarities are strong here. Big commanding guy with deceptive shot stopping ability. Reim boast the best defensive record in Ligue 1 & stats show he's a big part of that, his stock will only rise from here. Believe he's a Chelsea fan as well, adding another player into this squad with affinity to the club.
LB - Alex Grimaldo
Very good left back whose good in linking, better defensively than Alonso & Emerson & can actually cross a ball. Better & cheaper than Chilwell & Telles is attracting stronger competition. Reportedly wouldn't cost more than 35mil so fits into our typical price range. We're on good terms with Benfica as well so any deal should be smooth.
CB - Dayot Upamecano
The stand out choice here is Koulibaly who despite Napoli's dodgy season still has all the complete VVD like qualities to boss the PL, but it's as close to unrealistic as they come. Reports have come out lately Lampard has identified Upamecano as the no.1 target, whether true or not I can see the link. Statistically very strong this season & very good on the ball. The quoted 50mil figure is steep but CB's the position we shouldn't be stingy with.
WG - Jeremie Boga
Clearly the no.1 choice here is Sancho, and if it becomes a possibility that's the guy 100%, but Boga's my alternative. One thing I like about this guy is his strength which adds a different dimension to an attacking lineup visibly lacking that (and Ziyech's more of that particular problem). In those ugly games where we can't finesse our way through, and if said team also has a handle on Ziyech, he could be the battering ram that's required. And 12mil buyback clause is what it is.
CF - Moussa Dembele & Habib Diallo
The trickiest conundrum IMO. Abraham needs competition & the temptation to try for someone outright better (like Werner) for short term benefit is strong, but if handled correctly I do believe we've got the main man here for the next 10 years. I'm not completely sold on Dembele or Diallo, but together forming a trident of competition with Abraham for a combined cost of approx 60-65mil could actually work (and seems very 'us' lets be honest lol). On paper there's a good balance, Dembele (pace), Diallo (power), Abraham (bit of both), and all three guys I imagine would be happy with the situation.
Those I'd look to move on would be Alonso, Zouma (regretfully), Barkley, Bats, and Willian/Pedro/Giroud (free)
Squad For Next Season :
GK - Rajkovic/Kepa, Caballero
DF - Azpi, James, Christensen, Rudiger, Tomori, Upamecano, Emerson, Grimaldo
MF - Jorginho, Kovacic, Kante, RLC, Mount, Ziyech, Pulisic, CHO, Boga
CF - Abraham, Dembele, Diallo
Squad For Next Season
posted on 1/3/20
Alaba's a good shout. My reservation there would be his wages, imagine he's probably on 200k/w+ at Bayern & at his age combined with the fact he'd want a long term deal that's risky. Top player though.
Not watched Edouard. Seen a lot of Cetic fans online rating him higher than Dembele?
posted on 1/3/20
Alaba’s wages could be a bit high but there would be a lot of room to manoeuvre with several big earners out the door.
Fee shouldn’t be too high as his contract is up next summer. I think his age is fine, we need a bit of experience here and there, plus he can fill multiple positions pretty well.
Edouard seems very highly rated and yeah lots of people think he’s better than Dembele, so given he’d cost a lot less he’s probably worth a crack.
posted on 1/3/20
Just checked and most sites report Alaba’s wages around £170k/w.
posted on 1/3/20
Willian £120k
Giroud £110k
Bakayoko £110k
Alonso £100k
Barkley £100k
Pedro £100k
Drinkwater £100k
Batshuayi £90k
Zouma £40k
Get rid of these wastemen along with several others like Moses/Zappacosta etc and we’ll have about an extra £1m per week in wages to disperse. Enough to cover those 4 signings with plenty to spare.
posted on 2/3/20
"It's a tough one. One option would be to sign a winger who can double up as a CF or vice versa (like Son), but there's not many around who'd fit our profile or be competent enough in either position to be worth pursuing, that I've seen that is."
Tammy
+
One of Jonathan David or Odsonne Edouard (preferably the latter as he can cover/double up as a wide player)
+
Pulisic or Hudson-Odoi being molded into makeshift third choice frontman, further along development.
Works for me.
posted on 2/3/20
Should revisit the Belgium market...
Mass pool of (untapped) talent emerging in Jupiler again, could unearth a bargain gem and maybe not dispose of them this time round...like we did with De Bruyne (who had standout qualities).
Blame lies with the manager at the time for De Bruyne's permanent departure, certainly wont happen under current management.
posted on 3/3/20
Two rando players but Mariano and Ben Yedder would be decent choices for a new striker who would compete with Tammy.
posted on 3/3/20
Two rando players but Mariano and Ben Yedder would be decent choices for a new striker who would compete with Tammy.
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Good shouts. Both should be reasonably priced too
posted on 3/3/20
Should revisit the Belgium market...
Mass pool of (untapped) talent emerging in Jupiler again, could unearth a bargain gem and maybe not dispose of them this time round...like we did with De Bruyne (who had standout qualities).
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I checked out that Johnathan David on YouTube. Not too shabby
posted on 5/3/20
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