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Chelsea 2022-2023: America... fuck yeah?


ztejas

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So, been a bit hectic past three days but some notes on the first preseason game.

First Half

Good - Gallagher was the bright spot. He is constantly moving and disrupting the play of game on defense and his first touch was fantastic, always opening him up to space. Chalobah has a great touch and awareness. 

Bad - Sarr isn't good and Chilly and Tiago were constantly trying to help him. CHO is forgettable. He had a couple of ok runs, but never beat anyone one on one, was often disrupting flow of play trying to beat someone. Ziyech has a great left foot but rarely is in a position to use it and would make dumb mistakes. Kenedy and Barkley should be moved on of just know they are depth. Kai has to somehow get more involved and finish his chances.

Second Half

Good - You could immediately feel the difference in play. This squad controlled the game. Reece and Mason are fucking amazing. Dave looked good, but a bit slower than those around him. Alonso is a not a good defender, but very good at advancing play down the wing. Pulisic has good energy and added to the game, but certainly wasn't a focal point. Ampadu looks the part. Very comfortable on the ball, worked the back line well. If he is given a chance like Chalobah, I think he could provide depth, but he might want more.

Bad - Bats, he was out there doing his normal hustle around and be in the right place, but often was sloppy with his first touch or hold up play. Timo was constantly giving up on plays when we lost control. 

Was a great game with a great atmosphere. That stadium is fantastic. Good fans from Club America.

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38 minutes ago, MoJames said:

So, been a bit hectic past three days but some notes on the first preseason game.

First Half

Good - Gallagher was the bright spot. He is constantly moving and disrupting the play of game on defense and his first touch was fantastic, always opening him up to space. Chalobah has a great touch and awareness. 

Bad - Sarr isn't good and Chilly and Tiago were constantly trying to help him. CHO is forgettable. He had a couple of ok runs, but never beat anyone one on one, was often disrupting flow of play trying to beat someone. Ziyech has a great left foot but rarely is in a position to use it and would make dumb mistakes. Kenedy and Barkley should be moved on of just know they are depth. Kai has to somehow get more involved and finish his chances.

Second Half

Good - You could immediately feel the difference in play. This squad controlled the game. Reece and Mason are fucking amazing. Dave looked good, but a bit slower than those around him. Alonso is a not a good defender, but very good at advancing play down the wing. Pulisic has good energy and added to the game, but certainly wasn't a focal point. Ampadu looks the part. Very comfortable on the ball, worked the back line well. If he is given a chance like Chalobah, I think he could provide depth, but he might want more.

Bad - Bats, he was out there doing his normal hustle around and be in the right place, but often was sloppy with his first touch or hold up play. Timo was constantly giving up on plays when we lost control. 

Was a great game with a great atmosphere. That stadium is fantastic. Good fans from Club America.

So... a lot of things we already knew. 

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So Tier 1 sources from both the Chelsea and Barca side suggest Kounde is on the way to their respective teams. I'm going to go glass half full and say he is on his way.

I say you guys use the reactions on this post to bet which side you think happens.

Rage+1 for Barca

Like   for CFC

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Posting here first in hopes of finding some help. Headed to London in a few weeks which aligns with Week 2 of EPL. Want to attend the Tottenham @ Chelsea match that Saturday. Does anyone have any advice on the best place to secure aftermarket tickets without being ripped off? I've seen a few sites, but hard to tell what is/isn't reputable. TIA! 

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17 hours ago, Hollywood said:

Posting here first in hopes of finding some help. Headed to London in a few weeks which aligns with Week 2 of EPL. Want to attend the Tottenham @ Chelsea match that Saturday. Does anyone have any advice on the best place to secure aftermarket tickets without being ripped off? I've seen a few sites, but hard to tell what is/isn't reputable. TIA! 

The secondary market is very difficult. In the past, I used our hotel concierge to get tickets. 

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55 minutes ago, RichUT said:

The trade winds seem to be blowing Kounde in the direction of Barca now. That would be a massive blow at this stage in the game.

The winds are more than blowing, I think it’s done. Dave may not be headed to Barca now though. Feel bad for him but helps us.

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3 names for Chelsea CB, Wesley Fofana is appreciated by Tuchel and it’s an idea internally but not yet a negotiation, Skriniar, who is appreciated and also Benjamin Pavard who is available on the market, Chelsea are discussing him. (FabrizioRomano)

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• It is understood Cucurella is open to joining Chelsea, despite having been keen on a switch to City, and that Brighton have already started looking at potential replacements.

 

 • Telegraph Sport understands that contracts were being exchanged and reviewed on Monday with a view to finalising a transfer.

 

 • It is also believed that Tuchel sees Cucurella as being able to play on the left side of his back three

 

 • Brighton could be tempted by a deal for Cucurella that includes highly rated Chelsea teenager Levi Colwill 

 

 • Interested in Inter Milan right-back Denzel Dumfries.

 

 • Leicester City remain adamant they will not sell Chelsea target Wesley Fofana unless they receive a huge bid of £80 million or more. 

 

 • However, sources believe that Fofana would be interested in moving to Chelsea.

 

 • More talks are expected this week, amid some claims that Fofana believes he has a gentlemen’s agreement that Leicester will listen to “fair” bids for him.

 

 • Even if Chelsea sign Cucurella, Tuchel wants at least one more defender and could also look at adding another forward to his squad

 

 • The anticipated arrival of Cucurella could coincide with the departure of Malang Sarr

 

 • Billy Gilmour is likely to leave on another season-long loan before the transfer window shuts 

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Out of the blue we sign this guy from AV that Barca wanted.

https://theathletic.com/3352190/2022/07/22/carney-chukwuemeka-aston-villa-ac-milan-barcelona/

Quote
The curious case of Carney Chukwuemeka is heading for an inevitable outcome.
The 18-year-old talent — a product of Aston Villa’s blossoming Bodymoor Heath academy and winner of the European Under-19 Championship with England this summer — is being chased by Barcelona and AC Milan.
Villa, who have tried to extend his contract since October after making it clear the attacking midfielder would play a big part in their future, want a substantial fee if he leaves before the close of the transfer window.
This is where the complexities begin. Barcelona and Milan want Chukwuemeka but will not pay a significant fee — certainly not the £20million ($23.9m) that has been rumoured — for a player who is out of contract next summer and available to discuss a move away for the 2023-24 season as early as January 1. They are, however, confident of agreeing personal terms.
If Chukwuemeka leaves when his deal expires, the fee would be only £400,000 in compensation.
Everything points to the 18-year-old leaving.
Other clubs in Italy and Germany are monitoring the situation and there is plenty of interest in England, too, especially as he made the team of the tournament at the Euros this month.
But for a move to happen this summer, it would require a significant offer.
Having nurtured the academy graduate from the age of 12, it is understandable why Villa are reluctant to let him leave for next to nothing next year.
 
 
 
For nine months they have tried to extend his contract, setting various deadlines. It was decided in January to put talks on hold until the end of the season so Chukwuemeka could focus on his football.
Those discussions started during May and June but an agreement could not be struck. His wage demands were deemed too high and Villa, who have a structured salary system and want to reward players for their performance and loyalty, refused to budge on what they believed was a competitive offer.
Still, the hope was that a deal would be in place by the start of July. Villa wanted to get it done and hoped that by convincing a number of top international players like Philippe Coutinho and Boubacar Kamara to join that Chukwuemeka would follow.
When it did not, a collective decision was made to leave the teenager out of the three-game pre-season tour to Australia. Chukwuemeka would have linked up late with the team anyway as he was given an extra week off following the Euros in Slovakia. Fellow Young Lions Aaron Ramsey and Tim Iroegbunam joined the tour late.
Tim-Iroegbunam-Carney-Chukwuemeka-Aaron-Ramsey
 
Villa trio Iroegbunam, Chukwuemeka and Aaron Ramsey starred in England Under-19s’ Euros success in Slovakia (Photo: Christian Hofer – The FA/The FA via Getty Images)
Villa have made a habit of getting things done under the ownership of Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens, but they have acted cautiously and carefully along the way.
It was not supposed to end up like this with Chukwuemeka.
Other talented youngsters like Jacob and Aaron Ramsey, Iroegbunam, Kaine Kesler-Hayden and Cameron Archer have all signed up for the long term.
Head coach Steven Gerrard wanted Chukwuemeka to sign on for the future and explained Villa need to start planning for the season with players who are committed, hence why Chukwuemeka was not included on the Australia trip.
59084fa4c030758578a6c0fdd5bb148604a77013
 
Gerrard was hoping Chukwuemeka would sign a new deal (Photo: Neville Williams/Aston Villa FC via Getty Images)
An awkward situation is unfolding for Villa as they wait to see whether an offer of value arrives, or if Chukwuemeka has a change of heart.
Losing him would be a blow but it will not undo the good work of the academy.
Villa, who named Chukwuemeka their academy player of the season in 2021 when they won the FA Youth Cup, can promote that they helped “create” the first British £100million player following Jack Grealish’s record-breaking move to Manchester City.
Jacob Ramsey is rapidly climbing a steep upwards curve, having first joined the club as a six-year-old, and there are high hopes for Kesler-Hayden, Iroegbunam, and Ben Chrisene, among others.
Villa feel like they showed Chukwuemeka a pathway to the first team last season. Money is not the only motivating factor here, game time is part of the issue.
In 2021-22, Chukwuemeka made 12 Premier League appearances, which is not a bad return for a teenager in his breakthrough campaign.
Out of a limited pool of players born in the year 2003, only Chukwuemeka and Norwich City’s Jonathan Rowe recorded double-digit appearances in the Premier League.
Chukwuemeka was the youngest player in 2021-22 to start a Premier League game when he played in the 1-1 draw with Brentford in August.
The question his inner circle appear to have been asking, though, is whether just two starts was enough for a player of his potential and if, alongside the right terms of a contract, that number would have increased next season.
Perhaps the 2021 Youth Cup winner could have been given a little more game time, which may have strengthened his willingness to sign an extension.
But there are not too many examples of players his age getting a regular run of starts in the Premier League. Southampton full-back Tino Livramento is 11 months older but made 25 starts after moving from Chelsea in search of regular minutes.
It is on the continent where opportunities are handed out more regularly to emerging talent.
The rise of Jude Bellingham cannot be ignored as he is the same age and, since moving to Borussia Dortmund from Birmingham City, has significantly kicked on to become an established England international. The difference, though, is that Bellingham had a Championship background at Birmingham and was outperforming senior players in training from the age of 15.
Other examples in Germany include Florian Wirtz, 19, at Bayer Leverkusen. He made 24 appearances in the Bundesliga last season. The ex-Chelsea midfielder Jamal Musiala, 19, played 30 times for champions Bayern Munich.
In Spain, Eduardo Camavinga, 19, made 26 appearances for Real Madrid and won the Champions League. Gavi, 17, played 34 times for Barcelona.
Seeing Paul Pogba, to whom Chukwuemeka is often likened, and Jadon Sancho leave England for Italy and Germany respectively as teenagers and return as superstars will hold some appeal. But so, too, should the rise of Ramsey at Villa Park.
jacob-ramsey
 
Jacob Ramsey was Villa’s young player of the year (Photo: Neville Williams/Aston Villa FC via Getty Images)
He was Villa’s young player of the season, trained with the England first team and was rewarded with a new contract in March on the back of a successful season.
Last season, Ramsey did not let the contract talks affect his training levels or performances when called upon, but his talent is rare and these early steps in his career are crucial.
The most common route players of his age at Premier League clubs take is to sign a long deal and then go out on loan. Had an agreement been struck 12 months ago, that might have been a realistic option.
Keeping hold of Carney, the younger of two Chukwuemeka brothers at Villa (Caleb, 22, had a disappointing loan spell at Scottish Premier League club Livingston last season), has never been that straightforward.
When the academy was working to a much tighter budget before Sawiris and Edens took over, there were discussions over the cost of petrol money paid out to Chukwuemeka’s family as he travelled from Northampton. In short, Villa regularly questioned whether it was cost-effective. Academy staff fought hard to sort out the right arrangement and he stayed on board.
His development since has been worth that investment and the club hoped to see much more of it on the pitch in the future.
If he features more prominently in 2022-23, then perhaps he will be able to fully unlock his talent. Whether that is with Barcelona, the Spanish club looking to rebuild, AC Milan, the Serie A champions, another European club, or even Villa, only time will tell.
The chain of events over the past few weeks, though, suggests it is only a matter of time before a move away is secured. The focus now is on which club wins the race for his signature.
(Photo: Neville Williams/Aston Villa FC via Getty Images)

 

Edited by MoJames
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19 hours ago, MoJames said:

I will likely be hurt eventually on where he ends up, but if this happens...

 

Who dis?

19 hours ago, MoJames said:

Out of the blue we sign this guy from AV that Barca wanted.

https://theathletic.com/3352190/2022/07/22/carney-chukwuemeka-aston-villa-ac-milan-barcelona/

 

We're doing a good job of restacking the cabinet on D. Just hope we can find some better finishing up top. 

Definitely feels like a transition season.

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On 8/1/2022 at 12:42 PM, MoJames said:

It is understood Cucurella is open to joining Chelsea, despite having been keen on a switch to City, and that Brighton have already started looking at potential replacements.

Apparently this is done. Not announced yet as Colwell is going to Brighton loan or purchase with a buy back, but not quite sealed and they want to announce both at the same time.

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  • ztejas changed the title to Chelsea 2022-2023: America... fuck yeah?

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