Flicking through the gossip columns this morning it is with no surprise to see Chelsea linked with a few new players, as a Manchester City supporter I understand how their fans must feel, the sort of money both clubs possess pretty much ensures a constant stream of transfer gossip every day. The strange thing with Chelsea this Summer though has been their lack of spending, most managers like to get their work done before the season starts and so far Andre Villas-Boas has been unable to do just that, but surely that will soon change.
I made it back from my Summer jaunt on Sunday in time to watch Stoke – Chelsea on ‘Super’ Sunday, now I am not meaning to criticise the team or manager, nothing meaningful can really be judged on the back of one game, but things just didn’t seem to click. Obviously the Britannia is a very difficult place to go and in many ways Chelsea may be somewhat satisfied with a point. Their team just didn’t look fresh to me really, there were players in that team that I can only really describe as stagnant and maybe not good enough any more.
They were missing Essien which is obviously a massive loss, but other than that it was probably one of their strongest teams, I just can’t help but feel that players such as Kalou, Malouda and Mikel are no longer good enough for the Stamford Bridge side. As their rivals Manchester United spent lavishly this Summer on Ashley Young and Phil Jones, Chelsea have so far remained restrained but I now just feel they have fallen a long way behind the 19 time Champions.
Reports in the press today are linking them with a couple of new players, firstly Genk midfielder Kevin De Bruyne, a player that they have been reportedly monitoring all Summer. The attacking wide man is only 20, but he is widely respected across Europe and is thought of as a rising star. It is wide areas that I believe the Stamford Bridge side are struggling and obviously it would take the youngster time to adapt but the inclusion of some fresh blood and new enthusiasm can only be a good thing.
One of the longest running transfer saga’s of the Summer is regarding the future of Tottenham midfielder Luka Modric and according to the Guardian, the Chelsea hierarchy are ready to up their offer and include both Solomon Kalou and Yossi Benayoun in any move for the Croatian. The 25 year old is a fantastic player and he would offer an awful lot to Chelsea, clearly he has been their prime target and the club would loved to have him secured by now, but these moves can be extremely protracted especially when the player involved is the lynchpin of their current team, his addition would definitely freshen up the clubs attacking unit though.
I suppose the problem for Chelsea was their massive spending in January, they were always going to have to reign it in slightly this Summer, and whilst the money spent on David Luiz seems like it was well spent at this point, Fernando Torres continues to toil. It was an improved performance from the Spaniard on Sunday but he really needs to get up and running soon, the £50million they spent looks pretty hefty considering City managed to secure Aguero for £38million.
I don’t mean to write off Chelsea or their chances, they have a very astute manager and a good squad of players, but some of them just look a bit past it to me. Clearly good players that would offer plenty for teams slightly lower down the table, but for a team chasing the title and the Champions League I just don’t see some of them as being good enough any more. One player I think that should slot straight into their team is Daniel Sturridge, his endeavour, pace and skill would certainly provide a boost. Slotting him in on the right and having him cutting in I am certain would be more worthwhile than Kalou, I also can’t help but feel Benayoun is being underutilised at Stamford Bridge and if he doesn’t leave as part of the Modric deal I think he could definitely be a bonus for them.
They just look like a team needing a fresh injection of talent, and hopefully for the sake of their supporters some of these new signings will come off and provide them with some new impetus for this season.
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To be fair if you did see the game on Sunday then I don’t think you’d be saying Mikel isn’t good enough for Chelsea. He played extremely well and given his personal circumstances I think that’s a testament to just how good a player he really is.
What really gets me is that Stevie Wonder can see that Kalou and Malouda ( can I add Mikel and Anelka to the list) are a waste of space and yet a succession of managers ( past tense) have failed to see this. It is also a waste of time talking about DeBryne etc because as soon as Chelsea invest in these wonderkids they farm them out on loan and we get stuck with Kalou for another year. Ask any decent manager and he will say “if he’s good enough – he’s old enough”. I see today that Cech is injured – we buy two new young keeprs and farm them immediately out on loan – The back up plan is Halarious – pun. When will our continual failure in the transfer market end ?
Chelsea did all their spending at Christmas. because they got Torres, they felt they had to play him every match, and he was pants.
Why didn’t they sign Sergio Aguiero, who scored as much as Torres in his first 30 minutes, and cost less?
Unfortunately for Chelsea, Sheik Mansour is like 60 patient, non-tinkering Abromavich’s, financially. I admire his guts for putting that young portuguese boy in charge this season, though. I’m sure nothing can possible go wrong. He is not of the bottle.