The gossip pages on the BBC Sport website have turned up a few gems in the past and as Chelsea continue to flop so far this season (qualification for the last 16 of the Champions League not included – congratulations) they seem to be working in over-drive to find the most bizarre and banal rumours.
The best of which, that I’ve seen in recent times refers to Andre Villas-Boas’ purported £80m transfer wish-list:
“Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas has drawn up an £80m wishlist, which includes Tottenham’s Luka Modric, Barcelona playmaker Thiago Alcantara, FC Porto defender Rolando and Real Madrid midfielder Sami Khedira.”
Whoever span this rumour must have got their maths seriously wrong. Chelsea have already had a bid of £40m for Modric turned down in the summer and there’s absolutely no reason why Levy would suddenly decide to chance his stance when it comes to the Croatian. Tottenham have been pretty definitive when it comes to Modric but the constant claim that he’s not for sale ‘at any price’ doesn’t seem to have hit home at Stamford Bridge.
On the flip side, everybody has their price (see United’s £80m sale of Cristiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid) and I’m sure if Chelsea levelled a serious bid for the player (£50m+) Tottenham would at least consider the offer.
But doesn’t that just underline just how off the mark this £80m wish-list is? Even being lenient when evaluating Modric’s worth to Tottenham, Chelsea would only be left with £30m to bring in three world class players. It’s nonsense to expect to secure the transfers of Alcantara, Rolando and Khedira for this amount of money, especially when their parent clubs aren’t really in a position where they have to sell.
Thiago looks like a real talent with bags of raw potential. He really does look like he’s got a massive future and Barca would be foolish to sell him at this stage. Then there’s Khedira, who’s doing fairly well at Madrid. Why would he want to leave Spain to join a team that is faultering in the Premier League?
Shouldn’t still being in a job by the end of January be at the top of Andre’s wish-list?
Whilst there will be comings and goings this January at Chelsea, I can’t help but feel that it’s important that everyone has their head screwed on properly, takes off their rose-tinted spectacles and views the transfer window for what it is. For me the very idea of drawing up an £80m transfer wish-list seems antiquated. But if sense prevails and Chelsea react in an intuitive way this January, they could well get themselves back on track.
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With at least 2 and up to 7 likely out in Jan; we’ll have movement enough and they’ll be class enough; unlucky for Modric if he doesn’t realize his Chelsea dream and more than welcome if he does….celery, celery…..
Its the reporting that is utter rubish, none of the above will happen.
Trust me