23 Jul 2022 14:19:43
Hey lads, I haven’t been on here as much as I used to but thought I’d share some information.

Now I’ve been here for 12 years on the site and I’ve never claimed to have any sources but I did also share the info that one summer on Bakayoko, as a mate of mine was close friends with him and I did say he was interested in joining us at the time and the deal was likely to go through and he did join eventually (though things didn’t go so well) . I do have the same sort of info for Kounde and I’m told by someone close to him that he’s holding out for Barcelona and that’s part of the reason why the move has stalled, he says he’d be surprised if he didn’t join them.

We’ve been dragged by Barcelona this summer but I’m not too fussed I think we’ve made two good additions already, I wasn’t too keen on Raphinha but being French I must say Kounde would have been perfect for us and it’s a shame that we’d miss out on him but we move on . We can’t be begging anyone to join us, I trust Tuchel and the guys and at the end of the summer we’d surely have a team that would compete for all 4 trophies. Up the Chels.

1.) 23 Jul 2022
23 Jul 2022 14:33:27
He needs to tell Sevilla that before he tells your mate.

2.) 23 Jul 2022
23 Jul 2022 14:52:56
Pretty sure they are aware, problem has to be Barcelona haven’t moved for him officially I think. I don’t know enough about how these transfers work and the steps taken, I’m simply just sharing, I’d love for my friend to be wrong but here in France very few would pick any other club over the two big Spanish sides. Let’s wait and see. Either way it’s not the end of the world.

3.) 23 Jul 2022
23 Jul 2022 15:06:49
Hope Barcelona go bankrupt never liked them.

4.) 23 Jul 2022
23 Jul 2022 15:25:03
Fair enough, thanks for posting, Eli :)

Kounde's a good player, but I'm not too worried about getting him or not. There's a lot of very talented CBs out there, including in our own squad (Colwill and Trev) . Even with the current options, with Koulibaly added, it's not a horrible situation to be in. We have 4 CBs in Trev, Silva, Koulibaly and Colwill. That's sufficient if Tuchel is willing to move to a system with 4 defenders instead of 5 (considering we play defenders as wingback in a 343).

Now Silva is not ideally suited to a 4 man back line at his age, but if we play a defensively strong DM in front of them I think it should work. And if Tuchel really wants another young CB in the fold, I honestly don't know why the club aren't looking to re-sign Guehi. He was one of the league's best CBs already last season, is brilliant on the ball and reads the play exceptionally well. He'd make a good pairing with a more proactive defender like Koulibaly (or Colwill once he's gained more experience hopefully) .

Saliba's another CB, though sadly Arsenal seem to have wisened up to his immense talent and he'll stay with their team.

I'd just save the extra "CB money" and spend it on a strong DM, unless Tuchel is willing to try Ampadu in the role he used Marquinhos in at PSG. Played as a DM that dropped to the back line as an additional defender as well. Ampadu's ideally suited for that.

I just hope the club won't sign another CB, just to get another CB. It has to be the right one. Saying let's go for Gvardiol again now that Kounde is not feasible doesn't make sense, as one is a RB/ CB hybrid while the other is a LCB/ LB hybrid. It's very different.

5.) 23 Jul 2022
23 Jul 2022 15:54:56
Really enjoyed reading the above posts from ELI and Jackson.
Thanks Guys.

6.) 23 Jul 2022
23 Jul 2022 16:14:42
Thanks ELI for sharing that info.

I totally agree Jackson, I think having a strong DM would help us a lot, someone like Rice (I know it's hard to get him), which can also switch back to CB.

Also I think we need to consider investing more in the forward line as well. But to do that, we need to first sort out our current forwards.
I'd say let's sell Pulisic, Werner and Ziyech, keep Broja and add another versatile forward who can play everywhere in the forward line.

7.) 23 Jul 2022
23 Jul 2022 18:04:43
Eli, thanks for the information, I think your friend is right apparently Kounde has posted some BS about fulfilling his dreams-big yawn! Jackson, I disagree as much as a midfielder would be nice but not Rice this season, our defence can’t stay as it is. Silva will play limited games, Colwill is a talent but inexperienced and Chalobah is not good enough. If we had to we could survive without signings in midfield but not in defence.

8.) 23 Jul 2022
23 Jul 2022 18:31:36
I’m not too fussed on Kounde either personally I’ve always advocated for Fofana if we get a centre back in who’s quality in a back 3 or four and been immense since joining apart from his big injury. I’d normally stay away from players until we see how they return but watching him the last couple of months last season he’s returned just fine.

Go big for Fofana and keep Colwill and we’re sorted.

9.) 23 Jul 2022
23 Jul 2022 20:57:04
Sorry to trouble you ED02 but is there any interest in Fofana from Chelsea? Having read the posts I have not seen any link whatsoever.

{Ed002's Note - Yes, he is on the lengthy list of CBS Chelsea are interested in.}

10.) 23 Jul 2022
23 Jul 2022 21:09:01
Hopefully shift our attention to him but it’ll be costly I think he’s work it though. Great 1v1 defender he was locking down Mbappe and Neymar at 19 for St Etienne.

11.) 23 Jul 2022
23 Jul 2022 21:28:33
Thanks ED02, much appreciated.