[NOT HAPPENING] Dynel Simeu

Chelsea centre-back. England U19. Contract expires in June. Started following Giaretta on Instagram.

This one's in the bag.

 

Pollock, Simeu and Baah contracts all expire this June.

Would imagine that if we’re in for them, nothing will be announced until 1st July.

Honestly wouldn’t be surprised if we’ve already tied up some other frees as well. There are some very good options for us. With Giaretta already saying we’re planning etc, can see some surprise frees joining us.

 

Will we have to pay compensation for all of them as they're under 24 and presumably have turned down new contracts? So although they're out of contract, they're not going to be free (same as Ngakia). I don't actually know if this is still the case, but it certainly used to be.

 

If it’s that simple, I might consider following G too and getting my boots out of the loft. He will quickly see that my contract is long expired.

 

Has the no 66 shirt at Chelsea so clearly close to their first team.

 

Same number as Alexander-Arnold.

 

Good point, well made.

 

A number is better than no number at all!

 

Giaretta is definitely an FM player. Scouring the expiring list at the end of the season and just signing anyone with a bit of potential.

 

He can compete with Wilmot for a seat in the stand, then.

 

Maybe so, but I back this policy of Watford signing these young players of promise. They may get one that turns out to be very good indeed.

Watford cannot afford to sign the finished product. They are in the market for kids with potential, and journeyman pro's who have been around the track a bit and maybe on the decline from one of the top clubs. This is Watford's market.

Very occasionally, they sign someone like Deulofeu, who somehow slips through the cracks and ends up with us, but those signings are very few and far between.

 

I'm still unsure how we signed Deulofeu for €11m or whatever it was. Peanuts for a player of his calibre.

 

Yes most likely, but anything that we would have to pay will be minimal. We’ve offered to pay £125k for Baah for example. If they haven’t been offered a new contract (unlikely) then no, we wouldn’t.

This is a good read and gives real players as examples.

https://fullcontactlaw.co.uk/2016/11/compensation-players-24-mystery/

 

Probably double what Udinese paid us for him !

 

He was considered injury-prone and considered inconsistent? Agree that it was a remarkable bit of business.

 

Well he certainly blew those accusations out of the water.

 

There are levels though. Nobody can seriously argue that signing Deulofeu was a great bit of business.

 

I was being sarcastic. He was both inconsistent (remember Gray kept him out of the side for a period) and injured a few times.

 

Wow. We really have been mismanaged for years!

 

Difficult to find much information on him, only a couple of comments on Chelsea forums recently:

"Didn’t know where to post this, anyone watch the youth cup semi final? Thought Livramento and Simeu were class, Bate too, hopefully some debuts for them later in the season, maybe FA Cup. Livramento particularly is looking the part this season, hopefully doesn’t do a Lamptey. "

Then the same poster commenting on their youth cup final vs Man City a bit later:

"Can play much better than they did tonight, piss poor performance, at their best they win that, maybe a step too far mentally for this group, but they’ll get there. Simeu was very poor and usually very good, unfortunately looked a bag of nerves tonight. "

I rate Livramento highly from what I've seen (their 18 year-old English RB) and think he seems destined to be at least a good PL player, so if Simeu isn't too far off in ability then he should be a very good signing on a free.

The only reason why I'd be slightly annoyed about this signing is that I would have thought it would make the possibility of us signing Guehi next season unlikely (if Swansea don't get promoted), as I bet Simeu won't be leaving Chelsea just to end up behind him again in the pecking order for the foreseeable future (with Guehi only being 2 years older).

Of course it's difficult to tell which could be the best long-term prospect, both have featured for England youth teams coming through, although Guehi seems to have had slightly more caps including as captain of England's U17s.

 

I think on a free, we can't go wrong. Worst comes to worst he ends up being closer in quality to Jake Clarke-Salter than Fikayo Tomori and we end up either using him as a squad player in the championship or selling him for some amount approximating to the wages we've paid for him while subsidising some fairly mixed championship loan spells. I would imagine that he'd be coming in and go out on loan anyway, unless he tears it up in pre-season; can't see us blooding a young player with senior experiences as we start a PL season.

I believe he is their youth team captain so that should reflect well on some of his mental traits, and he looks very physically imposing too. I saw on Twitter some Chelsea accounts who are very plugged in to the youth scene hope that he would get a run out last autumn in the Champions League but I guess it didn't pan out.

 

"He’s good. Just needs to tighten things up cause can get a bit overconfident on the ball when things are going well and gets himself caught up.Not sure the move to you would make sense for you or him though. The pathway to a first team spot at Watford just doesn’t exist for him. Similar with a lot of the young players you’ve picked up in recent years, you’re at a too high level and in need of results too immediately to take a long term view. So if he’s moving, just to then need a loan anyway, he may as well stay at Chelsea."

 

The guy who presents Pointless?

 

I get that outlook and I subscribe to it to an extent. We dont have a great youth development record. But if we sign him, loan him out to the Championship and he shows his class, then he'll be in the first team in 2022-3, whether we're in the PL or not. In contrast, look at Guehi, arguably the best CB in the Championship this season, and almost certainly the best under the age of 22, but he'll be heading out on loan again next season unless he is willing to be their fifth or sixth choice CB. I also wouldn't be shocked if they signed another CB this summer pushing both Guehi and Simeu further down the pecking order. That pressure and short-termism is there at Chelsea too, and you can see that from some of the academy/young players they've sold over the years. We sign young players and loan them out with a view (often misguided or mismanaged, yes) to them joining the first team. Chelsea loan players with a view to maximizing their value when they sell them, and they do it very well but it means that for Simeu to get first team opportunities there he'd probably have to be the best CB in the PL outside the top 6. (Yes, I know that James and Mount and to a far lesser extent Abraham have enjoyed first team opportunities but those originated under Lampard during a transfer embargo)

Edit: just to add, that in addition to all the CBs that Simeu is lower down the pecking order than playing at Chelsea this season, they also have Trevoh Chalobah, Malang Sang and of course Marc Guehi.

 

Except Guehi should probably get a loan to the PL instead next season, so ultimately the two could have had very similar experiences - albeit there'd be more risk for Simeu as in case we got relegated we'd probably make him suck it up and play for us again in the Championship, whereas if he'd been on loan from Chelsea in the Champ and done well then they might be happier to let him go on loan to the PL the following season (as Guehi will probably do).

 

Maybe. But Guehi probably doesn’t want to keep being shunted around on loan with no hope of breaking into the first team of his parent club. Eventually players have to leave, set down roots and build a career somewhere. Also, if Simeu is loaned to the Championship and performs as well as Guehi this season he could always request/demand a move to the PL anyway and we’d be reasonably happy to sell if the right offer arrives (as we did with Suarez and Estupinan)

 

Kurt Zouma and Fikayo Tomori have both been on 2+ loans in different leagues already while still being owned by Chelsea. And if Simeu does well in his second season on loan from Chelsea at perhaps a PL club then no doubt transfer offers will come in (same with if Guehi does well on loan next season, that's if there aren't already PL clubs eyeing up a permanent move already).

 

I guess it comes down to personal preference. I think over the last few years, a lot of Chelsea players have decided that they would be best served by leaving permanently and establishing themselves permanently at a new club. I don’t think we’re the most attractive alternative, but I can understand the rationale. If I were Simeu I would go to an upwardly mobile Championship side on a permanent deal, expecting to start, Barnsley or Brentford stick out to me, maybe even QPR under Warburton who has shown a willingness to trust young players.

I think Tomori’s experience is as much a cautionary tale as a success story of Chelsea’s academy - was performing fairly well and shipped out to Milan, will probably be sold. Zouma not really comparable to Guehi, Simeu etc - he was brought in for £15m or so at age 19 having already had three seasons of senior football; Chelsea were always likelier to persevere with him given their outlay.

 

Granted, Guehi's initial loan to Swansea was just for 6 months, but he was very impressive there and happy to stay on for this season, how good would Simeu have to be in the Championship, at the age of 19 and in his first experience of senior football, to want to bypass us (who, if we get relegated would probably be fancied to bounce back again) and go to the Prem?

 

From the same lot who broke the Olise to Palace deal. No idea if it's us though...

 

Would more than explain why we sold Wilmot, if it happens to be us.

 

If it is us I'd imagine it will be between him and Pollock for the fifth choice centre back, with the other heading out on loan. I doubt he's leaving Chelsea U23s to play for Watford U23s.

But he'll probably end up signing for Palace, be excellent and form a partnership with Guehi that helps them to 6th place.

 

A couple of Palace Twitter accounts seem to think it’ll be them. Wouldn’t be shocked.

 

Well at least we tried, I think. That's the main thing right?

 

And Giaretta got a new follower on his Insta. Everyone's a winner.