While all this chat about Matty is very interesting, it was also confirmed by QSF today that a midfielder to cover Capoue/Behrami/Watson will arrive imminently, i.e. a MF of the holding variety. I'd love it to be Pep but realistically it isn't. I can only think of Badu from all those previously linked that might be a genuine possibility. Any & all suggestions welcome.
Ledesma, Badu come to mind Was noises about Lazaar a few weeks ago QSF did say he wanted someone just a little bit different so might be Guedioura If we have money to spare personally I'd pitch for Chalobah Any dream player on my completely unrealsitic wish list Daniele De Rossi
I does sound like that rumour might not be complete nonsense. He's pretty attack-minded though, wouldn't think that's who Flores was referring to
I would say Guedioura is more suited to the side of the front three. He was never a particularly defensive player which is what those two need to be. On the contrary he was excellent at tracking back, covering the wide areas and creating chances from wide areas. But we wouldn't go for him now, he isn't specialised enough in either position. My vote would be Chalobah. i'm not convinced we have any foreign slots available so they would have to be English, plus we've already done business with Chelsea so I wouldn't be shocked if his name came up.
I'm really expecting a home grown player for this role, a player that shone in the football league but as yet hasn't been targeted by any PL teams. There really can't be that many.
We want to stay up, why would we sign Chalobah who has been a complete failure in the PL. Loftus-Cheek would be the one we want from Chelsea.
Loftus-Cheek is a brilliant name for a Chelsea footballer. I wish we had a player called Kenilworth-Cheek
This seems a little odd, we already have Watson and have just brought in a homegrown youth in the position in Ake. I already wondered how much game time we could realistically offer Ake, would seem particularly strange to bring in another player of the same mould over him.
A Chelsea mate says that Ake should play only at left back and playing him as a DM would be tantamount to giving the opposition a two goal start.
As QSF said it will be a different type of player I think it will be a deep lieing playmaker , someone with a great passing range . Ledesma is a perfect example of this . Have been told he was slow even back in the day , so not sure whether he lol suit the prem .
He is going to be home grown I would imagine, Chalabah as cover would do me but only on a permanent deal.
Chalobah has been mismanaged and ruined by Chelsea and farmed out to hoof teams There is still time to tear out all of the bad coaching and rebuild him as Zola always intended him to be
Purely for cover only if you expect Capoue or Behrami to go through a whole season without injury, suspension or loss of form.
That's interesting, as the guy who runs the Chelsea youth team twitter and watches their u-18 and u-21 games gave an interview earlier this week and he was of the opinion that Ake is very much a defensive midfielder, supposedly only ever fielded at left back because he is left footed and vaguely defensive minded as a player. He was of the opinion that he was much better in the middle, with space to operate in, and that it was also the position that he played throughout the various Dutch national team youth levels as well as for Feyenoord before he made the switch to Chelsea.
DEEENEE - Sorry. *Cough* On a serious note, with recent history still in my eyes Gueds wouldn't be a bad shout. Granted though he's more box to box than holding with a high energy work rate being his best aatribute, but he shown a good range of passing as well.
