Chelsea banned from signing players for two transfer windows

FrankJH · 8 Mar 2019 at 16:10

difficult one, but imo money in the bank is still better than losing him for free when the ban ends - it also may make less difference if they don't make CL positions this season either

At least they have a few legions of on loan players to keep them going - and even without any Hazard fee could have ~£400m to spend in 2020 …...City probably wont be dealt with until next season, but if the same gets announced for them in the next two months....Summer 2020 will be absolutely insane....transfer fees will become even more inflated...….could therefore affect everyone's spending this summer ( ie hoping to avoid / lessen the need for the next summer)

HangTime · 15 Mar 2019 at 23:16

I don't think they need to sign a Hazard replacement necessarily, which isn't that easy even without a ban. It's currently quite hard for them to play Pulisic, Pedro, Willian and Hazard all together so gives them more options to utilise those guys with also more potential game time for RLC/CHO. I think their bigger issue is up front, as Higuain's loan expires in the summer whereas Morata's has another year to run after that. Effectively that just leaves them with Giroud and Batshuayi as realistic options through the middle, neither of whom are absolute top drawer compared to what their rivals have.

robfosters · 15 Mar 2019 at 23:27

HangTime said:
I don't think they need to sign a Hazard replacement necessarily, which isn't that easy even without a ban. It's currently quite hard for them to play Pulisic, Pedro, Willian and Hazard all together so gives them more options to utilise those guys with also more potential game time for RLC/CHO. I think their bigger issue is up front, as Higuain's loan expires in the summer whereas Morata's has another year to run after that. Effectively that just leaves them with Giroud and Batshuayi as realistic options through the middle, neither of whom are absolute top drawer compared to what their rivals have.

I think Giroud will go back to France in the summer and Bats is not the required level.

They need to get a top striker, and in this day and age, that costs an absolute fortune. And who’s available?

Chelsea really are poor with strikers. Who have they had since Drogba who is in the same league as say, Aguero, Auba, or Kane?

BaZ87 · 15 Mar 2019 at 23:56

I can't see how Chelsea could allow Giroud to leave if this ban isn't either overturned or suspended while they appeal to CAS and it really wouldn't shock me if Abramovic blocked any deal to sell Hazard if this ban stands. Chelsea's attacking options without him (and Higuain) leave a hell of a lot to be desired both in the wide/attacking midfield roles and the CF position. This squad without Hazard has next to no chance of making the CL imo and to potentially miss out for 3 seasons running (if they didn't make it this season) could hit Chelsea hard and make regaining their place in the top 4 hugely difficult for a number of years.

robfosters · 16 Mar 2019 at 00:16

BaZ87 said:
I can't see how Chelsea could allow Giroud to leave if this ban isn't either overturned or suspended while they appeal to CAS and it really wouldn't shock me if Abramovic blocked any deal to sell Hazard if this ban stands. Chelsea's attacking options without him (and Higuain) leave a hell of a lot to be desired both in the wide/attacking midfield roles and the CF position. This squad without Hazard has next to no chance of making the CL imo and to potentially miss out for 3 seasons running (if they didn't make it this season) could hit Chelsea hard and make regaining their place in the top 4 hugely difficult for a number of years.

This June, Hazard will enter the last year of his contract. If he doesn’t sign and Real want him, can Chelsea really refuse and risk losing him for nothing? I don’t think passing up on 70-100 million is an option for them. He’s no guarantee of top four either. He’s there this season and they’re still outside of the top four. Can you imagine the prospect of failing to get top four and losing him for nothing!!! It would be the season from hell for Chelsea.

If he wants to go, I think they’ll have to take Reals money and bank it.

If the transfer ban stands, they may just have no option but to accept a few years in the wilderness, so to speak. Also, it’s not as if Roman is as free with his cash as he used to be either. He won’t bankroll them out of trouble willy nilly any more.

BaZ87 · 16 Mar 2019 at 00:57

I'm aware of his contract situation but qualification for the CL will be worth £70m alone and yes I know it's not guaranteed either way but I think he will make a noticeable difference to Chelsea's chances. With the changes in the amount of players a club can loan out, Chelsea are going to be selling a hell of a lot of players over the next few seasons and will probably be able to swallow the financial hit they may take on Hazard. That said, it's not just about the money. CL qualification is huge in terms of being able to attract and retain your best players - missing out the odd season may not be the end of the world but if Chelsea missed out this season it would be 3 times in 4 years, they can't afford that to become 4 in 5 and it probably makes sense to take the hit on Hazard's transfer fee just to give them the best possible chance of avoiding that scenario.

FrankJH · 16 Mar 2019 at 21:51

Is Hazard the type of player to "down tools" to get his move ? he can sit in the u21's etc for a season and move for nothing (at least Chelsea have to consider this as a possibility)

Might also depend of Chelsea get CL for next season or not, if Chelsea don't get that income etc it might be better to get his wages off the books as well? His wages must be ~15m for the season if not more (incl bonuses etc)

HangTime · 16 Mar 2019 at 23:24

Hazard loves playing football so I don't think he would down tools, there were a few murmurings towards the end of the Mourinho rein but then given what happened subsequently happened during his tenure at MU you could argue that is more about the manager than him.
I can't see them selling him on the cheap, I know his contract is running down but I would still be wanting 3 figures for a player of that calibre. If he wants to go then he's unlikely to change his mind next season so may be best to cash in and use next season to plan for life without him, learning about what the other players have to offer in his absence and identifying future targets.

BaZ87 · 16 Mar 2019 at 23:30

FrankJH said:
Is Hazard the type of player to "down tools" to get his move ? he can sit in the u21's etc for a season and move for nothing (at least Chelsea have to consider this as a possibility)

Might also depend of Chelsea get CL for next season or not, if Chelsea don't get that income etc it might be better to get his wages off the books as well? His wages must be ~15m for the season if not more (incl bonuses etc)

I'm not sure why he'd down tools and how it would help him. As soon as the transfer window closes he can't leave and sitting out an entire season is likely to have a negative effect on his worth (from a contract pov) with any new sides.

Obviously they'd rather get a fee for him than not but they wouldn't be under any financial pressure to sell him if they missed out on the CL this season and as I mentioned, the changes in the loan rules is likely to lead to Chelsea selling off lots of players over the next couple of seasons so they won't be short of cash coming in.

I'm not saying it will or is likely to happen but equally I wouldn't be shocked if Chelsea blocked any sale if they weren't able to sign anybody this summer. Going into a season with their current squad minus Hazard and Higuain would be pretty grim for Chelsea and could do more damage to them than missing out on £70-100m from his sale.