I think there's a few to get rid of before Lacselles and Wood for me personally. I can see it though as both will have some value to other teams and could bring in small transfer fees. Ritchie I agree wholeheartedly - love the lad but he's done here. Lewis would be another I'd consider before those two, Paul Dummett for sure and either Darlow or more likely Gillespie, possibly both by the summer if Dubravka comes back after learning the grass isn't always greener. Manquillo would be the next as we don't need 3 RB's then I'd still have Fraser on the list and possibly Murphy as well tbh. But the value of that lot probably is quite small compared to someone like Lacselles or Wood who you'd hope we could get 8-10m for. Lacselles to Forrest would be a good shout. I think we'll see some attacking players bought in and think a CM/DM as well. Streamline the squad and add quality. Top 10 to go in order: 1 Ritchie 2 Gillespie 3 Dummett 4 Lewis 5 Fraser 6 Darlow 7 Manquillo 8 Wood 9 Murphy 10 Lacselles If we can shift 3/4 of them in January I'd be happy with that and another 3/4 in the summer bringing in 6-8 replacements in the next two windows and you'd start to be pretty excited about the squad.
Thing is though, The likes of Ritchie, Dummett and Lascelles can at least aid and help out with the youngsters learning off of decent pro's and those with a knowledge of the club and area to help others settle in. Darlow, Gillespie, Manquillo offer nothing at this point and time. Lewis, Fraser, Murphy and Wood are still very much squad players
I just don't see him moving, he's been on the radar of big clubs for a few years and is very much following in Haalands footsteps (outscored his records at some of the youth levels). I doubt they'd be willing to let him go for less than 60-70m and, more importantly, I don't think his advisors would tell him to move. Stay at Dortumnd for another 3-4 years, tear up the league and then he'll go for £70m+ to whoever he choses will be the plan.
I really like the look of Noni Madueke, can cover both wings and is English (and qualifies as Homegrown in this country). Suspect it'll be 30m+ but worth it. It's so hard to say though, I've only seen 2 games the guy has played in (the rest just highlights) and I'm going to trust that our scouts do a bit more than that Their record in the last year has been simply amazing.
Gakpo is another one to be all over. But that said; we need some of that Ashworth magic. Brighton have found the likes of Mac Allister and Caicedo from South America, that - in my opinion - is where we need to be. These Euro stars cost 4x as much and there’s no guarantee of success. Look at Sancho and Antony for example - are either better than Garnacho? As for Mason Mount….absolutely **** right off. Woefully over rated nothing of a player. Should be nowhere near England let alone Chelsea first team. I’d trust to Howe, but Mount would be another Wood signing.
Agree with this list. Though I will say that as ****e as Jacob Murphy and Lascelles are, they've done a good job under Howe in terms of getting us through the transitional period. Wood and Fraser too to be honest. Done the job required of them, but we need better now. We need to make room in the squad because the quality and depth required in CL football is very different... (could happen though)
AFC Crewe, who play in the 14th tier in the English football pyramid, have offered Ronaldo a club record £35 per week, which would make him the highest paid player at the club. (Star)