Today’s Chelsea transfer gossip: from the sublime to the ridiculous

There’s been plenty of transfer rumours – of varying degrees of ridiculousness – circling above Stamford Bridge ever since John Terry lifted the FA Cup back on 30 May. I think I’ve captured pretty much all of them here.

It has been a bit quieter of late however as the club has focused on pre-season games, renewing the contracts of important players (good news that Drogba is close to signing up) and the critical task of promoting Frank Arnesen.

But two rumours catch the eye today, if only because of their respective improbability and cause for concern.

Firstly, the Daily Mail have today claimed that Chelsea are offering £38m and Deco to Athletico Madrid in return for Aguero’s services. As much as I’d like to see this happen – the talk is that ‘El Kun’ is the best young attacking talent in world football – the cynic in me reckons this is paper talk and won’t happen. The Daily Mail do seem rather keen on the story though, having run something very similar on Monday. Aside from the astronomical fee, it would undoubtedly be the right move for the club though – exchanging a young player for one of our 30 year olds and bringing in some energy, pace and creativity up front.

Now onto the more worrying piece of gossip – The Sun speculates that Ancelotti is lining up a move for Beckham. This certainly isn’t a move I’d get excited about. I’d dismiss this as paper talk too, but apparently Dave and Vicky are buying a £10m property in Chelsea, just off the Kings Road. Does set the alarm bells ringing a little. Having said that, they wouldn’t be the first world stars to set up home in a prestigious SW postcode…

What do you think? Would you welcome either of these two with open arms? Who else should we be targeting? Post a comment!

Other posts you might be interested in:

• Transfer policy – Chelsea should abandon the ‘off the shelf’ approach
• Chelsea aren’t failing to make big signings – it’s English football

Comments

[Gochelsea]

I would welcome "El Kun" specially after the loss of Di Santo and the fact that Drogba is going to be out of CL on 3 macthes....

I would say no to David,and no to Pirlo....why Ancelotti insists so much with Pirlo?? he is 30 and we alredy have an ageing team. The smartest think to do is to find young players from 20-25, for the midfield, attack and defense. But i guess that Roman and Ancelotti are too busy looking for "OLD TALENTS".

[Russell Saunders]

Gochelsea - thanks v much for your comment and welcome to the blog!

You're so right about needing a forward especially because of missing Drog for 3 CL matches. It's going to get worse in the new year too - we'll be missing both Drogba and Kalou upfront for around a month because of the African Cup of Nations (and Essien too of course).

[Michael Hepp]

I think we need to have some faith in Ancelotti. During his time at Milan he did well and rarely splashed out big cash to do it. Milan has the habit of selling players at their peak (ie. Shevchenko, Kaka) and taking a chance on players that many believe are towards the end of their career (ie. Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Beckham). I consider him a pretty thrifty head man. Beckham would give us what we all want .... width. He certainly is not an everyday player but he would be an asset in big games. I am not opposed to the idea of either Pirlo or Beckham. I very seriously doubt either will happen, but if they did I would be alright.

I think dumping Deco for an younger striker is a BRILLIANT idea. I don't think Deco's build is well suited for the English game and he is a ticking time bomb for an injury. I have not been impressed by Deco and I was really hoping he would be good for us.

[Russell Saunders]

Michael - glad we agree on deco! Not sure I'll be convinced re beckham though, although guess players like drog who are good on the air might appreciate his crosses. Just think he's too slow these days for the PL.

You're right, carlo did do well with an ageing squad, although i think his league record might have been better. Plus of course, it sounds like at least some of his signings were probably forced on him.

Interesting point though, think there's an article on ancelotti's transfer history. Will look into it!

[Ice_zik]

Just heard that Pirlo will DEFINITELY not join Chelsea. Hope it's true.Anyway, we need Aguerro or Pato up front to help Drogba and Anelka!

[Russell Saunders]

ice_zik - welcome to the blog. You're right - Berlusconi announced last night that he wouldn't be moving. Pirlo's spoken out on it to, saying he's happy to be staying put.

Would say it's 90% likely not to happen now, but stranger things happened...