Mandzukic isn't going to move from the best team in Europe to the third best in England just to sit on the bench.

Matt Law is a crappy tabloid journo who used to work for the Express (and write a load of bs), how did he get a role at the Telepraph?

Who would want to take Torres, even if the transfer fee is very modest? The guy is on astronomical wages! Best thing I can see Chelsea doing there is a loan while they pay a hefty part of his wages.

Lukaku will bring them a fair bit of cash, but I don't think it will be anywhere near the £25m that article suggests. 15-18 seems more reasonable considering the kind of clubs who will come knocking.

Etoo is on a one year deal, and the only upside for Chelsea is to get him off their wage bill.

6-8m for Ba seems about right. There will be takers for that.

So, if they made £15m on the Mata/Matic deals, get another 7 for Ba, and tops 20m for Lukaku - that's £42m, and quite a bit off the wage bill. They pretty much have to break even to comply with FFP, and they have other holes in their squad to plug. Can they really spunk it all on a striker or two?

i think at this point they just need to show a downward trend in costs, not necessarily be in compliance. they should be fine vis a vis FFP

Nah, there are certain allowances for losses in the first 3 years, but there is a ceiling for that too.

Damn, forgot they made good money on the De Bruyne sale too.

Sounds like guesswork. As Rex says nobody is buying Torres when he's on that type of money...certainly not Atletico anyway. I reckon they'll buy one striker and Eto'o and Torres will still be there next year.

It seems outrageous but I wouldn't put it past Chelsea and Mourinho to rid themselves of all their 4 strikers to bring in two new ones in one Summer.

Put it this way - Chelsea offering to waive their claim on Curtois and offering Torres on loan for a year on subsidized wages, that could be very tempting for Atletico in exchange for Costa. Curtois is easily a £15m player and vital for Atletico, and Torres is a massive fan favorite. That deal and another £20m would probably be a good deal for Atletico.

I am pretty sure Etoo will be let go. He signed a 1 year deal on massive wages and, frankly, has done nothing to justify that. Ba has hardly played all year, so it isn't unreasonable to think he will want out.

I'd say the smart move for Chelsea would be to close the deal on Costa, and bring Lukaku home.

Costa, Lukaku seems the most logical path, Rex. But it's highly dependent on shaking Torres. Are they willing to take the kind of hit that Man City did when loaning Adebayor to Spurs? Shaky

I figure they will take whatever they can. I can't see a club out there willing to buy Torres, so a loan is probably the best they can hope for. You also have to remember that Torres is massive at Atletico. He was their captain and talisman for years, and he is a massive fan favorite. I reckon Torres would be up for that move as well.

Torres was a monster at Atletico, but the man we see now is an impostor. I'm sure even Atletico owners and fans are fully aware of his decline. Keeping Mata for some kind of deal would've made sense. Torres is a spent force

otfgoon wrote:

Matt Law is a crappy tabloid journo who used to work for the Express (and write a load of bs), how did he get a role at the Telepraph?

Its not like the Telegraph has ever been much of football paper.

Don't want Lukaku but I'd be annoyed if he goes to spurs

Lukaku should agitate for a move to anywhere he can get game time. And to the lads credit he's always insisted on getting game time since he arrived there. Don't think he'd be too excited at the prospect of playing back up to Costa, especially if any of Torres, Ba or Eto'o are still hanging around.

Rex wrote:

Put it this way - Chelsea offering to waive their claim on Curtois and offering Torres on loan for a year on subsidized wages, that could be very tempting for Atletico in exchange for Costa. Curtois is easily a £15m player and vital for Atletico, and Torres is a massive fan favorite. That deal and another £20m would probably be a good deal for Atletico.

I am pretty sure Etoo will be let go. He signed a 1 year deal on massive wages and, frankly, has done nothing to justify that. Ba has hardly played all year, so it isn't unreasonable to think he will want out.

I'd say the smart move for Chelsea would be to close the deal on Costa, and bring Lukaku home.

I'd pay £30m for him