Chelsea are trolls but Shakhtar are cunts for egging them on. Scummy club.

GooneriC No chance , he will not lose sleep at all if he doesn't play for us

Disagree with that. Arsenal is infinitely more appealing than Chelsea. He won't get a sniff of Champions League next season, and will have to contend with a hellish landscape of malcontents as opposed to a young, motivated and unified outfit that can support his development.

He'll think this one through carefully. Looks like it could get messy but I think it can still happen—we're just not used to being the more appealing destination since Mourinho times.

As much as I like the look of Mudryk, Shaktar's asking price is even crazier than Atletico's for a guy who's played 30 matches in the Ukrainian league. What do the conservatives want us to do if Shaktar don't budge and they don't want to loan Felix either? Do you have other targets in mind?

I don't see how anyone (was it Claude?) can love Chelsea's new owner. Regardless of whether it's stupid for them to bid that much for Mudryk, it might fuck things up for us as well. Isn't that much more important than being able to laugh at their overpriced transfers?

    Vlahovic, despite the steady downplaying of those links, could be available for the stratospheric prices being discussed …

    Vlahovic is too expensive for a backup striker to my mind, especially for the much touted Plan B which will be thrown on for 30 mins 10 times a season (maybe 15 at most). It's not like if Gabriel Jesus has a few months out, Vlahovic can fit in seamlessly. I'd rather bring in someone like Mudryk (no view on the specific player) who can rotate seamlessly with our existing starters. My vote for backup striker is Marcus Thuram (long-time proponent of his) who I think can rotate with Jesus from time to time and even complement him as the "Plan B" when necessary.

    I don't usually like footballers doing this stuff, but Shaktar's valuation is ridiculous and he's doing it for us so fuck it. Keep at it.

    QuincyAbeyie I think Raphina made it quite clear he only wanted Barca, that is why we backed down. Chelsea thought they could still force the deal through but once the player had decided it was only Barca, Leeds then had to deal with them. As long as our offer isn't ridiculous if the player only wants us we stand a good chance.

    Also as we've seen with the details emerging about Chelsea's bid for Enzo Fernandes maybe Chelsea they won't go as high as Shakhtar are hoping.

    Yeah, he needs to cut it out. It's not professional. Plus, if he will do this to Shakthar now, why won't he do the same or worse to us if/when he wants to leave us?

      flobaba Yeah, he needs to cut it out. It's not professional. Plus, if he will do this to Shakthar now, why won't he do the same or worse to us if/when he wants to leave

      That's football tbh. Shaktar are looking out for themselves and not him; if they cared about him they wouldn't be trying to flog him to Chelsea. He's entitled to look out for his own interests

      HomeSteak Hahahaha. He will be so unhappy if he is forced to go to Chelsea ffs

      It's to much even 70 mil with any structure you want. He looks good but not that good, I would move on.

      • Doc replied to this.

        This window is already winding me up big time. I just don't trust us to ever truly push the boat out when needed. And do we have a plan B?

        Will be a long month.

          Bring Back Kerrea Gilbert

          We did what was necessary two summers ago and brought in Ramsdale, White, Tomi etc. We did what was necessary this summer and brought in Jesus and Zinchenko.

          We are top of the table. Things seem to be moving along fine

          Bring Back Kerrea Gilbert To be fair we have got deals like Ben White & Ramsdale over the line despite the selling club pushing back heavily.

          This isn't personal, just business. Shakhtar are within their right to demand what they can for their player. We need to convince the player and stick to our guns.

          HomeSteak

          I agree. Bordering on proven elite tier money.. Move on if that's the case

          Can't say I'm as sold as many on here / online are.

          I trust Mikel’s judgment on this. It there is one thing he knows it is a wide attacking player, if he thinks he’s worth the extra £10m-£15m then do it.

          He’s young and has great potential, this is where you can sometimes pay big and take a risk.

          • Doc replied to this.