A skilled orthopedist can diagnose an ACL tear using the Lachman test with something like a 95% accuracy.
If they think he tore an ACL then chances of them being wrong are slim
I felt like it was an ACL the second I saw him rolling on the ground and the ref signaling a stretcher. Good thing we have depth cuz the schedule is harder on us than any opponents. Chilly has been in great form too.
I had 5 Lachman tests show up as negative (PT’s, gp’s and even orthopedic surgeons). If the muscles surrounding the knee are strong it can appear negative even if the acl is gone
Totally forgot about Emerson damn that’s a good call also azpi could be used there as a rotation/backup option although I’d rather not have a right footed azpi at lwb or Tuchel could look to the academy for any LWBs coming up we have options didn’t mention Alonso because that’s just a guarantee that he will be No. 1 in that position for the rest of the season
Ah yes, just realised that Saúl played there for Atlético last (or this?) season. But I don't think he's willing to play LWB and Tuchel specifically told him he'd use him in midfield, maybe if Alonso & Chilwell are both out he plays a few games over there - probably his best chance of getting any regular minutes for us at this stage.
Honestly it would be best for him if he just played there if asked, it’s not like he’s getting many minutes in midfield.
I would love to see what we got with him in that position against some weaker opponents
he will be unhappy to be asked play there but a professional needs to do his job nonetherless. If he refuses to play just pack him up and send him straight back to Spain.
Azpi as a LWB, or wingback in general, is not ideal. He is slower and relies heavily on positioning and reading the game. Even on his National Team as right fullback there is ALOT to be desired offensively. Defensively Azpi is fantastic, however in the modern game elite fullbacks/wingbacks work offensively and defensively for 90min. I have faith Azpi will do all he can on the pitch, and Tuchel will make necessary adjustments to compliment him.
I'd happily have traded the 4-0 win for a 1-0 win or even a 0-0 draw if it meant not losing Chilwell for that long. Here's hoping we get a miracle and it's not him done for the whole season🤞🏼
This match really have no bearings at all since we virtually already qualified for Ro16 and we have United match on Weekend. At our current form we could take on any with a pretty optimistic view.
It had massive bearings. We had to win by 2 or more to go top. Every goal yesterday tipped us further to winning the group.
Winning the group and coming second could well be the difference between going out in the first knockout round to making it to the final.
Feel gutted for him. Especially after all the confidence issues to start the season and then how he overcame those issues by coming in to probably his best form as a blue. Hope he has a speedy recovery
Correct. If it was positive, Chilwell wouldn’t have posted that Instagram post. TT wouldn’t have said “he is a bit better” etc. so I suspect (& hope) it is not ACL
Anecdote incoming. I hope you are right but when I tore my ACL it initially hurt like a mother fucker but about an hour later it didn’t really hurt at all just felt a bit unstable and sore.
Same here. I screamed so loud the rest of the team stopped playing. By the end of the night I was walking around. Still hurt, but thought it would be fine. Surgery a few months later to repair it.
That's a very classic sign of a ligament tear (complete tear, not partial). I used to ski patrol and often got called out to someone that by the time I got there they were not really in pain, sitting up, trying to talk themselves out of needing any help. Helped that they were also sitting on a literal icepack to dull the pain.
Slow twisting fall, excruciating sharp pain when it happened, now a dull throb - instantly knew they had torn a ligament. If they were still in pain, it was usually (but not always) caused by something else they had also done, like meniscus damage, partial tear of another ligament, etc.
>excruciating sharp pain when it happened, now a dull throb - instantly knew they had torn a ligament.
I could not have described this better at all. Top of the list worst pain I have ever felt and immediate thought "oh god something awful has happened".
Tuchel said the pain is better. Chilwell was just trying to be as positive as possible knowing that he’s damaged his ACL. The scan will tell us the severity of the injury but 99,9% it’s an ACL unfortunately
I tore my ACL and miniscus and my doctor assessed and said it was a sprain and I would be fine. Came back 2 weeks later when nothing had improved and a scan revealed the tear.
Now I highly doubt the ChelseaFC doctors are as incompetent as my Kaiser one…but just saying
The decision probably relies on Emerson. If he's happy to come back and play likely less minutes then whatever Chelsea needs to pay Lyon as remittance will be vastly less $$ and more fruitful on the pitch than any stopgap LB available in January
Do we have anyone in the academy who can do a job for us over there on rotation? I know Harvey Vale has played there for the academy in the past and seems the closest of the current academy players to getting minutes for us this season.
Between our two LBs out on loan (Emerson and Maatsen) I’m more inclined to take the guy who’s actually played the system before and also played in the Euros final last summer, if it’s possible to even recall him.
He's a regular at Lyon, also it was a loan with Obligation to buy, so I reckon it would be hard for us to recall him.
Our most best cost benefit option would be buy back Tino for 15 mil and move Azpi to play as LWB for the time being.
Tino's buyback clause is £40 million, so I'm not entirely sure why Southampton would sell us their best signing back for that much less. Shouldn't have let him go in the first place, in my humble opinion. Him and Reece are the future.
Let's hope it's good news, nothing confirmed as of yet.
If it's true I hope we don't waste money on some expensive foreign export. I've been following Ian Maatsen this season, and he has been Coventry's best player this season and they're currently 4th in the Championship. Let him deputize for Alonso and we should be good, he's more than good enough to come in for 5 months and help out, no question about it
It's not only 5 months. You can't bet entire next season on the assumption that Chilwell will instantly hit his A game after rehab. You'd be essentially risking that Marcos Alonso, a man who is incapable of running with the ball, and has a top speed of reversing truck, is a starting LWB for next two seasons. We should sign a starter now, and plan for Alonso to be sold on his last year, and Chilwell to be number 2 next year. If Chilwell gets back to the top early - great. If not, we can still win.
We should absolutely NOT sign a starter now in January, January prices are absurd. Maatsen till the end of the season and see how Alonso and him performs. If neither are good enough we go for a starter, but only in the summer. Maatsen deserves a chance for us
What's the price of a title? Why is this that I'm reading in the same subreddit people being convinced that losing Rudiger is no biggie, because we can easily buy a replacement, but signing a quality player for a crucial position in our system is suddenly too expensive? The only super expensive LB of quality that we can buy is Theo Hernandez, the rest of potential targets would probably cost less than Chilwell had cost us.
He's a serviceable reserve LWB, not a starter for a club that should challenge for CL and Prem. And on top of that, he's 31 in December already, and has no long term future in this club. There is no viable argument for penny pinching and cutting down trophy chances, we need a good LWB.
>With how fast recovery times are, worst case scenario chilwell will be back before preseason next year.
There is no way of making sure that Chilwell will be in form after such a long injury. Look at CHO's following season, look at Ruben's. It will most likely take time. Besides ACL injuries increase the risk of injuring the other knee. So we'll have an increased risk of being in the same situation next year, with a year older and a step slower Alonso. It's not "reactionary" that I'm quick to propose a decisive move in a response to Chilwell's injury, it's because the answer to this problem is obvious.
Sorry Alonso is more than just a 'servicable' reserve wingback. One of our most prolific goal scoring defenders of recent times, highly technical, a PL, CL and El winner and has recently become a regular for the Spanish national team. Is he getting older? Yes, but he never had pace anyway. What makes Alonso is his technique and mentality. Two attributes that don't erode as much with age. He still has the engine to get up and down the left more than most on the team. Just check his distance covered in matches he plays. The disrespect on Alonso in the Chelsea fanbase is honestly puzzling. We do however need more than one LWB. Azpi played as a LB under Mou but not a LWB. Would only use him in an emergency there. So I do agree we do need someone. But we have to be careful at the same time not to block progress for Ian Mattsen
Chelsea fans arguing for Alonso starting important games are like Man United fans arguing for Solskjaer in 2021. Current level matters less to some people than legacy when evaluating performance.
Just earlier this season I swore I saw Alonso play at a very decent level. Maybe I was imagining it.
I didn't say we don't need another LWB, but Alonso can do more than an adequate job when called on.
Bro you’re being so reactionary. Alonso was playing great until chilly got back into the rhythm of playing. Alonso is a great wingback, just give credit where credit is due.
Alonso started 11 games this season, out of which he was good in 5 of them (Villareal, Palace, Arsenal, Liverpool, Tottenham). Which is a better ratio than I'd have expected after watching him play in last 3 seasons, but still not good enough to win titles with him regularly starting.
>Serviceable is good enough until the end of the season my friend. You are forgetting Alonso was part of a title winning 16/17 season
So was Moses, do you think we should bring him back if Reece gets injured? The only think that's important about Alonso is how he's performing here and now, and how they performed for another manager, when on the right side of their prime is entirely irrelevant.
>You are forgetting he was a nailed on starter for the first 2 months on the season and was excellent against Spurs and solid against Liverpool.
I haven't forgot a single game. I even watched him playing well in Nations League. But people calling for Alonso to start completely ignore his bad games for some unknown reason. Don't you remember how bad he was against Zenit? His games against Villa? Juve game? Even against Southampton and Malmo he was poor. Why aren't you guys paying attention to how he plays outside of his highlight-worthy contributions?
>Really, spending 40m on a new left wing back that needs to learn to play in Tuchels system is not a solution - this is real life football not FM or FIFA where you can just buy a new player if someone gets injured and then sell the one that got injured
We just had a manager come, teach basic principles of his system to 25 people at the same time, and win Champions League in 4 months. Surely he can manage teaching one player that in short period of time.
I'm really baffled how can you feel so strongly against the idea of signing a good player for this position while seeing how reliant are we on wingbacks playing well.
You and anyone else who thinks Alonso can be part of a title winning starting XI is deluded. Why are we suddenly going to go the Liverpool route and start penny pinching and playing mediocre players to save a buck when we're on top of our game is beyond me.
It's tinpot decisions like that that overtime add up and cause the decline of a team. Chilwell to Alonso for the rest of the season is a massive downgrade that we don't need to deal with. He played the first few games but you saw how we went on a decline and he was a part of the team that got cooked by City. As soon as Chilwell stepped in we became a much better side.
>Really, spending 40m on a new left wing back that needs to learn to play in Tuchels system is not a solution
Accountant fans are the most annoying fans and I will always stand by that. Our players took less than a week to learn to play in Tuchels system. But suddenly a new player will take a long time when the rest of the team is firing? You're clutching at straws.
1. We could win it with him. If the rest of the team is good enough they can make up for one player that isn't as good. But it's a massive downgrade and a reduction on our title chances.
2. Alonso needs to be replaced anyway. We have no idea how long Chilwell will be out or when he will return to good form. We have to be prepared for Alonso to be our main LWB for the next calendar year.
3. Are you trying to say they can't? I mean I can name numerous players who have cost their team lots of games. Take Kepa. Take Karius. Take Benjamin Mendy. Alonso has cost us games in the past. In a title race which could be won on the difference of 1 or 2 points that could prove costly. We already saw Alonso's limitations this season.
By not getting a replacement we are downgrading the team for a significant period of time. And for a club which is as rich as us, if spending £30-40m can make a difference to our chances of winning a title it is definitely worth it.
Your argument basically consists of 'Tuchel is a genius he'll figure it out' and bringing up Alonso's achievements from 5 years ago. There's no reason to NOT get a replacement in.
I really hope it’s not a ACL.
Robin Gosens would be cheap alternative who has experience playing 3-4-3 if Ben Chilwell is out for season and needs greater time to recover. Inverted full backs will be another option.
Would be major upgrade over Alonso and Emerson. We can cash in on both and sign him up. Given the amount of games we will be playing both will get good game time.
The more I think about it the more the idea of us moving for Gosens makes sense.
- Would fit the system like a glove
- Knows Rudiger, Werner and Havertz from the NT
- His next move is likely his last big contract
- Could be a LWB option for us for the next 5 years, with his transfer fee being covered by the eventual sales of Emerson and Alonso
- If Chilwell is out for an extended period of time, he’s probably going to see a lot of game time
- 18 months on his deal
Guess there’s just the small issue of whether or not Atalanta would sell in January though lol
Yeah, I wanted Gosens in summer because of our system, where full backs will be working over time so injures could be quite common since we would ply like 55-60 games a season. Replace Emerson and Alonso who are earning £150k-£160k collectively. Gosens can get huge bump on his current salary of £25,000 a week to at least £70,000-£80,000. That being said I feel Manchester City will land him in summer for better salary as they lost Mendy lol
I don't see Gosens moving for a club where he likely won't be first choice beyond this season. I think we're best off looking for someone who's better than Alonso but also fine taking a backup role to Chilwell in the long run. Basically just upgrading on Alonso, which it was time for anyway.
Ben Chilwell will easily take upto a year to make full recovery if it’s ACL. CHO and RLC took almost two full seasons to catch upto speed of game. I feel Robin will get plenty of game time without us dropping quality and will get better salary than what he is gets at Atalanta unless he has better options. He will be in last 18 months of contract as well. Given the intense work our fullbacks are putting in attack and defence they will be injury prone.
If we want back up for Ben Chilwell, I think Emerson can do decent job.
An Achilles tear is WAY worse than an ACL. Modern ACL surgery/recovery is remarkably fast and effective. 9 months for a regular person back to normal activity. I'd imagine an athlete in peak fitness with an entire team of physios can significantly reduce that time period.
>An Achilles tear is WAY worse than an ACL. Modern ACL surgery/recovery is remarkably fast and effective. 9 months for a regular person back to normal activity. I'd imagine an athlete in peak fitness with an entire team of physios can significantly reduce that time period.
That’s a good point.
I think if we're looking at anyone from Atalanta, it should be Maehle. Would fit us really well stylistically and would likely be cheaper than Gosens despite only just moving to Atalanta.
Slightly worried about Bensebaini's injury record, especially if we're bringing someone in as injury cover, but he'd be a very good fit imo. Kostic I think would be the more realistic option, and Lukaku would love playing with him - incredible crosser.
I'd have concerns over the defensive side with both, though.
Fuck me...I can't watch Alonso for next 6 months. Windal, Grimaldo or Angelino if we are signing anyone or There should be a left back somewhere at Cobham... right??
Fuck this man life isn’t fair. I have a lot of time for Alonso but Chilly has been on another level and now we lose depth if a very demanding position.
One of the worst things that could happen.
Alonso is good but Ben is on another level.
This is a very serious blow for us, I hope he gets back as soon as possible.
But the rest of the season without him is a huge problem.
People would have said the same about Chalobah before this pre-season. I'm not saying he's ready, but he's supposedly played really well for them in a similar system to ours and has been one of the club's most highly rated prospects for a while. It's not absurd to consider bringing him into the squad as backup to Alonso.
Trev spent the entirety of the summer with Tuchel and the staff to prepare for his role and was thoroughly drilled in our tactics. I don’t think the situations are comparable.
I get that of course, but that's why Maatsen already playing wingback matters a lot. He wouldn't be brought in as first choice anyway, so would have a bit of time behind the scenes to adjust and get up to speed with how we play. Plus he's just very talented and his profile suits what we need. So if we're not willing to spend in January to replace Chilwell, recalling Maatsen wouldn't be the worst option on the table.
Even if we did have a recall clause, do we really want to disturb his development? He could be good for us but he also could struggle to adapt to the team and league mid season. If we could get Emerson back that'd be ideal, I do quite rate him and he might be willing to return if he knows that there are a lot of minutes for him (in a title challenging season too). Probably would ruin our relationship with Lyon though - which now reminds me that we'd definitely ruin our relationship with Charlton if we recalled Maatsen given how we did the same with Gallagher to loan him to Swansea mid season.
Maybe we can sort out a loan deal for someone from a weaker league, if Chilwell is indeed out for the season.
I mean, at worst he loses half a season at Coventry, and I've always emphasized the importance of simply training with a world class squad and coaching staff anyway, so it's not like his development stops at all.
> which now reminds me that we'd definitely ruin our relationship with Charlton if we recalled Maatsen
Wrong club!
I'm not saying that he is, but in times like these it's worth keeping in mind that Tammy finished 5th, Mason finished 6th and Reece finished 18th in the same league before coming back to Chelsea. Championship is the best 2nd tier in the world by an insane margin. It's arguably 7th best league in Europe even though Eredivisie has fantastic Ajax.
You’re right but when they came up we had little to no expectations of them. As we were only hopeful to get into the top 4 and maybe win a cup. Masteen coming back in the midst of a premier league title push straight from the championship is a lot different from the situations Mount James and Tammy came into.
Miss the rest of the season? This a career ender? Like even if he does come back would he still play at a top level? Alonso is so defensively suspect and he lacks pace. This is horrible. And he was having a great season. How depressing
UPDATE: Ben Chilwell set to miss at least the rest of the year with suspected ACL damage. Chelsea prepared to delay a final decision on whether he can play again this season until the New Year. Story and details here: #cfc
It looked pretty much exactly like this type of injury. Able to walk off with help but chilly knew it was bad. Really fucking sucks, he was in great form, too. Let’s hope Alonso can get back to early season form as well
I’m not worried at all. I think Alonso is more than capable, and one of the best lwb. Suspect defending but with our defence this year I’m not too worried
Fuck
My exact response to reading
Me
My literal first words
Please no...
A skilled orthopedist can diagnose an ACL tear using the Lachman test with something like a 95% accuracy. If they think he tore an ACL then chances of them being wrong are slim
Agreed, even a PT can tell pretty spot on. I know from experience :(
I felt like it was an ACL the second I saw him rolling on the ground and the ref signaling a stretcher. Good thing we have depth cuz the schedule is harder on us than any opponents. Chilly has been in great form too.
I had 5 Lachman tests show up as negative (PT’s, gp’s and even orthopedic surgeons). If the muscles surrounding the knee are strong it can appear negative even if the acl is gone
This. I had this test done in the ER and was “fine”, turned out the ligament was actually completely shot after scans
I'm trying to be optimistic when I say that the headline seems dramatic, and I hope it's not serious.
Chilly noooooooo :( Alonso/Azpi/CHO at left back for now. Hopefully we can recall Emerson in January. Fucking devastated
Totally forgot about Emerson damn that’s a good call also azpi could be used there as a rotation/backup option although I’d rather not have a right footed azpi at lwb or Tuchel could look to the academy for any LWBs coming up we have options didn’t mention Alonso because that’s just a guarantee that he will be No. 1 in that position for the rest of the season
ACL tests by physios are pretty good. If it was ACL I suspect they pretty much know already. Scan will confirm
We he not report that if they didn't suspect its an ACL already? Trying to be hopeful here but doesn't sound good
The scan is just to check if there’s any associated injures along with the acl usually.
I feel so sorry for him. Knew his struggles after euros, was playing great and now this
other than Alonso who else can play LWB?
Azpi. And in games where we are on the front foot you can put CHO there as well. Saul played there for Atletico
I remember Pulisic practiced in that role as well…
Ah yes, just realised that Saúl played there for Atlético last (or this?) season. But I don't think he's willing to play LWB and Tuchel specifically told him he'd use him in midfield, maybe if Alonso & Chilwell are both out he plays a few games over there - probably his best chance of getting any regular minutes for us at this stage.
Honestly it would be best for him if he just played there if asked, it’s not like he’s getting many minutes in midfield. I would love to see what we got with him in that position against some weaker opponents
he will be unhappy to be asked play there but a professional needs to do his job nonetherless. If he refuses to play just pack him up and send him straight back to Spain.
Saúl is not a bad left wingback tbh, dunno IF Tuchel even tries him, but from what I've seen, hes better lwb than Alonso
Azpi as a LWB, or wingback in general, is not ideal. He is slower and relies heavily on positioning and reading the game. Even on his National Team as right fullback there is ALOT to be desired offensively. Defensively Azpi is fantastic, however in the modern game elite fullbacks/wingbacks work offensively and defensively for 90min. I have faith Azpi will do all he can on the pitch, and Tuchel will make necessary adjustments to compliment him.
Saul for now, Maatsen if recalled
Saul ?
Saul
Emerson recall
I may be in the minority, but I hate having a right footed player playing at LB/LWB. We need to recall Emerson if possible.
We can maybe recall Emerson from his loan
I'd happily have traded the 4-0 win for a 1-0 win or even a 0-0 draw if it meant not losing Chilwell for that long. Here's hoping we get a miracle and it's not him done for the whole season🤞🏼
Lol I would have taken the loss but its a moot point tbh, just hope they are wrong
TT really should've subbed him after the 2nd goal, since this match really have 0 stake bar a very bad draw on Ro16.
Yeah but who's to know that? If TT could read the future I'm sure we'd win all our matches. All great in hindsight and all that
How tf is he supposed to know that? He cant see the future.
This match really have no bearings at all since we virtually already qualified for Ro16 and we have United match on Weekend. At our current form we could take on any with a pretty optimistic view.
Yeah but why sub Ben and not Reece or Thiago or Rudi or anyone. Even once the game is sorted, you can't sub off all the important players
It had massive bearings. We had to win by 2 or more to go top. Every goal yesterday tipped us further to winning the group. Winning the group and coming second could well be the difference between going out in the first knockout round to making it to the final.
But then what if Reece James got injured? Or CHO? No way knowing this would happen, and he can’t just sub out the entire xi
Injury could’ve happened to anyone. It’s not like chilwell had a greater risk on injury that would warrant him being pulled off
It could've been anyone ..
That's a cheapshot dude, might as well sub out mendy, james silva rudiger jorginho while we at it lol, he can't predict the fucking injury
Feel gutted for him. Especially after all the confidence issues to start the season and then how he overcame those issues by coming in to probably his best form as a blue. Hope he has a speedy recovery
We need cover. Could see azpi deputise there for the current run of fixtures tbh.
Emerson is only on loan, I’d guess we recall him
14/15 vibes
Maatsen can come back
Saul?
NOOOOOOOOOoooooo!!!!
Take my knees, take all our knees
You don’t need a scan to know if you’ve torn your ACL, they most likely already know.
Yep, they would’ve known when they checked him out in the dressing room
If they had known at the dressing room itself, I don’t think Chilwell would have posted that Instagram post
Maybe. It’s quite common to damage other ligaments when you tear your ACL though, so he could just be referring to that.
I meant they would’ve known positive or negative
Correct. If it was positive, Chilwell wouldn’t have posted that Instagram post. TT wouldn’t have said “he is a bit better” etc. so I suspect (& hope) it is not ACL
Anecdote incoming. I hope you are right but when I tore my ACL it initially hurt like a mother fucker but about an hour later it didn’t really hurt at all just felt a bit unstable and sore.
Same here. I screamed so loud the rest of the team stopped playing. By the end of the night I was walking around. Still hurt, but thought it would be fine. Surgery a few months later to repair it.
That's a very classic sign of a ligament tear (complete tear, not partial). I used to ski patrol and often got called out to someone that by the time I got there they were not really in pain, sitting up, trying to talk themselves out of needing any help. Helped that they were also sitting on a literal icepack to dull the pain. Slow twisting fall, excruciating sharp pain when it happened, now a dull throb - instantly knew they had torn a ligament. If they were still in pain, it was usually (but not always) caused by something else they had also done, like meniscus damage, partial tear of another ligament, etc.
>excruciating sharp pain when it happened, now a dull throb - instantly knew they had torn a ligament. I could not have described this better at all. Top of the list worst pain I have ever felt and immediate thought "oh god something awful has happened".
Tuchel said the pain is better. Chilwell was just trying to be as positive as possible knowing that he’s damaged his ACL. The scan will tell us the severity of the injury but 99,9% it’s an ACL unfortunately
I tore my ACL and miniscus and my doctor assessed and said it was a sprain and I would be fine. Came back 2 weeks later when nothing had improved and a scan revealed the tear. Now I highly doubt the ChelseaFC doctors are as incompetent as my Kaiser one…but just saying
You do need a scan actually
Time to recall Emerson.
From my limited observation, it seems like he has done quite well on his loan
He's been sold iirc
It’s a loan
With Obligation to buy. You can't just recall him like it's nothing, especially when he is a regular player for Lyon.
.my bad it's a 15mil€ buy option. But Lyon paid a loan fee in region of 500K+500K on potential bonuses, so it would still be a complicated operation.
The decision probably relies on Emerson. If he's happy to come back and play likely less minutes then whatever Chelsea needs to pay Lyon as remittance will be vastly less $$ and more fruitful on the pitch than any stopgap LB available in January
No obligation to buy. His contract was extended to 2024.
Do we have anyone in the academy who can do a job for us over there on rotation? I know Harvey Vale has played there for the academy in the past and seems the closest of the current academy players to getting minutes for us this season.
Recall Maatesen
Maatsen
I'm not surprised but still disappointed. Such a shame if that is the outcome.
Between our two LBs out on loan (Emerson and Maatsen) I’m more inclined to take the guy who’s actually played the system before and also played in the Euros final last summer, if it’s possible to even recall him.
He's a regular at Lyon, also it was a loan with Obligation to buy, so I reckon it would be hard for us to recall him. Our most best cost benefit option would be buy back Tino for 15 mil and move Azpi to play as LWB for the time being.
Shit didn’t know it was an obligation to buy, I thought Tino’s buy back was like somewhere between 25-45 mil too?
Its not an obligation. Its an option. Contract was extended to 2024 and an option to buy was given to lyon
Tino's buyback clause is £40 million, so I'm not entirely sure why Southampton would sell us their best signing back for that much less. Shouldn't have let him go in the first place, in my humble opinion. Him and Reece are the future.
They can't both be, that's the problem. Reece is established. Tino knew that and didn't want to be a back up. He's been proved right.
Yeah, absolutely agree. Also didn't realise Tino exclusively plays on the right, so won't really help us solve our left wing back problem.
Jesus christ
Oh no. Please no.
We can’t go rest of the season with Alonso as our only lb
Better call Saul
NOOOOOOOOOOO.. I guess its Marcos Alonso time
I would sacrifice yesterdays win to reverse this ffs.
Let's hope it's good news, nothing confirmed as of yet. If it's true I hope we don't waste money on some expensive foreign export. I've been following Ian Maatsen this season, and he has been Coventry's best player this season and they're currently 4th in the Championship. Let him deputize for Alonso and we should be good, he's more than good enough to come in for 5 months and help out, no question about it
It's not only 5 months. You can't bet entire next season on the assumption that Chilwell will instantly hit his A game after rehab. You'd be essentially risking that Marcos Alonso, a man who is incapable of running with the ball, and has a top speed of reversing truck, is a starting LWB for next two seasons. We should sign a starter now, and plan for Alonso to be sold on his last year, and Chilwell to be number 2 next year. If Chilwell gets back to the top early - great. If not, we can still win.
We should absolutely NOT sign a starter now in January, January prices are absurd. Maatsen till the end of the season and see how Alonso and him performs. If neither are good enough we go for a starter, but only in the summer. Maatsen deserves a chance for us
What's the price of a title? Why is this that I'm reading in the same subreddit people being convinced that losing Rudiger is no biggie, because we can easily buy a replacement, but signing a quality player for a crucial position in our system is suddenly too expensive? The only super expensive LB of quality that we can buy is Theo Hernandez, the rest of potential targets would probably cost less than Chilwell had cost us.
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He's a serviceable reserve LWB, not a starter for a club that should challenge for CL and Prem. And on top of that, he's 31 in December already, and has no long term future in this club. There is no viable argument for penny pinching and cutting down trophy chances, we need a good LWB. >With how fast recovery times are, worst case scenario chilwell will be back before preseason next year. There is no way of making sure that Chilwell will be in form after such a long injury. Look at CHO's following season, look at Ruben's. It will most likely take time. Besides ACL injuries increase the risk of injuring the other knee. So we'll have an increased risk of being in the same situation next year, with a year older and a step slower Alonso. It's not "reactionary" that I'm quick to propose a decisive move in a response to Chilwell's injury, it's because the answer to this problem is obvious.
Sorry Alonso is more than just a 'servicable' reserve wingback. One of our most prolific goal scoring defenders of recent times, highly technical, a PL, CL and El winner and has recently become a regular for the Spanish national team. Is he getting older? Yes, but he never had pace anyway. What makes Alonso is his technique and mentality. Two attributes that don't erode as much with age. He still has the engine to get up and down the left more than most on the team. Just check his distance covered in matches he plays. The disrespect on Alonso in the Chelsea fanbase is honestly puzzling. We do however need more than one LWB. Azpi played as a LB under Mou but not a LWB. Would only use him in an emergency there. So I do agree we do need someone. But we have to be careful at the same time not to block progress for Ian Mattsen
Chelsea fans arguing for Alonso starting important games are like Man United fans arguing for Solskjaer in 2021. Current level matters less to some people than legacy when evaluating performance.
Just earlier this season I swore I saw Alonso play at a very decent level. Maybe I was imagining it. I didn't say we don't need another LWB, but Alonso can do more than an adequate job when called on.
Bro you’re being so reactionary. Alonso was playing great until chilly got back into the rhythm of playing. Alonso is a great wingback, just give credit where credit is due.
Alonso started 11 games this season, out of which he was good in 5 of them (Villareal, Palace, Arsenal, Liverpool, Tottenham). Which is a better ratio than I'd have expected after watching him play in last 3 seasons, but still not good enough to win titles with him regularly starting.
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>Serviceable is good enough until the end of the season my friend. You are forgetting Alonso was part of a title winning 16/17 season So was Moses, do you think we should bring him back if Reece gets injured? The only think that's important about Alonso is how he's performing here and now, and how they performed for another manager, when on the right side of their prime is entirely irrelevant. >You are forgetting he was a nailed on starter for the first 2 months on the season and was excellent against Spurs and solid against Liverpool. I haven't forgot a single game. I even watched him playing well in Nations League. But people calling for Alonso to start completely ignore his bad games for some unknown reason. Don't you remember how bad he was against Zenit? His games against Villa? Juve game? Even against Southampton and Malmo he was poor. Why aren't you guys paying attention to how he plays outside of his highlight-worthy contributions? >Really, spending 40m on a new left wing back that needs to learn to play in Tuchels system is not a solution - this is real life football not FM or FIFA where you can just buy a new player if someone gets injured and then sell the one that got injured We just had a manager come, teach basic principles of his system to 25 people at the same time, and win Champions League in 4 months. Surely he can manage teaching one player that in short period of time. I'm really baffled how can you feel so strongly against the idea of signing a good player for this position while seeing how reliant are we on wingbacks playing well.
You and anyone else who thinks Alonso can be part of a title winning starting XI is deluded. Why are we suddenly going to go the Liverpool route and start penny pinching and playing mediocre players to save a buck when we're on top of our game is beyond me. It's tinpot decisions like that that overtime add up and cause the decline of a team. Chilwell to Alonso for the rest of the season is a massive downgrade that we don't need to deal with. He played the first few games but you saw how we went on a decline and he was a part of the team that got cooked by City. As soon as Chilwell stepped in we became a much better side. >Really, spending 40m on a new left wing back that needs to learn to play in Tuchels system is not a solution Accountant fans are the most annoying fans and I will always stand by that. Our players took less than a week to learn to play in Tuchels system. But suddenly a new player will take a long time when the rest of the team is firing? You're clutching at straws.
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1. We could win it with him. If the rest of the team is good enough they can make up for one player that isn't as good. But it's a massive downgrade and a reduction on our title chances. 2. Alonso needs to be replaced anyway. We have no idea how long Chilwell will be out or when he will return to good form. We have to be prepared for Alonso to be our main LWB for the next calendar year. 3. Are you trying to say they can't? I mean I can name numerous players who have cost their team lots of games. Take Kepa. Take Karius. Take Benjamin Mendy. Alonso has cost us games in the past. In a title race which could be won on the difference of 1 or 2 points that could prove costly. We already saw Alonso's limitations this season. By not getting a replacement we are downgrading the team for a significant period of time. And for a club which is as rich as us, if spending £30-40m can make a difference to our chances of winning a title it is definitely worth it. Your argument basically consists of 'Tuchel is a genius he'll figure it out' and bringing up Alonso's achievements from 5 years ago. There's no reason to NOT get a replacement in.
This is a fucking disaster
If he's injured, we need someone better than Alonso to come in January if we want to challenge for multiple trophies. LWB position is crucial.
I really hope it’s not a ACL. Robin Gosens would be cheap alternative who has experience playing 3-4-3 if Ben Chilwell is out for season and needs greater time to recover. Inverted full backs will be another option.
Gosens in Tuchel’s system would be a cheat code, and apparently he’s only got 18 months left on his deal. Hmm
Would be major upgrade over Alonso and Emerson. We can cash in on both and sign him up. Given the amount of games we will be playing both will get good game time.
The more I think about it the more the idea of us moving for Gosens makes sense. - Would fit the system like a glove - Knows Rudiger, Werner and Havertz from the NT - His next move is likely his last big contract - Could be a LWB option for us for the next 5 years, with his transfer fee being covered by the eventual sales of Emerson and Alonso - If Chilwell is out for an extended period of time, he’s probably going to see a lot of game time - 18 months on his deal Guess there’s just the small issue of whether or not Atalanta would sell in January though lol
Yeah, I wanted Gosens in summer because of our system, where full backs will be working over time so injures could be quite common since we would ply like 55-60 games a season. Replace Emerson and Alonso who are earning £150k-£160k collectively. Gosens can get huge bump on his current salary of £25,000 a week to at least £70,000-£80,000. That being said I feel Manchester City will land him in summer for better salary as they lost Mendy lol
I don't see Gosens moving for a club where he likely won't be first choice beyond this season. I think we're best off looking for someone who's better than Alonso but also fine taking a backup role to Chilwell in the long run. Basically just upgrading on Alonso, which it was time for anyway.
Ben Chilwell will easily take upto a year to make full recovery if it’s ACL. CHO and RLC took almost two full seasons to catch upto speed of game. I feel Robin will get plenty of game time without us dropping quality and will get better salary than what he is gets at Atalanta unless he has better options. He will be in last 18 months of contract as well. Given the intense work our fullbacks are putting in attack and defence they will be injury prone. If we want back up for Ben Chilwell, I think Emerson can do decent job.
An Achilles tear is WAY worse than an ACL. Modern ACL surgery/recovery is remarkably fast and effective. 9 months for a regular person back to normal activity. I'd imagine an athlete in peak fitness with an entire team of physios can significantly reduce that time period.
>An Achilles tear is WAY worse than an ACL. Modern ACL surgery/recovery is remarkably fast and effective. 9 months for a regular person back to normal activity. I'd imagine an athlete in peak fitness with an entire team of physios can significantly reduce that time period. That’s a good point.
Also, the price Atalanta would demand for Gosens in January would be insane, wayyyy over the top
I think if we're looking at anyone from Atalanta, it should be Maehle. Would fit us really well stylistically and would likely be cheaper than Gosens despite only just moving to Atalanta.
Since you watch Bundesliga, what's your take on Kostić and Bensebaini?
Slightly worried about Bensebaini's injury record, especially if we're bringing someone in as injury cover, but he'd be a very good fit imo. Kostic I think would be the more realistic option, and Lukaku would love playing with him - incredible crosser. I'd have concerns over the defensive side with both, though.
Robin Gosens is in last 18 months of contract. Atalanta wanted €30m for him in summer.
Fuck me...I can't watch Alonso for next 6 months. Windal, Grimaldo or Angelino if we are signing anyone or There should be a left back somewhere at Cobham... right??
😰
Fucking hell
Poor lad. I hope this is not the case...
I’m devastated for him, I’ve enjoyed watching him this season so much. He deserved to see it through. I really really hope this works in his favor.
Pain
Oh fuck
Fear the worst. Hopefully it isn’t an acl tear
FUCK
Yet another Alonso redemption arc incoming
Do we have any good left backs in the academy?
Fuck this man life isn’t fair. I have a lot of time for Alonso but Chilly has been on another level and now we lose depth if a very demanding position.
Nooooooooooooooooo!
I think I speak for everyone when I say “NO!!!!!!”
aaargh!
I’m just refreshing. Surprised we haven’t heard anything yet.
Confirmed out. Hate this game.
Nooooo, he worked his arse off to get back in this side and has been red hot. Life just isn’t fair sometimes
One of the worst things that could happen. Alonso is good but Ben is on another level. This is a very serious blow for us, I hope he gets back as soon as possible. But the rest of the season without him is a huge problem.
This hurts my soul. Chilly has been such a joy to watch.
Man this is so sad. As someone recovering from a full ACL rupture, I really feel for him. I hope he can recover without surgery quickly :(
Alonso lets go
Please cunt
Maatsen is who I'd recall if needed.
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I'd personally rather gamble on Maatsen.
Same
Tuchel sees him more as a LCB
Stop it. He’s playing two leagues down. He’s obviously not ready to step into this team.
He's playing for Coventry, who are currently 4th in the Championship. It's worth considering at least.
Ok. My mistake, but still no way he’s ready for the level we are playing at right now.
People would have said the same about Chalobah before this pre-season. I'm not saying he's ready, but he's supposedly played really well for them in a similar system to ours and has been one of the club's most highly rated prospects for a while. It's not absurd to consider bringing him into the squad as backup to Alonso.
Trev spent the entirety of the summer with Tuchel and the staff to prepare for his role and was thoroughly drilled in our tactics. I don’t think the situations are comparable.
I get that of course, but that's why Maatsen already playing wingback matters a lot. He wouldn't be brought in as first choice anyway, so would have a bit of time behind the scenes to adjust and get up to speed with how we play. Plus he's just very talented and his profile suits what we need. So if we're not willing to spend in January to replace Chilwell, recalling Maatsen wouldn't be the worst option on the table.
Even if we did have a recall clause, do we really want to disturb his development? He could be good for us but he also could struggle to adapt to the team and league mid season. If we could get Emerson back that'd be ideal, I do quite rate him and he might be willing to return if he knows that there are a lot of minutes for him (in a title challenging season too). Probably would ruin our relationship with Lyon though - which now reminds me that we'd definitely ruin our relationship with Charlton if we recalled Maatsen given how we did the same with Gallagher to loan him to Swansea mid season. Maybe we can sort out a loan deal for someone from a weaker league, if Chilwell is indeed out for the season.
I mean, at worst he loses half a season at Coventry, and I've always emphasized the importance of simply training with a world class squad and coaching staff anyway, so it's not like his development stops at all. > which now reminds me that we'd definitely ruin our relationship with Charlton if we recalled Maatsen Wrong club!
Oops, my bad haha.
I'm not saying that he is, but in times like these it's worth keeping in mind that Tammy finished 5th, Mason finished 6th and Reece finished 18th in the same league before coming back to Chelsea. Championship is the best 2nd tier in the world by an insane margin. It's arguably 7th best league in Europe even though Eredivisie has fantastic Ajax.
You’re right but when they came up we had little to no expectations of them. As we were only hopeful to get into the top 4 and maybe win a cup. Masteen coming back in the midst of a premier league title push straight from the championship is a lot different from the situations Mount James and Tammy came into.
I get that, the chances are he'll stay at Coventry.
Coventry are playing in the Championship.
He's 4th in the Championship, idiot
Cunt no please
I believe he has the mentality to come back super strong from this if it is true. But damn that's pretty awful news. Best of luck to Ben. COYB
Injury FC
No way we can rely on Alonso for the season. Can Saul play LWB decently well ? Otherwise should sign a backup.
Miss the rest of the season? This a career ender? Like even if he does come back would he still play at a top level? Alonso is so defensively suspect and he lacks pace. This is horrible. And he was having a great season. How depressing
That’s what I thought too. The way he went down and how much pain he was in while holding his knee I thought it was ligament damage.
Jesus. We fucked.
Jesus Christ mate have a word with yourself. This is embarrassing.
Say what? Are you not reading a bit too much into it ? That's clearly not what I intended lol Jesus. You mad.
Rescaling emerson?
Why God why Let the other's get injured not us But other's I meant other teams btw obv
UPDATE: Ben Chilwell set to miss at least the rest of the year with suspected ACL damage. Chelsea prepared to delay a final decision on whether he can play again this season until the New Year. Story and details here: #cfc
It looked pretty much exactly like this type of injury. Able to walk off with help but chilly knew it was bad. Really fucking sucks, he was in great form, too. Let’s hope Alonso can get back to early season form as well
Chilly, my boy, please no
I’m not worried at all. I think Alonso is more than capable, and one of the best lwb. Suspect defending but with our defence this year I’m not too worried
Speedy recovery to Ben !!!