FireSide

Fermin Or Simons

The way I am looking at the two, Fermin looks to me like a right footed version of Palmer with how he plays and moves. He is someone you can substitute Palmer with and get an almost same if not the same output with same space and ball manipulation.

With what we are trying to achieve with almost similar players per position, he could be an alternative to Palmer when he is unavailable. The question is, how often is Palmer unavailable?

Simons on the other hand is almost a master in tight spaces. More like how Hazard used to force spaces in congested areas. In a game that's locked the way Palace was, this could be your key.

If I had to choose one option only, in consideration of our squad's current attributes, I'd pick Simons. Not because Fermin is bad, but because he can give us something different in tightly locked games.

But again,

The Directors know better.

I would love to see that Barcelona's high-line at Stamford Bridge. We're going to feast so bad in transitions...

Vision of Caicedo , Through balls of Palmer ,Speed of Neto and finishing of João / Delap. 🙌

They're Ready 😤

💙💙

The level of confidence/ Arrogance

💙💙

Real ball knowledge is remembering João Pedro career at Watford.. mahn popped out of nowhere and was scoring goals for fun

If its any comfort remember that Atalanta are no longer managed by Gasperini they're managed by Ivan Juric. It's a much less scary proposition than any time in the last few years.

Garnacho vs Simons vs Gittens 👀

The sale list for Chelsea :

1.Madueke - £50m ✅
2.Felix - £26m ✅
3.Petrovic - £25m ✅
4.Dewsbury-Hall - £28m ✅
5.Kepa - £5m ✅
6.Broja - £20m ✅
7.L.Ugochukwu - £25m ✅
8.Veiga - £21m ✅
9.Carney - £21m ✅
10.Nkunku - £36.2m ✅
11.Gilchrist - £2m ✅
12.Sterling -⏳
13.Disasi - ⏳
14.Jackson - 🔜
15.Chilwell - Unknown
16.T. George - 🔜
17.DD Fofana - Unknown

How many goals are you expecting from Garnacho this season, Blues? 👀

🚨David Ornstein: Clubs have struggled to figure out Simons’ best role. At Leipzig he’s played a very specific type of No.10 — part winger, part second striker — and not many teams in Europe use that system. Because of that uncertainty, clubs were reluctant to pay a big fee for him.

Do you think this was why Chelsea was reluctant to pay up?👀💬

I never thought Simons would be a starter at Chelsea. He’s not really a left winger, he plays more in the half-spaces, which overlaps with Palmer or Enzo’s role.

That’s why spending €60m on him feels tricky. He’s a good player, but in our squad he wouldn’t start more than maybe 25% of games. Enzo gives us balance, and in this system we can’t just use one defensive midfielder. We need an extra midfielder who can help out defensively, which is why Enzo and Santos are important.

Transfer windows change all the time. Now that the season has started, the manager and sporting directors can see what the squad needs. If they don’t think €60m on Simons is worth it, or that he’s not the right profile, I trust their judgment. Just like with Duran, Onana, or Maignan, they’ve shown they won’t force a deal that doesn’t fit.

Maybe they prefer someone like Fermin who can cover different roles (8, 10, striker), or they want to keep space open for young players like Paez and Quenda.

Either way, I trust the club. They’ve been very pragmatic this summer. Mistakes can happen, but overall I think they deserve the benefit of the doubt.

Agree or disagree?🤔💭

(Via Blue_Footy on X)

‼️ Alfie Gilchrist is set to join West Brom on a permanent move. Medical this morning.

~ Ben Jacobs

I'm not going to cry about losing out on bench players. We've seen Chelsea closely miss out on Haaland, Raphina, Olise (twice) and others.

Cole Palmer will not be named in Thomas Tuchel’s England squad today following his groin problem.

[via Kieran Gill]

Chelsea will retain a 20% sell-on clause for Alfie Gilchrist.

[via Kieran Gill]

🚨Chelsea have broken the Premier League record on player sales after agreeing deals for Nkunku and Gilchrist to leave the club.