The Football Verdict

TFV

[‏ْ @marklfcx]

jamie carragher on chelsea selling liam delap to nottingham forest for around £45m

🗣️ “you have to give chelsea credit here. they spent around £30 million on liam delap, things didn’t work out as expected, and now they are reportedly on the verge of moving him on for a fee around £45 million. that is seriously clever squad management.

let’s be brutal delap has not exactly set stamford bridge on fire. he struggled for consistency and fell out of xabi alonso’s plans, so instead of keeping an unhappy player around and watching his value collapse, chelsea are turning the situation into a significant financial return.

this is what chelsea have become frighteningly good at: buying players, giving them an opportunity, deciding whether they fit the project and then moving them on for substantial fees when they don’t. there is no sentimentality. if you’re not part of the plan, they find a buyer.

and £45 million for a player who reportedly cost them around £30 million? that is the kind of business sporting directors dream about. you can criticise chelsea’s spending all you want, but when it comes to extracting huge fees from players they no longer want, they are becoming extremely difficult to compete with.

delap is only 23, so forest are absolutely taking a gamble on his potential. but chelsea have managed to make that gamble someone else’s problem while potentially making a very healthy profit themselves.

the most ruthless part is that chelsea have already moved on. joão pedro is now ahead of him, and delap was omitted from the opening-day squad before forest stepped up their interest. there is a clear message from alonso: if you’re not part of the plan, your name and price tag won’t save you.

this is the brutal side of modern squad building. you cannot keep 30 or 40 players happy. sometimes you have to make cold decisions, take the money and reinvest it into players who actually fit the manager’s vision.

chelsea may have bought delap for £30 million, seen him struggle, and potentially sold him for around £45 million. that is not deadwood management that is ruthless asset management. if they keep doing this, other premier league clubs better start asking serious questions about how chelsea keep turning unwanted players into massive transfer fees.

[Chioma @ChiomaAfc1]

Mikel Arteta: “It doesn’t need much convincing. If I have to convince a player to stay or join us, for me, that’s not a good starting point. It holds me back a little bit.”

So why did we spend almost the entire summer chasing a player whose priority has always been Barcelona?

We’ve been waiting for someone who clearly sees Arsenal as an option, not the destination.

Has Arteta suddenly changed his philosophy about only signing players who genuinely want to play for Arsenal?

[The Football Verdict @futbolverdict]

@RomzyUnited Bench warmer

[The Football Verdict @futbolverdict]

@RomzyUnited We all know he will be stinking very soon

[Romzy @RomzyUnited]

Belaba smiling, indeed it was a dream come through, Manutd is the biggest platform in football, hopefully he comes Good

[The Football Verdict @futbolverdict]

@cityzenken_ Ruthless going back to trenchs

[The Football Verdict @futbolverdict]

@utdyudy The goat starts

[The Football Verdict @futbolverdict]

@tweetcunha Lmfao 😂 😂 😂 😂

[Romzy @RomzyUnited]

Now we have gotten Beleba, can we now build our Midfield on Kobbie Mainoo, our future undisputable Midfield trio, Beleba, Santos, Mainoo.

[The Football Verdict @futbolverdict]

@Crown__001 Lmfao 😂 😂 😂

[CROWNSTAR 👑⭐ @Crown__001]

Grandpa Perez scammed all Madrid fans just to win election, no galantico for them 😂
Is Yan Diomande the galantico? 🤔

[The Football Verdict @futbolverdict]

@citycyborg22 Why are you guys counting Enzo Fernandez as one of your players?

[City Cyborg 🤖 @citycyborg22]

Players Mancity sold in the same transfer window:

Tijjani Reijnders
Nico Gonzalez
Rodrigo Hernandez
Bernardo Silva

More outgoings in midfield (4) than incomings (3)

Apparently, you missed out on this aspect just to suit your agenda..typical arsenal fan stuff

[The Football Verdict @futbolverdict]

@utdyudy I'm sitted

[Yurdy @utdyudy]

Brace loading ✌🏾🐐

[The Football Verdict @futbolverdict]

@Humphrey_Pato I want him to succeed so badly

[The Football Verdict @futbolverdict]

@ineeda_spark Lmfao 😂 😂 😂

[The Football Verdict @futbolverdict]

There's no Maxence Lacroix in the team of the week line-up? I've lost my appetite 😕