Chelsea are believed to have increased their offer for Luka Modric from £22 million to £27 million in the light of the player's desire to quit Tottenham Hotspur.
January transfers AND the Chelsea factor affected the Torres price. If he CAN regain even two thirds of what he had early on at L'pool(and the fitness reports at the end of last season suggest the often quoted loss of pace over ten, twenty or fifty yards is BS)then he will make up a lot of the cost in no time.
I realise that Torres didn't come off for Carlo but his head wasn't right even at Liverpool this season and that's what he also needs to conquer at Chelsea. Once he comes to terms with not being the only big fish(or one of few) at his club he'll be fine-the boy isn't a crap player no matter what Aldridge wants to slur about.
As for Modric? Offer thirty and then sack it imho-he's good but easily bullied(as happens or Croatia)and would demand we use a bodyguard and Mikel isn't up to that AND playing DCM-he's barely up to tying his laces top be honest! When you consider anything upwards of that fee and we might as well be getting someone else for less who won't have the cross town baggage(Sneider maybe)then Luka seems a bit steep-esp when we're the only ones buying.
Andy Carroll isn't worth 35 mill. His price is inflated because he's English, same with Bent.
Modric should be cheaper because of his nationality. That's how transfers work nowadays. If you want English players on your team, prepare to pay a premium.
Also, I think that Modric has played long enough in the EPL that he's considered a "naturalized" player and doesn't take up a foreign player spot on a team.
Do we? SFL his showing his age and the weight of games he's played for Chelsea and England when Gerard and Rooney took clever breaks from unimportant England fixtures for the benefit of their club Lamps always played for the national side even when he was hated by fans and press alike. Point is for the first time he's starting not to be as fit as usual and will play fewer and fewer games over the next two years. Essien isn't what he was and is possibly now in career over position with such a screwed up knee-last season he was dross too.
Without Essien's drive, power and presence and without Lamp's goal ratio from CM and with Obi NEVER looking like half the player Chelsea fought so hard to get you're left with what exactly?
Well, Josh will be a star one day and hopefully won;'t get farmed out on loan to get lost like every youth player since JT! But beyond that there's Malouda who's best in a front three, Yuri, who wants off and is really a left back and the simply-not-ever-good enough Benayoun.
Which leaves us, in my opinion, ONE truly Chelsea class(and even then it's only in bloody patches last term and after a terribad start) in Ramires. Lamps just won;t be as dependabl;e and even with hiim AND Essien fit and avaiable we don't have ANY creativity in midfield unless we go lightweight with Malouda and/or Yossi and neither defend well enough to play there in the 433 we'll be using. Christ, i'd play Anelka there before most of them!
So, no, I don't think Chelsea are OK without OR WITH Essien and signing the likes of a Modric AND the typical modern day midfielder in someone like Mountinho is absolutely paramount.
Then think that our only true wide player is Malouda and we aren't even looking at signing a winger and it looks pretty crappy from where I sit. All we have is workrate these days and no midfield quality, sadly and too many of our players have either lost it or are past it.
27 million is more than enough. no way he's not worth 30 million+.
If Chelsea loses, it doesn't matter, they got a good team. Hopefully improve from last season.