17 Jun 2026 07:39:16
{Ed's Note - thefutureisoldgold3 has posted a new article entitled, Wolves Face a Reckoning After a Chaotic Season
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Chelsea Banter
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17 Jun 2026 09:26:01
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17 Jun 2026 09:26:01
In order to view all of today's banter, you may have to visit our Chelsea banter 2 to Chelsea banter 10 pages linked at the bottom of this page.
16 Jun 2026 23:10:58.
I enjoyed the France v Senegal WC game this evening. A very competitive game with moments of magic.
Jackson yet again showing what a marmite type player he is. Can be a real handful but occasionally looks so raw!
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17 Jun 2026 08:44:27
Agreed about Jackson Tom, but he did only play second fiddle to Mr Pain, maybe let's see him playing regularly again, then we can judge.
Also greed on the game, end to end, just shows what can happen when you don't keep playing sideways and backwards, just to get out of your own area.
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16 Jun 2026 20:08:52
Well done to Trev for being called up to the England squad, a lovely fella, devout Christian and worthy of his chance to represent his country.
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17 Jun 2026 08:45:00
100 % agree, Grenaway.
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17 Jun 2026 09:16:27
Completely agree, and he has been one of our better defenders in recent times, demonstrating 100% to the cause every time he plays. He also happened to be our CB with most league goals last season ie 3. 2 more than Delap, and only 6 other EPL defenders scored more - the most being 6 by Van Dijk.
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16 Jun 2026 18:35:00
Spurs agree fifty odd million fee for Van Hecke. Feels like a benchmark for this summer's CB market. I’d expect to pay a similar fee for Lacroix, with the rumour mill heating up around our interest in him.
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16 Jun 2026 20:05:43
Or we trust Hato, Levi and Josh?
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16 Jun 2026 20:14:26
I think we need one more high quality starting, out and out, CB to play alongside Colwill. They would also need to be the figurehead in the case of another prolonged absence from Colwill. I see Acheampong and Hato as hybrid CB/FBs who will both see plenty of mins under Alonso.
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17 Jun 2026 02:03:44
£52m for Van Hecke, when he has one year left on his contract, is crazy. He's nowhere near that good, imo. Didn't he make the most mistakes leading to a goal this season, too?
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15 Jun 2026 15:32:29
Nice goodbye message from Cucarella.
It would appear he is leaving for family reasons and just shows that fans like me shouldn't jump to conclusions.
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15 Jun 2026 17:35:59
That's fair enough, good luck to him. It's good that some of previous top players still care about the club, Drogba, Obi-Mikel, Hazard, Jimmy Floyd etc. Nice to see a photo of Eden at the Bridge wearing the new Chelsea shirt.
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15 Jun 2026 18:44:50
Very classy from him, Tom, and he has my best wishes for himself and his family. Jimbo, I totally agree about those former players you mention, who, along with the likes of club legend JT, bleed blue.
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15 Jun 2026 19:54:13
Greenaway, I have been critical of recent home kits, but I like the new shirt. It would look good with blue shorts with a white stripe on the side and white socks. Even better if we had a top FOS sponsorship deal at the start of the season.
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15 Jun 2026 22:39:49
I like this home kit as well. I have bought the shirts (prefer it with no sponsor) for all the grandkids.
I wonder if the Oracle sponsor rumour is still a runner. Time will tell.
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15 Jun 2026 22:17:11
I love the new kit Jimbo and prefer no sponsor on it. I have no interest in finances only trophies and limbs flying everywhere on the terraces when we win.
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16 Jun 2026 07:48:28
Greenaway, given the lack of Champions League football and PSR, we definitely need a sponsor. No money; no trophies.
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16 Jun 2026 07:59:20
A FOS sponsor would be a nice revenue stream, and our finances will definitely take a hit by the end of the next financial year.
This season is important for lots of reasons.
I'm not sure how true this is, but I was told we now receive more from other sponsors than the last complete season we had a FOS sponsor. Still, some icing on the cake would be nice.
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16 Jun 2026 09:07:38
Tom, agree. The new season is extremely important for us in many ways. The ins and outs will give us some indication of how things might go. Fingers crossed.
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16 Jun 2026 11:03:57
Tom, the lack of a FOS sponsor can't really be defended anymore.
'More from other sponsors' is irrelevant, as we could still have all of those and sorted out the kit sponsor, but hey ho, they're billionaire businessmen, so we must bow to their wisdom and skill.
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16 Jun 2026 11:25:05
My guess is, they know more about business than most fans!
I could, historically, see some mathematical sense in delaying a FOS deal until we qualified for the CL. We not only managed to qualify for the CL, we became the first club to "win it all" when we lifted the CWC. For me, that was a green light to do a deal. We didn't, so it became impossible for me to work out the owners' logic.
Of course, we have had FOS sponsors for part of the last two seasons, but we almost certainly haven't received full value.
We also had one full season with a FOS sponsor, with what I would call an "in-house" solution.
Of course, other sponsors become "more" relevant when a club doesn't have a FOS sponsor, and I applaud the club for increasing revenue from other sponsors, but as I said, a FOS would be like the icing on the cake.
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16 Jun 2026 11:58:46
We are forgetting they did have a deal with Paramount, which would have been great, but for the Premier League to say no.
Maybe now you can't have betting companies, we could have Paramount. 🤣🤣
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16 Jun 2026 12:17:11
Finchy, good point, I had forgotten about Paramount.
I'm sure there must be a reason, and it's probably just about valuations as it's impossible to believe it's deliberate.
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16 Jun 2026 15:53:18
We didn't have a deal with Paramount because it breached the terms of the contract between the Premier League and the broadcasters - it was a non-starter. Nobody is suggesting that the failure to obtain sponsorship is deliberate - "there must be a reason" - yes, indeed, I wonder what it is. Let's see what happens at the start of the season.
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16 Jun 2026 15:54:38
Could also just be plain incompetence, Tom... With what we've seen elsewhere at the club, it wouldn't be too surprising.
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16 Jun 2026 16:23:31
I have been saying for ages now. I do not have a clue what the owners/commercial dept are doing, or, should I say, not doing.
I agree with Tom. We should have secured one from a position of strength when we won the CWC and qualified for the CL.
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16 Jun 2026 18:00:54
Thanks to Cucurella. Up and down for him at Chelsea, but he will do very well at Madrid.
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16 Jun 2026 19:53:07
I doubt it's incompetence. I was under the impression we did agree a deal with Paramount, but it got the thumbs down from the authorities, as a sort of conflict of interest.
I hope Cucurella does well at Madrid unless they play us.
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16 Jun 2026 20:13:52
I wonder how many clubs will be without sponsors next season with the ban on betting companies coming into force? Finchy, that Paramount deal was an indication that the owners do know what they are doing, but the Premier League decided they didn't like it. Maybe a challenge should have been made?
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16 Jun 2026 20:20:23
Tom, the Paramount "deal" was never mentioned by the club because it never had any legs; it had no chance of being approved. It wasn't a thumbs down because it was in breach of the rules.
If there was any doubt about it, no doubt we would have taken the matter further. I can't understand why people are suggesting that this was some sort of success by the commercial department.
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16 Jun 2026 20:42:52
I'm not sure anyone is suggesting it was a success. It can't, because it didn't pass the regulators' scrutiny.
It's a long time ago, but I honestly thought it was the club who mentioned Paramount. Not that it matters, all water under the bridge.
I would love to know the shirt sales numbers with or without a Fos sponsor?
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16 Jun 2026 21:47:36
Tom, the club didn't mention it: why would they? A deal that never got off the ground. Shirt sales won't make up for a lack of sponsorship.
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16 Jun 2026 22:15:53
As I say, all water under the bridge, but I am confused, because I'm pretty sure the regulator said it was a no go. If that was the case, then someone presented it to them.
I would never suggest that the sale of shirts would compensate for not having a FOS sponsor. My question was just curiosity, do we sell more shirts without a FOS sponsor?
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15 Jun 2026 12:59:31.
Chelsea manager Xabi Alonso believes Chelsea have a very strong squad that can be improved this summer - and the club want to add players with exceptional talent and character.
There are likely to be fewer promising youngsters through the doors of Cobham, therefore, and more established names instead, with goalkeeper, centre-back, central midfield and new left-winger the main areas of concern.
Chelsea are one of the clubs with serious interest in Aston Villa's Morgan Rogers along with Arsenal and Manchester United.
In the goalkeeper department, they expect to put Mike Penders in first-team contention following his loan at Strasbourg but have been looking at others too, while in midfield, Sky Sports News understands Chelsea are admirers of Adam Wharton.
The future of Enzo Fernandez may be pivotal to any bigger changes in midfield, with his name high on the list at Real Madrid.
Fernandez is valued at more than £100m and Chelsea are not trying to sell the player. Contrary to reports, Manchester City are not looking to sign him.
Chelsea have agreed the sale of Cucurella to Real Madrid which means they will likely have to sign a replacement, although Jorell Hato is in contention to take the starting left-back spot from the departing Spain full-back.
With Emmanuel Emegha coming in from Strasbourg and Nicolas Jackson returning from his loan at Bayern Munich, there are doubts around the future of Liam Delap, with Chelsea having a surplus of strikers.
Right-winger Geovany Quenda is set to arrive from Sporting CP following the deal Chelsea did last year, and manager Alonso will want to have a good look at all the players at his disposal before making final decisions.
As per Sky Sports.
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15 Jun 2026 15:33:45
Rpd, thanks for the summary, mate.
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15 Jun 2026 09:44:05
To be honest, it's nice to have that first big move done and dusted. We all knew Cucurella was leaving, good that it's sorted early and for a decent enough price too.
There have been a few reports that Alonso is keen to keep hold of Fernandez, and the club won't budge on his valuation, I think it's 60-70% likely he stays.
The news now shifts to replacing Cucurella, Hall and Grimaldo seem to be the favourites at the moment. Hall, I'd really like but don't see it materialising. I've said on here recently, for me, Grimaldo ticks a ton of boxes. But is there an answer within the squad?
You want your best players on the pitch, with that in mind, can anyone see James successfully bombing up and down the pitch from RWB? I can see why there would be concerns about his body holding out. It might make more sense for James to invert into the midfield pivot, in turn, pushing Fernandez into one of the 10's. That would leave Hato becoming the LCB from a LB position, and/or Barco deputising as a more progressive LB/LWB. Now, this all sounds very Maresca like, with FB's inverting into a pivot, but, if Fernandez stays, it's a way of getting him and James into Alonso's system and on the pitch as much as possible, without impacting other key players like Palmer, Estavao or Joao Pedro.
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15 Jun 2026 10:06:04
Personally for me, I think we need to find out what formation he will play. I think he played a back 4 at Madrid.
But I do think he will be flexible and it will change in game.
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15 Jun 2026 10:16:50
I think Enzo will be leaving along with Badiashile, Tosin, Disasi, Delap/Jackson, Guiu, Jorgensen and maybe Garnacho.
When I watched Bl under Alonso, it always seemed to be a back three, but I have no idea about his preferred shape at Rm.
It sounds to me that, like most good coaches, he can be flexible.
Throughout last season, we were generally passive with and without the ball, and a change to a more aggressive/progressive style of football is what I'm looking for.
I hate seeing my team outworked.
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15 Jun 2026 10:37:21
He tended to start with a back four at Real, but ultimately, in possession it still ended up as a compact 3-2-5, with the pivot and two 10s making a box midfield.
I don't think it really matters if it starts as a four or three at the back, it just comes down to how the team manoeuvres into that in possession setup.
But the type of lb signing we make will give us a great indication as to whether he wants to start with a four and traditional fb's or a three and wb's. Definitely going to be an interesting bit of the market to see develop.
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15 Jun 2026 13:06:51
Quenda shouldn't be forgotten in all of this either. He could easily play the same wb role as Frimpong did for Leverkusen, just from the left, rather than the right.
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12 Jun 2026 12:49:33
This could open up a huge can of worms.
Everton to pay Burnley millions over PSR breaches. Burnley FC has won its legal dispute with Everton FC after the club sued the Toffees for breaching Premier League rules, The Lawyer understands.
Everton has been ordered to pay Burnley compensation and interest of nearly £40m, although it intends to appeal.
The case went to trial in the Autumn, with the Premier League expected to publish the judgment sometime this week.
Everton, which was defended by Pinsent Masons, was deducted 10 championship points in late 2023 for breaches of the Profitability and Sustainability Rules (PSR) in the 2021/22 season.
This was reduced to six points on appeal in early 2024.
Burnley, which instructed King and Spalding, subsequently sued Everton after it was relegated to the Championship in 2022, the same year that Everton breached the PSR.
The Premier Leagues rules allow for clubs to seek compensation from other clubs for rule breaches that cause them loss.
It is believed that part of Burnleys claim is that, had the six point deduction taken place in 2022, Everton would have been relegated and Burnley would have stayed in the Premier League.
Burnleys case is understood to be based on the legal principle of loss of chance. In such a situation, a club like Burnley might argue that, although it was not certain that it would have stayed in the Premier League, Evertons rule breaches deprived it of a real chance of doing so.
Damages in these cases are typically calculated by taking into account the value of the lost opportunity and the likelihood of success.
Dropping down to the Championship typically brings with it substantial revenue losses. Conversely, with the winner promoted to the Premier League, the Championship play-off final is considered to be worth about £200m and described as the richest match in football.
Reports suggested that Burnley had sought at least £50m from Everton in
The Lawyer understands that Everton plans to appeal, with a hearing hoped to be scheduled before the end of the year.
The decision is believed to be the first of its kind and will likely have a significant impact on future financial fair play disputes, with clubs that breach rules facing not only a sporting sanction but also the possibility of compensation claims from other clubs.
Manchester City and its rivals will be closely following the appeal and any legal precedent it sets.
Several Premier League clubs are understood to have lined up legal counsel to sue City for compensation, should it be found to have breached League rules in the 115 charges case brought against it.
The clubs were contacted for comment.
How will this impact Everton going forward? 40 Million is a huge hit.
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12 Jun 2026 08:40:27
Lionel Scaloni on Valentin Barco.
I have to say it clearly, this boy is going to be Argentina’s next big thing.
I look at Valentin and I see things that simply don't correspond to a kid his age. His work rate? Unbelievable.
Honestly, for someone so young, he plays every single minute like his life depends on it; there is no hesitation, no saving energy for later, just pure, absolute commitment.
But what truly blows my mind is his vision and his mentality. You don't teach that.
That kind of reading of the game, that composure under pressure, it doesn’t belong to a player with his experience.
He’s at Chelsea now, and I have no doubt he’s destined to be a cornerstone for this national team in the post-Messi era.
Has anyone seen much of him? Seems to be making a big impression for the national team.
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12 Jun 2026 10:32:12
There's no agreement to sign him yet, apparently.
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12 Jun 2026 11:35:15
He will run himself into the ground. However, it remains to be seen if he can remain disciplined in a system. In France, the pitch often feels twice the size when watching the game, as games are often ridiculously open.
He had a superb year at Strasbourg, but was at fault more than once for being wildly out of position, chasing balls like a bull terrier. Hopefully, he learns the system Xabi wants quickly and can be a big addition to the squad.
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12 Jun 2026 13:36:58
As per CFC1221, there is no agreement yet to sign him.
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12 Jun 2026 13:57:50
I guess it will depend on Alonso and whether he wants him or not. He may well have other players in mind.
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12 Jun 2026 18:05:30
Agreed, Greenaway, but if we want him and he has a good WC, his fee will increase.
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12 Jun 2026 22:27:42
Bill, is he not a Blue.co player already?
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13 Jun 2026 16:33:29
I thought we had already signed him?
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13 Jun 2026 16:36:02
Barco's arrival had been announced in a number of forums, eg football.london, some time ago, though the fee we paid is 'undisclosed'. To arrive: Geovany Quenda, Emmanuel Emegha, Dastan Satpaev, and Valentin Barco.
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13 Jun 2026 17:49:47
Thanks, JBS, for clearing that up. He is a very good signing by all accounts.
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11 Jun 2026 20:31:20.
Looking at the way Alonso will set up our back line, probably a 3, who would my fellow posters bring in at Centre back? I'm assuming Levi, Josh, Hato and Reece James will be in contention with Disasi, BB, Tosin and maybe Fofana moving on with Sarr possibly going on loan.
For me, I would like a JT type, a proper dominant defender, good talker, great with either peg and someone who can organise whilst having that monster mentality Alonso talks about. Not many made like that anymore, maybe a VVD?
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11 Jun 2026 21:56:57
Greenaway, what about Dan Ballard?
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11 Jun 2026 23:38:07
Lacroix would be my first choice, a quick, uncompromising defender, can play right side or central centre back roles. He would pair nicely with Colwill.
For me, he and Colwill would be first choice. Outside of injury, there is no reason they cannot start every league game next season. You then bring Hato or Acheampong in, at LCB or RCB respectively, to make up the three, and share minutes.
I'd keep Tosin and Chalobah as backups, mainly keeping Tosin because he is apparently a strong / positive character in the group. But, outside of Colwill, he's also our best passer out from the back.
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12 Jun 2026 08:42:38
Dean Huijsen for me, and maybe even Thiago Silva as player/coach.
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12 Jun 2026 12:33:05
As I posted ages ago, apparently RM asked about Enzo and we asked them about Huijsen.
For me, that deal would be good business for Chelsea, but I think it's unlikely RM would let him go!!
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12 Jun 2026 14:54:13
I certainly wouldn't turn my nose up at Hoijsen, and I don't think he's a Mourinho type, so not implausible that he sweetens a Fernandez deal. I just feel like we need more of a Rudiger style, physically imposing, aggressive, CB to complement our other CBs.
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12 Jun 2026 22:28:35
Would be a good move, J, in my opinion.
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