He peaked under Robbie/early Rafa, second half he was still good but was a shadow of his previous level and it was Hazard that was the main catalyst to us securing top 4 and Europa.
Remember he was superb under Rafa. His stats were insane too and if I'm not wrong he won player of the year award. I would go with that.
Still find it strange that Smith-Rowe and Brewster are rated higher than Gomes, but ultimately it doesn't matter.
Mata was a back to back Chelsea player of the Year (voted for by the fans) when Mourinho came in so that would suggest he was equally as good under Benitez as he were under AVB/Di Matteo
Brewster got a huge amount of rep from the wider footballing world because of his world cup hat tricks.
A great first half and good second is often enough to win the award, it's not like he was up against prime versions of the old guard. He was still a deserved winner despite tailing off a bit.
Yeah, he had his best season under Rafa is how I remember.
Mata was absolutely ridiculous for us before Mourinho. His performances that season are up there with the best I've seen from anyone for this club. I can even remember a dip for the life of me because there were many games at the end of the season where he was truly superb. The two FA cups legs against United, and the PL home game against Spurs (whom he had absolutely annihilated away as well), and the league match at Old Trafford where he scored the only goal were all at the end of the season, and he was excellent. Something like 19 goals and 35 assists in all competitions in the end for us!
Agreed. Mata was ridiculous at Chelsea.
He's more athletic than Sancho, and Sancho is slightly more technically gifted. He could end up better because of the athleticism, as his technique is really good. And you can see that with some of his dribbling today. Sancho was the bigger talent at youth level though.
Chelsea aren't keen on selling abroad .What makes you think they'll sell to English rival?
More to football than the ball being glued to your feet beyond just the mental part...
If he is not sold in the summer, next jan he can talk to who even he wants with 6 months remaining. Chelsea will try to sell for a good enough offer if he's not committing.
Odoi has lots to prove. Sancho stands out for me due to his intelligence and link up play.
CHO has a little bit more talent imo.
He's been injured for more than a year now and won't be back this season. It's anyone's guess if he'll make it after that.
Damn didn’t know that. Such a shame when that happens to young players.
At least they have Zappacosta, Giroud and Pedro
Very raw player, needs game time so can see how good he could be or not. Has shown quality in patches.
Yeah, once you've go ball control that good you can not even bother and still end up as a solid top 6 level player. A lot of managers give Hazard stick even though he's almost always the best player on the pitch because they know that he still has a gear or two to go but decides to go easy instead.
I'd go for both
I’m a bit unsure about how you and others view buying young players like Rice, Sessegnon, Hudson-Odoi and Sancho (which are mentioned alot here).
If you cant see the difference between him and some of the names you mentioned...You could have also said the same for Sancho when he moved to Dortmund. This lad is highly rated and Bayern made a 35m offer or whatever it was. The players you listed where nowhere near his level or Sancho. Pretty sure everybody was stunned we signed crap like Obertan or Bellion.
He's going to be a CAM/Striker.
Just because Bayern made a bid doesn't mean he's going to be the next Pele. People, including pundits, have been telling us Loftus-Cheek is the next best thing for a while now, heir to every throne going, how's he doing these days?
Notice the name in the post above mine.
Some stunning revisionist history there.
Posters on here are obsessed with Bayern though, as if they have the perfect system in place.
So he's the next saviour of the game or he's being overhyped because he's available and Bayern made a bid? You didn't even know who he was before January so how good is he really?
If you never heard something from him before January, that is your thing. I am sure people have heard of him way before. I have seen the u17 WC, and he was pretty amazing.
The fact he's actively forcing a move and he holds a lot of leverage with his contract entering its final year means there's a great chance of acquiring him. Something United should try. Chelsea can hardly cry about it given they barely give him minutes. He's clearly cottoned on that signing a contract means going out on loan or sitting on the bench.
