It's about to go down, kids.
All of the above?
And a good morning to you all.
It's deadline day, a day usually chock full of unsubstantiated rumors and utter bullshit - no doubt spouted from the mouths of Sky's crack team of on-site reporters. Not this year. I believe we are in for one of the most entertaining deadline days in recent memory if not ever, even if the famous CFC fails to secure the services of anyone.
We here at The CO have decided to follow the madness live - for the most part - keeping you informed of the news as it happens (hopefully). So stay with us for all of the latest deadline day gossip regarding Chelsea. Check back throughout the day. Refresh often. If it happens and Chelsea is involved, we should have it. If we don't, add it in the comments section and we'll throw it up.
Happy hunting to Roman & Co.
Legend
** = substantial info
*** = signing announced by media
Italic = confirmed by club
6:45am (GMT): The latest on the Torres saga. It appears that a deal can be struck before the end of the window. A straight cash deal looks likely - Anelka, Sturridge, Kalou not to be involved - with figures between £45 (Telegraph) and £50 million (Guardian, Independent) being quoted. The Guardian goes on to say that "Chelsea hopeful that Liverpool's asking price will drop to as low as £37m as 11pm approaches, although that appears unlikely." We'll keep you posted, obviously.
7am: Bolton, after failing to secure a loan move for Arsenal striker Carlos Vela, have turned their sights onto Daniel Sturridge. Could happen, particularly if Torres makes the move, but I can't really see it. Sturridge did miss Saturday's game at Everton with an apparent knee injury - questionable. Hey, at least if Studge did move to the Reebok, he would get a game or three, though.
7:20am: Dimitri Payet. The 23-year-old Saint-Etienne winger has been linked with moves to Paris Saint-Germain (bid rejected) and Liverpool. Now, according to L'Équipe reckons we've made an £8m bid for the player. Tricky player, who is good on both wings. Played a bit as a second striker this season.
8:02am: Not much to report, except that I'm fucking tired (it's 3:02am in my neck of the woods). I've been reviewing the latest with regard to David Luiz. The deal was proclaimed dead on Friday by Benfica, but I never believed that and neither have the papers. A Bola figure we'll make a last-ditch effort to secure the Brazilian defender today, with Gary Cahill our second choice. Tie up Luiz then.
8:10am: Sky Sports expects Chelsea to finalize a deal for Torres before the end of the window. Expect being the key word here.
8:12am: Former Liverpool midfielder Luis Garcia is on Radio 5. His take on why Fernando Torres is ready to bail on Liverpool: "Torres left Atletico looking for trophies and titles and he has not achieved any of them and maybe it is time to think about it. Liverpool are in a position where they are struggling in the league and maybe with all the changes they have done it is a good moment to leave." Sounds about right.
8:26am: Ben Smith of The Times, nine minutes ago via Twitter: "#LFC will sell Torres to #CFC today if their valuation is met AND Dalglish can sign replacements in time"
8:30am: Inside Futbol say Payet has pleaded with Saint-Etienne to allow him to join PSG.
9:11am: Torres just entered Liverpool's training facility at Melwood. AHHHHHHHHHH
**9:15am: French football journailst Tom Williams, a minute ago via Twitter: "Saint-Etienne's Dimitri Payet, reportedly subject of bid from Chelsea yesterday, tells L'Equipe: 'I've made my choice. I want to join PSG.'" I guess that's one we can definitively rule out then.
9:30am: Sky Sports bloke at Cobham says he's overheard chatter from our players that suggests they think the Torres deal will happen. This clearly means we don't have a chance in hell of pulling this one off before the deadline.
**9:31am: Here's some interesting news. Darren Lewis of The Mirror, a minute ago via Twitter: "Daniel Sturridge set to end talk of a move to #lfc. Having a medical at Bolton ahead of a loan deal." Surely we wouldn't allow this move to go through if we weren't confident of securing Torres?
9:35am: Dan Levene, also known as BluesChronicle on Twitter, says the club will neither confirm nor deny whether negotiations for David Luiz have ceased.
10:02am: Kenny Dalglish presser in progress right now. Has had nothing new to say regarding the Torres situation (no Jersey Shore).
10:07am: Ben Smith of The Times reports via Twitter that Liverpool have removed all promotional images/video from their official website. Nonsense.
**10:20am: Darren Lewis of The Mirror, two minutes ago via Twitter: "Sorry to all of you asking. It appears Liverpool have accepted a bid for Torres. Just trying to confirm it but our men say yes." I like Lewis, but I'm going to need a little more confirmation here.
10:25am: Watching this Dalglish presser on Sky Sports, the man looks weathered. It must've been one hell of a night. A quote of note: "People move and people come but the most important people at lfc are the ones who want to be here.”
10:47am: DannyTheJourno, a reputable CFC supporter on Twitter, has heard from a Portuguese journailst that a deal for Torres has been agreed. More coming as we get it, of course.
11am: Ian McGarry, two minutes ago via Twitter: "senior source at #cfc told me they have not made a new bid for Torres and are considering their position. #lfc"
11:10am: Ben Smith of The Times is 100 percent certain that Liverpool have launched a £30m bid for Andy Carroll. Radio 5 and Sky Sports say the same. Intriguing.
11:18am: Regarding that bid from Liverpool for Carroll. Speaking with a friend a couple of months ago, I said I wouldn't have minded seeing Chelsea make around a £15m bid for the Newcastle striker in this window. But £30m? Fuck me, that's insane. Darrent Bent, bargain.
11:28am: Bolton manager Owen Coyle doing his best Redknapp on Sky Sports regarding Danny. Calls him potentially the best young striker in England.
11:30am: Eurosport.fr reporting that we have turned our attention back toward Atletico Madrid defender Diego Godin. Spanish radio say a bid of around €18m has been made. Alternative to Luiz? Also rumors linking us to Payet are still swirling, despite the earlier news of the player seeking a move to PSG.
11:49am: Apparently Torres is not taking part in training today.
11:53am: Couple of journalists on Twitter say Saint-Etienne have confirmed that we have made a bid for Payet. Liverpool also interested.
11:55am: I am famished. Food a priority. Back in 15-20 minutes. By then we will probably have inked Torres, a defender and an attacking midfielder. Lovely.
12:36pm: Food digested. Stomach pleased. What did I miss? Not much it seems. The Mirror is reporting that Torres has apparently left Melwood in a helicopter. Stylish getaway. Elsewhere, Bolton are closer to tying up Sturridge on loan. Nothing new on the defender front.
Torres' escorts to west London.
1:10pm: So there was a helicopter that departed Melwood. It was, however, no Nandocopter. That shatters my entire universe. Then again, it was The Mirror reporting that so you take it with a grain of salt. Nevertheless, Torres has just left the Liverpool training facility in an Audi. Boom.
1:17pm: BBC correspondent Dan Roan, two minutes ago via Twitter: "Reliably informed that talks on image rights and salary (approx 175k/week) are all that remains for Torres deal to be completed #bbcfootball"
1:25pm: Bruma's proposed loan move to West Bromwich looks to be off. Would that be because we have been unable to secure one our defensive prospects?
1:30pm: Absolutely knackered. Going to get a bit of rest. Of course, everything will go down while I'm passed out. Super. See you guys in a few hours - that is unless I manage to hear something from Sky while attempting to sleep.
3:12pm: Just woke up for a second. What have I missed?
3:15pm: The club have confirmed that Jacob Mellis has joined Barnsley until 8 May.
**3:20pm: OK. So what I can gather in a half-zombie state is that Liverpool and Newcastle are in discussions that would theoretically bring Andy Carroll to Merseyside in a £35m deal. You read that right. Meanwhile, we are flushing out the £50m move for Torres, with a medical on the cusp of taking place. I think. This really has been a dull fucking day, eh?
3:22pm: Another quick thought on the potential move of Carroll to Liverpool. And, to think, I thought we were overpaying for Torres. Comedy.
3:40pm: Interesting to see that the player + cash rumors have resurfaced. A couple of sources are suggesting the figure for Torres will be £48m and Nicolas Anelka. Can't say I like the idea of that, particularly with Sturridge taking his ego to Bolton. Sound bogus anyway, what with the deal for Carroll looking increasingly likely.
5:52pm: I'm awake again! Deadline day is destroying my life.
**5:56pm: The latest on Torres. Liverpool have agreed to snatch Andy Carroll from Newcastle for £35m plus add-ons. Again, you did read that correctly. What's this mean for Torres? Well, he's awaiting permission from Liverpool to undergo a medical at Chelsea. It looks, as of right now, that this deal will be completed barring any hiccups in the medical.
6pm: Finally something on David Luiz. Duncan Castles of The Times says via Twitter that reports out of Lisbon suggest Chelsea have reached an agreement with Benfica for the player. No confirmation.
6:05pm: Side Lowe, seven minutes ago via Twitter: "Carroll is official. Torres should be in the not too distant."
Chelsea, you say? Fucking mint!
6:27pm: Sorry, guys. We had a few problems with the site as web traffic begins to pick up. Quite a bit has happened in the past 20 or so minutes.
***6:40pm: Forget Nandocopter. Luizcopter is currently flying into London to thrash out personal terms, according to Sky Sports. The deal, all but dead as late as yesterday, now is being reported as done by a number of outlets including A Bola. Terms of the deal look like this - €20m up front with €5m due in 2013. Nemanja Matic has also been included in the deal. We'll alert you when we hopefully receive confirmation from the club.
6:45pm: So, deals for Luiz and Torres? That would represent an incredible window for the club. Two truly world-class players.
6:50pm: So taking a closer look at what Liverpool are doing today. Spending around £75m on Carroll, Suarez and Adam? Seriously. Let's just say that if I'm throwing out that kind of cash, I'd like to secure at least one world-class player. I mean, I know Dalglish has a good track record with forwards - Barnes, Beardsley, Aldridge, Shearer - but this wreaks of desperation/panic from a mid-table club in decline. I can see what they're trying to do, and it may well work out well for them, but I thought Dalglish was a temporary fix? He can't possibly be now, can he? Just weird.
6:52pm: BREAKING - The shirt burning has commenced on Merseyside. Classic.
7:15pm: Sky Sports have given us an ETA on Luiz. 9 p.m., they say.
7:26pm: Sky Sports News says that Liverpool and Chelsea have agreed a fee for Torres. Around £50m.
7:33pm: Time for lunch. Back in 30.
***7:35pm: Liverpool release an official statement on Torres. "Liverpool Football Club tonight confirmed they have agreed a fee with Chelsea for the sale of Fernando Torres. The player has now been given permission to speak to the London club." Nothing standing in our way now. Who would have thought this was possible just a week ago? Stunned that this looks like it is actually going to happen.
8:28pm: Rumor circulating that Luiz has been pulled off his plane to London as Benfica analyse Chelsea's offer. Well, considering Luiz was reported to have boarded that flight a few hours ago and was scheduled to be in London at 9pm, I find that hard to fathom. Hauled him off a moving plane? The Guardian say Sky have confirmed that Luiz did indeed board a flight and is due in London anytime now - though I'm watching Sky right now and did not hear that.
8:30pm: SSN hint that Sturridge's move to Bolton may be a permanent one. I don't buy that. And neither do they. After a commercial break, they confirm that Sturridge is joining Owen Coyle's side on loan.
8:35pm: Now it's becoming much more clear with respect to Luiz. It's being suggested that Luiz did deboard his flight to London, but only to sign the necessary paperwork that must be lodged with the Premier League. The deal is expected to be completed in Portugal, as Chelsea did not want to risk delays in his flight with the transfer deadline fast approaching. I repeat, this deal is still on.
9:11pm: Our first club confirmation of the evening has just surfaced. We've known for some time, but now the club can reveal that Sturridge has joined Bolton until the end of the season. Bolton also have news of the deal up on their website as well as some quotes from the young man: "It's been a very busy but exciting day. I found out that the club were interested in me over the weekend and everything has happened pretty quickly. I left my home at 5.30am this morning to drive up here and have my medical. Everything has gone well and I'm looking forward to playing some football for Bolton Wanderers. Obviously the club offers me the opportunity to play regular football and the manager has spoke very highly - he has made me want to join the club with the things that he has said." Good luck to the kid. I really hope he gets some regular football and proves to Carlo & Co. that he is indeed of Chelsea quality. A similar move worked well for Jack Wilshire last year; no reason to think this can't do the same for Studge.
10:05pm: Less than an hour left to go on this unbelievably wild final day of the January transfer window. Nothing new really coming out. Bruce Buck has moved in to help facilitate our moves for Luiz and Torres. ChelseaTV's transfer special has begun, but without any confirmation of deals yet.
10:11pm: It looks like Liverpool will not be bringing in Charlie Adam. That's a no-go according to several sources, and Adam isn't pleased one bit with the recent development. Shattered seems to be the word of choice.
10:16pm: Reports suggest Torres has arrived at Stamford Bridge. Showtime?
10:20pm: A couple of journos, including Matt Barlow of the Daily Mail, reckon Bruma is off to join Sven's revolution at Leicester City. That can only mean one thing: the Luiz deal is all but done.
10:23pm: ChelseaTV just confirmed that Torres is indeed at Stamford Bridge. Excellent.
10:30pm: How 'bout some news that could impact Sturridge's time at the Reebok? I thought this was dead in the water, but it appears Johan Elmander may well still join Newcastle before the end of the window. That would most certainly leave a massive hole in attack for the Wanderers, one that Studge could potentially fill - provided he can leapfrog Ivan Klasnic in the pecking order.
10:34pm: Former Blue Eidur Gudjohnsen has joined Fulham on loan until the end of the season. He was to join Ajax earlier, but that fell through for reasons unknown to this weary blogger. On a personal note, so glad to see Eidur moving to a club where he has a chance to get some games. A personal favorite and Chelsea legend.
**10:43pm: The club have made a public admission regarding Torres! Stamford the Lion, via Twitter: "Fernando Torres is at Stamford Bridge ..." ChelseaTV is apparently staying on air until the deals are confirmed by the club. We're almost there.
10:50pm: Just 10 minutes left until the window slams shut on English club-to-club transfers. Sky Sports reports that the Carroll deal has been completed. Nothing on Torres or Luiz as of yet.
10:53pm: This is funny. SSN reports that Tottenham have squirmed into the bidding war for Charlie Adam. The wheeler-dealer is not finished yet.
10:55pm: Numerous sources on Twitter suggesting the deal for Torres is done, signed at 22:47 GMT. Locked up until 2016.
***10:59pm: SSN says have completed deals for both Torres and Luiz. SSN, more critically, say Liverpool have confirmed that Chelsea have inked Torres. I guess it's safe to say it now: Welcome to the club, Fernando. Do us proud, good sir.
11pm: The window is CLOSED. But, my oh my, what a day it was. I'll be staying with you for the immediate future to see if we can get confirmation from Chelsea on any and all signings.
11:10pm: Duncan Castles has some confirmation on the numbers for Luiz. €20m now, €5m more by 2015. Plus one friendly in Lisbon. Matic will make the move next season.
11:16pm: Benfica have confirmed the Luiz deal. Here is a look at the statement they have sent to the stock market. Click here.
11:22pm: LFCTV has confirmed the deal for Torres. Why is it that the club we bought the player from can announce the deal, but we haven't done so ourselves? So weird. Whatever, though, I'm just glad we've wrapped this.
11:30pm: It's definitely a done deal. Torres is currently speaking on ChelseaTV in an exclusive interview. Right now, he's touching on the relationship between he and Yossi, and the competitive fire between he and England's Brave John Terry. Am I the only one who finds this all a bit surreal?
11:31pm: "My dream is to win the Champions League and I think I can do that with Chelsea." Oh to see the Scousers face right now.
Glad to have ya
11:38pm: Here it is, as if we need it now. Official confirmation of Torres' signing via the club website.
11:40pm: No Luiz confirmation from the club yet, but I assume we'll see that very soon. I think that's going to do it for this thread. It's been quite a day, a historic one. A landmark 24 hours for the famous CFC? I think so. We'll be back with reaction posts and such later. For now, go out and enjoy the new signings. Incredible stuff. Cheers, guys.
And we're out.