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The talking heads have been talking. Sigh. Much of the recent media dross has pertained to David Luiz, and a potential move away from Chelsea.
First, there was Manchester City placing £30 million in small change on the offering table, only for the Chelsea hierarchy to riposte with a firm nay. Sure. And then there was Barcelona not offering anything close to that figure - just the city providing some plush accommodations for Luiz and his Nike representatives. No matter, the Brazilian central defender is off to Catalonia, the rags said. Again, sure.
Of course it didn't take long for all this to get back to Chelsea manager Roberto Di Matteo. What does he think of the rumors? Well, I'll let him tell you.
Via The Independent:
Personally I don't (have a headache with Barcelona). I am not sure about Arsenal – probably you would have to ask Arsene Wenger about that. Chelsea can withstand Barcelona. (Their relentless pursuit of players) doesn't concern me.
This club has been very, very successful in the past and I don't see why any player should want to leave us to go anywhere else at the moment. We always compete for trophies, it's a very ambitious club with an ambitious owner. We've had no approaches and he is not for sale at any price.
No approaches. Not for sale.
So, just as we all thought. Hilarious.
Let's move on to more pertinent matters. Di Matteo, in the same piece by Adrian Kajumba, offers his thoughts on the club's two newest signings - Victor Moses and Cesar Azpilicueta. The WAGNH community appears to be pretty excited about the latest additions, and Di Matteo shares the sentiment.
First, on Azpilicueta:
He's a young player from Marseille, Spanish, come through the ranks with the youth level with the Spanish team, who will give us cover at right back. With Paulo Ferreira and Branislav Ivanovic, that gives us more options for the future.
Not exactly a ringing endorsement, but I'm going to say Di Matteo was simply being modest about the right-back.
He discussed Moses in much more detail, lauding the player's development under Wigan manager Roberto Martinez. Well done, Roberto (both of you).
Roberto Martinez did a wonderful job with this player when he signed him. He has really developed him. He had a very good season last year and hopefully we can progress his development and he can help us with his ability. He can play on either wing and gives the team width. He has got great dribbling ability and good pace and is a powerful player.
That's some good quotage. Di Matteo wasn't done, however, closing with an excellent piece of insight on the squad as a whole. In fact, it falls in line with what WAGNH writers and commenters alike have been saying throughout the summer - transfer business this offseason has been excellent for Chelsea Football Club.
I'm happy with the way the squad is now. If you look at the profile of the players that come in you are looking at players who will be here for the next four or five years.
A special thank you to The Independent for the quotes.
