We definitely need Gary Cahill to improve our squad depth especcially as Alex will most likely leave and i want Ivanovic to play right back more often so he to me is priority number one. He's English too meaning we wouldn't need to free up a squad place for him.
Secondly, we need a winger who can play on both flanks to allow Mata to display his creativity more often in the hole behind the striker and to play when Sturridge needs to be rested. A lot of options are available but with various limitations.
Kevin De Bruyne has been mentioned regularly in the media and it seems to be a matter of when and not if among fellow Blues but he's cup tied in the Champion's League.
Xherdan Shaqiri is an excellent option but he's also cup tied.
Neymar isn't cup tied but pulling such a transfer of with Madrid and Barca on the horizon could prove extremely difficult. he's also more of a risk than my preferred option who happens to be Eden Hazard of Lille. Granted he's also cup tied but kinda like with the David Luiz transfer we should manage without him. He's quality. he's fast, can go past a player, delivers good crosses and can give excellent defense splitting passes. His age is also a positive as he's one for the future. Most importantly, he'll soften the blow of losing Anelka.
Finally, one player I feel we could still go back for is Modric. It seems highly unlikely considering Spurs position in the league. A player like Moutinho is to me will not offer more than Raul Meireles and will further deter Josh McEachran who I think is a great prospect. A striker like Ba or Cavani, or a midfielder like Hamsik who could also play on the wings could also be good options. Though Newcastle will be looking for a lot of cash for a player going off to ACON and Napoli will not want to sell halfway through the season to a team they'll face in the next round of the Champion's league.
So since this is practically a wish list, my third choice signing has to be Luka Modric. Might involve a lot of cash but he'll be available for Champion's League footy and is a player Lampard would be quite happy to play second fiddle to(considering both their ages). Most importantly, he offers great ball retention and creativity from deep in midfield.
I summary, my top three hopeful signings in order of priority:
1) Gary Cahill
2) Eden Hazard
3) Luka Modric(or maybe Hamsik)
To me, these three are the least likely to flop and the most likely to excel in the positions we need to improve in.
My strongest team with new signings discounting the highly unlikely pair of Modric and Hamsik will be:
Cech
Ivanovic Luiz Terry Cole
Ramires Romeu
Sturridge Mata Hazard
Torres
In a 4-2-3-1.
Subs
Turnbull/Hilario, Cahill/Chalobah, Ferreira/Bosingwa, Lampard/josh Mc, Mikel/Meireles, Drogba/Lukaku, Malouda/Kalou.
N/B:
Sorry for the really long article.
Transfer Wish List and New Team
posted on 27/12/11
I'm not that keen on Cahill but it's almost a done deal
posted on 27/12/11
I understand that its more likely to be a summer deal considering the situation of both clubs. But we bought Luiz and Torres last January at similarly outrageous prices. Real Madrid might be his first choice but is he Madrid's first choice considering their already filled up squad(literally). Madrid seem to want Neymar more too.
And playing with Joe Cole is definitely not what he enjoys most about playing for Lille.
posted on 27/12/11
Mata > Joe Cole
posted on 27/12/11
I'm also not keen on Cahill but we need at least 4 CB's and with Alex going we'll only have 3.
Also if we get a new winger there's no need for a new midfielder, the 4231 Op posted is perfect except for hopefully Bertrand at LB.
I think the 3 in Didierjoey said is exactly the one we should go for. I'd probably prefer Rodwell to Cahill but that won't happen
posted on 27/12/11
thats the problem though BK, if Hazard or Mata was to get injured we'd have to call upon malouda. We need good cover and competition is always good
posted on 27/12/11
Horrible thought here but has it occured to anyone - we may yet lose a world class CB in Feb? I'm not meaning to be negative here but like u said at time - it seems JT is found guilty by YouTube and if I'm truly honest I'm not optimistic.
posted on 27/12/11
will be a huge loss
posted on 27/12/11
I think we need to appreciate the fact that Cahill will be a good squad player for us.
I don´t think he will get ahead of Terry or Luiz but he will certainly be needed as we forever lose CB´s to injury or suspension.
For that reason we must always have at least 4 CB´s in our squad and anything less means that we´ll have to see the likes of Bosingwa or Ferreira played at CB.
posted on 27/12/11
Also I admit that Cahill hasn´t looked great this season but he´s playing for a side that is desperately struggling.
I think even Vidic or Terry would be struggling in this current Bolton side.
Cahill has shown that he is a very capable centre back and the fact that Cahill and Terry have played together for England a few times is a major bonus in my opinion.
posted on 27/12/11
Cahill is a poor man's rio