Brazilian fullback Maicon is close to sealing a £6 million switch from Inter Milan to Chelsea and his agent is due in London for talks this week, according to reports in the Metro.
Rumours of the player joining the Blues have been prominent for the past week now and fans of the club have given the player mixed reviews. One thing is for sure, after Jose Bosingwa has left the club we need to bring in a new right-back and Paulo Ferreira doesn’t have enough in him to challenge Branislav Ivanovic for his place.
Those in the pro Maicon camp suggest that signing the 30-year-old could be perfect as the price is fairly modest and he still has a good few years in him, which gives the likes of Todd Kane time to develop until he’s ready to break into the team in a similar way to Ryan Bertrand, who put in plenty of graft before getting in our first team and was rewarded with a starting spot in the Champions League final.
And then there’s those that are against Maicon, who say that we should seek to bring in a younger right-back as a longer term option, like a Lukasz Piszczek or Mathieu Debuchy. The Metro also reckon Roberto Di Matteo has an interest in both Gregory van der Wiel and Rafael da Silva, but they’re both non-starters as far as I am concerned.
I think we definitely do need to bring in a player who is well equipped when going forward as it’s not really one of Ivanovic’s strengths, he’s a real threat from dead-ball situations but doesn’t offer the sort of width we need in open play in a similar way to Ashley Cole on the left. Could Inter’s Maicon be the man to help provide width from the fullback position on Chelsea’s right flank?
Whether you’re for or against, it seems increasingly likely that we will be signing the player as he has rejected terms with Real Madrid and his agent will be in London to discuss a three-year deal worth £80k-a-week.
In other news, there have also been reports that Chelsea are showing an interest in promising Southampton left-back Luke Shaw and have lodged a £4m bid for the 17-year-old.
Source: http://www.metro.co.uk/sport/football/904027-maicon-close-to-sealing-6million-chelsea-switch?
he is toooo old lets in for young guys like kyle walker
I would really like to see Kyle Walter in a chelsea jersey but how much would it cost? Chelsea is linked with tons of players these days and i’d bet we get atleast 2 or more players before the end of the transfer window. We need to watch what we spend now w/ fair play rules coming into play
do you mean kyle walker
He’s old… And we can’t bench ivanovich,neither can we bench Dluiz nor terry. We need a younger talent that can grow under ivanovich. Maicon use to be good but he’s in the twilite of his carrier.
Very happy with this signing! Maicon isn’t too old, he is younger than Cole or Terry and I can’t hear anyone complaining about their age. He is still one of the top 5 RBs in the world (probably 3rd after Lahm and Alves), strong, very quick, an excellent crosser and a goal threat as well. Also very rarely gets caught out defensively. £6m for Maicon is a daylight robbery! A 3-year contract is the right length, he will be 1st choice RB for the next 2 years with Ivanovic playing some games at CB and some at RB. In 2014-15 season, Maicon’s final year, gradually bring in one of our young RBs (Hutchinson, Kane, Kalas or Clifford) while giving Ivanovic some game-time. By 2015 expect either of Sam Hutchinson or Todd Kane to be our first choice right-back. Had Chelsea gone for a younger right-back (Debuchy, Piszczek, Van der Wiel etc) that would have killed the careers of our promising young RBs. With Maicon, he provides fantastic short-term cover and allows youth to be integrated into the team in the long run. The right choice!
i like the plan. not sure about hutchinson being a starting rb but i hope your right. I seem to be in the minority here but i personally really like Ivanovic as our right back. I think he provides great cover at cb and rb and would like to see him starting for us next year. But we do need cover at rb and Maicon could do even more. If Maicon is at his best I agree he is a top 5 rb. For a small amount like 6k and salary of 80k i think it would be a great gamble. We are going to continue to buy young talent so we can look for a younger rb in the next few seasons. I like this buy
Its a good signing because he has the might ??????d????? strenght.maicon ????§ a good player we can count upon.
well i think its a good buy….we certainly need an experienced right back…he still has 3 years or even 4 in him….he is a good crosser…he has pace…he is one of the best…he is paving way for our future right backs(hutchinson..kane etc
Not happy with this idea! He is too old. Terry has a year left at best, Cole maybe two. Chelsea can afford to bring in young ready-made players. We should not gamble on old plus a hope that a young unknown comes through from lower ranks. Cash strapped teams have to think this way. We dont need to. Like with Hazard and Luiz and Ramires, we must go for proven under 24 internationals. I think Van Der Wiel is good, but there are others to choose from. Old is not the direction to go.
i wonder, if chelsea knew the meaning and importance her academy?
if chelsea dont know wat to do with money let it not b to waste it on maicon,walker of spurs is dia let chelsea look 4 him we need young talented fresh blood not weak 1 young boys are out dere looking a way to shine but de dont have d previlage look 4 another guys not maicon plz u can train up hutchinson!
Not too old! He was world defender of the year just two seasons ago. Last season he nursed an injury. He has bags of experience and is just pure class. Like Bryn said, great value. Imagine if you could get Messi at 31 for 6 mil! No better available option, great stopgap until youth come through (because no one is ready at this position) or a better option at good value is available. Great signing. If it doesn’t work out, then we have Iva. Huge upside to this deal, and little potential for downside.
The usual crap from the ageist brigaide! As usual they tend to forget that it was the senior and very experienced Chelsea players like Drogba, Lampard, Cech and JT that dug the club out of the mess we were in and because of them we actually won anything at all last term. Maicon is world class and certainly miles better than Bosingwa or Paulo Ferreira so would certainly improve our squad. Too many people forget just how many points we were behind City and United last season in the Premiership. It is going to take class and experienced players to claw that back and Maicon is certainly both class and experienced all for just £6m!
I agree. If Maicon plays up to his ability then he is a world player and and Ivan would be a fantastic back up and switch out throughout the year. Experience can be very important. Like you said, look at last year. A highly motivated group of Individuals is key to win. Think back to when AVB got sacked. The team was in complete disaray and we ended up having the most successful season ever winning the FA Cup and Champs League! I think this is a good low risk high reward purchase
Maicon is a purely nice deal cos no players feel like 2 be on d bench at least maicon can stil be patient 2 be on d benched.also,we want our youth acadmy 2 be promoted like ryhan betrand who perform pukkally in d last season and dat’s a great best replacement 4 ashly cole.up blues!