Bertrand Traoré Chelsea's secret weapon

Bertrand Traoré can play in a number of attacking positions, wide right, wide left, down the middle as a number 10 or as a lone striker. Traoré started his career at ASF Bobo-Dioulasso in Burkina Faso, before moving to Auxerre in France, he was scouted by Chelsea from the tender age of 15, but there was a lot of rumours around the move as in 2011, Traore still was yet to sign for Chelsea which made Chelsea release a statement in January 2012, that Bertrand Traoré had never  been a Chelsea player but had appeared for the youth team in a friendly in a 6 week trial early on in the 2012 season, however 17^th July 2013 Bertrand Traoré made his debut as against the Singha all stars.

Later that year, it was finally official, Traoré had signed a 4 and a half year deal in October 2013 and in December he signed a contract with the first team, the transfer was official in January 2014, Traoré couldn’t stay at Chelsea due to the fact he was rejected a work permit and was loaned to Chelsea’s feeder club in Holland Vitesse Arnhem. In the second half of the 13-14 season, Traoré made 15 appearances, scoring 3 goals. In July 2014 Chelsea confirmed that Traoré would stay for the 14-15 season, during Traoré’s first loan spell in Holland he played mainly as a right winger but around December, he was moved further forward playing as a lone forward which was where he flourished, against FC Groningen, Traoré netted the equalizer and in the following games he scored a brace against Ajax in the KNVB Cup then again a brace 3 days later against Heracles in a 3-0 drumming. Traoré ended the season playing 36 times and scoring on 17 occasions, which meant that Traoré was Vitesse Arhem’s top goal scorer.

At the beginning of the 15-16 season Traoré was granted a work permit and given the all clear to represent Chelsea, Traoré has been given the number 14 shirt for the upcoming season.

On the international stage, Traoré won the African U17 Championship scoring 3 goals on route to be crowned champions, where they defeated Rwanda in the final meaning, it was Burkina Faso’s first title across all levels from U17’s to the full senior side. In September Traoré made his full international debut at 15!!! Yes 15 in a friendly against Equatorial Guinea, Traoré also represented Burkina Faso in the 2012 edition of the African Cup of Nations, where he became the youngest player to do so, coming off the bench in 2-1 defeat to Sudan which eliminated Burkina Faso at the group stage. Traoré scored his first goal, in 2013 for the Stallions in at 2-1 against Morocco in a friendly, in this year’s African Cup of Nations, Traoré started the first 2 matches before exiting in the same manner as in 2012 edition, in the group phase.

All in all Chelsea have a real talent on their hands, at 15 a full international, lightning fast an eye for goal and can play anywhere in an attacking position, there’s a reason why Jose has let Salah move to A.S Roma for €22 million and that reason is this man right here, Bertrand Traoré and he could well be a secret weapon for Chelsea on their quest for another Premier League title and a Champions League.

Watch Bertrand Traoré and see what all the fuss is about!!! 

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Patrick Bamford can he do a Harry Kane and take the Premier League by storm....

Patrick Bamford, A name that’s more associated in League One and in the Championship. Bamford started his career at my local football team, Nottingham Forrest, where he made his debut coming on as a substitute on the 31^st of December, in a 0-1 home defeat to Cardiff City. He also appeared in the dying minutes against Ipswich in the following match, which was his only first team appearances for Forest, however Bamford flourished at youth level with Forest, scoring 5 goals and assisting 3 in a 9-1 victory over Wigan in the F.A Youth Cup. In the following game he managed to get himself on the score sheet again four times in another 5-1 hammering against Southampton. Later that month, in January, Bamford was snapped up by Chelsea for a fee of £1.5 million and on his debut, in the reserves he, scored two goals where one was the winner in a 5-4 win against Gillingham.

Later that year, Chelsea loaned Bamford to MK Dons where he made an instant impact, where on his debut he contributed with 3 assists. In the end Bamford stayed at MK Dons for the reminder of the 2012-13 season, but was hampered by injury which only led him to make 14 appearances and end the season on 4 goals.

For the 2013-14 season, Bamford was loaned back to MK Dons for another 6 months. Bamford scored 14 league goals in an impressive 23 appearances, and by the end of his 6 months at MK Dons, Bamford had made 30 appearances scoring 17 goals in all competitions. Furthermore in total he made 44 appearances and managed to get on the score sheet on 21 occasions, thus linking himself with a move to a bigger club, which would be Derby County. Once at Derby, Bamford didn’t waste any time getting on score sheet,  it took Bamford two matches coming on as a sub against Brighton & Hove Albion where he played 21 times in the Championship scoring 8 goals, but in total ended the 2013-14 season with 53 appearances and finding the back of the net 26 times. 

The 2014-15 season was where Bamford really took it to the next level. He signed a loan deal with Middlesbrough for 6 months, where in the third round of the League Cup, Bamford coolly slotted home a penalty to level the proceeding against Liverpool in a 2-2 draw, which went to penalties. Unfortunately Bamford missed his penalty, which was saved by Simon Mignolet, but converted one in sudden death as Middlesbrough went out 14-13 on penalties. Bamford had found a bit of form at the end of November and going into December scored 4 goals in 5 matches. He continued to make an impact in the Championship against his former club Derby County, where he scored within 6 minutes which moved Middlesbrough into second place, and gave them a 2-0 victory.  In January, after seeing this, Chelsea decided to keep Bamford where he was, and extended his loan till the end of the season.

 Later that month, against Manchester City in the 4^th round of the F.A Cup, Bamford scored the opening goal in a 2-0 away victory at the Eithad. On the 3^rd April, Bamford scored his 17^th goal of the season, which lifted Middlesbrough to the top of the Championship. Bamford ended with 43 appearances and scored 19, where he was Middlesbrough’s top goal scorer, where 17 of those came in the Championship and 1 each in the League and F.A Cup. In addition, his performances didn’t go unnoticed as he was awarded the Football League Championship Player of the Year.

With Bamford now proven himself in League 1 and the Championship, he’s now been given his first big chance to perform on the big stage in the Premier League, where he has moved to Crystal Palace on a season-long loan.  For me if Bamford hits 10 goals in the Premier League, I’d say he would have had a successful season. If he were to achieve this, then there’d be 3 very happy people, one been Bamford himself, the second Alan Pardew and finally Jose Mourinho.

Watch Bamford in action

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John Stones Hands In Transfer Request!!! But Is He The Man To Sure Up Chelsea’s Leaky Defence...

John Stones, one the most exciting promising players to succeed John Terry for not only England but also Chelsea (if he signs). With Chelsea having a £20 million, £25 million and £30 million bids rejected by Everton , and with another bid touted as Stones has just out in a transfer request, can Everton really say no? They signed Stones from Barnsley back in 2013 for a fee of £3 million, which would bring a tidy profit, not bad if you ask me.

With Jose, it’s all about the balance of his side, furthermore stating the disappointment of the lack of transfer activity, he needs another Centre Back with age catching up with John Terry and Gary Cahill as well as there terrible form at the start of this season, Stones would be a perfect replacement for either of them, but not just that Stones could form a formidable partnership with the upcoming Kurt Zouma, which would give strikers headaches as a result of the physical presence of Zouma and the leadership and tough tackling qualities that Stones possesses, which  reminds me of Ferdinand and Vidic when they were at the peak.   

Stones has had two very promising seasons at Everton, but last season he suffered with an ankle injury which lead to him missing between 10-15 weeks, but Stones still managed to rack up 28 appearances and scored once against Manchester United. In addition during his time at Everton he has formed a solid partnership with Everton captain Phil Jagielka.

Stones boasts better stats than John Terry, Gary Cahill and Kurt Zouma (see below). No wonder why Jose wants him so much, but for me the best young Center Back is Raphael Varane, but with Rafa Benitez saying Varane will be a key part of his plans next season it’s looking increasingly unlikely that he’ll move, however Stones isn’t that far away in regards of his potential and quality. Grek Dyke, FA Chairman, wants more home-grown players in the league, which is also boosting Jose’s English quota.

Now here's how Stones compares to his fellow countrymen. 

But are Chelsea overpaying because he’s English, if I’m honest yes I think they are, and that will be the case of many more years, £49 million for Sterling, £34 million for John Stones, it’s just extortionate amounts of money on both players who are both under 22, so what are they going to be worth when they are at their peak? £100 million maybe more, who knows!

         

Here's why Stones is being touted at £32 million

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Baba Rahman Chelsea's New Left Back

Abdul Rahman Baba, also known as Baba Rahman, is a Ghanaian international with 11 caps to his name. He plays for German Bundesliga side FC Augsburg, who has been linked with a £17.5 million move to both A.S Roma and Chelsea in recent weeks and I’m about to tell you why.

It’s not the first time Baba Rahman has been linked with an English club, when Baba Rahman was at Asante Kotoko, in Ghana, he was linked with Arsenal and Manchester City, but a move never materialised due to the strict work permit regulations. Baba opted for a move to SpVgg Greuther Furth in Germany, where he spent 2 seasons there, playing 44 games and managing to get on the score sheet twice in the process, scoring both against Greuther Furth rivals FC Nuremberg in a 5-1 win, that where to be his last appearance in a Shamrock shirt. The following day he signed for FC Augsburg, where he went from strength to strength, being first choice as well as playing 31 out of 34 games for the Bavarian side, where they finished in a rather well deserved 5^th place which brought qualification for next season’s edition of the Europa League. Throughout the season,  at one stage Baba also had the highest tackle rate of any player in the Bundesliga, beating the likes of Mats Hummels, Jerome Boateng and many more with a rate of 4.8 tackles per game, so there one thing we know about Baba, he’s not afraid to put a foot in. If his move to Chelsea does materialize, with the impending move of Left Back Felipe Luis returning back to his former club Athletico Madrid for £15 million, that stat alone will put a smile on Mourinho’s face.

On the international stage, Baba was first choice for the Black Stars at this year’s African Cup of Nations, starting every game, on route to the final where they lost to Ivory Coast 9-8 on penalties; Baba did take a penalty and coolly slotting it to his right.

All in all Baba Rahman reminds me of a David Alaba type player, with a  similar build, can cross the ball, bags of stamina, and the ability to get up and down the pitch, where he is not only great offensively, but knows how to defend too. It’s no reason to see why Baba is Jose’s first choice to succeed Felipe Luis, the only problem for Baba is trying to dislodge Azpilicueta from that Left Back position, which if you ask Felipe isn’t no easy feat.   

Here's Baba at his very best 

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The Rejuvenation Of Inter Milan

It’s been a long, hard road since inter won the treble (Triplete) with Jose Mourinho back in 2010, and after that fateful night in Madrid, they have never really reached the heights since then, due to having to rebuild the squad with a number of ageing key players departing the club, and with FIFA introducing FFP (Financial Fair Play) Samuel Eto, Maicon, Lucio, Sneijder, Thiago Motta, Materazzi and more are the players which have left large gaps in the Italian side.

But 5 years on, there is something new and rejuvenated about this Inter side. With Juventus dominating over the last 4 seasons, and not really having anyone to challenge them as A.S Roma have always fallen short and Napoli nowhere close. The new Inter president, Erick Thohir, has shown his signal of intent in trying to dethrone the 4 time back to back champions, by making a host of quality signings with the likes of Miranda from Athletico Madrid for €15 million, Geoffrey Kondogbia for a fee of €35 million, who virtually agreed a move to fierce local rivals A.C Milan, but preferred a move to Inter after a personal phone call from Mancini himself. In addition, the out of favour Right Back Martin Montoya moved to the inter ranks on loan from FC Barcelona to boost Inter’s defence, along with the signing of €7 million Centre Back, Jeison Murillo from Granada, after his impressive performances in the 2014 Copa America along with being named in the Team of the Tournament and picking up Best Young Player in the process. However as inter have managed to keep hold of the clinical Maurito Icardi along with the ever present Samir Handanovic, who were key players during the 2014/15 season, partnered with their new additions in the ongoing transfer window, will allow Inter to be in a good position for the 2015/16 season.

But with a new season on the horizon, Mancini has already shown that he means business, as well as A.C Milan, through announcing the signing of former Sevilla hit man Carlos Bacca, Luiz Adriano and Andrea Bertolacci from Shaktar and A.S Roma respectively , A.C Milan will be hoping to make an impact in the 2015/16 season. In addition, with Juventus losing key players such as Carlos Tevez returning to his boyhood club Boca Juniours, Andrea Pirlo moving to the ever growing MLS and potentially Arturo Vidal to Bayern Munich for €40 million, Champions League qualification will be a minimum target for the Beneamata (Cherished One) and with Roberto Mancini at the helm, we all know he has the experience and knows what it takes to be a champion. 

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Domenico Berardi

Domenico Berardi, one of Italy hottest prospects to come through in year. With a great eye for goal, hard working, a ferocious left foot and good technique  Berardi can play anywhere in an attacking position, but prefers to play out wide on the wing, but for Sassuolo, Berardi has played more centrally  as a striker, and has excelled in this position. Being top goal scorer for Sassuolo in his last 2 seasons ahead of Simone Zaza, who has returned to parent club Juventus, to fill the void left by Carlos ‘Carlitos’ Tevez, berardi will now be the main man at the forefront of Sassulo’s attack.

Juventus where quick enough to see potential in Berardi and in 2013, confirmed that they had signed the left footed player in a co-ownership deal that saw Luca Marrone join Sassuolo along with a fee of €4.5 million, he stayed on loan for the remainder of the 2013-14 season, where he scored 16 goals in 29 appearances and won the Serie A young player of the year. He was also vital in helping Sassuolo stay in Serie A, scoring a hat-trick against Sampdoria, where he slotted two penalties and scored all 4 goals against A.C Milan in a well deseved 4-3 win. In doing so, Berardi became the second youngest player to score 4 goals in a Serie A match, only behind the legendary 1938 world cup winner Silvio Piola and the first player to score 4 against A.C Milan. Later that season he scored another hat-trick against Fiorentina as Sassuolo avoided relegation. In the summer of 2014 Berardi stayed for another season as the co-ownership was reined by both Juventus and Sassuolo.

In 2015, he once again scored another hat-trick past A.C Milan and finished the 2014-15 season with 15 goals and 10 assists and was one of the top providers in the league, furthermore a linchpin to  Sassuolo finished a respectable 12^th place finish in Serie A.  Berardi reached 30 league goals in only 59 matches, an astonishing accomplishment for the young Italian considering it took Lionel Messi  70 matches to reach that landmark. In June 2015 it was announced that in favour of Sassuolo, the co-ownership had been resolved for a fee of €10 million, and there is an option for Juventus to bring Berardi back to Turin, the following season for a fee of €20 million.

All in all, Juventus/Sassuolo have a real talent on their hands, not even 21 and he’s already scored 42 goals in 98 appearances, and if he can keep his form up in the 2015-16 season to contend with the new arrivals of attackers such as, Carlos Bacca, Mario Mandzukic and Mauro Icardi, Berardi must be licking his lips and the prospect of maybe even winning the Serie A golden boot (Capocannoniere.) and a call up to the Italian National team, which isn’t that far away. If I where Antonio Conte he would have already had his first full international cap, and be a vocal point of the team for both the Euro 2016 and the 2018 World cup.

Watch Berardi and see what you think !!!

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Matteo Darmain

Manchester united have had a £12.7 million bid accept for the versatile full back that can also play centre back. With these characteristics he has been compared in Italy to the legendary pair of Antonio Cabrini and Paulo Maldini, with his fantastic quality of both offensive and defensive play, his tactical awareness, pace and bags of energy, there is no doubt that he will fit the Premier League perfectly.

After coming through the famous youth ranks of A.C. Milan, Matteo found first team chances very hard to come by, only making 6 appearances in all competitions throughout the course of a 3 year spell, in which he won a Champions League and a UEFA super cup.

 In the 09/10 season Matteo was sent out on loan to Padova, where he was given more regular playing time, which accumulated to him playing 22 games and scoring a single goal, to keep them in Serie B by the skin of their teeth via the relegation play off. His performances throughout the season didn’t go unnoticed.

 The following year he was involved in a co ownership deal with A.C. Milan and Palermo, where he got his first taste of European football, playing in the Europa League by making 4 appearances, but once again was on the fringes due to Federico Balzaretti’s fantastic form.

Matteo then moved to Torino, in Serie B, since joining Torino Matteo has gone from strength to strength and has become a first team regular for the last 4 seasons, making 151 appearance and scoring 6 goals, which 13 of those came from an exciting run in the Europa League, which was halted by eventual winners Sevilla in the last 16.

In the 13/14 season he was recognized as the best right back of the year being included in team of the year. As a result of his successful performances, he earned a place in the Azzurri’s World Cup squad. After Italy’s poor showing at the World Cup, missing out on qualification, Matteo was awarded the Pallone Azzurro (The Blue Ball), which was awarded to the best international player of 2014 and beat the likes of the ever so influential Andrea Pirlo.

All in all, in my opinion, Manchester United have bagged themselves a bargain, with a versatile player that will add immense quality in both attack and defence.

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Georginio Wijnaldum

Wijnaldum started his career with Sparta Rotterdam and spent 7 years there and his talented displays didn't go unnoticed with all the the top Eredivisie clubs such as Ajax,Psv and Feyenoord all sniffing around, in the end Feyenoord won the race for his signature after beating off the competition.

During his spell at Feyenoord he was part of a very successful youth academy with the likes of Leroy Fer, which once again didn't go unnoticed after excelling in the youth ranks, in April, Wijnaldum made his debut at 16 years and 148 days which is a record for the Rotterdam side and not only making his debut but went on to win the man of the match award. After 4 years playing for Feyenoord he went on to make 134 appearances scoring 25 goals. 

In June 2011 he agreed a €5 million transfer to Feyenoord's fierce rival PSV Eindhoven, where he quickly became a fans favourite, 

with the retirement of Mark Van Bommel and the sale of Kevin Strootman to AS Roma he was made captain at the tender age of 22 his first season as captain didn't go as planned as he only managed to muster 15 appearances scoring 4 due to a serious back injury. 

The following season, He was Psv's unsung hero, everybody's talking about Memphis Depay and his 22 goals but 99% of people are forgetting about the importance of Wijnaldum and his contribution to psv's first title since 2008. With his overall record standing at 152 appearances scoring 56 goals in all competitions averaging a goal every 3 games isn't bad for a number 10 in this day and age. 

With Newcastle United announcing the signing of the PSV captain, what a coup that would be and with the fee being touted at around £15 million it Isn't a risk at all. Fingers crossed he'll beable to show off his immense talents. 

Watch Wijnaldum in action now 

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Izzy Brown

Very unheard of in England, but if you follow Chelsea then you would have heard lots about him, pace, power and an eye for goal, are just a few of Izzy’s qualities that have not gone unnoticed by José and his coaching staff. Already making his premier league debut at the tender age of 16 years and 117 days, he is second behind WBA Frank Hodgetts at 16 years and 26 days and second in premier league history behind Matthew Briggs at Fulham.

Chelsea saw the potential and didn’t hesitate at all, after having a bid rejected in July 2013 later that month; Chelsea confirmed that they signed Brown with the WBA receiving compensation via a tribunal. Furthermore since then Izzy’s not looked back and in his first season with the U21’s he won a league and cup double and in the following year won another F.A Youth cup and captained  the side and scored 2 goals to give Chelsea a 3-2 win against Shaktar Donetsk in the UEFA youth league final.

The special one himself said if ”Izzy wasn’t an England international in a few years, he was the man to blame.” On the international front, Izzy’s even had success with England that’s right England !!!! By winning the U17’s championship in 2014.

There will be much speculation whether he will get his chance at Chelsea, personally I think he will, but not this year, there is so much fierce competition within the attacking forces at Chelsea, with the likes of Costa, Hazard, Oscar and so many more, not to mention the new arrival of Radamel Falcao from AS Monaco, for me a move to Vitesse Arnham would be the best bet. This would allow him valuable first team experience first, before having a crack at the first team at Chelsea, in very similar fashion to how Bertrand Traoré has now earned a crack at getting in to the first team.

Watch Izzy at his best.

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Mauro Icardi

Nowadays youth don’t get much of a chance in Italy but Mauro Icardi got his chance 2 years ago and well he’s not looked back since scoring an impressive 22 goals this year in his first full season,  with 17 of those coming in Serie A, which is only third behind world cup winner Luca Toni on 19 and the extraordinary Carlos Tevez on 20 with 3 games to go the Capocannoniere is really going to be a fight till the end,in which he was the eventual winner with 22 Serie A goals, along with 27 in all competitions,that's why there is a whole host of European heightweights sniffing around.

    

Mauro turned down a big money move to AS Monaco in 2014 as a replacement for the injured Radamal Falcao but turned down the move as he thought it would be a step down, and what an excellent choice he made. This season scoring vital goals against Juventus yet again scoring in his last 4 fixture again them, Roma in the dying minutes for much needed 2-1 win, scoring a penalty in the dying minutes against Sampdoria which is know as in Italy as the’ Wanda Derby,’ and finally an amazing finish the Giuseppe Mezza would have been proud of against Cagliari for a 2-1 away in Sardinia.

All in all Mauro has the potential to be one of the best number 9’s in the world one day, and there no real surprise that he has been linked with Manchester United and Chelsea, however there are also some many name been throw in Christen Benteke Aston Villa, Paulo Dybala(dubbed the new Aguero, now of Juventus) as well as the deadly Alexandre Lacazette from Lyon.   

        

Watch Maurito do what he does best.

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Aleksandar Mitrovic

Aleksandar Mitrovic, the 6ft 2” Serbian is built with all the attributes of an old fashioned #9 possessing qualities such as great heading, unbelievable strength for a man with such young age and a great eye for goal.

He started his career in the youth system of Partizan Belgrade, when making his debut in a Champions League qualifier, against Maltese side Valletta; where he took only 8 minutes to score after coming on, very impressive considering he was only 17 at the time and went on to score many more vital goals. 3 days after his debut goal Mitrovic netted his first league goal against Jagodina and another was in the biggest Derby in Sebia the (Veciti Derbi) meaning the Eternal Derby. During his spell with Partizan he only managed one season, making 36 appearances as well as ending up as the top goal scorer with 15 goals in all competitions and in the process winning the Serbian Superliga, which was his first major honour.

With those performances, Anderlecht didn’t hesitate in spending €5 million to acquire Mitrovic, which at the time, was the clubs record fee. In his first season he settled well, scoring a goal every other game, with 16 goals in 32 appearances, joint top goal scorer along with Massimo Bruno with a combined total of 16 in 39 and winning the Belgium Pro League in the 2013-14 season.

The 2014-15 season however has to be Mitrovic’s best season to date, after he was unable to score in a European competition for Anderlecht the season before, he got on the score sheet 3 times, one of those came in the spirited performance at the Emirates against Arsenal, where Anderlecht were down 3-0 after 60 minutes and turned it round to level the proceedings at 3-3, with Mitrovic scoring a last minute equalizer. Mitrovic scored an impressive 20 goals in 37 appearances in the league, with another 4 goals in 6 in the Belgium cup, 1 in the super cup and 3 goals in 7 appearances in Europe. In all competitions Mitrovic managed 28 goals in 51 appearances, but this year ended up empty handed, after missing out on the league title, finishing 3^rd in the league and runners up in the Belgium cup. 

There are many rumours about his next destination. Both AS Roma and Newcastle United have shown interest in the young Serbian International, with Newcastle looking to bolster their attack with a £12.9 million bid, to partner up with Wijnaldum, an exciting new addition to both the Premier League and Newcastle United’s offensive outlook. Mitrovic has all the attributes to succeed in England as a typical centre forward, where his outstanding physicality will surely suit the Premier League very well.

A similar player to Mitrovic in the past was also tempted away from Anderlecht not too long ago, who shown great promise with both his eye for goal and immense physicality, Romelu Lukaku!

Click here to see Mitrovic at his best 

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