Yeah, now as I've just watched the clip of that Press conference it does seem obvious he meant strikers, not quite how the media made it sound.

I will be disappointed if we don't add a defensive midfield player to the squad. We've been going on about our weakness in that department, week in, week out, for a couple of years now.
There's a possibility that Michael Essien is in better shape than we think, but that's clutching at straws in my opinion..and I must be one of his biggest fans.
I agree about the rest of the squad, having failed to get the likes of Falcao and Cavani, I would sooner see what we can get out of new signing Schurrie and the returning Lukaku. Then there's the return of our other loan out, De Bruyne..almost like another new signing really.
There's also the Torres problem of couse, but when I saw some of the names we were being linked with, he suddenly didn't seem so bad.

We do need a specialist DM as our current options are unproven (van Ginkel, Ake, Chalobah), injury prone (Essien) or not good enough (Mikel). I didn't include Luiz as I don't think that experiment will be continued in a world cup season, but we also have lots of other bodies we could put in that position at a push.

Saying that, the unproven ones could get their chance and a couple might turn into something special or Essien could be injury free and have an amazing season.

All the other areas look solid. I'm especially pleased with the Schwarzer signing as Cech getting injured has been a worry for years. Jose looks to be building a strong squad and Torres is my only real concern. I hope Jose can get the best out of him or move him on somewhere

Yes, I agree. We have numerous players who could play alongside a specialist holding player in a 4-2-3-1, but none of them are experienced enough, good enough (Mikel) or fit enough (Essien) to make that position their own for the entire season.
I'm hopeful though, when Mourinho was here before we had the likes of Makelele, Essien and Ballack. I can't see him continuing to allow us being regarded as a soft touch in midfield.

Bertrand Traore did well. I hope this starting with Lukaku thing carries on into the season.

de Bruyne looking dangerous again.

Crowd going nuts every time Hazard gets the ball

They're going nuts over him. Should sell a few shirts

Bernard Traore looks ready for the squad and he wasn't even on my radar with the loanees. Jose's going to have some options and decisions on who to keep and who to send out again.

hope de bruyne is okay. Very nice goal though.

I know we have lots of options but de Bruyne is one I'm really excited about. Certain to miss the start of the season now.

Islam Feruz coming on.

According to Wikipedia, Traore is not a Chelsea player yet, just a trialist.

"In January 2012 the club confirmed that Traoré was not and had never been a Chelsea player, but had appeared once for the club's youth team in a friendly as part of a six-week trial earlier in the season. However, on 17th July 2013 he made his debut, as a trialist not a Chelsea player, in a pre-season friendly against the Singha All Stars. Four days later, on 21st July 2013 he scored his first goal for Chelsea against a Malaysian XI."

That explains it. Have been going "Who??" in my head every time his name is mentioned.

Lukaku proving a point this half. His movement is really mature and his assist and goal have been first class.

Good finish from Lukaku.

Essien's having a good game, but van Ginkel has been fairly anonymous again.

Doesnt look good for De Bruyne, could be out for a good few months now which is a real shame.

It's a shame for de Bruyne. With so many players staking a place for the squad it will be interesting to see the starting line up for the super cup and first match of the season. It's nice not to be able to predict either. I genuinely haven't got a clue except for Cech in goal and Cole at LB. Exciting times

Guess we'll start to see something resembling first choice once the tougher friendlies begin on August 1st.


Wow - shocking dive

McEachran and Piazon coming on now

Glad to hear that de Bruyne is walking OK and watching with the rest of the players. Maybe not as bad as first feared?

Van Ginkel getting a lot of game time, maybe he will feature quite a lot in our plans?

Really dont know what our first 11 will be, we seem to have a ridiculous amount of players at the moment.

van Ginkel's been anonymous in his first two games. Him and Schurrle have looked the most out of sync with the rest of the team. Something to work on before the start of the season.

4-1. Traore, de Bruyne and Lukaku impressed. Second half a bit dull - too many players not getting involved. Next match is Thursday at 2:30PM.

Good match.

Just been catching up with it. Nice to see Lukaku scoring again. KDB and Traore also looking decent. Fingers crossed KDB's injury is nothing major. Schurrle and van Ginkel underwhelming again but obviously it's very early days for them.

It's not as serious as they first thought. More news today or tomorrow.

intrigued to see how de bruyne does after years managing him on football manager! i always iamgined him with long hair! lol