Speculating who will move in the January transfer window is a festive game for all the family, but as we reach the month’s midway point, granny has fallen asleep on the sofa.
Four youth teamers have gone out on loan from Stamford Bridge, and the third-string keeper has been given away… to Leicester. Whoopee.
What’s needed is some drama, some excitement. And there’s silence from the one man who can generate it.
Roman Abramovich, Chelsea’s uber-rich godfather, has been partying in the Caribbean, even flying the Black-Eyed Peas out to play at one of his yacht shindigs.
He’s missed the last half dozen games, and the security-cleared catering staff who serve the caviar in his VIP box in the west stand have been given another week off.
But when you’ve nothing to do but top up your tan and your glass, things can play on a billionaire’s mind.
Roman likes nothing better than adding a new action man to his toybox, and news that Lionel Messi might be unsettled at Barca has got him thinking.
Yes, there are the financial fair play implications to consider, but a £175m outlay could be partly offset by a couple of sales, and bonus income from picking up a trophy or two.
Roman buying Messi is the proportional equivalent of someone on average UK earnings buying a £500 laptop.
And capital assets are tax- deductable.
Trophyless in 2014, Messi has now beaten the La Liga scoring record of 251.
This week he just missed out on the Ballon d’Or to Cristiano Ronaldo.
Relations with his current manager are supposedly strained, so perhaps the stars are in alignment for a new challenge.
Picture Chelsea advancing with Messi on one side and Eden Hazard on the other. His mate Cesc Fabregas could help him settle.
Meanwhile, there’s a weekend trip to Swansea.
It’s not the Blues’ luckiest ground, but a good performance would undoubtedly impress Lionel.
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