What Chelsea should do in the window

As the transfer window rolls around, 3 of our writers have decided to add their opinions on what Chelsea should do in the window. Each writer has added 1 player who Chelsea should buy and 1 player who Chelsea should sell. Off we go.
Fahmi – @FahmiCFC :
1 player who Chelsea should buy :
I had in mind since the beginning of this past season that squad was short in depth(although filled with top quality players) & most of the starters kind of need a little bit of big experiences. The new players like Oscar, Hazard and Azpilicueta have now fully adapted to the style of the premier league and they have a good understanding with their teammates. That being said, the short in depth of the squad was one of the reason we failed to deliver our expectations in 8 of the competition we took part in for 2012/13. So, I think we should buy more top players and add to this squad which makes the team stronger in depth. In my opinion The one top player we should sign is Robert Lewandowski. I’m sure any of you are aware of his goal scoring abilities as he scored 4 goals on Real Madrid in the first leg of the Champions League semi-final. And Lewandowski fits in well in our 4-2-3-1 formation as he tends to drop deep into midfield at times necessary. He is fast in counter-attack and has exceptional ability to lose his marker and score goals.
1 player who Chelsea should sell :
And the one player I think we should sell is Michael Essien. I like him as a player but he is about to turn 32 in the forthcoming season and we all know that he has struggled with many injuries during the last couple of years. If he returns to Chelsea after his loan in Madrid, he won’t be getting the amount of games he would want to play over the long season. At least he would have been important for us this season with the long stretch of fixtures we had. And him being in contention for a starting place would hurt the chance of Romeo, Chalobah and Josh McEachran to progress into the starting eleven.
I know players like Benayoun, Malouda, Ferreira & Hilario will leave as their contract comes to an end, but I didn’t mention any of those as technically it won’t be considered as ‘selling’ a player. And Essien going to another European team (likely to be Galatasaray or maybe some clubs in Italy like AC Milan) would help him to finish his remaining career playing as many games as he would like by helping his team. It would be beneficial to himself and for Chelsea to part ways. Jose Mourinho likes Michael Essien, but even after Mourinho becomes our new manager, he will have a chance to buy a new CDM if necessary even though he have Mikel, Ramires, Romeo and Lampard which I think would be good enough for that position.
Martin – @joseknowsbest :
1 person who Chelsea should buy :
Well this is the toughest of all questions. With so many class and talented players out there, it’s not an easy choice. My choice would be Robert Lewandowski. And, like I said, it’s a tough choice because let’s look at the facts – Falcao, Cavani and Reus were my other choices. Every single one of these players is an immense talent and can perfectly fit in Chelsea. Falcao & Cavani – #1 & #2 best strikers in the world at the moment. Lewandowski is easily in the 3rd spot. Marco Reus, on the other hand, can play on the wing and as a striker – he is a Hulk-type of player. With Mata & Eden taking the other 2 places behind the striker and with Oscar performing well but sometimes awful, Reus would sneak in the starting XI without any trouble. But the striker role has been one of our biggest weaknesses ever, excluding the One and the Only, King Drogba. I think that we should concentrate on getting a striker rather than a winger, although I am a massive fan of Reus. So, that’s why Lewandowski would be my first choice – besides, he turns 25 in August. So that makes him the perfect player for us. Not as if Falcao or Cavani are too old – nonsense. Whoever says they’re too old obviously needs to watch more football and sort out his so called ‘football knowledge’. But Lewandowski seems to have this fantastic connection with the players behind him. And with Eden, Mata & even Oscar behind him, Lewandowski is bound to be a very successful transfer.
1 person who Chelsea should sell :
Judge me all you want and I’m ready to take all of it, but I think Fernando Torres is a player who should leave Chelsea. Yes, yes, he won the Europa League, meaning he helped a helluva lot – absolutely. When credit is due, credit is given. But Torres is 29 and we need a striker who can win us the Premier League. We can’t rely on our midfield only. That’s why Man United won the title this year (Van Pursestrings), that’s why City won it last year (Aguero mainly, but also Dzeko, Balo), that’s why City are second this year (Tevez mainly, but Aguero as well) – we have to have a fantastic striker like one of the mentioned. And Torres – let’s face it – he can’t be that striker IN MY OPINION. Fact is that Torres has scored 14 Premier League goals since he arrived on 31 January 2011 (81 games). That is far too less. And he got plenty of time – don’t put the blame on Ba or Benitez – Torres had plenty of time to prove himself. He’s no Drogba to stay in the team until he’s 33-34. And let’s not forget about his wages – £175k per week. Now, don’t misunderstand what I’m trying to say – I’m not putting the blame on him for his wages. I’m not saying that ‘It’s his fault for having such massive wages’ – no. But the facts are there, so are the wages. So, despite his decent 2012/13 season, I think he needs to go. Fiorentina/Anzhi/Monaco/Shanghai Shenhua/Atletico Madrid – whoever wants him AND can pay his wages, can have him. Time for a striker like Lewandowski or Falcao to take his place and finally win us (not singlehandedly, of course but with the help of our wonderful midfield) the Premier League title back.
EKVR – @ZlatanDF :
1 person who Chelsea should buy :
I think that Chelsea need to renovate the back 4, but that can wait until next season. That being said, I think Chelsea need a proper defensive midfielder. Ramires, Mikel, Lampard and Luiz have been converted into DMs and it seems as if Oriol Romeu is the only true defensive midfielder. I’d rather put Luiz in the back 4 as he has the potential to be one of Europe’s best CBs. Ramires doesn’t quite cut it depending on who he’s alongside, same for Lampard. Mikel is a good option, but I think Arturo Vidal should be our DM next season.
Currently, Arturo Vidal is probably THE best defensive midfielder in world football. Not an out and out defensive midfielder, the Chilean is played more in a central midfielder’s role with Andrea Pirlo just behind him in the Juventus system. But Andrea Pirlo doesn’t tackle much. He is more of an architect. This means that Vidal has to play the role of a defensive midfielder as well. He averages a staggering 5 tackles per game and has scored on 10 occasions, whilst providing 9 assists in all competition. Alongside this, he successfully completes 88% of the passes he makes.
He has the ability to play in various roles in the midfield, but he made his name at Bayer Leverkusen as a defensive midfielder, and continues to do so at Juventus. Individually, he had a great career at Leverkusen, being noticed by many fans as one of the standouts in the Chilean national team, along with Alexis Sanchez, he was played a big part in Juventus’ unbeaten season last year, and even scored a goal six minutes into his debut. He provides many assists, winning awards for being top assister for Leverkusen. His passing has been praised as has his ability to win the ball back and begin to start an attack quickly; he too has great vision and is better defensively than most other defensive midfielders, and even contributes in the attack. I prefer Arturo over the likes of Sergio Busquets and Sami Khedira primarily because I believe he is more tactically aware than the two of them.
1 player who Chelsea should sell :
Florent Malouda. Despite being very successful at Chelsea, Florent Malouda needs to be sold. His pace, style and play don’t work with the team any more. When you add all that up, the French international doesn’t deserve to wear the team shirt. Malouda’s mediocre play as of late had him coming on as a substitute pretty regularly, because he doesn’t provide much otherwise. No, he doesn’t do anything particularly beneficial for the club; he just doesn’t hurt the team. Essentially, it’s like playing with 10.5 guys. It’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it certainly isn’t a good thing. If Chelsea want to climb to the top of England and, potentially, Europe, Malouda can’t be anything more than a League Cup player. Also, our treatment of Malouda has a bad reflection on our club, we should sell him and allow him to continue with his career. Malouda doesn’t deserve the treatment we’ve given him especially after his monumental role in the 09/10 double season.
What do you think? What 1 player should Chelsea sign and what 1 player should Chelsea sell?