Chelsea's transfer window so far has been underwhelming but is it bad enough to hurt their aspirations for the upcoming season?
The guys answer your tweets on Chelsea and Liverpool's combined poor transfer window, and a Gab v Stevie wrestling match.
Julien Laurens says that while Chelsea will be pleased with Antonio Rudiger, he was not a priority signing for Antonio Conte.
Chelsea continued the trend of unique transfer announcements with Antonio Rudiger, who was unveiled in the team shop.
John Terry is gone, and for the first time since 2004, Chelsea are faced with picking a new club captain.
Antonio Conte stressed the need for new leaders to emerge at Stamford Bridge toward the end of last season. Given Chelsea's difficulties in the transfer market this summer, it looks certain that the next man to be given the armband will come from within the current squad.
ESPN FC states the case for each of the main contenders to take the armband for the reigning Premier League champions.
Gary Cahill
The man who lifted the Premier League trophy with Terry in May is surely in pole position. Cahill was Chelsea's captain on the pitch from September on, adapting well to an unfamiliar role on the left of a back three and defying his many critics to become a key figure in the Blues' title run.
As well as helping to anchor a solid defence, he scored a career-best six goals last term -- most notably a dramatic late winner against Stoke City at the bet365 Stadium in March.
Cahill has won every major domestic and European trophy in five years at Chelsea, has always been a model professional and is widely liked and respected within the dressing room. The only question is whether he can keep his starting spot once Conte has finished bolstering his defensive options this summer.
Gary Cahill is one of the leading candidates to become Chelsea's first new club captain in 13 years.
Cesar Azpilicueta
"Azpi is a really important player for us. I think he can stay here for many years and become also a legend for this club." These were the words of Conte in December just after Azpilicueta had committed to a new contract that keeps him at Chelsea until June 2020.
The quintessential club man, Azpilicueta has found a way to be one of Chelsea's most impressive performers regardless of where managers have deployed him. As a left-back his reliability effectively ended Ashley Cole's career at Stamford Bridge. On the right of a back three, his proximity has calmed David Luiz and helped Victor Moses become a remarkably competent defender at wing-back.
Azpilicueta may not be as vocal as Terry or imposing as Cahill, but he leads by relentless example. He is indispensable primarily because his many qualities make those around him better. He would be a worthy captain.
David Luiz
Taking the armband would be a fitting reward for a season that must be regarded as the greatest individual achievement of Luiz's career.
Re-cast by Conte as a playmaking sweeper in the middle of a back three, the Brazilian's calm consistency and pinpoint passing made fools of everyone who had ever claimed he could not be trusted at the heart of a winning team.
Now 30, Luiz seems to have finally figured out how to fully utilise his spectacular technical gifts without indulging his wildest impulses.
That development alone would be enough to mark him out as a genuine contender for the captaincy, but there is also the fact that his comic persona and light-hearted character have been proven over two spells at Stamford Bridge to transcend all dressing room cliques. Luiz is a unifier.
Many will tell you that great captains need force of personality, and once Diego Costa leaves there will be no bigger personality in the Chelsea squad than Luiz.
Eden Hazard was back to his best form last season as Chelsea recaptured the Premier League title.
Eden Hazard
The simplest way to choose a captain is just to go with the best player. If this is the approach Conte chooses, Hazard is the man for the job.
He does have some leadership experience, having captained Belgium in the absence of Vincent Kompany at Euro 2016. That campaign ended in humiliating defeat against Wales in the quarterfinals, but it was clear to all who watched that Belgium had far more serious problems under Marc Wilmots than who was wearing the armband.
Hazard is not a conventional leader. On the pitch he is silent, inscrutable and at times his body language can be underwhelming. But he does take responsibility for the most difficult job in modern football, shouldering the creative burden of breaking down an organised defence -- and very few do it better.
Chelsea are looking for new ways to embed Hazard into the fabric of the club as Real Madrid's flirtations become more earnest. With this in mind, making him captain might not be the worst idea.
Cesc Fabregas
These days there are few players in the Chelsea squad more popular among supporters than Fabregas, who will likely be remembered as a man who honed his craft at Arsenal, followed his heart to Barcelona and won most of his trophies at Stamford Bridge.
Even last season, relegated largely to the role of impact substitute by Conte, the transcendent playmaking skills of the Spaniard proved decisive. He directly assisted 12 goals in the Premier League, more than any other Chelsea player, despite starting only 13 matches.
Ultimately the biggest argument for Fabregas succeeding Terry is that it would annoy Arsenal, the last club he captained as a 22-year-old. His lack of starts under Conte means he would rarely wear the armband on the pitch, though in terms of ability and achievements he is as deserving of the title as anyone
