I read this somewhere earlier today. I really hope he stays at Spurs but I would not begrudge him wanting to return to Ajax. I would be disappointed if he moved to Man Utd or any other PL team.
A few days ago somebody suggested that, the second the transfer window opens on Monday, we need to be coming out all guns blazing to get some players in However, this may not be the case with various leagues still playing, so here's a quick rundown listing players we're linked with Ryan Sessegnon Fulham were relegated weeks ago and are surely preparing for their squad rebuild, so getting the deal done quickly will potentially benefit both parties Joachim Andersen Sampdoria are ten points off Europa League qualification with three games to play, so there is no issue there Youcef Atal Nice are ten points off Europa League qualification with three games to play, so there is no issue there Amadou Diawara Napoli have second place sewn up, so from that standpoint there is no reason to not bid come Monday - although if the offer involves Kieran Trippier going the other way, it would be smart to not sign off on this before the Champions League final because if he makes brainfarts like he's done all season when he's motivated, I dread what they would be like if he was PO'd because he'd be shipped off to Naples as soon as he's handed his winner's medal Tanguy Ndombele Lyon are in a precarious position in Ligue 1: as things stand they're in third with three games to play which would put them in the CL qualifying round, six points behind second-placed Lille but a point behind fourth-place Saint-Etienne, and the liklihood is that any bid made on Monday would be rebuffed by Lyon stating they will not enter negotiations until CL qualification is secured which, in turn, would very likely lead to a transfer mosh pit once the chips fall where they may and Lyon would likely be tempted to listen to every offer except ours Donny Van de Beek/Hakim Ziyech/Steven Bergwijn On the one hand both Ajax and PSV have already secured their spots in the CL qualifying rounds next season due to being 18 points ahead of third-placed Feyenoord with two games to play - on the other hand, with Ajax topping the league with a pornographic goal difference of +81 to PSV's meagre +71, it's unlikely either team will be listening to offers until the final round of fixtures on Wednesday evening Gedson Fernandes Benfica are currently two points ahead of second-placed Porto, so a win against Rio Ave on Sunday evening will secure the title and mean there's no reason not to place a bid come Monday morning - but any other result means that Benfica will be devoting all their focus to a win against Santa Clara a week Sunday while hoping Porto slip up against Sporting, so there's a 50/50 chance Benfica rebuff the bid...and the other 50% is them acknowledging Sporting will field their U12s side to make sure Benfica get dicked over Sander Berge Genk are currently six points clear at the top of the Belgian champions playoff table with three games to go (because nothing generates excitement like being told your form for the previous thirty games don't count!) A win against second-place Brugge on Sunday means they are champions, so there is no reason to not submit a bid on Monday as Genk's last two games are a victory lap...on the other hand, a draw between the two teams mean the earliest that Genk can be crowned champions is when they face Anderlecht on Thursday, while a Brugge win would potentially mean that Genk can only be crowned champions in their final game against Liege a week Sunday Stanislav Lobotka/Maxi Gomez Celta Vigo are three points clear of the relegation playoff zone with two games to go, so the best case scenario is that Celta get at least a point against Bilbao while Girona lose to Levante in Sunday's fixtures and Celta are safe and negotiations get a little easier (although as both have release clauses, it's less "negotiations" and more "stalling" - which is exactly what happened when we tried to trigger Wimmer's release clause before Koln had secured their spot in the Bundesliga) - otherwise it's waiting until a week Saturday Jack Grealish To quote Sam Beckett, "Oh boy..." Villa are in the Championship playoffs with West Brom, with the first leg taking place tomorrow lunchtime and the second leg on Tuesday evening. Should West Brom win, that makes things easier - but if Villa win that puts them into the playoff final against either Leeds or Derby on the 27th, and let's be honest if Villa win that we won't be signing Grealish this summer Also, there's something else being overlooked, namely the dates the transfer windows actually open (according to FIFA Transfer Matching System) England: 14th June Belgium: 15th June France, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Germany: 1st July In other words, don't rule out the possibility of us making a bid only for a club to stall on our bid until the La Liga transfer window opens just yet...
Because I haven't finished spamming this article just yet... It's almost as if the scouts have been taking hints...
Villa down at half time to WBA, long way to go in the playoffs still of course but I’m sure we’ll be seeing Jack Grealish in the PL one way or another next season
Silly prick just had to go and get an assist and win a penalty with a MOTM performance, didn’t he? **** sake, Jack, do you wanna join us?!
Those Andre Gomes links are growing as well. Probably all copying from the same source but seems like there must be something in it for so many to be jumping on the story. Has anyone actually seen much of him this season? Can’t say I’ve watched too much of Everton to really judge. He was someone I wouldn’t have minded in the summer but after seeing Tielemans tear it up plus the possible Ndombele signing, Gomes wouldn’t be top of my list. That said, if the club is looking to get deals done by day one of the window and it’s someone Poch genuinely wants, it gets a thumbs up from me.
I haven't seen that much of him to be honest but I just think Gomes is a bit 'meh'. He's ok...but I don't think he's worth spending more than we will recoup from Toby's sale to bring into the squad. I'd rather have Harry Winks. Maybe he's just one of those players who fans from other clubs just don't 'get', a bit like Dembele was for us for a while. But I would be surprised if he was a priority target for us tbh. If we're going to be looking at PL midfielders then I would be far more interested in someone like Wilf Ndidi at Leicester or Doucoure at Watford. But realistically poaching from sides just below the top 6 is only getting harder due to the money in the game, so going to Championship or below for someone like Grealish, or looking abroad at the likes of Sander Berge, N'Dombele, Nicolo Barella or any one of a host of midfielders who get mentioned, is probably a more realistic thing to expect.
Ndidi isn’t what we need in my opinion, unless as a backup to Sissoko/ Wanyama replacement. I like Doucoure, wouldn’t be against him joining. Grealish is an interesting choice, not thought of him. Barella I’ve only read about but does seem pretty good. Ndombele is the obvious choice for many. Mentioned Berge a couple months back, very promising player. Reminds a little of a raw Milinkovic-Savic.
I know I keep harping on about Lyon's pivot, but what I like about it is they rotate the personnel for what they need Ndombele is the box-to-box bulldozer Aouar is the playmaker Tousart is the guy who mops up and recycles That means they can adjust their system depending on the opponents, so for cannon fodder or teams who sit back an Ndombele/Aouar pivot will create forward momentum all game long, while for teams looking to go on the offensive an Ndombele/Tousart pivot is set up in much the same way as our Dembele/Wanyama pivot of a couple of years ago where the midfield battle is taken by force The reason I bring this up is because this is definitely something we should be considering, because as awesome as the Dembele/Wanyama pivot was against teams who came to play it was ineffective against teams who would sit back as we were lacking the creative spark from deep, after all how many games against the Burnleys and West Broms of the world have we been screaming at our attacking band playing into the opponents' hands because there's nobody pulling the strings further back? Putting aside the debate of whether we'll have a two-man pivot or a midfield three next season, having a better spread of tactical options is key Box-to-box bulldozer - Sissoko already in place, with the likes of Ndombele and Fernandes linked Playmaker - van de Beek or Tielemans would both fulfill this role Mop up & recycle - Winks does this to a degree, while Berge and Diawara certain do this Retain possession - Winks does this, as does Gomes Hatchet Man/General ****ehousery - Dier If we do use a two-man pivot next season, that offers plenty of options Playing Burnley? Ndombele & van de Beek Playing Everton? Ndombele & Diawara Playing Leicester? Ndombele & Winks Playing Arsenal? Ndombele & Dier
I've watched Everton 6 or 7 times this season. He's technically very gifted, as you'd expect from a Benfica, Valencia and Barca product. Can pick out a pass and due to his frame is surprisingly strong for a more 'luxury' player. But his work rate just isn't up there at the level Poch demands. At Everton he benefits from Gueye working his arse off every game but would Poch allow him that slack here when you look at how hard Winks and Sissoko have worked to keep us well clear of Everton in the league? I doubt it. Also similar to Dembele in the sense that for such a gifted player he doesn't score nearly enough goals. Quick check of his stats says he averages 2 league goals a season which is lamentable.
RDBD watch : His man in Monaco is waiting to be given the word after FT today, to post the formal offer for Tielemans thru the Monaco FC letterbox.
Interesting. I keep forgetting about Tielemans, mainly because I was sure Leicester had him sewn up for next season. If we can get him I think it's arguably the ideal signing out of all the CMs that get mentioned - we know he can do it in the PL, he's 22 but ready to make a real impact as a starter already, and he has that combination of being able to break the opposition press and creativity going forwards that we miss a lot of the time. Frankly, if it takes £40m to secure him straight away then Levy should be on the phone now, because its probably worth it. Cut to the day before the next season starts and Levy is offering Monaco one of Wanyama's knees, £2.37 he found down the back of the sofa, and a photo of Michel Vorm (not life size).
That's the thing with both Tielemans and Gomes: neither of the loans have a clause to make the loan permanent, hence it's possible for other clubs (i.e. us) to hover around with intent - it's also the supposed reason why Poch didn't go for a Tielemans loan in January, as he wanted the security of a purchase clause in the deal and Monaco wouldn't add it One thing that certainly makes Tielemans a better option than Gomes is that Monaco won't insert a buyback clause into any deal, but Barca sure as hell would in any deal for Gomes
Plus Tielemans is absolutely a player more suited to what we need, we already have a player who can sit in midfield and keep the passes flowing around - Winks - what we lack is a more dynamic midfielder who can mix it physically but also offer more intricate play in the final third.
There was also the hope that if GKN had done well enough on loan, that could have sweetened a deal this summer.
