He can be a game changer but his big fault is the disappearing act that too often happens. If that was down to injury then my comment is unfair but I do think his killer instinct is not there all the time.
Transfer Rumours transfer thread fact and fiction
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He was crying the moment he clicked ‘like’.
Telling himself “that should’ve been me!”.
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Betis you little cuties!
Definitely an upgrade on Lamela and Alli in the two footed department but both Son and Eriksen are better still on their weaker foot.
I'm calling it now...
January Rumours
Paulo Dybala - probably talk of a loan to yadda-yadda the image rights for another day
Max Aarons - highly likely if Norwich are in the bottom third, nailed on if they're in the bottom three
Jack Grealish - the same scenario as Aarons
A centre back - no doubt the transfer committee is already on this, what with Verts and Toby's contract situations while Foyth is set to be a right back for club and country, but we definitely need to prioritise this position in case Sanchez finds himself playing alongside one of Carter-Vickers, Tanganga or Eyoma next season
January Rumours
Paulo Dybala - probably talk of a loan to yadda-yadda the image rights for another day
Max Aarons - highly likely if Norwich are in the bottom third, nailed on if they're in the bottom three
Jack Grealish - the same scenario as Aarons
A centre back - no doubt the transfer committee is already on this, what with Verts and Toby's contract situations while Foyth is set to be a right back for club and country, but we definitely need to prioritise this position in case Sanchez finds himself playing alongside one of Carter-Vickers, Tanganga or Eyoma next season
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Would a graduate player like Tananga actually be all that bad as one of 4 CB's? We should always aim to have 3 of the best we can get and the best of one of our own in that position. Concentrate on our best two this season and see can grab that 4th spot.
A nearly perfect window.
Has anyone heard anything about Llorente re-signing? If we can do that then and keep what we've currently got, i think we've a very good squad with lots of options
Has anyone heard anything about Llorente re-signing? If we can do that then and keep what we've currently got, i think we've a very good squad with lots of options
I think the Grealish boat has sailed. Poch is a big fan of Winks and as Skipp, Amos and Roles continue to develop signing him becomes increasingly pointless.
I also think we'll be straight back in for Dybala in January. The bulk of the legwork is done and I think it's perfectly legal for us to be in talks with his image company for the next 4 months working out a sustainable solution.
NEW CB is becoming increasingly urgent as Toby and Jan wind down. Dave is a top prospect but still inexperienced and the other options are totally unproven at the level we require. I think we'll need to spend big and bring in an established peak player or else run the risk of a 2-3 year setback next season. Coady and Boly really impressed at Wolves last year. This year will tell if that was a flash in the pan but Coady in particular is a leader on the pitch, very vocal and clearly commands respect. At 26 he's coming into his peak years now so someone like that would be ideal.
Yes matey...when his hearts not in it and he's wanting a new challenge then why would he think otherwise now? Someone playing for us who thinks that doesn't quite get the same kind of affection from me as someone stood next to him who is hungry as **** to do the shirt proud.
I'll wait to see his performances before I say too much more
I think Dave will finish the season as first choice so the loss of Toby won’t be as bad as first feared. Jan is a different story though should he go.
Not sure on Coady. If he joined right now he’d be fourth in the pecking order as Jan, Toby and Dave are all better players. I’d want someone with a higher pedigree and ideally with CL experience. I feel like Coady is sort of a Shawcross/ Evans type of player, had to leave a top club and build their way up to establish themselves but ultimately not at the level to really play regularly for the top tier sides. As a squad player, sure but I wouldn’t be impressed if he was seen as a replacement for either of our Belgians.
Tend to agree about Coady. No one of that 'peak age' springs to mind though. Most of the top, top CBs in the world are either really young prospects who have been snapped up recently by the big clubs, or players in their 30's who aren't a long term solution. I think this is why United wanted Maguire so badly. Who else is there in Europe of his age and level of ability (apart from Van dijk)? It's telling that most lists of 'top 10 CBs 2019' still include the likes of Ramos, Pique, Chiellini and one of Jan or Toby...these guys have been on those lists for donkeys years because there seems to be a peculiar generation gap in that position where we have loads of amazing 30+ year olds, loads of promising 18-22 year olds, and very few in their late 20's who really catch the eye. Unless i'm missing something obvious?
Yeah there's a definitely a shortage of elite CBs and it's a position in which teams are now massively overspending on because of that.
Agree on the age thing, realistically only van Dijk, Varane and possibly Marquinhos can be classed as world class that aren't 30+.
If we're looking for domestic signings, the one that really stands out for me is Ake, he's a lefty too which is ideal. There's some solid defenders like Dunk, Duffy, Coady, Lascelles, Tarkowski etc and whilst I wouldn't say no to most of them from a squad perspective, I certainly wouldn't want any of them being actual replacements to go into the XI. Looking abroad there aren't exactly a bundle of options either, the one that would probably suit us in terms of style and philosophy would be Ruben Dias, 22 year old ball playing CB for Benfica.
I think that we need to extend Vertonghen's contract and look for a suitable successor amongst the promising defenders, to be honest.
Maybe Zagadou from Dortmund, partially for the chant potential or Tah from Leverkusen?
Schar and Lascelles at Newcastle might be worth keeping an eye on too, if Bruce doesn't pick up well from Rafa.
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Yep. It should close about a week before the season starts, but it should also be the same across Europe.
I'm grateful that we get our targets in 3 weeks earlier than we used to do but there has to be a UEFA-wide consistency applied. Problem is the current status quo suits the bigwigs who eye the PL pie jealously as it allows non-PL clubs to take advantage of our panic and then after the window closes unsettle our players with low-ball offers. It funnels as much money as possible out of England and that suits the other major leagues.
Couple of solid shouts in there. Admittedly I've only seen Ake play a handful of times and mainly against Spurs but i think he's massively overrated. Lascelles has gone backwards over the past few years, Dunk and Duffy are good old fashioned hoofers not favoured by Poch and the Burnley lads are only slightly better on the ball.
There is a real shortage worldwide as you say hence a big bloke who has started fewer than a dozen games for a mediocre french side just cost Arsenal close to £30m.
Tanganga could be great as one of the CBs next season (although, let's be honest, likely as a rotation option than a starter at this point in time) but the issue is that we could be alarmingly light of starter-worthy centre backs if Verts and Toby are both free agents next summer because, while we clearly signed Sanchez for this eventuality, after that the issues arise
Foyth - was initially signed for similar reasons to Sanchez, but with us and the Argentine national team moving him to right back that says a lot
Eric Dier - while he says be prefers being a CB he's played as a midfielder for the past four years
Ben Davies - can play CB, as he's shown for Wales and on occasion for us last seaosn, but this would leave us light at left back
Japhet Tanganga - looked impressive in pre-season, but untested as a PL-level starter
Cameron Carter-Vickers - inconsistent in two seasons of Championship loans, so this season's loan to Stoke will be crucial
TJ Eyoma - Poch rates him, but his injury in pre-season means Tanganga's leapfrogged ahead of him
At the very least we need one starter-worthy centre back brought in, but who? At a guess, we'll be hearing the following names linked, not least because most of them have been linked with us in the past two seasons...
Jonathan Tah (Leverkusen)
Joachim Andersen (Lyon, I bet they'll be happy...)
Ozan Kabak (Schalke)
Nikola Milenkovic (Fiorentina)
Loan Watch?
The following players have not been allocated squad numbers
Marcus Edwards
Kaziah Sterling
Samuel Shashoua
Tashan Oakley-Boothe
The following players have not been allocated squad numbers
Marcus Edwards
Kaziah Sterling
Samuel Shashoua
Tashan Oakley-Boothe