In an ideal world you would hope it would force Aurier to raise his game to his best possible (lest he faces all those EL away ties in the first half of the season) .
I don’t think Aurier wants to be here to be honest. Truth be told I don’t think he ever really wanted to be here, moment he joined he’d still talk about PSG on his socials and having played second fiddle to Trippier for two seasons it probably compounded matters. He had a decent enough season just gone but it was clear to us all we needed better and hopefully Doherty provides that. I think we’ll possibly see Tanganga (if he’s fit) or Gedson play RB in some of the early Europa fixtures. Gedson more so than Tanganga will need work but Jose knows how to get the best out of players defensively so with time he may able to work some magic with Gedson.
Doherty is a very astute signing and I think he’ll give us more consistency going forward - when you look at the positions we get Aurier into his final ball and decision making are often lacking. Doherty played this way for Wolves and has excellent numbers for a wing back so we should see an improvement there. Defensively he might not have the pace Aurier has but Aurier’s issues are poor decision making in and around our box, a fact which Jose is well aware of. Even if Doherty is nothing more than ‘reliable’ then he’s a step up. Ultimately it seems fairly certain Aurier will leave this summer and we may even break even on his replacement with the fee, which is quite something. I think we need 2 more - a striker and probably a creative midfielder especially if Tanguy leaves. CB would be nice but that position and LB are less of a priority, in my books.
Random Barca Starlet Watch La Verdad claim that centre midfielder Lucas de Vega is on our radar, and he;s supposedly keen on joining The fact that the other clubs linked with him are Segunda Division teams Gijon, Malaga and Tenerife makes me suspicious that this is complete and utter bollocks... Tavares Watch Oh cool, another rumour gets an upgrade A Bola claim that Tomas Tavares' agent is looking to secure a loan move for Tomas Tavares, as they are well stocked at RB. Considering he's reportedly available for £9m, surely a loan-to-buy makes a lot of sense as it saves us £9m now to be spent later while also letting us see if he measures up
There's (unsubstantiated at this point) rumours that Alfie Whiteman will be loaned to Birmingham Meanwhile, for whenever @remembercolinlee updates the OP, Alasdair Gold claims the fee for Doherty was £13.4m + add-ons
I think that’s the thing with Doherty, we know he’s not a world beater but he does seem to have that air of reliability about him. The same with Hojbjerg too, talent wise I’d say Dier 2014-2017 and prime Wanyama were better players but he’s currently bringing better than what we have right now to the position as well as some very strong leadership/ mentality qualities. Sometimes bringing in the top pros and leaders are just as good as bringing in the top talent. We’ve often bemoaned a lack of leaders at the club and Hojbjerg & Hart both fit into that whereas Doherty seems a top pro and a dependable option, something we’ve not really had at RB for two years after Tripps went downhill with that injury and Aurier not really cementing the position. Agree on targets. Striker has to be number one priority. Not even overly arsed as to who it is. Suarez/ Costa/ Wilson/ King have all been linked and I’d take any of those. Left field option that I don’t think we’ve actually been linked with could be Wood at Burnley, pretty consistent goal scorer and would probably fit Jose’s target man role. Then a CM should Nfatbele go. Skriniar swap then looking at someone like Rakitic would be a dream scenario.
£25m plus Eriksen for Ndombele? I can dream! Hugo Doherty, Toby, Dier, Davies Hojbjerg, Lo Celso Bergwijn, Eriksen, Son Kane Sexy.
Kim Min-jae Watch You were starting to miss him, weren't you? 한준 TV report that we're still in negotiations, although Lazio are snapping at our heels. It's said that we've offered €12m + add-ons while Lazio have offered more up-front, though KMJ prefers a move to N17 Exodus Watch Luton boss Nathan Jones has said he is interested in bringing CCV back to the club, although he's stated he;s only interested in a permanent signing He also claims that people need to stop mistaking him for this bloke
Sabitzer’s been made Leipzig captain so I reckon any possible move from us is dead, highly doubt they would’ve made that decision if they weren’t 100% sure the guy was staying.
