If they can't scrounge up the figure in the deal due to having Bale's wages dumped on them, we certainly could
And that's why dumping Bale's wages back on them could, in theory, cause a slight issue when the population of Madrid hear they can't have running water on Tuesdays
They’ll always have money to spend, they’re dodgy as. If it’s a player they really want then they’ll find the cash somehow.
Random Winger Watch Gazetta dello Sport and La Repubblica report we're looking to bring in Sampdoria left winger Mikkel Damsgaard, who is reportedly available for €20m in spite Samp signing him for €7m last September Putting aside the obvious question of why we didn't sign him from Nordsjaelland last year for 1/3 of what we'd pay for him, or how the last time we were linked with a Dane at Samp he wound up at Fulham on loan from Lyon, he could be a canny signing as he's a hybrid of Bergwijn and Lamela, as he's got pace and skill to get forward and knows where the back of the net is, but he's also a tenacious little bugger with a touch of the ****ehouse to him, and it has to be said he can play in a few positions as he's also capable of playing up top or as an attacking midfielder And this is the only player from Serie A we've been linked with that I'm going to mention, because the other one...well, let's just say it's not worth it, even if it will royally piss off the Nomads
Too much interest in bang average in the middle will only produce bang average in the middle squads...it’s the reason we will lose our best players...the ambition isn’t/won’t be showing itself from upstairs(it seems)
Last summer there were plenty who wrote off Hojbjerg as "bang average" It also has to be said that, if we offloaded Lucas and Lamela and signed Damsgaard, that would mean we'd make £30-40m while spending £15-18m to have cover for Son, while we already have Jack Clarke in place to cover Bergwijn - and that £12-22m should be put into reinforcing the centre, as we need a DM and CB
I still think our sweet spot is picking up players in their early/mid-20s who we see potential for improvement for. If they improve and stay we win, if they improve and we sell then we then make a profit, and if they don’t improve they’re still young enough if they join on a 3/4 year contract to get a move elsewhere for us to recoup some transfer fees. Taking an occasional risk on a player like Doherty is understandable but doing it too often leaves you with players going into their 30s, knowing this is their last big contract, and having no desire to move on if we want them to. But realistically we can’t compete for the late 20s players in their prime. We don’t have the financial clout or the rep. And frankly I think it’s too much of a risk when it comes to squad management if they don’t work out.
I think we need to invest in a few proven players ready to go. The ones we don’t quite seem to get over the line with ambition being one of the reasons with a willingness to spend a few mill more to get the job done. Them millions can be made back when said players help first team achieve higher finishes in the league and to get over that final hurdle to winning trophies. Bruno Fernandes, Diaz, Skrinrar. It’s obvious we managed to scout talent because all 3 are having great seasons...for me that’s what we need so we can start winning now instead of having a project mentality in the hope it all comes together in the end like what was supposed to happen with Poch but it actually went tits up in the end for so many reasons but ambition from the top was certainly one of the reasons.
I think with one or two exceptions (notably CB and RB, possibly AM) we’re pretty much there from a starting XI perspective, and while I think there’s a lot of mid-tier players in the ‘filler’ category who need to be moved on, the main issue we have is at CB and the balance of midfield. That and we just don’t seem to be coached to attack coherently when we dominate possession but that’s a different issue. So yeah, I agree that from our current standpoint we need to go out and make that ‘oven ready’ CB signing this summer if we’re serious about actually improving the first XI. The rest depends on outgoings. Once the starting XI is in serviceable shape then we can look back to the project mentality, which I think failed more due to awful squad management and stagnation in the coaching regime than because the concept itself is wrong. But the central issue we will continue to have is the number of players who probably feel we are their last big contract and thus are in no rush to leave, and the HG/non-HG balance. Both are difficult knots to unpick.
I was going to comment but I have changed my mind 3 times as I was about to post. I'll think about it more. Basically my thinking is that we need a midfield general or we need someone other than Sissoko to play behind Hojbjerg so that he can play further forward.
One thing that I find baffling is how so many clubs deploy their scouts to the usual hunting grounds of Ligue 1, La Liga, the Bundesliga and Eredivisie that guarantees transfer auctions, yet we tend to scout the same leagues and end up losing out as there's always someone who can pay more In comparison, look at the low risk/high reward signings from the leagues that we overlook Jupiler League: Romelu Lukaku (£10m), Aleksander Mitrovic (£13m), Thomas Meunier (£4.5m) Prva HLN: Mateo Kovacic (£10m), Milan Badelj (£3m), Some Vrsaljko (£3.5m), Ivo Grbic (£2.75m) Superliga: Thomas Delaney (£3m), Robert Skov (£8m), Mikkel Damsgaard (£5m), Andreas Skov Olsen (£5m) Raiffeisen Super League: Some Egyptian bloke who falls over a lot (£11m) There's certainly players on that list who could've done great things for us, but we overlooked them to sign more expensive and (by and large) less successful players instead, for example spunking £17m on Paulinho while Inter signed Kovacic for considerably less
I think we either need to sort the defence out or change up the midfield. Next season we’ll have Skipp back who should be able to fill in for Højbjerg when we only need one more defensive midfielder or play with him in a double pivot. So I’d rather get the CB if we can only do one. If we had Toby and Jan at their peak in this back 4 then we could afford to play Højbjerg with Tanguy deeper but we don’t, so we can’t. Højbjerg can sit or go press, he likes to do the latter but does do the former too. I think with the right partner to cover him in midfield it would work well, like when Mason and Bentaleb covered each other so well during Poch’s first season. Or with a better defensive unit behind him, it’s less of an issue when he gets caught out. Of course ideally we’d fix both, I’d love someone like Yves Bissouma at Brighton to partner Højbjerg at the base of our midfield but I’m not optimistic about us getting enough out the door to free up funds and spaces in the squad for more than one major addition.
I think both Spurly and Hudd are essentially right with regards to targets, as we need one or two van Dijk/ Fernandes type signings (at CB and CAM in my opinion) but equally we need to go back to our basics and bring in a number of players where they're likely to increase in value over time, that's generally where we've seen the best success over the past 10-15 years with regards to value for money and impact on the squad over x amount of years. The worry I have is that there's so much that needs doing with regards to shifting a ton out and then replenishing the ranks (and our recent track record of poor transfers) that can it be done in a quick enough time frame to persuade Kane - and to lesser degree, Son - that their future lies here?
I don't think Harry will agitate for a move this summer. In the current financial climate, I am not sure that anyone will be in a position to meet the price that Levy will put on his head. City are the one team that I worry about him leaving for, Pep is clearly a fan, but they seem to want Haaland and they won't be buying both.
