Swansea capitan, Matt Grimes. https://planetswans.co.uk/2021/06/29/are-southampton-about-to-make-their-move-for-grimes/
No, I have seen Firpo play consistently and if Perraud is anywhere near the player he is then we have done very well. There is a reason Perraud is going for peanuts and (it looks like) we are going to get him relatively unchallenged from other clubs. Hopefully he is great, time will tell
You've done well if you've seen Firpo play much recently. He started only two league games all last season. Barcelona can't wait to get rid.
They also can’t wait to get rid of Coutinho. He must be ****e aswell Firpo is only 24 and was fantastic at Betis (which is where I watched him), hence how he got a move to Barca. As I said if Perraud is anywhere near as good we have done very well
Perraud is only 23 and got 3 goals and 7 assists last season, and was named in Ligue 1 team of the season. That would suggest we've picked up a real bargain. Firpo has gone backwards at Barca due to lack of game time.
I wasn’t really talking about the age in that sense, more that he is still very young and has time to get back to his previous levels (if he has regressed as you suggest) The fact he was in the Ligue 1 team of the season and only costs 8m is a bit of a red flag in my view. I have seen some reports that we have been monitoring him since January and talking to him etc so maybe he had made his mind up before the summer that he wanted to come here. But the lack of a real interest in him at such a bargain price raises some questions imo
Most people say Leicester have a very good recruitment team. They have money and have been monitoring the French league closely in recent times (Sangare this summer, Fofana last) and they opted on signing Bertrand on a free than 8m on Perraud
But at the same time Bielsa wanted Perraud who has a good eye for talent. He only turned to Firpo when it became clear Perraud had chosen us.
Yeah I’m not writing Perraud off or anything, just saying I would’ve preferred Firpo based on my knowledge of the player. That ship has sailed and we have a different player who hopefully does well
Linked with Real Madrid in Jan. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.67...-perraud-courted-by-zidane-and-ancelotti/amp/
So today we're linked with Delaney and Matt Grimes, both CMs. If one of them signs then it won't be long until Villa fans are saying its a JWP replacement JWP, Romeu, Diallo, Delaney/Grimes. Might suggest Smallbone will be loaned out, or perhaps is struggling in his recovery from injury? I'm not against signing a CM, means Armstrong will be used out wide more if we ever have injuries/suspensions.
I know JWP is an absolute machine, but it’s really not sustainable for him to play as much as he has the past two seasons. Diallo has potential but needs to be developed and introduced slowly. Smallbone probably in the same boat as Diallo plus injured. Makes sense we’d be looking at bringing in another CM.
