That’s my thinking too. He’s a decent enough player but not good enough for us to be breaking our transfer record on. If Winks can be used as a makeweight though to significantly lower the fee then it’d make sense. I think fans will get very frustrated with him though. Falling over at every touch isn’t a dark art or a form of ****housery to me, it’s just being a pussy. Seeing him do that multiple times a game where it doesn’t always lead to freekicks will eventually grind on people, especially if it results in losing possession on the front foot.
Sorry but the argument that "he's a **** but he's our ****" doesn't work with me. I'm not someone who will be criticising a player for doing ****ish things for another team but praising him if he does it for us. Having that player at Spurs would seriously detract from my enjoyment of the season. I could cope with it if he comes from another league because I really don't follow other leagues, but what he is like is very well known.
I think that’s how football works we boo a player up until we buy him. Every fan is like that. his reputation as a diver puts him alongside the likes of Bale, Salah, Neymar etc as ‘divers’…look at their careers. He’s a bit of an arsehole but he’s a very good footballer too… he’s like Costa was at Chelsea…who was pivotal when they pipped us to the title in 2017. I can bet you our team will love him if he joins because of what positives he brings. he’s only a ****house…he’s not a rapist etc.
Off the pitch, he's a top bloke and very popular with team mates and fans... https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/61245518 When he crosses the white line, he's a ****house and he wants to win, above everything...like Lamela. That's fine by me. We've been too nice for too long.
To be fair those three are far, far better players than Richarlison. Their ability has overshadowed their diving, I’m not sure the same can be said for him. 25 and his career in Europe to date has seen him play for Watford and Everton, has just 7 and 10 league goals in last two seasons too. I think he’d represent an upgrade on Bergwijn and Lucas so on that note would be a decent enough signing but gotta be honest I think he’s being hyped a bit too much by some.
I was focusing on their diving reputations ..a diver is a diver regardless of what else they do on the pitch...Bale got pelters for it and Neymar still does...what they do on the pitch doesn't stop fans of other teams picking up on it and vilifying them throughout their careers. Take the fee away and him as a footballer improves our squad and I'm glad that's how we have maybe started to think as a club. Hence why we saw logic in buying Perisic and we are doing business early doors.
Yeah but if you’re comparing him to world class players it only makes him look worse for his antics. They all have won league titles and champions leagues, amongst many individual honours to the point where when neutrals look at them, “diver” is rarely the first thing that comes to mind. Richarlison dives and is simply a “decent” player who has so far not the set the world alight and his reputation as a diver probably outweighs his reputation as being a good player. The size of the fee isn’t overly bothersome to me, albeit I do think he’s closer to Ndombele/ Lo Celso territory than Romero when it comes to being worthy of splashing huge money on. He’d be an improvement for our squad but it’s not one that I think will massively elevate us.
It would be £50 mill well spent compared to an outlay of £100 mill Pool spending on the latest new toy Darwen Nunez. But I think we would be wetting ourselves over him...he's was knocking about in the lower leagues somewhere 2 seasons ago. Not fit to lace Kane's boots but definitely flava of the month. Lik everyone seems to think Diaz was the signing of the season when clearly it was Kulu. Media hype and media tripe...I do trust the vision of Paratici and Conte though.
Vulture Watch Haven't done one of these in a while, but this time I'll be looking at teams who would have expected to qualify for Europe this coming season - but didn't Atalanta Joakim Maehle (LWB, 25yo, Denmark, contracted until 2025) Mario Pasalic (AMC, 27yo, Croatia, contracted until 2025) Athletic Bilbao Unai Simon (GK, 25yo, Spain, contracted until 2025) Alex Berenguer (RW, 26yo, Spain, contracted until 2024) Borussia Monchengladbach Florian Neuhaus (CM, 25yo, Germany, contracted until 2024) Matthias Ginter (CB, 28yo, Germany, out of contract this summer) CSKA Moscow Yusuf Yazici (AM, 25yo, Turkey, loan from Lille to expire at the end of the season) Dinamo Moscow Diego Laxalt (LB, 29yo, Uruguay, contracted until 2024) Sebastian Szymanski (AM, 23yo, Poland, contracted until 2026) Everton Dominic Calvert-Lewin (CF, 25yo, England, contracted until 2025) Anthony Gordon (LW, 21yo, England, contracted until 2025) Demarai Gray (LW, 25yo, England, contracted until 2024) Richarlison (CF, 25yo, Brazil, contracted until 2024, reportedly in negotiations) Hoffenheim David Raum (LWB, 24yo, Germany, contracted to 2026) Florian Grillitsch (DM, 26yo, Austria, out of contract this summer) Leicester Youri Tielemans (CM, 25yo, Belgium, contracted until 2023, strongly linked) James Maddison (AM, 25yo, England, contracted until 2024, Alasdair Gold claims we're keeping tabs) Harvey Barnes (LW, 24yo, England, contracted until 2025) Lille Sven Botman (CB, 22yo, Holland, contracted until 2025, Gianluca Di Marzio says we're interested) Jonathan David (CF, 22yo, Canada, contracted until 2025) Zeki Cilik (RB, 25yo, Turkey, contracted until 2023) Lyon Lucas Paqueta (AM, 24yo, Brazil, contracted until 2025, Alasdair Gold says we're interested) Moussa Dembele (CF, 25yo, France, contracted until 2023) Houssem Aouar (CM, 23yo, France, contracted until 2023) Maxence Caqueret (CM, 22yo, France, contracted until 2026) Valencia Carlos Soler (CM, 25yo, Spain, contracted until 2023) Zenit St Petersburg Wilmar Barrios (DM, 28yo, Colombia, contracted until 2026) Malcom (RW, 25yo, Brazil, contracted until 2024)
Bale may be a diver, but he is not a c**t nor a diva - on-pitch or off (Neymar) . He will also be able to spearhead Spurs CL campaign, which Richarlson will not.
We won`t be re signing Bale, and nor should we, he is way too far from a Conte type player these days fitness wise. Sure he would still provide moments of brilliance, but as a team player willing to put in the defensive graft that Conte requires, he is completely unsuitable. Bale was a Levy vanity signing last time and Mourinho probably did not really want him, Conte will likely not want him this time either.
But we are allowed 5 subs next season which makes someone who can play for 20 mins and provide moments of brilliance much more valuable.
The best way to use Bale in Conte's system is as a CF, where he does regularly play for Wales - but that leads to the obvious question about whether he'd be rotating for H in the 3421 we played last season or if we'd switch to 3412 so we can rotate Harry, Sonny and Bale up top If we keep 3421, though, there's certainly something to be said of having Bale in reserve to come on as an AM, as he'd be more likely to change the game off the bench than Lucas has done at any point recently - although I'm not sold as him being a starter as an AM in Conte's system
I would have taken Richarlison back before he joined Everton and I'd take him now. No problem. I don't understand the hatred he gets these days. I must have missed something. If Conte wants him, then I'm all for it. In Conte I trust.
Marca claim we're looking at Pervis Estupinan Sounds about right, signing somebody who was on the books at Watford for four years yet spent those four years permanently on loan at various Spanish clubs...
My biggest qualm is he wasn't a £50m player when Everton bought him and he has done nothing since to make him worth even more than that. Nothing. For £20-25m I would have no issue but making our record signing a b-tech Son whose PL experience consists of playing for failed clubs just doesn't strike me as sensible business.
I hear that. I'd sooner take a risk on Paqueta, but I wouldn't be mad at going for the PL experience in this case. Something tells me that the deal won't look anything like £50m if it actually happens. Sounds like Levy would definitely take Dele's £40m into account and make an "arrangement".
