Shocking really isn’t it. But even if we take some big hits on players like Sanchez, Lo Celso, Reggie etc we’ve got so many of them we’ll make enough money for it to be significant.
How are 3 or 4 clubs interested in paying £9m for Sanchez? Hated the booing of him but he has done nothing for us in years
Because the Premier League is harder than the Turkish league. We also play(ed?) a style that he was utterly unsuited to for years.
His athleticism alone will be enough for him to do reasonably well in most secondary leagues. Plus word among the itks is that he still has some street cred for an impressive first season, although we should keep very very quiet about the fact that he was coached through it by Jan and Toby so his contribution was a bit like Finland's in WWII. Also he is well known as being a top professional who has an excellent disciplinary record. For many clubs, that's worth a punt at £7m. Which is why the likes of Dele and Tanguy are a nightmare to shift - the risk of potential drama and headlines don't justify that punt, even if they are exponentially more gifted players.
That's 100% the case. Have no issues with him apart from errors....repeated errors ..almost every game...for the past 4 years....
Ally Gold wrote a piece the other week in which he said explicitly that the hold up in bringing in additions at CB was due to us wanting to shift unwanted players first. Looks like Dier is staying, sadly, so that'll be Sanchez and Rodon on permanents and Tanganga on loan or permanent if the offer is good enough.
Pace and strength in a CB is a useful combination in certain leagues, most obviously Spain and Holland Having a pretty solid disciplinary record, zero drama during his stint, and the fact he will step up to protect his teammates if somebody tries something is also a good combination of traits to have Let's just ignore the first touch of a milk float for now...
Romano says agreement is close for van de Ven. And in a reply says talks still continuing for Tapsoba.
Lenglet looking likely as well. All 3 would be great business and probably get our CB contingent sorted pending outgoings. Doubt we’ll get all 3 though.
For me, any combination that involves Tapsoba is great. He’s the one I feel that immediately improves and transforms our backline from the get go.
Depends on how you define difficult I guess. We pay Leverkusen’s asking price and he’s ours, as most reports claim personal terms won’t be an issue. If that lot up the road are paying over £200m this window (at the least!) we can stretch another £45m or so on top of the Vicario and Maddison signings I’d say… easily too.
I think difficult in terms of squad composition, and only if we really want both Tapsoba and VdV. Would love it to happen though. But we’d be spending a chunk on one of them to not be first choice, though Romero misses a fair few games every season so gametime might not actually be that much of an issue.
That's the reality though, if we aspire to be a top team, we need to be ok with the notion of shelling out a chunk of money in order to make the drop off from first choice to back up barely perceptible. It's well and good signing cheap options like Lenglet now and then. They'll do you for cup games here and there as well as the odd league game or substitute appearance. But titles and trophies are won and lost on the little stretches of games where you're turning to the likes of Sanchez to replace Romero or Hojbjerg to replace Bentancur. One of the reasons Arsenal's title bid collapsed was Saliba picking up an injury and his replacement not being anywhere near him in terms of quality. By the same token, I am convinced we would have won the league in 16/17 had we not had Janssen as Kane's back up (albeit admittedly no one foresaw just how impotent he would be, my point is if your goal is to do well, that much a drop isn't a big deal. But if you want to excel, it simply doesn't work). With Dier (hopefully) leaving at the end of his contract next summer and European football (hopefully) returning at that time, it makes a lot of sense to bring together three superb options who can then hit the ground running as we face four competitions.
I guess what I’m saying is that it’s unlikely we take all the steps in one window when it comes to quality throughout the squad. Especially with no Europe full stop, let alone CL. The whole squad needs to be transitioned from playing in a defensive back 4 Jose style, a defensive 343 Conte style, to a high line, pressing, possession focused 433, and we were lacking many of the key profiles in the starting XI a couple of weeks ago, and still are missing one now. Not to mention that our entire attacking strategy since Poch left has been counterattacking and/or the Kane-Son combo. So there’s a huge shift needed in the types of player and the mentality and tactics drilled into the squad. It’s a lot of ins and outs for one window. My theory has always been that we would try and secure the big 3 starting XI signings before the tour then focus on outgoings and further additions. Beyond the obvious, multiple first choice signings we need (I would say we have 2 of them already and are waiting on the third, which is the CB, and those were the key pieces of the team we needed before squad players as long as everyone’s fit) I guess I’m saying I’d rather see us get players like Lenglet and Solomon on little/no fees if they’re the right profiles Ange needs to play his football and then look to upgrade later, vs getting flashier players with more name recognition who might not be the right fit and/or are harder to shift a year or two down the line because we stumped up for them or they’re on big wages. Granted I think that both Tapsoba and VdV are good fits but there has to be a consideration of how bloated our squad would be if we got both of them and didn’t ship 3 out (likely Sanchez, Rodon, and Tanganga on a loan or permanent). Newcastle have done similar, albeit in different circumstances. They got players like Bruno and Botman who are good now and might be very, very good as the team grows, but they also signed players like Dan Burn and Trippier and Wilson who are perfectly good PL players but are unlikely to improve further, so will need upgrading in the starting XI as the club progresses. Lenglet and Solomon are stop gaps by my thinking, nothing more. As long as the first choice players are there in front of them then I welcome the squad building that for the first time in a while feels sensible and planned.
We should want both because that’s what ambitious clubs do but seeing as we’re looking for that immediate impact at CB which is so crucial for this coming season after the calamities we’ve had in previous campaigns then Tapsoba is the one who comes with the closest of guarantees to upgrading our backline from day one and that’s why he should be prioritised above all. Van der Ven doesn’t come with that, albeit comes with potential to be a key defender in time. He’s in a situation right now very similar to that of Sanchez before we signed him, though hopefully this time he doesn’t turn out a horrific error prone mess should he join. Lenglet and Tosin also don’t come with that, they’re the squad signings to ideally replace Sanchez and Dier. That’s why for me, any combination that doesn’t involve Tapsoba almost certainly means our CB situation won’t have been immediately improved from last season.
Romano says Solomon’s contract is sealed and he’ll be announced today. Also says Betis are interested in Lo Celso along with 2-3 other clubs. Matt Law says Kane’s been offered up to £400k a week to stay. Whilst Lloris has three offers to leave. Alexis Bernard says us, Chelsea and Arsenal are interested in Celta midfielder, Gabri Veiga.
