VdV is a bit different because he had played plenty of men’s football before he even ended up at Wolfsburg. He was clearly going to be ready to physically stand up to the PL, Dragusin has less of a body of work but the eye test at least says the same. Physically ready. Gil has never looked that and that’s why he was so much more of a risk. Players have to play to adapt and improve and Gil was always going to struggle for consistent minutes when he wasn’t physically ready. Again it comes down to planning. Adaptation for Gil was always going to take more than simply sticking him in the gym for a few months. I have much more confidence in Dragusin because he looks a big unit and Serie A is a league with some very physical players in there, who he seems to stand up to, according to some reports I’ve read at least.
The exciting thing is it looks like the management at Spurs realises, like we all do, that Ange is a special fit for Tottenham and they realise they have to back him properly. Our squad is looking in better shape than it has for a long time. Our manager wants to entertain and the winning will follow that.
Didn’t really do much at Fulham though. As a emergency backup and squad filler he’s ok but you’d hope he wouldn’t be needed over a long period of time
I was referring to their footballing ability and potential. Not their economic value or cost in terms of work for the backroom staff.
Worst case scenario with Solomon is we sell him for pure profit in the summer Worst case scenario with Gil is...well TBH the worst case scenario isn't going to happen, as there's interest in him which wasn't the case when we were trying to get David Bentley off the books
He's landed! https://www.radarbox.com/data/flights/BNI5V ...and FlightRadar admit they are hiding this behind a paywall
I give it until Saturday before the UKIPpers kvetch we "only" signed two players this window, as if we haven't watched them being shown their backsides in real time since yesterday with Dragusin
Generally agree with most of that, with the last paragraph aside. Saying we had Lucas and Lamela as reasons for not really needing Gil isn’t entirely accurate in my opinion. Many had wanted to sell Lucas whilst everyone knew Lamela wasn’t reliable with his fitness and I think the club had had enough too, hence putting him into the Gil deal, as we were never gonna get a fee for a player as injury prone as he was. These were two players that didn’t have considerable futures at the club and were highly inconsistent as well, especially the Brazilian, despite having the ability to change the game with moments of magic. I could be wrong too but I think the club may have seen Gil as a potential Son successor, it clearly hasn’t turned out as so but I’m not angry at the decision to try, eventually we’re gonna have to try again but Sonny is still coming up with the goods and hopefully will for a few more years yet.
He’d only played in the second tier of Dutch football though prior to the move to Wolfsburg. Gil had played in La Liga as well as making his senior debut for Spain. As I’ve said to CK, the deal obviously hasn’t worked out and with hindsight we’d obviously go back and cancel it if we could but I think there was sound reasoning for us signing a player like Gil. Things pointed towards him being a future star for club and country, he may still even turn out as such with the right career move. I’d happily gamble on 50 more Gil’s for instance than immediately waste money on a Richarlison.
Agree, it’s getting very exciting. Having gone through a number of years practically wanting to gouge my eyes out watching so many awful players, we’ve now got a lot of aesthetically pleasing ones, I could watch the likes of van de Ven, Udogie, Porro, Sarr, Bentancur, Maddison, Sonny, Kulu etc all day long, Vicario is also similar to watching prime Lloris too. Ironically the one weak point is indeed his Harry’s old position. Maybe he’ll fancy a quick reunion in the summer?!
A little bonus in signing Dragusin that Rob Guest has just mentioned is that he can be named on our U21 list for registration so won’t count towards the non-HG quota this season.
First the bad news: Dragusin;s gobshite ex-agent has popped up again And now the good news: He's giving credit to Levy & Lange for staying up to 3 o'clock this morning to get the Dragusin deal done - which presumably explains why the plane that brought him over was booked at 4am
I obviously take the point but I guess what I’m saying is that when you compare him to Gil, it’s about the physical development of a player at that age as much as it is the level they’re playing at. VdV was ready for the PL, Gil wasn’t and isn’t, and he’s far from the first and won’t be the last player to be technically sound but unable to cope with the pace and physicality. But I agree we had sound reasons to sign him, I just think that expecting him to integrate straight into the PL at his age and stage of development was a massive mistake, which is clearly what the club wanted from him.
Agreed which is why he was a good pickup on a free. Wouldn’t have been a player I’d have been keen on the club investing a transfer fee in. I think that’s the point though. Solomon and Gil ultimately have the same role in the team as backup wingers - one cost nothing, has a couple of years more experience including CL football, and has played in England, the other cost upwards of 30m and had comparatively much less experience even allowing for the fact he’s a couple of years younger. FWIW I think Gil has a lot of potential to be a good Ange winger and I’m not upset that we signed him back in the day but he’s never going to meet that potential if we keep managing him as we have. He needs a loan in a more physical, direct team and league so he can work on those aspects of his game. Loaning him back to Spain constantly isn’t doing him any favours.
