I agree, but I'm with PLT that there's a sizeable gap between a good Championship midfielder and a midfielder a PL club would go after. Alzate isn't quite young enough to be of interest.
That’s a fair point, though Ipswich signed Szmodics at the age of 28 despite never playing higher than Championship level. Some players are late bloomers in that regard for whatever reason. Sometimes it’s just a case of injuries or lack of opportunities stunting their development. Greaves played around 200 games at senior level by the time he moved to Ipswich and he only turned 24 in September. If Alzate was still 21 or 22-years-old and playing like he is now, we’d be talking about him as a £15-20 million player. Because he’s 26-years-old and his development was delayed a bit more than someone like Greaves, we’d probably demand half that at most. If we got a £10 million bid for him in the summer, you’d take it. Age matters a lot in football because it’s such a short career. An extra 3 or 4 years longevity will cost millions more when it comes to transfers.
If we got a 10m offer I imagine the club would be thrilled as that would benefit the bottom line greatly.
Alzate is currently City’s best player, in my opinion. At the age of 26, he’s entering his prime. If he can stay fit, we should build the team around him and hopefully he can play 40+ games next season. Seri was quality on the ball but his age catching up to him and his lack of physicality often meant we got cut through the middle by quick, powerful teams. The lack of longevity with Seri also meant we couldn’t realistically build a team around him. Alzate does a similar role to Seri as a deep playmaker that can receive the ball under pressure and wriggle out of danger where other players would **** themselves and lose the ball. Seri and Alzate have also lost the ball but it’s usually due to trying to be too clever or losing their footing than lack of composure. Alzate is also miles better defensively and more physical and athletic than Seri and makes more tackles, interceptions and wins more aerial duels.
But a team going up might, I can see any of the three having a look. Both Leeds and sheff if they reach the promised land, the other is a lottery.. Just my opinion based on absolutely **** all….
I think it will be a good thing that he flies under the radar and doesn't attract interest from Prem teams.
Maybe. But seeing a player in the flesh can make a big difference to their level of appreciation. I'm not sure whether you have, or not, but Syd certainly hasn't.
I can't be arsed to go back several pages but has there been an update Zambrano case? Or is this just the argument du jour?
Not saying hes **** ffs Im just saying a prem club wont come in and buy him Hes a superb player for this level And im glad we have him But the step up to the prem is another level
It's been reported in South America that we've bought him for £2.8m, his case is due to be heard in just over a month and his ban is expected to be shortened making him available for next season.
13th March. Expectation is that his ban will be reduced to 8-9 months.so he would be back early June/July if this was the case.
I didn't mention you Brady. He's averaged 13 games a season across his career. He's coming into his prime, and with consistency I can see him slotting in nicely in the Prem. Just my opinion.
In keeping with this thread, I think until be Zambrano who will step up to the Premier League after next season…hopefully with us.
Can the notion that any long form discussion is automatically an argument be binned off? One of the more well reasoned, rational discussions on here with both sides respectful of the others opinion. In fact the exact sort of discussion/debate there should be more of.
OK. I'm not having a pop, I'm just talking about it on an emotional level, similar to some bands. I listened to hours of Placebo and not really got them but seeing them live changed everything. Maybe a bit more of an extreme example but I feel as though the point still stands. I was absolutely wowed by Alzate in the first half of the Stoke match.
You do see more obviously when watching in person than what is shown on the TV, Alzate is a class act and you see more of that in the flesh.
