I wouldn't bet on it. For the right player we would gladly pay more. If Cortese was offered Messi for £23m I think it's safe to assume he would pay it.
Well not really. Cortese is an ambitious man, Pochettino is an ambitious man. If the player is right I can easily see us spending that amount on a player.
You're still thinking we are the old Saints. I wouldn't rule it out but it's a hell of alot of money for him.
I'm doubtful. The offer we put in weeks ago was 14m rising to 16m with conditions (like Wanyama is 10m up to 12.5m). 22m seems a very big jump from that.
It's not going to be that much if Saints are buying him. Stinks of Internacional pandering to the supporters, if you ask me.
I think €20M is what Sky Italy first reported. I have no idea really. I would imagine £20m is a figure Cortese would go up to.
I personally wouldn't be disappointed to miss out on Leandro. It's a big risk at around £20m for someone who hasn't played in one of the big leagues and there have been a high percentage of attacking Brazilian players who have flopped in our league. Maybe my memory is fading but I can't recall too many good attacking players from Brazil that have made it in our Prem (Juninho being an exception). There style seems more suited to the Spanish league, hence Ronaldinho, Neymar & others go as the league is less physical and more based on skill.
So if we compared signing Damiao to Gaston last season. I think we paid more than a few people where happy with. This could be a carbon copy for this season with the added bonus boasting our international reputation. If he was to sign for us he needs to hit the ground running because its a world cup year. Leandro has great season for us and gets selected for Brazil instant world wide coverage for us. I think hes worth a gamble
Don't know why people worry about the price we pay for players. Nicola isn't an idiot and won't pay what we can't afford. A smaller team like us has to pay top price in order to get the team onside and then work on the player. We are not ManU with players falling over themselves to get here. Cortese also saves money on the agents fees which offset some of the price...remember Gaston's agent waived his fee. Presumably Wanyama's agent reduced his demands as well.
I can't think of many failures, Jo, Andre Santos, Kleberson, Jardel, Denilson & Robinho? Elano - I thought he was very good but very inconsistent. Geovanni was good for both Man City & Hull. I also rate Lucas highly though he seems to be injury prone which is a shame as he was one of Liverpool's best players a few seasons ago . I'm struggling to think of many other Brazilians that have played or are playing in England. It seems Britain's just not a popular destination for Brazilian's... which isn't really surprising. Damiao seems like the kind of player that would suit the Premier League, he's strong both physically and technically - I remain hopeful that we do sign him.
Edu and Gilberto were very good for Arsenal. I remember Emerson playing for Middlesbrough but can't remember if he was any good.
Sandro is probably Morgan's biggest rival for best CDM in the division. Ramires, Luiz and Oscar have been brilliant for Chelsea as well.
Because they were expecting him to sign for Napoli? Now they have filled that position it leaves Saints with a clear run, but only if he wants to join us.
