Don't worry everyone, Ayre will have a list of world class targets for all our identified areas of improvement that he'll leave till the last moment to miss out on.
Those 3 positions are the ones that need strengthening. However, it's very difficult to know what's about to happen in the summer. It depends - CL or no CL? Suarez or no Suarez? How would have loans and loanees performed? How will Johnson, Lucas, Enrique, Gerrard get on physically/mentally?
In the summer, if we get CL, we should target those from within the PL who are at non-CL clubs. Rather like Chelsea have with us, and like Arsenal tried to. Basically, we should offer £37,000,001 for Juan Mata.
I'd love us to get Luke Shaw. If we get top four then it should put us ahead of Man UTd (assuming they miss out) but I think Chelsea are the favourites.
He's better than what we have on the bench. That's where we need to look. Either players to change a game from the bench or players who go straight into the first XI therefore making the bench stronger anyway.
Lallana would cost a fortune and he's 26 already I believe. Yes a good player having a brilliant season but for the money we'd have to pay (prob looking at £15m+) it puts a lot of pressure on him to carry on performing that way and we#d prob only get 2 or 3 years best from him.
Don't agree at all. Yes, he'd improve the bench but we shouldn't be looking to buy back-up players. We should only buy players that will do one of two things; improve the first team or other the squad a option that we don't already have.
I like Lallana, but we have a young lad who's been playing pretty well over in Spain who plays a similar role and I'd like to give him some game time. If we could nab any players from them, I'd try to get Schniderlin? and Shaw, but isn't Shaw a Chelsea fan? so if (when) they come calling with their big bucks, he'd opt for them.
Wasn't Bale a United fan but chose Spurs over them? Wasn't Walcott a Liverpool fan but chose Arsenal? (Although not sure how serious our interest was in him)
I agree, but that would require that we revise our recent transfer strategy, and not go so much for little fishes in big ponds or so-so fishes in little ponds. Hopefully getting CL changes that. We've got an ok foundation of youth and middling could-be-s already. Now value on top of that is required.
But that wasn't your question..you asked if Lallana was better than we already had and he is! The fact he would strengthen the bench or even if we should buy him is irrelevant. He is better and it's absolutely essential that we strengthen the bench. When you can only call on Aspas, Alberto and the like they are not going to change a game in fairness. But if you could bring lallana or sterling or Henderson on after 60 mins then these are players who have the ability to make things happen. I agree that lallana would probably cost too much and maybe suso could do a job ( although unproven whereas lallana has shown he can ) but you asked was he better than what we have and the answer is yes.
