Benteke Rumours

Yeah I reckon the gamble, if it happened wouldn't include any more signings. To be fair there I actually don't think they would need to make any more.

Having said that, if it was me I probably wouldn't do it. I was less impressed by him last term and who knows how this injury might affect him going forward?

It's too much of a risk for me personally, especially if you could get Lacazette or PEA for similar money.

The bigger question for me is, if we could make ONE more £10m+ player – would we go top class forward OR top class, potentially world class CB?
Arguably a CB of that class would give us more balance, less glamorous but just as necessary...

 

Striker for me, however much we do need a centre back. A good striker can make even decent centre backs look good. They can play without pressure knowing the lad up top will put them in the game. Ba did this in his first season here. I do think we need both and I also think we still need a ball player. A situation where we see any combination of the following (one for each discipline) would be perfect but unrealistic of course:

Centre backs: Caulker, Shawcross
Centre midfielder: Hughes, Grenier
Striker: Lacazette, Ings, Benteke, Aubameyang

 

What type of CB, would people prefer? We have a decent mix of options
Ball player and co-ordinator - Colo
Aerial dominance - Willo
Pacey - MYM
Jack of all (master of none) - Taylor
We just can't find the right balance between them.

Similarly, what type of striker? Hold up, physical and aeriel threat, poacher, pacey?

 

Spot on. I would add De Vrij to the cb list and wouldn't yet cross Carroll or Lukaku off the cf list.

 

QPR have put in a bid for Vlaar. If we're talking ideally rather than likely then he'd look good on that CB list.

 

I'd like us to put a bid in for him but at 29 it seems unlikely, even if the rumoured £4m price tag is true

 

I would love to think that we were seriously looking at signing Benteke, but he would simply cost too much for Ashley to risk it.

If Benteke could stay fit and flying, it would be worth spending £20m on him, but he's looking a little bit like a sick-note these days, injury-wise.

If you could get him back to his best, you could re-sell him onto one of the 'big-boys' for double what you pay. Ashley won't risk that kind of money.

5 or 6 mill seems to be the limit of his financial ambition, looking to sell them on for double that once they flower at SJP

 

Vlaar and De Vrij are excellent shouts. I really liked the idea of De Vrij but the rumour is he is allegedly Italy bound with Lazio. Or Man U.

Vlaar is not our age range.

 

I think we suffer at the back because of a lack of pace so I'd say that is paramount but also some aerial dominance is needed if a new CB is brought in to replace Williamson in the starting lineup.

Up front we need all of those attributes you listed. Again, pace being very high on the list. Basically we need Lukaku.

 

Mate, if you went to Chelsea with a cheque for £15m, let alone £20m, you'd have Lukaku, I guarantee it. No-one else is going to do that deal.

 

Ok, let me build up a head of steam here. Daryl Janmaat says he turned down Napoli. Lazio aren't Napoli. The fact we scout extensively leads me to believe that we've watched Feyenoord a lot. The price would not be too much. Man U are not going to put their hopes on him, too risky. We are bigger than Feyenoord and will pay better than Lazio, in a more globally accepted league.

I'm just sayin'.....

 

I'd love it to happen. Sometimes though when a player has been pursued by a club for a long period, they feel wanted and are willing to turn down better opportunities knowing they'll get them anyway. Look at Cabella. We did not really make sense to a lot of people but he felt wanted and has seen the success of Cabaye/Ba using us a stepping stone. I think De Vrij would be a good signing but we'd have to accept he is high risk. He would help us play football as he is a risk taker in terms of playing out. I like that but it comes with pitfalls here and most have to adapt their game a little.

 

Lukaku is a great striker as well. It's no coincidence that Everton last season, and WBA the season before, were hugely improved by his loan signing

 

Realistically, with the money from Debuchy and Cabaye, we haven't spent anything yet. We're replacing players and haven't really strengthened at all. To go for Lukaku shouldn't be out of the question.

 

It shouldn't be but looking at the way we have behaved transfer-wise since MA arrived, it probably is out of the question.

For me, if we could choose just one striker to sign out of those linked, Lukaku would be my choice, followed by Aubameyang. Lukaku has everything we need and would probably link up well with Riviere if Pardew chose to go 2 up top in some games. Lacazette I do not know so much about but would be excited based on word of mouth. Remy I'd be pleased - we know he can do it even if he doesn't show the love. Benteke, excited but with some caution due to his injury and lower level of performance last season.

 

I just think we need someone who can be found and take the pressure off. Remy does well because he comes deep and carries, at least with him there's a style of play you have to stick with. Lukaku is much more able to receive a longer pass and keep it, with pace enough to still cause problems rather than just bringing other people into the mix.

Aubameyang, I'm not sure. He seems a bit of a winger more than anything, and we've signed our first choice, Cabella, so I don't see this happening. I also wonder whether Lacazette is similar? Admittedly, don't know enough, just going off the 'net.

There may be more folks we're interested in and know about, but so far the media have called it more or less correct days and sometimes even weeks and months early. Lukaku never seems to be a rumour, so we're probably not able. Benteke seems the most obvious shout for us - he's like a share, his value is at its' lowest, so we speculate with £11m up front and he might become Benteke 2012.

 

Hughes signed a new extended contract with Derby ( pity )
Caulker looks to be signing for saggy chops at QPR as fee agreed with Cardiff.

 

Besiktas paid £4.7million for Ba. He's above the MA ideal age range but for that figure we should have been all over it really.

 

He'll be on 100k

 

That is stupidly cheap.
The thing is from Ba's point of view, I get that his mate is there in Turkey... (Sow)... and that it is a Muslim country.... but having seen it first hand it's one of the most racist leagues there is. Look at Emre FFS.. one of the finest Turkish footballers of his generation.. getting done for being racist on the field of play.