Here's another linked name we can cross off the list. Aston Villa FC @AVFCOfficial BREAKING NEWS: All the best to Matt Lowton who has joined @BurnleyOfficial. Full story to follow. #AVFC
For me, it's that he offers another option to Tettey, in that he has a 'link-up' capability that Tettey is less strong with. Mulumbu can make deeper passes to attacking players whereas Tettey's strength is short passes. Like Tettey though, Mulumbu is good at getting back to screen the defence and break up attacks. IMO, they can both play against the top sides to make us hard to break down or each can play a different role according to the opposition. That for me is crucial in the PL, and this is what AN had to say: "The fact that we've been able to pick Youssouf up on a free transfer is a fantastic piece of business. He has vast experience of the Premier League but he's still at a good age. You generally say that a player comes into their peak between 27 and 32, and he's right in the middle of that. He's another fantastic player to add to an already-strong squad going into the Premier League."
Very happy with this signing. Midfield is looking very strong. Mind you, two years ago we all thought our attack was awesome, and look how that turned out. But we have a very different manager this time round.
In case there are any doubters left, this article gives a little colour and tells us about the West Brom fans' views of Mulumbu http://www.norwich.vitalfootball.co.uk/article.asp?a=403439
I don't think there is any doubt that this is a class signing and as much as I like Tettey I wouldn't be surprised if he finds himself playing 2nd fiddle to Mulumbu.
Improving the midfield cover for the defence is as important as improving the defence itself. Mulumbu is not only competition for Tettey, but another option as well. Like Dorrans, he comes to us directly from the PL, meaning that we now have 18 senior players with PL experience. It also means that BJ can continue on the left both for scoring goals and tracking back to help out Olsson when the ball is lost. All of this means we will be a tougher team to break down, especially away from home this season. I suspect that Howson will be a more likely choice behind the striker away from home and that Elliot Bennett will offer a more defensive option behind Redmond in away games if that is needed, as well as cover at RB in an emergency. There will be further signings to come, but we're certainly moving in the right direction under AN.
Stoked with this, a great bit of business. Did anyone see the bbc gossip page today suggesting that Swansea would be offloading Mishu for £4M? At that price I'd be interested, though his form must have seriously dropped for that to be the case! Bah!
This also puts 'meat on the bones', from both sets of fans perspective - not a bad word to be said about the guy / the signing http://hereisthecity.com/en-gb/2015...m-fans-react-on-twitter-to-youssouf-mulumbu/?
That would be intriguing. Would suggest that Neil either sees us playing a very different system, or reckons Hooper is actually a better bet in the PL than he is in the Champ
Yes, very interesting if it turns out to be true. As for Michu, my worry would be the risk of injury. He only started 3 games for Napoli last year.
Hooper would appear to be a bit of an enigma, and I'm not entirely sure what to make of him and his future with us. When we signed I'll admit I was somewhat underwhelmed as I didn't have high hopes for him south of the border and saw him as a bit of a 'flat track bully' with all his goals for Celtic. However, whenever I've seen him play I've been impressed, he's got a great touch and good movement, he was comfortably our best striker in the relegation season and scored some great goals last year and put in some match winnings performances when given the chance to do so. My problem is the lack of opportunities he was getting, and the fact he always seems to be third/fourth choice when everyone is fit both surprises me and makes me wonder how much our gaffer rates him. I'm definitely a fan of his, hope he does sign a contract and is happy here and I would love for him to do a Charlie Austin next season and bag a dozen or so goals, I just don't expect him to play enough games to be able to do that unfortunately.
I'm of much the same opinion as Munky on this one. I think Hooper looks a class act when I've seen him play and I do think he has the ability to score in the Prem IF the team is set up to support him. If the team is set up 4-5-1 with Hoops expected to plough a lone furrow chasing long balls out of the back then you may as well play me up front. I though he and CJ showed a good understanding when they played together and maybe Wes will make way for him sometimes. I still think Redders will end up playing in the No. 10 role more and more next season as he matures.
I'm not convinced by the idea of Michu, but I'm now thinking of Hooper up front with a Michu-esque player supporting him... might be fruitful.
I dunno, 14 goals in 43 appearances for Rennes last season is pretty good, reckon if we'd have signed him that summer he'd have done well for us and possibly even kept us up. He does still seem like an arse though to be fair, and in the grand scheme of things relegation turned out to be the best thing to happen to us so I guess I should be happy we didn't sign him as well.
