Until they both get injured! Cabaye is one player that could play for any club in world football and no that doesn't mean I'm suggesting he is a nailed on first team starter at any club, but in terms of ability he could be part of any squad (at least) but he is injury prone and also some clubs get too focused on a players age, rather then how they can help the team for the immediate season. Some chairman appear to prefer signing younger players even if they cost a small fortune and end up selling them at a huge loss.
What happened to Lindegaard. One minute he was thought of as an equal to De Gea, the next he's down the list
De Gea developed into a top class 'keeper after a dodgy start and Lindegaard has hardly played. He wants a move too, but nothing seems to happening.
Looks like Shaqiri to Stoke is done. Decent player...worrying that clubs like Stoke appear to be showing more ambition than us in the market. I can understand not risking another 25m on the next potential Soldado but a number of quality players well within our budget in positions we're in need of strengthening have gone to much smaller clubs, no disrespect meant. Maybe the allure of regular football is the deciding factor but I'm more inclined to believe that since the Magnificent Seven, we've become completely paranoid about signing the perfect player, not willing to risk a penny out of place.
Berahino will leave west brom this season or next season, just depends if the kid wants to prove himself with a second season before he chances a move away, as while I rate him from I have seen, he is no world beater and no guarantee he will improve or continue his form.
I can’t work out which one you might be referring to. Agreed. I’d take him, and I’d rather have him than N’Jie, but both fall into the iffy category. I’d rather have someone with a bit of pace and goalscoring record than risk having no one at this point, but I’m not sure he’s the right someone. CFC says we're "closing in on N'Jie." Why do I see a snail oozing down the center line of a ten mile long stretch of highway?
A World beater in their early 20s would go for huge money. James Rodriguez money, Bale money, that's the ballpark they'd be in. We're not talking about that kind of money with Berahino so I don't think anyone's under any illusions about the risk/reward balance of a potential deal. I've been hoping we'd get this deal done for awhile. There's more in it for us than there is for most as he's already shown he can work well with Kane at under 21 level and would add speed and goals to a squad clearly lacking in those. If you look across the other clubs in our league there isn't a squad that would benefit more from signing him than ourselves. Worst case scenario, we get another Bent, who doesn't fit into the squad but fills a gap for a couple of years and gets sold at a small loss(think it was about £1mill). You mentioned above that some chairmen prefer to buy young and sell at a huge loss but it really is the other way around, the later in the career the more likely a player is to be sold at a huge loss. Compare Bent(at Spurs), Balotelli(at City), Gayle(at Palace) who have all failed to live up to expectations and still been transfered on for a similar fee(or more in Gayle's imminent transfer) to Bent(at Villa), Balotelli(at LIverpool), Adebayor(City and us) who all failed and could hardly be given away. Of course there's the odd Carroll moment of pure madness(although his sell on fee wasn't helped by cronic injury problems) but I think it's pretty clear that generally you stand a better chance of sustaining value with youngsters.
In the case of Berahino, back in January it was reported that Pulis was interested in one of Lennon or Townsend. If there's any legs in this (and, let's be honest, some papers said Lennon while others said Townsend, so it might be less millipede and more Heather Mills...) surely an offer of £12m + Lennon would be enough to get the ball rolling?
Or we could up with another David Bentley and release him on a free. Yes YV there are examples of both players either being purchased in their later years (or early years) and being sold (or released) for a huge loss, but my point was that some chairman prefer to spend big on young players because they have an issue with signing an ageing player due to their re-sell value, even if that older player is better suited to the team and their immediate targets. There may be better value in signing younger players but thats only if the balance is right with the overall squad, yet if we start signing experienced players (that are suited) then I will ease up on the digs about our transfer policy!
If Pulis signed Townsend, that wouldn't end well, or it could be the making of Andros once Pulis keeps him locked up until he understands team work. Lennon I can't understand why he has treated in the manner he has, no squad number and being pushed out of the club but he would be more suited to West Brom if they need one of the leagues best team players.
Bentley is a very extreme example, the guy fell out of love with the game and just gave up. Another extreme we could take it to would be buying Berahino only to have him pick up a career ending injury 10 minutes into his debut. Anything could happen, one of those signings we've made that you don't rate could turn out to be a real quality player. Afterall where were the Premier League clubs when Southampton were signing Schneiderlin? All I'm saying is that there are some good reasons for us to want Berahino and that makes him more valuable to us than to other clubs. So he's not a world beater but we've never been in the market for that caliber of player because we either can't afford it, or they're not interested. Signing Berahino would be a gamble, just like Bale was, just like Bentley was and just like every other transfer we've made. What concerns me with signings is that they've shown something in the past that would improve our current squad. Saido's shown that he can add more pace to our attack which is badly needed, he's shown he can score more goals than Ade or Soldado have managed in the past few seasons and it's all been done in the Premier League.
Mate I like extreme examples! Also remember we're in a position where we have possibly one of the biggest flops in English football, Lamela, he will be sold at a huge loss if he doesn't settle. He still has a decent reputation in Italy and a loan move there (similar to jovetic) may end up being a smart decision as that way he could show Italian teams he still has quality, but if we keep him and he continues to be a dud then who will buy him? I like Berahino and I wouldn't complain if we signed him and out of all the targets mentioned he is the one that I hope we sign, just like you mention, chances are he will fail and won't improve our squad, even if on paper he should. My main gripe is that we don't add experience while signing young talent, so lets get in Berahino if we can, but also fix the issue of having a lack of experience to help us with our immediate targets and we all agree that we need experience in this squad.
Outside of defenders (which are sorted now), Berahino has been my number one target for the window. I'm a big fan of his, not only is he a dangerous forward with pace but he seems to have a good work rate about him which no doubt Poch would love. Any potential injuries aside (like with all signings), I don't see Saido as a risky signing and I'd happily pay £12m + Lennon or straight cash £20m, I feel he's worth the outlay. In a dream window, if we could nab him, this pacy N'jie fella and someone like Illaramendi, it would arguably be our best window of business in years.
All I know with Lennon is that he has burnt bridges at the club all the way up to the top levels of management. I've no idea what he's done but that's what I've read.
A rather dramatic video on Youtube ! Published on Jan 31, 2015 Aaron Lennon's time with Spurs since 2005! The best moments from Lennon's time at Spurs, a highly talented footballer who was never really given a chance.
Add to that several hundred million quid towards a stadium that will be the envy of the country, let alone London and you can understand why. Roll on 2018.
None of us know for sure, but that would be my guess to. It's got to be personal, I can't believe that what's happening is purely a footballing decision.
On N'Jie, apparently his club were waiting to sign a forward before they'd let him go. Well, just today OL signed everyone's favourite footballing Hobbit, Mathieu Valbuena, so maybe we'll see some action on that front soon.
The latest round of rumors has us signing the little garbanzo bean and Berahino... ...and N'Jie. the only thing I'm sure of is that the Kane and Lloris to Man U rumors can't be far behind. I have mixed feelings about new signings. The reason is that I think if we're going to win anything, it's going to be in a couple of years, with a team dominated by young players who have been playing together for a long time. I'd like to see Caroll, Pritchard, Alli and Onomah get a good shot this year, and any signings will make that less likely.
