Transfer Rumours The Summer Transfer Rumour Thread 2016

Ben Arfa looks set to join Barcelona. Unbelievable talent, but he brings undeniable issues to the dressing room. 18 goals this season.

 

We'll finish on a roughly the same or the same position on the table as the last couple of seasons, so probably yeah.

 

We don't know this though, you are only guessing.

 

True but I would say it's likely, but even if not backfire then it's going to be hard to strengthen when you need to make 3 signings just to get where you were.

Look at Villa & Toon, both followed up 5th n 6th place finishes with selling players and not adequately replacing them. Though obviously we are much better run than them.

I'm optimistic this Summer will be different though. Vic and Mane, that's fine. No one else please.

As an aside I think Rons decision will be around 90% down to what our plans are for this Summer.

 

Incremental gains, that's all we need.

 

A couple of things:

1. I agree with the statement that we can't always be lucky in replacing like with like (or better). However that rather begs the question as to whether our replacement policy relies on luck.

2. Plenty of teams lose a couple of first team players every year. I haven't looked but I'm prepared to bet that the majority of teams do so, certainly outside the big four. It's perfectly natural for players to want to move and if contracts are running down the only way a team can stop them is at a prohibitive cost in terms of rendering their value down to zero. It's all OK implying that the board doesn't have the balls to stop them leaving (or lacks the "ambition") but would you want to pay, say £15M on top of his salary to keep Victor here for one more season? That would be the practical effect of saying "no". Is a season of Victor worth £15M?

3. We benefit from players moving up to us from foreign leagues. It seems churlish to complain when they want to move on from us.

4. Three isn't "a couple"

Vin

 

Think you can add Pelle to that list

 

That's not the full story though, is it? We quite patently haven't replaced either Morgan or Clyne with players of similar ability. In VVD we got lucky. The fact we are finishing in roughly the same position as last season is down to improvements from the players already in the squad, not the quality of the replacements for those who left. So we've taken 2 steps back to go 2 steps forward. I think we will need a stable summer if we want to progress.

 

Tadic for Lallana:
Both inconsistent as hell and seem to want to have a year on the ball sometimes. When on their game both control the game big time. Tadic seems scores more though.

Better player: Tadic

Pelle for Lambert: Lambert was getting on. So a easy choice.

Better player: Pelle

Bertrand for Shaw: One has huge potential the other at the age were he should be more inconsistant. Both are the typical left back that are decent to good at defending, but love getting forward.

Better player: Bertrand atm, but if Shaw recovers well, he will be class.

Cedric for Clyne:
Yet again both like bombing forward and trying to get crosses in. But Cedric seems to panic and be out of position a lot. Clyne was like that here at first as well, but seems to have settled down. I wouldn't say either of these two were amazing though.

Better player: Clyne

Martina for Chambers:
Chambers has disappeared completely, then when he does play seems to not know how to time a tackle. Martina is a decent/ok rb that actually knows how to defend.

Better player: Martina for the moment. But both aren't really stand out players. Chambers needs to step it up or he will be yet another ruined prospect.

Van Dijk for Alderweireld for Lovren:
Alderweireld has been brilliant for Spurs. Their defence is easily the best in the league. After a very bad few months were Lovren was seen as bit of a joke he has stepped it uo. He is now showing why Liverpool brought him. Van Dijk has simply been brilliant for us. But both of Dijk and Lovren make silly little mistakes (or switch off) now and again.

Better player: Alderweireld then Dijk and Lovren are equals.

Clasie for Schneiderlin:
Clasie is not really a direct replacement for Morgan. Both are very different in their types of play, which some people seem to forget. Clasie is more of a deep lying player maker that can battle for the ball. Were as Schneiderlin is more a defencive midfielder who on his day can stop everything. Then do a simply (or sometimes not so simple) pass to get a team coming forward again.

Better player: Schneiderlin

Forster for Boruc:
Both good keepers but Forster is far more commanding of his area and is also less erratic. Boruc would probably be on the same level as Forster, if he wasn't completely insane. He also seems to strop and not give a **** when he does something wrong.

Better player: Forster

Then we have added Long, Mane, and Romeu. Who have all added something to our team. The only real player I would call a bust is Juanmi. So for me we have done well.

 

Why is it lucky when we sign a good player? We have scouts etc for a reason. There is no such thing as luck, it's called hard work and doing the job right.

 

Okay, so the scouts did a great job with Virgil. And a less good one with Cedric Soares and Juanmi. Jury still out on Clasie imo. Romeu is looking like another success; so a mixed bag in other words, which illustrates how much luck and hrd work we will continue to need if we continue to sell or best players. I understand that it's something we may have to keep doing, but it still leaves us with a mountain to climb every season just to stand still.

 

A lot of hard work goes into selecting the right players, although there is an element of luck over whether they can adapt to our style/the league. E.g Juanmi

 

Top four clubs also get rid of top players. They manage to get big fees, but then spend that amount on another player to replace, rather than spread the cost over a couple of players.

 

The jury is still out on Clasie in your opinion. In mine he is doing fine, he just needs to be more consistant. The biggest thing people need to remember is Clasie isn't Schneiderlin. He isn't a player that will cut out everything to help our defence, that isn't his game. If people stop trying to compare him to Morgan they will actually see what he does instead of what he doesn't do. Agree on Cedric and Juanmi though.

 

Our recruiting has generally been excellent tbf, I have no complaints there. It would just be nice if, for one summer, the club and the manager could dictate who goes and who stays.

 

Beefy, I know Clasie is not a like fir like replacement for Schneiderlin. That's partly because some players are irreplaceable, which again illustrates my point; we are in a very difficult position if we keep having to replace our best players every season. It's very hard to go forward in those circumstances, and there's akways the considerable risk if slipping backwards.

 

I love the demands that we keep players when players hold pretty much all the cards. Victor is coming towards the last year of his contract. If he refuses to sign a new one for reasons of the club's "lack of ambition" (how I hate that phrase) or whatever, what do we do?

1. Sell him (£15M say?)

2. Keep him and pay £15M in lost value when he walks away next year.

If there's another option I genuinely can't see it.

Vin

 

I don't see anyone demanding we keep players. Just pointing out how difficult it is to keep losing them.

Vic would be a loss, but one most of us are resigned to. To lose Vic, Pelle and Mane would look like carelessness. Though probably still not as damaging as the three we lost last summer.

 

Option 3 is sell him last year. How much would we have got for him then?

 

We wouldn't have beaten Liverpool at SMS without him. For that reason, I'm out (of your time machine pitch).