Thought I would start a thread on this as its not strictly transfer news, just speculation and opinion. We all know we need a new CF in the summer. At the moment, what are your thoughts on who this should be. Bear in mind players that have recently moved that would be out of the question (Falcao for example). For me it is Diego Costa from Atletico Madrid. We could maybe throw Torres in a Part-ex deal if they want him back, the fans love him over there.
If I could take anyone right now it'd be Ibrahimovic, but wages and a hefty fee for his age stand in the way there. I think we'll get either Costa or Mandzukic.
Agreed, Mandzukic is a class act, but has shades of Anelka circa 98 about him imo, and not in the good way. He has reported to have fallen out with Guardiola (which is probably why he is being linked with other clubs), and being a stroppy little diva.
Yeah but tbf I think Costa is much more of a bell end. Disliked everything I've seen about his attitude so far but we're desperate
Balotelli? If he didn't have such a terrible attitude he'd be perfect for us IMO. Wonder if he's matured yet although he does come up with some quality stuff.
Think Costa would be just perfect for whatever 3 amigos you play and make no mistake, for a littleun he can put himself about. Lukaku must come back and Eto'o has done nothing wrong and could easily be 3rd choice. Please put Torres out of his misery but on 175K a week that wont come cheap.
you know, same could be said of Drogba in his first few seasons. All we need is someone who scores critical goals regularly (not just when we are already 3-0 up). Don't really care about the rest. I happen to think Et'o still has it, and Torres can still do a useful job. The problems are: 1) All our number 10s are taking too many touches at the moment, so the advantageous moments are frequently lost 2) statistically, Willian is not contributing enough in the goals and assists department - good going back, but not good enough going forwards 3) Oscar needs to work on his first touch - there have been isolated moments of brilliance (e.g vs Juventus) but it's generally inconsistent, and again, we frequently lose advantageous moments due to his first touch. That is, not enough good scoring opportunities are being created and when they are, they are not being capitalised on. Add onto the fact that: 4) for all the praise Hazard receives, he needs to quadruple his goal scoring rate to be considered in the same bracket as Ronaldo/Messi 5) Shurlle carries more goal threat than Willian and would be played more, were it not for the fact that defensively he tends to run around like a headless chicken. ... then one can only conclude that we either sort out the issues (1), (2) and (3), or Hazard/Shurle sort out (4) and (5), or we need a new striker capable of operating on his own and creating chances out of nothing...... hell we need a clone of Didier at his peak.
Drogba had his theatrics/diving but that is it. Costa genuinely seems like an utter ****, if you watched the recent Madrid derbies you'd know what I mean! Also I can't believe he played for Brazil twice then switched to Spain. I do know what you mean though and I definitely wouldn't refuse a player of his quality. As for the rest of your points: Eto'o yes, Torres no. Hope we're shot of him ASAP. 1. Agree, but we seem to actually lack number 10s after having them in abundance. De Bruyne and Mata were good options to have and I don't think both should've been sold as it now would seem ideal to play them instead of Oscar who is out of form and knackered. 2. Agree absolutely. A fantastic Mourinho player and I don't regret us buying him though. Only his first season after player in two **** leagues don't forget too! 3. I think Hazard's goal rate is fine tbh, just think he needs to up it in the big games. Been by far our best attacking player this season. 4. Agree, think Schurrle needs to be rotated a lot more as I think he has something to offer.
Costa looks favourite and is a good player. Ballotelli is also very good and ,boy does he need the discipline Jose would insist on. Discount Falcao, too expensive. Lukaku needs a run with the big kids to see how good he is, looks extremely promising.Torres needs Spanish or Italian football with it's less frenetic pace these days. Ba is difficult, he hasn't had much opportunity. Eto'o still has something but is past his best. So for me, Costa, Lukaku, Eto'o.
I think he may struggle in a technical side that build from the back. He could do okay with teams that play direct on the counter (like Rafa in Europe last season) against teams that play high up the field giving him space behind defenders to run into though
No to Balotelli for me. Amazing a handful of times a season but goes missing far too much and brings a lot of trouble with him.
Agree with this. He is that type of player that gets very stroppy when things dont go his way too. He is a one man media circus, and we already have one of those managing us, dont need another
Think the consensus is that Costa is the way forward, and that Torres and Ba need to go, with Lukaku coming back and give Eto'o another years contract so we can use him as back up. Costa, Lukaku, Eto'o.........that will do us fine next season methnks.
The only problem I see is that most of our loaned out players are getting chips on their shoulders. Lukaku wanted to go on loan, Courtois says he won't come back unless he is first choice, De Bruyne not willing to fight for his place. Ideally we need Courtois playing Premier League football next season, a loan to Everton if they make Europe would be brilliant or another decent team like Southampton. Lukaku needs to understand that he is not going to be the man right away but with the right attitude and performance he will get there, he is 20 years old. Drogba did not get to be the main man till his mid-20s. What we don't want is these players joining a team we think can't threaten, only to be passed on to a rival when they show their undoubted ability. People speak about Luiz leaving as well, but for me we have Torres, Mikel, Ba, Marin, Moses all need to go before him. We are playing well with our best 12-14 players, we need to move it on so we have a best 16-18 players, and then again to have 20 top players in our squad. As for Willian, I too have noticed his lack of goals and assists, and his defensive side is brilliant, don't know why he has not been tried in the central midfield position. Like Azpi, he is near impossible to get past in one on ones.
No way would Courtois agree a move to Everton, that's a step down from Champs League to scraping into the Europa. I feel this summer is crunch time for us (not him) - he has proved he is more than capable, and with time very much on his side, it is down to JM whether we bring him in for Cech, or use him as makeweight for Costa.
I agree with all bar Courtois. I think it would be insulting to the lad to be passed on to another P.L team. He's more than proved himself at an elite level in the Spanish league and in Europe. Goalkeepers have to stop shots, he shouldn't really need P.L experience in the same way an outfield player might. The pace of the game shouldn't really effect him, maybe just the physical side. We have 3 options with him as I see it: - Sell him / makeweight Extend his contract and let him stay at Madrid whilst Cech still performing well Bring him back and tell him and Cech they have to fight it out. However if we do this and he doesn't get games, he's not going to extend his contract and only 2 years left now. Not a bad position to be in but Cech could still perform at the top for at least another 5 years so a decision needs to be made soon.
