My first thread for a very long time so be kind. Could Xavi be a real back up option in the Premier? Is Sam M ready to take a spot in the squad, though he will not count in the 25 man roster because of his age. We could possibly use Xavi as a wide MF, maybe sending Placheta out on loan to get experience. From what I have witnessed in the last few matches he would be out of his depth defensively in the EPL. The free kick he gave away yesterday being a case in point, but his attacking deliveries appear to be more dangerous than our other left sided players. SW has a decision to make.
City will also retain an option to make the deal for the 23-year-old full-back permanent throughout the course of the 2020-21 season. Quintilla, 23, typically operates as a left-back but is capable of being deployed at centre-back as well. This suggests an option to make it permanent, whereas with Gibson and Gianoullis, I got the impression it was more of an obligation to do so? I'd suggest the club see Sorenson's versatility as a reason not to follow up on this 'option'...but what do I know? edit, just found this. The 23-year-old will join on an initial loan for the 2020-21 season from Spanish top-flight side Villarreal. The deal also contains an option to buy - believed to be around £2.7m.
There's no easy answer to this one. Sam McCallum has had a good year at Coventry but is he ready for the PL? Do we really want to take Sørensen away from midfield to cover at LB? Is there another player available who is PL quality at a reasonable price? We have to depend on SW and DF to make the right decision on Xavi.
Just posted this on the match day thread before I’d noticed this thread. An important question you ask GE, welcome back! “I suspect Farke wouldn’t want to change styles too much, but I’d quite like to see us every now and again play Quintilla with Hugill up front, plus maybe another tall attacking midfielder who can head the ball. It would be a really different style we could employwhen we are up against a team not giving us the space to play our passing game.”
I wondered about that, or perhaps as a backup for McLean with the new role of covering LB when Giannoulis moves forward, with CB abilities as well. DF has a lot of options to consider before preseason starts.
A question that will need to be answered:- does he pose more of a threat offensively than say Argos and Placheta? If the answer is affirmative then I can see him being signed, but I cannot see him being signed primarily as a LB.
£2.7m isn't a bad price, he's a good age and seems to fit well with the squad. At that price, he's cover and lets us focus attention elsewhere. It wouldn't be terrible business. My worry is his defensive ability. He's frequently been targeted by championship opposition, with success, and things aren't going to get any easier for him at Premier League level. If anything, I'd rather we had a Drury-like LB as backup to Giannoulis, someone who is primarily a defender. Trying to teach him other positions also seems a gamble that perhaps isn't worth taking when we could sign specialists instead.
Xavi hasn't really had a run of games to show what he can do. Giannoulis took a bit of time to settle but the team was playing well and that made it easier. In recent games Quintilla had to start against Watford and any LB would struggle to contain Sarr (£25m) and he did ok, considering. The partnership would have been more natural if the left footed Gibson had been playing, but 2 goals in 3 games is also worth taking into account. DF knows him from training and will make the right decision.
The noises coming out of EDP/Pinkun/Michael Bailey earlier in the season were that the club were unlikely to take up the option in Quintilla's deal, but it'll certainly be interesting to see if he's changed that opinion in the last few weeks.
Club have confirmed Skipp back to Spurs too, but the quotes from Webber are telling. With Quintilla it's all "wish him well for the future". Skipp is "we hope we get the chance to work with him again"
I guess with Quintilla, the club feel we have a better 1st option in Giannoulis and sufficient back up in Sam Mac, Sorensen, Mumba, Stieps and potentially even Byram. That's quite a lot of cover, but is the cover good enough long term if Giannoulis gets injured?
