The Times state that our next three targets are a LCB, RWB and a winger ...unless, of course, that also gets pulled from later editions due to a super injunction from the Great Leader
I'm not a fan of Jesus at all, so really don't want us to get him, but if we manage to get a bidding war going that costs the Goons another £10-20m then that would be fun!
Who is going to be attacker #3, capable of getting 15 PL goals (I am already putting Kulu down separately for 10 PL goals in 2022-23) ?? IMHO Bale is still capable of that (based on his loan stint) , but he is not certain to be signed this summer.
I think those 15 goals would come at a cost and I'm not talking financial. Talented, but don't have him down as a team player and concerned he would damage the ethic. But that being said, if Conte wants him then I trust his judgement.
Wouldn’t be surprised if the Jesus rumour is fabricated to try getting Arsenal to tie up a deal quickly. I’d prefer Jesus in the squad to Richarlison but I think Conte/ Paratici prefer the latter. Not saying we’ll necessarily get him but I think that’s who the club’s gonna target once maybe Bergwijn leaves, gonna be down to how far Everton dig in with the fee, still has 2 years left on his deal so they won’t be in a huge rush to sell albeit this is probably the best summer for them to get a pretty penny. Can see us offering around £50m-£60m, hard to say if that’ll be enough, they supposedly rejected a £90m bid a season or two ago from Barca (not sure who was more dumb there, Barca for offering it or Everton for rejecting it).
Here are the 2021-22 stats for Gabriel Jesus (make of them what you will) ... 1. PL Starting X1 - apps / goals = 20 / 8 Subs - apps / goals = 8 / 0 2. CL Starting X1 - apps / goals = 3 / 1 Subs - apps / goals = 5 / 3
It is big money but the club will only spend what they can afford and Jesus and Richarlison are definitely upgrades on Lucas and Bergwijn. Plus it’s another fresh face which is always good as it keeps people on their toes. Out of the 2 I’d prefer Gabriel Jesus though.
My vote is for Gabriel Jesus, based purely on : 1. a 'let the numbers decide' analysis 2. him being CL proven So unless he has a known bad attitude, or his transfer/wage fee costs are going to be far higher than Richarlson, my mind is set.
The Times claim that we're considering letting Hojbjerg leave this summer While it's likely that Bissouma will be taking his place in the pivot this coming season, Hojbjerg is an ideal player to have on the bench - and that's before the obvious question about whether Sarr impresses in pre-season or if Conte wants to give him another loan, preferably not to a team who were utter dogshite, to run the rule over him
Shame he won't be crossing paths with Wenger as a certain blindness to red card incidents might have been cured too.
