Summer 2013 Transfer Rumour Thread - Mk4

What chance does Damiao have of going to the World Cup anyway? I don't know much about Brazil, but they have players like Neymar, Hulk, Pato, Fred etc..

 

I didn't tell him off, unless you mean the phrase in the historical sense. I merely instructed him on what he was and was not allowed to do. I even consulted with Beddy and the Lads before I gave him instruction. How's that for thoroughness..?

 

Pretty good chance I would say, as far as I'm aware the only two "proper" strikers ahead of him are Fred and Jo. Pato could potentially go ahead of him if he has a good year and can stay injury free. But that is a massive IF.

Even then I reckon Pato would be more likely to replace Jo in the squad

 

I think he's ahead of Jo to be honest, and would almost certainly have been in the confed cup squad, if not the first team, were it not for injury.

 

On another forum I go on there is a Brazilian poster on there who reckons that Jo is now ahead of him based on his performances at the Confederations Cup, this could change obviously over the next year, but right now Scolari prefers Jo

 

Well, since Damiao has been injured we don't really know. It's certainly possible that the others have staked a claim during his injury, but he was ahead of both Jo and Fred before that, so I wouldn't be at all surprised if he returns to the first team in time for the world cup.

 

Just on the Finnbogason topic again, I just saw that he kicked off this campaign with a 4-2 win, scored a brace and claimed the assists for both the others. I'll be the 1st to admit that I'd barely heard of him before this link, but he sounds interesting.

 

I agree with you, and like I said we have no idea how the next year is going to pan out. But I think you are underestimating the fact that the Confed cup was the last major tournament before the World Cup and both Fred and Jo had pretty big roles for the team that won it. This could give Scolari an indication of what they could do at a World Cup.

I still expect Damiao to be going, however. Just maybe as 3rd choice depending on the next year

 

Efficiency in motion

 

Only because Doing The Lambert Walk asked nicely.

Finnbogason is your target man type of player. Technically he is solid, his first touch is good, he has the creativity to make ugly goals from out of nowhere. His speed is okay, nothing special. His positioning and agility are his selling points. He can wriggle himself around defenders and score goals that seem impossible. He is inconsistent and has great mentality, he's a fighter and always keeps going even when the rest of the team has already given up. There is one problem though, his finishing. I already had my doubts with him last season, he can score goals but the amount of chances he needs are astonishing. I think it's 1 in 4 major chances he scores. Last week when I was watching SC Heerenveen -AZ Alkmaar he got countless chances, I think like 13 or 14. He scored two, but he blew a couple of 100% goal scoring opportunities. Instead of 4-2 for Heerenveen, they should've won at least 6-2.

That amount of chances he can get because defensively the Eredivisie is way below European par. And I doubt he will get the chances at Southampton in the EPL. He really wants to leave the club and I can see his agent forcing a move arranged by the club, but I don't think he'll chose for the Saints as he is more of the Bundesliga type of player. And there are many clubs in Germany that are eyeing him.

And there you have it. For more updates on the Eredivisie, check out my blog or follow me on Twitter so you get a notification when I've posted updates, blogs or articles.

Signing off,

Cove

 

He sounds like a poor man's Rickie Lambert to me.

 

If there is any striker from the Eredivise we should be looking at, who is it? Pelle?

 

Just to add further fuel to the Sow flames. His club (Fenerbache) have just signed Emmaunuel Emenike from Spartak Moscow, Emenike is a striker!

 

I think he's more in the Sharp mould. So I don't really see him as a player that would be particularly useful to us.

 

From watching his YouTube videos, I thought he looked very similar in style to Jay Rod.

 

I don't particularly want him either.

 

Well if to take what Cove said, it seems he has similar traits to Rickie, Sharp and Jay Rod. Lambert in terms of first touch, target man and positioning, Sharp in terms of creativity to make ugly goals and being a fighter, and Rodriguez with consistency and issues with his finishing.

 

I'm not sure I quite considered him to be in the Sharp mould. From the clips that have been provided, I saw him as more of a Rodriguez player.

I certainly agree with Joe's earlier comment that if we cannot land one of our initial top targets for aforementioned fees such as £14m+, I'd much rather we make a move for a player like Finnbogason at the cost of the touted £5m. Cove's comment about being wasteful with chances was concerning, but at the same time I am impressed by what appears to be a natural instinct that he has for finding goalscoring opportunities.

I can certainly see, albeit from small clips of him in action, how he could slide into Pochettino's system as a versatile and agile centre-forward with a bit of a presence in and around the penalty area. He's 24, so whether there is much more scope for him to improve his finishing is perhaps questionable, but the club has a good record of working with players to further develop the attributes they held prior to their arrival at Southampton.

Overall, I'm certainly not against this signing if it does come to fruition, especially not at a cost of £5m. In fact, I'd rather sign Finnbogason for £5m now and add him to the ranks, than blast a rumoured £22m on Leandro Damiao. I honestly do not see how Damiao is worth that. I'd have been delighted with Osvaldo, but Damiao didn't quite do it for me in all honesty.

Basically, harking back to earlier points, the guy reminded me of Rodriguez than Sharp or Lambert, but I could see how his agility and movement could be of benefit in the system we are currently operating under. Also, I'd rather spend £5m on this guy, than spunk big money on someone who clearly was not one of our lead targets.

End. Sorry to go on!

 

If he's available at the right price then it might be worth taking a punt on him, you never know how he will fare in a different league though, it could go either way.

 

Crook has just said the Damiao deal is off. He must be the first person to say that.....