Graziano Pellè to be called up for Italy's squad to start qualifying for EURO2016, taking the place of Mario Balotelli - who will be left out. Source: Gazzetta dello Sport
Someone please bump the thread when we were linked when everyone was saying he was ****. The one for Bertrand too for that matter!
WOW, we nearly have a complete first team squad of full internationals....there in no doubt that deepest squad in term of quality that I have ever seen at Saints and probably ever.
Not everyone was saying they were ****, only the Football Manager aficionados.....most were willing to give them a chance.
As I understand it we have the option to buy Bertrand after the loan spell? I'd be entirely happy if we just signed him now. Has played as well as any left back we've had since Bridge imho.
10m, think that's a bit much considering Chelsea don't need him and he's not got left on his contract.
Is he 10m worth of left back? I think so. Doesn't matter wether Chelsea need him or not, it's a reasonable value in this market.
With regards to Bertrand I for one was underwhelmed with his signing on loan... But 6 games in.....but boy was I wrong.....
What a strange thought? I think most people would think he is at least 30% as good as Shaw which is reflected in the option buy out. If we don't excercise the option I am shaw there will be a queue of clubs willing to sign him for £15m plus?
I'm not saying don't buy him, I just thought that Chelsea would offer us a better deal - we got Cork who was also surplus to requirements for 750k.
We were known to have money, so our bargaining position was weakened. We needed to get the players in that we needed. Doesn't matter...we sold high and, even if we pay high, we are still quids in.
Can't compare the deals though. 750k for Cork was a bargain and we were in the Championship. From what I've seen of Bertrand, £10m would be good business.
Not certain about there being a queue. I think most clubs in a position to spend 10-15m on a left back already have one / have recently spent that amount on one - basically any club that finished above us last season. Liverpool were linked with him earlier in the summer - i think when the Moreno deal was looking unlikely. But they have their left back now.
After all is said, written and read about Pelle, I can come up with 4 words: I think he's brilliant. Every player needs to fit, or to be fitted, into a team. So why the hell has it taken so many years, off and on, to fit this guy into a team, when it was obvious from the start that he was technically excellent, with either foot. Excellent positionally wise. World class at finishing [this would be enough by now for almost all PL teams]. World class at lay-offs, headers, chest downs, and incisive flicks to colleagues, and not afraid of hard work either. The thread was simply named Pellè. Getting back to the subject.
