Sure but as it gets firmer the sources get more certain. I reported from a Mirror article, not Twitter. As much as they're a tabloid I find their journos are closer to the club, probably because the S** isn't. The Henderson story seems to be firming up quicker than any other.
I'm not saying you reported from twitter, or that the potential deal has no truth in it. In fact I actually think he will be with us next season. The point was that there are no direct quotes from either club regarding the fee, which could be anything between 10 and 20 million. If you look across the entire board of newspapers, many are citing the deal as being at different stages, from which I can only assume that none is entirely 'certain' of the stage of negotiations at the moment. Although the best bet is to look at what's being said in the Times, the Guardian and the Independent. One of those (I forget which) called the Meireles deal the day before it happened. No other paper did.
The Walcott deal was undisclosed.Some reports suggest that it was £5 million,some suggested that it could have rose to £12 million dependent on success,the only success he has had was becoming a senior international.He's had none a club level...as he's won nothing.And he didn't have any prem experience when Arsenal signed him.
Plus the price of Walcott was somewhat inflated by interest from other clubs. There's only really a passing interest in Henderson from United to rival ours (there may be others not willing to come in at anything above 12 million, thus not rivalling us) so you'd expect that Sunderland's valuation won't suddenly rise.
News has said that Nasri maybe available for like £8m with one year left on his contract? and other hand young is going for £16m with one year left on his contract? Henderson £20m, bit of a joke id say if kenny is spending these sums on players that are really really young and unproven, why not just bid for Alonso £30m get him back,,, or even just go all out and get fabregas for £40m
Henderson has 5 years left on his contract though, hence the price. I'm sure others are being looked at, but it's all about who's willing to come too.
But Nasri and Henderson dont play the same position. With Suarez, Maxi and Pacheco I dont think we need Nasri, how ever big a fan I am.
Plus, would Nasri want to move from Arsenal to us? It's not as if he's warming the bench there. They very much want him to stay.
I don't know much about Henderson tbh but the point about £18m being the new £12m may have legs. I think Rafa for example suffered a little because he was looking for players around the 8-15m mark - it's hard (not impossible) to find gems at this level. 12-20m seems to be less risky due to the quality of player being that notch higher. So what would you rather have? Two £10m players or one £20m?
It really depends who they are. Two of Raul would be about 22 million, two of Ozil 24. Nuri Sahin went for well below 10 million too. Yet one of Kolarov and Dzeko is 19 and 27 respectively. Although another Suarez at 20ish million would be great.
Was Ozil really only £12mil for Madrid? Wow, I thought it was £21mill Thats a steal if it was £12mil. I cant imagine Ozil in English football though.
12 million yes. He was in the last year of his contract and I think he really pushed for the move, so the sum reflected that. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/europe/8921836.stm Also, Vincent Kompany only cost MC around 6 million, and he's arguably their best player.
Ah yes but you are only picking out the gems there! That's my point - it's hard to find prospects in the 'bargain bin' - it's easier to spend the money and buy what SHOULD be quality. I heard NESV were basing there decision to fund transfers a lot on the stats (Optiva?) of the player concerned as well as their stated philosophy of young players etc. Suarez was the result of the first transfer under this stat based system. I wonder if Henderson ticks all these boxes - as I said I'm not too familiar with him?
Yeah, Henderson is in the top 5 in the PL for chance creation I think. I'll see if I can find a table with the info in it. Although DK I think you should extend your 'duds' range to 5-15 million. That way you can fit Poulsen and Konchesky nicely in there. And Jermaine Pennant. And well, 80% of Benitez's purchases in that range.
I actually feel for Konch - he tries but is no where near good enough - it's like buying a donkey from Blackpool beach and entering him in the National!
Indeed, this spurs from Baseball. In Baseball it is very easy to judge a play from stats as it is all set pieces. I just wrote this in the transfer rumour thread. From what I have now seen of Henderson I feel he actually fits the criteria Kenny mentioned in January very well. He said he felt the final ball needed improving, the ball from midfield to attack. I was watching videos of Henderson and he can put some great balls into the box. His movement out of midfield is very good and he really can pick out a forward runner, leading to a good number of assists. He also seems to have a good ability for knowing where he needs to run after making the pass, leading to some nifty one twos and opening a lot of space for the attackers. He also has a very good cross.
