Sky are claiming that we've also agreed a deal in principle with Mainz striker Shinji Okazaki. Not sure if this is because of issues with the Kramaric deal but would be a great signing. I've watched a fair bit of the Bundesliga and he's always impressed me. Would love it if we could get both!
Good to see we have a backup deal just in case - my first thought with Kramaric is that he might not get a work permit being 23 and only playing 4 times for Croatia...
Shouldn't really matter as he's EU though, right? It's been confirmed by the club now, but he's not going to be available for Villa, going to be a nervous few days waiting for the result of that one. Okazaki has 80 caps for Japan so we wouldn't have to worry about a permit, his goalscoring record is impressive and would probably be less of a gamble, and they aren't the same kind of striker, so really could see us getting both. I'd rather Okazaki than Defoe I have to say. Kramaric sounds like he prefers to play as a support striker, so would be looking to take Nugen't place. However, he is effectively a replacement for Nick Powell so we could still be looking for attacking reinforcements, especially if Wood were to leave, as has been rumoured.
From my (limited) knowledge, very good quick player and an absolute workhorse up front. Maybe could complement kramaric
I can't see this happening. If we are going to sign another striker I would rather someone with Premier League experience or at least experience of the English game We expecting a lot from Andrej Kramaric so last thing we need is another striker trying to adjust to the league. If he terms are we sensible then I would make Jermain Defoe the top target for strikers now
We arent going to spend near on £30m on strikers in the course of 1 season, now Kramaric is done, i think that will probably be that. An attacking CM on the other hand...
This is confusing on Sky. They initially ran an article from his club saying that they will not sell him this month as they could not replace him with similar quality. Now Sky are reporting that we are in discussion with his club with a view to a transfer. Player power strikes again??
