Main target(s) for me needs to be another creative to player to either be back up for Mousa OR play ahead of him in a Rafa role in a 4-5-1. I can't think of many creative players that'd come in as back up, but if we looking to fill a Rafa role, then personally Christian Erikssen is a player we should go all out for. I've noticed a few rumours on twitter saying he's a player of interest to us and I hope it's true. Class act, massive future in the game. Another player I've liked is Dries Mertens of PSV, plays as a left winger cutting inside but has all the attributes to play a number 10 role, speed, skills, eye for goal and decent vision. Plus he's Belgian so hopefully could settle well with Jan and Mousa here. Think we should look at bringing in a couple of "oldies" similar to last season too, a striker and left back in my opinion. Players who are experienced in the Prem, can do a job and are happy coming in knowing they're second choice. Looking back now, I think we made a mistake not keeping Saha around especially as we loaned out Kane, could've been really handy while Ade's been in and out of the side.
that's the position I feel we need to cover too, SOS. My concern is that we might have already missed the boat with him and he could be the latest "Leandro Damaio". he's attracting interest from everywhere and will have plenty of options. not to mention that Ajax will not be easy to deal with in general, let alone in Jan. - Look at the Vertonghen saga. I've only seen Mertens once and I picked him out as a player who looked very good in that particular game. If he's the type of player you say he is, then that's a much more likely option for us, IMO, especially if he's reasonably priced, as has been rumoured. - not to mention Mousa and Verts, they could have a massively positive impact on him being a new arrival. what's the latest on Llorente? does anyone know? he might finally be an option if the Bilbao saga has continued. hasn't he only got 6 months left on his contract? If possible, he might be a slightly better option than a "golden oldie", IF we're able to capture him, that is.
This! We got into the position we have been in the last few years by signing either youngsters with big promise (and moderate fees) or mid-priced (£10-15m) players with plenty of years left. That is what we should continue to do. Not spunking £20-30m on a single player.
I'd love Llorente, think I've said it on here ever since I joined but I think similar to Damiao, he's just not a viable option now. With 6 months left on his deal, there'll be so many top clubs willing to offer him a massive wage and so I don't think we'll be able to compete. Would love it if we could get him, just very much doubt it now, as per usual - we've left it too late. Fingers crossed I'm wrong and Levy pulls a rabbit out of the hat!
Moreover, I don't think we're will ever spend that sort of money or can really afford to. If we're genuinely interested in these youngsters that we've been linked to, such as Leandro and Erikksen to name a couple, then that's a good start. - we're identifying some good talent. Next step for us, is to learn from our mistakes and go with our instincts and sign the potential talent at the right time, before we miss out. If Mertens for example is that player, then let's get him in Jan, before it's too late again. we just need to start acting at the right time. In our position of not being able to pay insane wages or fees, we have a very little window of opportunity before we're out of the equation. yeah, you're probably right SOS. chelsea are short of strikers too, it wouldn't be surprising to see them snap him up in Jan. A prime example of what I've written above.
Willian would quality but his price will have rocketed as he has been brilliant in the champions league so far this season and apparently Chelsea want him. If Moutinho was all signed and done but we just missed a deadline then why didn't we finalise it so that he would join in January?
god knows. makes you wonder if were really serious about him. We left it till deadline day, despite it being clear all summer that he was a top priority. why leave it so late? was it just a deadline day ploy from Levy to make it look as if he was making a statement after the sale of Modric, but in reality it was left late on purpose because we didn't want to spend that sort of money? That way all us fans are gutted, but it would look like we tried, keeping everyone quiet and saying "oh well, it's a shame, but we did our best"? hmmmm. your point about January is a very good one KH. we put nothing in place for Jan, and again, he's shining, therefore attracting other clubs. I wouldn't mind betting that the £22m fee that we agreed is now out of the question too.
I personally don't think Moutinho was anywhere near being done. I reckon we made an enquiry and perhaps had preliminary talks but that was it, SSN were probably just trying to hype up the situation to make a head line (surprise, surprise). When we were hoping and praying with every finger and toe crossed when SSN reported that Spurs were trying to push through a late deal beyond the deadline, it turnt out to be Kane to Norwich...
Totally agree. No doubt we'll buy a few that don't progress but we should be able to buy a few that not only improve our team but also improve in value if we sell them on
You'r so right. Any player we go for that will cost the deal always collapses . It's for us suckers to chew on. Look's like we are really trying to get to the "Next Level" . I have never known a club to cry wolf so many times.
Eriksen would cost us a lot of money though, he looks a serious talent and if we signed him I'd be overjoyed but sadly I don't think its going to happen. There's too much interest from wealthier clubs and they'd price us out I fear. I'd love to be proved wrong though.
yeah, I'm sure that's likely Spurm, not always going to get it 100% right. But we all wondered why we'd signed Falque. He's looking very promising now. it's those kind of signings (but maybe some slightly more well known players we should be after. On the other hand, we spent £6m on a 29 year old in Dempsey, who's going to have very little sell on value and can;t really progress much further. So for me, if a youngster doesn't work out, then it doesn't matter. I'd say there's far more Pro's than con's and would choose to purchase the young footballer with potential, everytime. (obviously i'm not saying that you don't need some experience in the team too) I've can't actually remember who else that's happened with SF, who else have you thought of? Perhaps the latest we're likely to miss out on in that case. how long have we been supposedly interested in him for? 6 months to a year? Well, that goes to show just how short our window of opportunity is.
You can just imagine it, he must have been looking forward to the bright lights of London telling all his family and mates....and ends up in Birmingham!
Roo, A couple of seasons ago Harry would spill the beans , Augero, Rossi for instant, we put mickey mouse offers in. The Brazilian young forward we are in constant pursuit of. Willian , Oscar , Hazard to name just a few. Low offers, low wages , all were considered crap offers by their clubs. Hazard even came out and said last season he was interested in coming to Spurs but as always we were placid and lost out. PR stunts ?
