The numbers look high, but from what I've seen, Tzolis is around €10m (£8.5m) + €2m in add ons, presumably on appearances and/or PL survival. Tzolis is valued on Transfermarkt at £10.8m, which would usually be doubled for a young player, so from that angle it looks to be a good deal. Sargent has a Transfermarkt valuation of £7.2m, which also looks to be a reasonable deal, especially for a striker who has Bundesliga experience. We ended up paying £5m for Buendia after promotion and he had no top level experience. We got a very very good return on that investment, so I feel comfortable with both transactions. What is also encouraging is that both players will be joining a former teammate (Giannoulis and Rashica), so there will key relationships there from the start. Like CS, though, I'd feel more comfortable with another DM and CB.
Sargent has scored 2 in 2 in the 2. Bundesliga so far this season. Interestingly, both coming from the right wing. Hard to tell whether Rashica and Sargent were super flexible for Werder last season, or the transfermarkt data isn't great. There's examples of a 3-4-2-1 with Rashica up front and Sargent RAM, or with Sargent up front and Rashica RAM. They also played a 3-4-3 with Sargent and Rashica on opposite wings. There's also a 3-1-4-2 with Sargent as part of a front 2. Generally I'm excited by these signings, but curious to see how we line up. It looks like we've got very strong competition in attacking midfield, although similar-ish skill sets? Sargent, Tzolis, Rashica, Cantwell, Dowell can all operate in the wider areas, with Cantwell and Dowell capable of playing more centrally? You'd think this frees up departures for Onel and Hugill, given all three new signings can cover wide and striker areas, and maybe even Placheta too if he isn't considered full-back cover. I think with both fees, they're a little high for NCFC signings, but ideally these are players who can make an immediate impact, but are decent investments too? Either could become a £30m player, or be quietly sold on for £3-4m, getting close to half our fee back. Sounds like CB has slipped a long way down the pecking order, will be interesting to see what other business comes in.
It's quite a good strategy to buy a successful partnership from the same team , buying up Paok's successful left hand side with full internationals helps the gelling in and language barriers although I believe the 19 year old boy is from Albanian parents. We could possibly do the same with Werder .
Billing in the starting XI for Bournemouth this evening, interestingly Danjuma not in the squad. There's 10 academy graduates in their squad tonight, which is either really impressive, or a sign of how thin their squad is?
Even with Tzolis and Sargent joining, we still have 2 more squad places available. If Williams comes in at FB on loan, we still have room for a DM and CB and if Hugill leaves, there's another place available so no real need for Onel to leave on loan. I'm also excited by the options open to DF, which could also allow a degree of player rotation and substitutions to keep players fresh, competition high and cover for injuries. With the quality upgrades throughout the squad we look to be able to be far more competitive this time around.
Striker confirmed https://www.skysports.com/football/...-with-werder-bremen-for-united-states-striker
I am not sure why we would use our 2nd loan spot on Williams. Unless Max is leaving. A loanee is expected by his parent club to get significant game time. He will not be replacing MA or DG in the starting line up, at least I would hope not, they should be nailed on starters. Also does this indicate that Byram is not expected to be fit enough?
I think Brandon Williams would come in to be first reserve on each side. There's talk that Norwich are negotiating a loan fee based on appearances. The more he plays, the less we pay. Expecting both Giannoulis and Aarons to be fit for 38 games is probably ambitious, so a decent backup makes sense. I'd rather sign someone permanently and leave the spot open for Skipp though, even if he isn't available until January.
https://www.bundesliga.com/en/2bund...best-position-werder-bremen-usa-striker-16737 Interesting article on Sargent, debating his best role and what he brings to the team. The comparison to Firmino is intriguing, especially with the signings of Rashica and hopefully Tzolis. You could imagine a Liverpool style 4-3-3 with our new signings making sense? Liverpool have attacking full backs (Aarons, Giannoulis), with a midfield 3 mainly tasked with ball recovery, retention and distribution. That would suit PLM, Gilmour and McLean/Rupp. Then their wide forwards are the biggest attacking threat, which would be Tzolis and Rashica, with a linking striker between (Sargent). That does mean no Pukki!
Good, objective article. I'm confident Sargent can play the Pukki role when called upon or come on from the bench as a second striker. I also think he'll fit our tactical fluidity up front wherever he plays. His scoring record is from playing at the top in the Bundesliga whereas Armstrong and others are playing in the second tier. Pukki scored 29 there, then 11 in the PL, so it's a false comparison. My concern about Rashica and Tzolis is their defensive contribution if we play in a 4-2-3-1. Like Buendia, Sargent is tenacious when the ball is lost and he's also good at forcing turnovers, thus I can see him also playing the Buendia role on the right, which is a bonus. The article backs up my feeling that he has a good footballing brain and reads the game well and reacts quickly, which is crucial in the PL.
They claim it's because the EFL starts and they don't want to steal their attendance figures or some bollocks.
