This tweet is spot on. I'm sorry Mikel, but this 'thin squad' excuse is not going to wash when you have spent over 4 years in the job, spent the money you have, and constantly bought and got rid of players - predominantly on your own terms. The point about the academy is also pertinent. If we are struggling to buy players, suffering with injuries etc, then look at internal solutions. Give the youth a chance for 10 mins here or there. I know our academy isn't at the level of Chelsea or City, but we still have a few standout talents and it's worth giving them some game time if other players aren't available. Also doesn't help when you spend £65m on Havertz when you know we have to be careful with how we distribute resources... Arteta will play his strongest team in dead rubbers and cups he gets knocked out of. It is a big issue, but there is equally no point playing Cedric in those games instead of Walters or Sousa or an equally gifted youngster. Leaving Nelson stagnating doesn't help anyone. He gets thrown in, isn't up to match pace and then goes back to the bench. Far better to give them minutes to a developing player, sell Nelson when his price is high.
I did read we have 25 players valued at over £25m which is the most in World Football (City only have 22 according to transfermarkt). When you consider Arteta does'nt use Elneny, Cedric, Marquinhos then we have Tavares, Lokonga, Tierney and Runnarson on loan - all of which need to be sold. Both for FFP and just to free space. I suppose in Arteta defence its not his fault major players Partey, Zinchenko, Timber and Jesus have all been injury prone over the last few Seasons.
Seems like it’s only a matter of time before this gets done. There may be a tiny bidding war as Besiktas are also interested, but we should at least get a nominal fee. Around £2m+ I hope. Would count as a small profit because we signed Cedric on a free from Southampton.
Ah this is a shame. Lino Sousa is very highly rated in our academy, sad to see him leave. I hope we at least get a good fee/sell-on clause for him.
From what I've read, he's not an Arteta-style fullback in terms of playing style. With Zinchenko and Tomiyasu being injured/absent at different times over the last 5-6 weeks, if he wasn't going to get minutes during that period, I guess the writing was on the wall. One thing which we need is to get better at selling players, especially youth players, because it's been pitiful overall. We sold Balogun for £30m last Summer, Willock for £25m in 2021 and Iwobi for £35m in 2019. Outside of that, the fees have been nominal for the others. This is one area where Chelsea excel in maximising their money for academy products. Players like Sousa won't go for much because they've not had any senior level experience, but the principle stands.
Counted my chickens too early . Report today that apparently he's staying here until his contract expires in the Summer. Argh. Why did we give him that stupid contract to begin with? Ridiculous decision by Edu and co. and I was saying that this time 4 years ago too. Ridiculous decision.
In other news, a signing that was far worse than Cedric is at least leaving the club permanently. Yet another terrible transfer that should never have happened early on in Arteta's time at the club.
Shame how Azeez’s career has gone, as he had a lot of potential 3/4 years ago and a lot of people felt he could eventually break into the first team. Unfortunately he’s lost his way, but ultimately at 21 years of age, and some unspectacular loan spells, this is the right move for him. He’s not making it here. I hope he can succeed and fulfil his potential in a fresh start. Good luck, Miguel!
I mean it's hard right now though to break into our defence. Salibas 22, Gabriel's 24, White's 23, Timber's 23, Kiwior is 23, Tomiyasu is 24..
Aye I agree at this moment in time he gets no where near the squad, which is why moving him on is the right move. But you dont know what situation you will be in in 3 years time, thats an age in footballing terms, putting on a buy back clause means that, if this kid becomes great, you have an open door to a world class defender. You wont be obligated to buy him, but its better to have the clause and not need it, than to need the clause and not have it.
I agree but I also feel like we’re not maximising value of our academy by being too late to loan players out. I feel like we sometimes stockpile too many of our promising talents and don’t give them enough opportunities to develop at senior level away from the club. This means that we can’t maximise value from their sales because they’re still an unknown quantity when it comes to first-team action. One of the reasons why Chelsea are so successful at selling their youth players because they get given loan spells away from the club to show what they can do.
I'm just seeing all of this as clearing out players who aren't going to make the first team, freeing up wages, getting FFP compliant etc so that we can add top quality in the summer.
Jury is still out on that for me. Rice was a top signing and we were unfortunate with Timber’s injury happening almost immediately after joining the club, but Havertz is a huge blemish on Arteta’s time here. I don’t know what he was thinking with this. Then the goalkeeping situation between Raya and Ramsdale should also have been handled better. We didn’t do enough last Summer to rectify our shortcomings and this Summer, we are going to have to do the same. If our plan is to fork out £60m+ on more inconsistent performers in the next transfer window, then my faith in what we’re trying to achieve will rapidly deteriorate. We need to get it right this Summer because we are currently suffering from insufficient squad building from last Summer too.
Not a transfer rumour, but something that will improve our commercial partnerships and give us additional income. This can only be good news on the investment front. Estimated to provide an extra £10m per season.
Feels a bit soulless naming it something that has nothing to do with London Colney, but I get it. It's just pure commerce.
I get that, but equally, for so long we’ve been lagging behind other big clubs commercially because it wasn’t something we’d prioritise which would hinder our spending power. Now we are prioritising it and maximising our revenue streams is exactly what we should be doing. Sentimentally, it’s a shame but you gotta do what you gotta do I’m afraid. Otherwise we risk falling further behind.
