Transfer Rumours transfer thread fact and fiction

Realistically, we can afford to sell Vorm, Dembele, Wanyama, Nkoudou, Janssen and Llorente this window and only one of those would need replacing - Dembele.

Vorm - Promote Whiteman in his place, also adds to the HG quota.
Wanyama - Sissoko has shown in Dier's absence he take the role of a DM, while he's been ****ing immense covering Dembele at CM.
Nkoudou - A cost to the club, simple as that.
Janssen - See Nkoudou
Llorente - Never gets any sufficient game time and in the games Kane doesn't play, we're likely better off playing with a false 9 formation as we never utilise Nando's strengths, not forgetting we can also promote Sterling.
Dembele - Despite Sissoko's form, the CM position is too pivotal to have just one in-form and fit player, (Winks improved in games but keeps getting too many injuries).

So 6 foreign players out, one can definitely be replaced via the academy (Whiteman) while there's a case for a second one as well (Sterling), so that's potentially +2 HG and then we're likely in a position to be able to bring in any sort of CM (plus another position) we want while also adding Foyth to the European squad in the next registration, whether that be CL if we're still in it (doubtful) or EL.

 

Is everyone forgetting the other solution to our HG numbers?

West Scam are considering a January bid for Wanyama
Declan Rice is out of contract in the summer and is refusing to sign an extension

Hmm, if only there was a way to solve these two problems in January...

 

We might be better off replacing most of those with academy players until the summer.
Recall Onomah, Carter-Vickers and anyone else not playing regularly at their clubs and get them training with the rest.
U23 matches and Pochettino's tutelage will be better for them than what they're getting now and they wouldn't take up places.

 

The issue there is that, while Onomah could boost numbers in central midfield, CCV and Ogilvie play in positions we have no issues with

I have wondered (and I think I mentioned it before) that it feels like the plan during the summer was to let GKN leave, as there was a loan offer from Saint-Etienne, and move Georgiou into the first team - but he appears to have been injured since mid-August, hence GKN is still around and the knock-on effects that has on the squad

 

I think Ogilvie's done anyway, to be honest, but we don't have tons of depth at centre-half and seem to regularly pick up injuries there.

 

Ogilvie's out of contract at the end of the season and his loan expires at the end of December, so it looks like we're hoping to move him on in January

Of course it would be easier if Gillingham ever f'n played him...

 

He played on Tuesday night and apparently had his best game in a Gills shirt so far, started at left back and was moved to centre back midway through the first half due to an injury and in a backs against the wall last 30 mins with 10 men he excelled, so hopefully he will now get more frequent game time.

 

So far this seasons he's had four starts, two sub appearances, seven games where he never got off the bench and three where he wasn't in the squad - which I don't get at all, considering he was a regular started on loan for them last season

 

A slightly clueless manager maybe one reason. He has been playing a very right footed old right back (Barry Fuller) at left back for about a month now, I was actually there last Saturday and the Gills started the match without a single left footed player, don't get me wrong Fuller is a decent pro who can do a job at LB, but they have 3 left sided players on the books currently who are all in most supporters that I knows eyes a better bet in that position than him

 

I think we have reached Peak Spurs Transfer Rumour with the latest player being linked with us, Feyenoord U19 midfielder Orkun Kokcu

* He plays in the Eredivisie
* He's Dutch
* He's got Turkish ancestry
* He's a central midfielder
* He doesn't have a Wikipedia page even though Wikipedia lists him in their first team squad
* He's having a good season (at U19 level...) with six goals and four assists in twelve games
* He has a mental stat that can be brought up forever, namely getting 17 goals and 34 assists last season
* His contract expires in eighteen months
* Feyenoord are thinking of selling him in January
* PSG are also linked with him

 

Another’s who’s been linked today is RB Salzburg’s Hannes Wolf.

19 year old Austrian who’s supposedly been described as “the next Eriksen”.

Currently has 3 goals and 6 assists in 11 league games, plus a goal and 2 assists in Europa, a very healthy return from a young player.

 

I've done a little digging on Wolf and, from what I can find, I can't see where the Eriksen comparisons come from as the more accurate comparison would have to be Son: he's pacy, direct, has a hell of a workrate, knows what defending is, and can score goals - which is why Taurine FC Salzburg deploy him in a similar role that we deployed VDV

If he did sign it's most likely he'd be played as a left winger given he's left-footed, has pace, and is able to pop up in the box to finish moves

 

Scuttlebutt Watch
There's rumours, apparently confirmed by Poch, that Steve Hitchin was watching the Merseyside derby on Sunday.

The main assumptions was he was watching either Andre Gomes (given how often he's been linked with us for the last year, that's definite 2 + 2 logic) while those assuming we were looking at HG players think Lookman is the likely target.

 

Nah, he was learning better diving techniques.

 

Random Turk Watch
We're once again being linked with a bid for Cengiz Under, with the Corriere dello Sport reporting we're preparing a €52m bid

On the one hand this sounds highly unlikely considering that would mean we were paying €52m for a pacy goalscoring winger in spite having two players on the books who that perfectly describes - but on the other hand, not only is Under a left-footer unlike Son or Lucas, but when we were first linked with him a couple of seasons ago when he was still at Basaksehir he primarily played on the left wing, and the main reason he plays on the right for Roma is because they prefer to use inverted wingers, with other examples including right-footers such as Coco or Justin Kluivert playing on the left flank

Kovacic Watch
...really?

AS are reporting that Los Ladrones are willing to listen to offers come the end of the season, and as there's no clause in his loan to the Chavs that say they have an advantage I guess that means he's officially our new Leandro Daimao...

 

Deadwood Watch
CalcioMercato are reporting that Milan are considering a January bid for Vincent Janssen

I'm guessing their Chinese backers haven't worked out in the way they had hoped...

 

Anyone else watch the rescheduled Libertadores final tonight? Bit of a mad game, tackles flying everywhere as you might expect. Boca ended with 9 men on the pitch after one of their subs had to leave.

Anyway the other reason they ended with 9 is because Wilmar Barrios got himself a second yellow for a pretty reckless challenge that basically amounted to him jumping on his opponent. If we're still after him, he might well be keen to get out of Boca after that one, at least! As far as his performance, he needs a fair bit of discipline installed in him but got through a lot of defensive work. The question for me is, can he learn? I thought he was younger than 25, you might expect him to have ironed out some of those elements of indiscipline by that age.

 

I watched it. MP loves a bad boy. At the right price he might be worth a gamble. It depends what other options we've got because we need reinforcements, badly.

 

Agreed - to my mind we need two midfielders really, to replace Dembele and Wanyama - so if we can get him for the right price to replace the latter then we are halfway there, though he has some way to go to replicate the form of the Kenyan when he was at his best for us, mind.

 

I saw the second yellow, if I'm honest I didn't think it was worthy of a card. The River player dived in pretty wrecklessly as well. Could've gone either way in my opinion.

In the first leg Barrios was excellent, made one superb tackle where he chased back 30 yards and slid-in perfectly. Today obviously wasn't his day but I've seen enough of him to think he could be a really useful player, especially once Poch puts a bit of work in to him.