Transfer Rumours transfer thread fact and fiction

I think if anything, Dybala is far more similar to Lamela than Under is. Lamela nominally played on the right but in reality was always more the kind of player who wanted to come inside. Dybala is the same - both are wide attacking midfielders who really want to play as 10s rather than wingers.

Fundamentally what the Turk has over the other two that marks him out is outright pace, and the ability to play on either flank, whereas Dybala and Lamela both want to play narrow right or in the middle.

 

Roma signed Under as a direct replacement for Salah - so he might be good for winning a few dozen penalties if nothing else...

 

Brace Yourselves...
The Torygraph are reporting that, now that The Sheikh Mansour Team are looking at Rodri, any attempt by us to make a move for Ndombele will have been given a significant leg-up. The only issue there is that TSMT will have signed a HG player, while Ndombele isn't

...what do you mean Rodri isn't Welsh?

PSG Watch
The Torygraph are also linking us with a PSG player and, get this, it's not Adrien Rabiot nor is it Layvin Kurzawa. Instead it's Thomas Meunier, who would certainly be the first choice RB our team needs as he's got Aurier's pace and Trippier's crossing ability coupled with significantly less brainfarts than either of them. Most importantly, he's entering the final year of his contract, and Le10 Sport are reporting that PSG are willing to let him leave this summer - which presents a clear Levying chance, which would also save a few quid in one area to (hopefully...) spend in another while also topping up the Belgian contingent

 

Interesting comments from Poch after the game Re Eriksen's contract which I see a lot of journos are spinning as 'Eriksen to re-open contract negotiations after the season ends'. Poch didn't quite go that far, but it certainly sounds as though this mini saga is far from a forgone conclusion.

 

BBC mongering that Manure will bid for Trippier if Wan-Bissaka doesn't go there...... Providing that W-B comes our way then Tripps can head North with my blessing

 

He can head north with my blessing and with my car. Wearing my clothes too if he so chooses.

 

All that and the Mrs

 

Napoli and Everton have also supposedly been interested. We may actually get a seriously good price if we can get a bidding war going, possibly upwards of £30m on a guy we paid £3.5m for!

I’d say Wan-Bissaka would cost around £40m-£45m so Tripp’s departure potentially covers most of that cost. Would be great business.

 

I guess we can rule out a move for Joao Felix, after his name was at the top of summer transfer targets that Doge Cristiano submitted to the Juventus heirarchy

...one point of order, why the **** would any team allow a situation where a player dictates transfer policy? That's like Spurs allowing DGC to have the first and last say on who stays and goes based solely on some talkBALLS pondlife thinking that there's a direct comparison between Harry Kane and Philippe Coutinho

 

Saw that report and just rolled my eyes.

He was one this generations stars and rightfully so...... but a complete and utter ****er. If you look up the entry for 'Team' in Ronaldo's dictionary you will find it just says Cristiano Ronaldo. He is the man who went to see 'The Greatest Showman' at the cinema and left disappointed as he found out it wasn't about him. He is the only footballer ever to be disappointed after winning the Balon d'Or because he didn't also get 2nd and 3rd places, Best Actor Oscar, the Nobel Peace Price and Rear of the Year. His ego is the only man made structure you can see from space. The man who thinks football is a 1-a-side game..... Though he is vaguely aware that there are some other people running around on the pitch with him.

To put it bluntly, the man is a complete bellend.

 

Not a fan then?

 

To be fair they haven't actually bought him yet. Maybe they'll thank Ronaldo for his suggestion but tell him that they sort this out. Anyway he has 75% of the wage budget, probably can't afford anyone else.

 

Clearly good at reading between the lines then

 

To be blunt I think we should steer clear of Joao Felix anyway, mainly because he's obviously going to be at the centre of a transfer auction - but also because there's no gauge on his consistency considering this is his first season of pro football, and the fact it's for Benfica means there's no guarantee he could replicate that form in leagues where the top three is sewn up before a ball is kicked

 

my missus as well

 

Might need a bigger car at this rate. Unless we put Trippier in the boot (he's only wee) and the 606 wives take the seats.

 

It's been suggested that Martin Odegaard could be available for £20m this summer

Worth a punt?

 

Can't believe he's still only 20. Not sure I'd take the risk though to be honest, seems similar to Halilovic, so much early hype but kind of faded into obscurity.

 

He's being heavily linked with Ajax and that's the move that he should push for, if he's got any sense.
They're going to lose a lot of players this summer and he'd probably benefit massively from being the focus of any rebuild.

 

Vulture Watch

Today I'll have a look at clubs across Europe who are guaranteed to miss out on European football next season, which would give us a potential leg-up

AS Monaco
Youri Tielemans (21yo, Belgium, centre midfield, contracted until 2022)
Pros: The creative player our midfield has been crying out for; Loan to Leicester has no clause to make his loan permanent; Has taken to the Premier League like a duck to water since being loaned to Leicester; Monaco appear to be willing to let him leave if an offer of around £40m comes in; Seriously, why the **** haven't we signed him already?
Cons: We'd need to act fast if we intend to gazump Leicester

Schalke
Nabil Bentaleb (24yo, Algeria, centre midfield, contracted until 2021)
Pros: Very HG, having come through our academy; Has played alongside several of our current team so would adapt quicker than a lot of players would; Has added goals to his game while at Schalke; Has shown a degree of maturity to become a fixture in the Schalke side after some early differences of opinion; Has recently spoken highly of his time under Poch
Cons: Poch may still hold a grudge considering the manner in which he left the club; While he may show more maturity it's clear that Schalke still expect him to act up, hence their dropping him to the U23s when he forgot to call the club to say he was at the birth of his first child

Breel Embolo (22yo, Switzerland, striker, contracted until 2021)
Pros: The sort of powerful and direct striker Poch likes as a bench option, but with the sort of pace Llorente or Janssen could only dream of; Has enough awareness to create goals for his teammates; Young enough that the right coaching could make something of him
Cons: Much hyped at Basel yet unable to establish himself in three seasons at Schalke; Unimpressive in front of goal, scoring just nine Bundesliga goals in three seasons; Picked up a fair few bookings at Schalke, so discipline could be an issue

Yevhen Konoplyanka (29yo, Ukraine, left winger, contracted until 2020)
Pros: Very good combination of pace and skill
Cons: Possibly too late for him considering his age; It says a lot that Sevilla were happy to loan him to Schalke after just one season; Obvious decrease in his end product playing in La Liga and the Bundesliga compared to the Ukrainian league

Fiorentina
Federico Chiesa (21yo, Italy, right wing, contracted until 2022)
Pros: Goddamn is he quick; Has the sort of workrate that Poch would like, as he operates as an ersatz right wingback in Fiorentina's 343/433 formations and acquits himself well, and will pop up all over the pitch; Has a pretty good return for a winger, with 6 goals and 7 assists in Serie A this season, and is usually good for half a dozen goals; Has the sort of unpredictability some of our players lack; Good eye for finding his teammates; Has a powerful shot; Has been sporadically linked
Cons: Fiorentina won't accept anything less than £70m for him; Prone to going a bit Andros Townsend once he gets sight of goal; Has been known to run out of puff at around the 80th minute; His appearing all over the pitch does look a tad undisciplined at times

Nikola Milenkovic (21yo, Serbia, centre back, contracted until 2022)
Pros: Built like a brick ****house yet has a surprising turn of pace; Capable of playing centre back and right back; His game is a combination of the reading and dribbling of Verts coupled with the chipped passes of Toby; Has sporadically been linked with us for the last year or so
Cons: Likely to be at the centre of a transfer auction, given Fiorentina rejected a £58m bid from Man Utd back in October while Juventus, Bayern and The Sheikh Mansour Team are also linked; Has been criticised for defaulting to back passes all too readily; Very close in style of play to Joachim Andersen, who appears to be our top target; Not to be confused with Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, who is the Serbian international more of our fans hope we could attract

Cagliari
Nicolo Barella (22yo, Italy, centre midfield, contracted until 2022)
Pros: Possibly the complete package as box-to-box midfielders go, as he can defend, bring the ball forward and find his teammates; Experienced head on his shoulders, as he's already Cagliari's vice captain; Versatile, as he can play as a defensive midfielder to a playmaker to an attacking midfielder, all in the same game if needs be; Likened to both Gennaro Gattuso and Steven Gerrard due to his tenacity, work ethic, leadership and abilities on the ball; Has been linked with us this season
Cons: Gets booked a hell of a lot in Serie A due to his rash fouls, so could be a card magnet in the Premier League; Is often guilty of playing the safe pass instead of looking to take on an opponent; Comparisons to Steven Gerrard extend to the amount of time he spends in the ref's ear per game; Surely going to be at the centre of a transfer auction at some point

Celta Vigo
Stanislav Lobotka (24yo, Slovakia, defensive midfield, contracted until 2023 w/a £35m release clause)
Pros: Similar style of play to Scott Parker as he can read the game in defence, while coming forward has the skill and vision to make something of possession; Good in the tackle but even better at interceptions; Offers the quicker transition between defence and attack our midfield has been screaming out for; While he may be small at 5'7" he's much stronger than opponents anticipate, holding off opponents easily while keeping control of the ball; Was a late summer link
Cons: Isn't particularly quick, which could see him caught out by faster opponents; Is guilty of releasing the ball too quickly, instead of waiting that half second to see a late run; Also guilty of conservative passing; Very little end product

Maxi Gomez (22yo, Uruguay, striker, contracted until 2022 w/a £43m release clause)
Pros: A hybrid of Janssen and Llorente, with the holdup play of the former and the physicality and aerial threat of the latter; In spite his physical and aerial prowess he plays more like a poacher, which is a better fit for our system; Good return of goals for Celta the last couple of seasons; Busts a gut on the pitch; Linked with us throughout the season
Cons: Has only just broken into the Uruguay squad so unlikely to want to play second fiddle to Harry Kane; Would've cost peanuts a couple of seasons ago, joining Centa for €4m, but it would cost more than ten times that to sign him now; Will pick up bookings, picking up a whopping twelve last season; Potential transfer auction in waiting; Wage demands scuppered a January move to West Scam, which begs the question what those were