Very disappointed by this, but this does show the great advantage of having so much depth in midfield. Hopefully he'll be back soon.
BBC Sport gossip today saying Southampton bidding for Van Dijk, and that Arsenal and Man U are also interested. So like Alderweirld, I'm guessing that will be a little out of our reach. Another bit of Gossip on there is that Man U are hoping to let Jesse Lindergard go, with Bristol City hoping to sign him for 2.5 Mil! Surely that's worth us having a punt? Real potential there, I'm surprised United are looking to sell him, rather than loan him out again.
It's Jesse Lingard (I discovered on Wiki), and he had 14 games as an AM for Derby last season, scoring 2 goals. Tempting really, but would he get a squad place given that we are already one over since Kean signed, and Mbokani would put us 2 over if he signs. He'd be a good signing for Bristol City though, now that they're back in the Championship. One to watch, perhaps.
Meanwhile the Mbokani rumour gathers pace with further Belgian sources suggesting a deal could be near: http://www.norwich.vitalfootball.co.uk/article.asp?a=407656 The article also includes a link to the video clip of his 13 goals for Dynamo Kiev in 2013-2014.
I think Bristol City are one to watch in general, I expect them to challenge for the play-offs this season, certainly a top half finish.
I cant say there much to take from the video of Mbokani's 13 goals..... mostly tap in's, 1 or 2 good goals and then a few good headers which might mean he brings something a bit different to what we have currently. What the video doesn't show is how he is involved in link up play and how well he holds the ball up which is the other aspect i would be interested in.
That's the problem with YouTube videos. Not sure most were tap-ins, though. Quite a few involve running with pace into the box and finishing past the keeper which is very much AN's game plan, as demonstrated by Jerome. The goal that impressed me was when he took the ball down controlled it then put it past the keeper. Like you though, Mark, I'd like to see more of his holding the ball up and laying it off to other players, which is also at the core of AN's approach (though those skills rarely feature in YouTube videos). Interesting that none of the 13 goals were penalties though, as that often inflates a striker's scoring rate.
I honesty wouldn't be too fussed If we did or didn't sign him, he's quoted at £6m which isn't great for a 29 year old and we would almost certainly need to lose 1 or 2 strikers to fit him in. Without a crystal ball nobody knows how good or bad he would be for us so I will continue to have faith in the club to know what they are doing.
It's 6m euros isn't it? So more like £4.5m, but still not pittance and a slightly better value than Rickie Lambert as at least aged 29 he has maybe 3 years at the top of his game.
The prices being quoted for Mbokani are all over the place. I read somewhere that we'd knocked £2.5m off the asking price and were going to pay a mere £8.5m! At that price, no thank you. Nearer £4-5m and he's worth a gamble I think.
Since you ask, NB, it's £5.95m, which was last updated on 7 June 2015. Just above what we are possibly offering then. No real multiples given his age and his disrupted season last year. In June 2014, his value was at an all time high at £7.7m, which is what Dynamo Kiev paid for him in July 2013.
They originally wanted £8.5m but have reduced this to £6m in order to move him on. We originally offered £4.5m so not that far off. Can see this getting done.
Don't forget to subtract the first number you thought of, and the number of letters in your Granny's maiden name
