Lot of rumous about this guy in the last month. The newspapers would probably have us going after Giroud but I think Yanga-Mbiwa is a much more likely target. We've been heavily rumoured to be after a defender for a while and he ticks most of the boxes. Right age, right skillset, probably the right price range.

This might be a good time for him to raise his game a level. He won the league with Montpellier yesterday and was included in Blanc's provisional Euro squad a few days ago after Kaboul was ruled out of the tournament. Only has a year left on his contract too according to the rumour mill.

I've only ever seen him play as a CB, and to be honest I was more on the look out at other players when I'd have seen him, so can't offer much of an opinion. What I do know, though, is that he can supposedly play right across the back four, which makes him an interesting prospect, where I don't really think he would be otherwise.

Any thoughts Klaus - you watch more L1 than I do, probably.

ah klaus i saw this thread and got excited. thought there were further developments.

he's a classy player. very composed. he was choosen ahead of sakho when blanc made the call on who to replace kaboul with

Asa: I'm the same. Wasn't aware that he could play other positions than CB. The spaceman probably has a more insightful view on him. I've noticed him a couple of times this season though, mainly when distributing the ball out of the defence. Looks like one of those ballplaying defenders to me. He seems to make a lot of interceptions too which suggests that he reads the game well. Not sure if he's ready for Premier League physically though.

I suppose it all depends on what'll happen with Djourou in the summer. I'm still not sure where Vertonghen, Jagielka or Yanga-Mbiwa will fit into the squad as it currently stands. Squillaci was fifth choice this season and he played a single league game.

Ray Fakadakis wrote:

ah klaus i saw this thread and got excited. thought there were further developments.

Sorry Dules. Just figured that we could do with a thread since there's been a lot of noise lately.

Ray Fakadakis wrote:

he's a classy player. very composed. he was choosen ahead of sakho when blanc made the call on who to replace kaboul with

Oh yeah, there were rumours about us going after Sakho the other day too, right? It's hard to separate the credible rumours from the ones who are made up but we definitely seem to be on the lookout for a defender this summer.

You think we'll get rid of Djourou just after he signed an extension?

I have no idea. It's not unheard of though. Eduardo signed a new deal a couple of months before we sold him. It might be a way to retain his transfer value.

I think, from a sample of about half a dozen of games mind, that Yanga-Mbiwa is quite good on the ball, and seems to be a good reader of the game. Doesn´t remember him as a very physical player or very dominant in the air though.

My first player off Montpellier would be Belhanda instead of this guy btw. Looks an interesting player to me, and a much more likely target.

Wait, so he's behind Kaboul in the pecking order? By that token, he's also behind Kos too. Not sure I really want a player that isn't an upgrade on what we already have.

Then again he is in the position that Kos was only 2 seasons ago, but Ligue 1 champ of course.

Captain of the Ligue 1 champions.

Humble Rex wrote:

Then again he is in the position that Kos was only 2 seasons ago, but Ligue 1 champ of course.

I'm not interested in developing players. That's all we ever do then they either turn out to be crap or fuck off.

This all largely inconsequential really though when discussing defenders. Even with the best players in the world, Wenger still wouldn't be able to organise a defensive unit. The best hope we've got is developing a strong enough attacking unit to alleviate the pressure on the back four.

That's a quality name to go on the back of a shirt, just like Frimpong

If the rumours are true and we really are in the market for a defender this guy is the one I'd prefer us sign. Sound like when we signed Kos but has a better pedigree. Captain of the League 1 champions with the best defensive record, right age, right price as his contract runs out next season.

However I don't think we'll sign any defender this summer and we'll focus on more pressing needs i.e midfield.

Klaus wrote:

Asa: I'm the same. Wasn't aware that he could play other positions than CB. The spaceman probably has a more insightful view on him. I've noticed him a couple of times this season though, mainly when distributing the ball out of the defence. Looks like one of those ballplaying defenders to me. He seems to make a lot of interceptions too which suggests that he reads the game well. Not sure if he's ready for Premier League physically though.

I suppose it all depends on what'll happen with Djourou in the summer. I'm still not sure where Vertonghen, Jagielka or Yanga-Mbiwa will fit into the squad as it currently stands. Squillaci was fifth choice this season and he played a single league game.

Sorry lads, was out of town the past few days.

re Mbiwa: You've actually got it backwards. He's a big, black beast who has no issues dishing it out and taking them and I think he would have no issues with the physicality of England, but it's the pace that will probably catch him off guard as it does for many.

To be honest I've only really seen about 7-8 Montpellier matches (and all their highlights on Canal+) so there's not too much I can say about him. He has looked solid enough when I've seen them but I can't imagine he's any better than what we already have.

As for his purported versatility, I have only ever seen him play at CB, and I don't actually think he's had to play fullback at any point this season so this could just be more "Vermaelen can play LB" talk.

Anyways, he along with everyone associated with Montpellier had a good season at the right time all together. I'm sure he's a good player, but I don't think he's THE solution. We really just need better protection from midfield, and better communication across the backline. Better tactics from the coaching staff wouldn't hurt either.

He doesn't look that big n beast like. Giroud towers above him