Claudius wrote:

you shouldn't think in terms of it's a lot of money for a midfielder, but how big the need is. Arteta and Flamini are fine examples and men we can rally behind, but they're not the quality we need. DM and RB, and another scorer are our two biggest need areas right now. let's not be scared to spend

Well we have to buy a striker too, which is a premium position and is also a far bigger need for us.

If Javi Martinez is rated at £30+ mil we should first just meet Diego Costa's £32 mil release clause and get that transfer bagged or lost.

Thought it was established that the Costa release clause in reality ends up closer to 60m+?

Not nearly that much.

evoh wrote:

If Javi Martinez is rated at £30+ mil we should first just meet Diego Costa's £32 mil release clause and get that transfer bagged or lost.

We can meet his release clause but all indications are Chelsea have probably already tied that deal up. No point activating a release clause if the player doesn't want to join

evoh wrote:

If Javi Martinez is rated at £30+ mil we should first just meet Diego Costa's £32 mil release clause and get that transfer bagged or lost.

otfgoon wrote:

Thought it was established that the Costa release clause in reality ends up closer to 60m+?

£32m is about €40m.

The tax rate in Spain on donated money (for sums over €800k) is 34% (there's probably a much smarter and cheaper way to give Costa the cash though).

€40m x 1.34 = €53.6m

So, the cost of buying him out would be €53.6m (£44m roughly).

banduan wrote:

Far better off going for Schneiderlin I'd say

Agree with this. Martinez has European pedigree (it's tempting to buy a player who won a treble and destroyed Barca in the process) but I'm not sure that he has more to his game than Schneiderlin. Martinez is taller, has more physical strength, breaks up play a bit more effectively, and is a better dribbler going up the field, but Schneiderlin is faster and a better passer while still being really good in the tackle and able to create space for himself on the ball.

If you all hate Arteta because he's slow you won't like Martinez. We also need to be able to build from the back and I'm not sure Martinez can do that at a top level.

Not to mention Schneiderlin will be about £10-12m cheaper and on £40-50k less a week. Given our need to buy a top striker and a replacement right back, MS makes more sense.

Arteta's slowness on its own isn't what bothers me but the fact he's not only slow but weak and small as well. Those deficiencies as a DM are detrimental to our team.

Martinez may not be the quickest either but he makes up for it with his strength and height. He's also a way better tackler than Arteta.

As for Schneiderlin for Martinez, that would be like passing up on Özil for Lallana last summer. If we want to maintain our 4th place status then by all means, get Schneiderlin.

Arteta isn't weak.

Arteta is not weak at all. He's a good tackler as well. His main shortcoming is his mobility both on and off the ball (and he doesn't offer much of an aerial presence).

There is no way Martinez is anywhere on the level of Özil. You're fooling yourself if that's the caliber of player you think he is.

Jed wrote:

As for Schneiderlin for Martinez, that would be like passing up on Özil for Lallana last summer. If we want to maintain our 4th place status then by all means, get Schneiderlin.

Your example is a bit extreme but your point is valid. We should always be looking to sign the best players we can. Martinez is a better player than Schneiderlin so if he is available we should be going for him.

I'm not convinced that Martinez is any better than Schneiderlin at all.

innervisionscm wrote:

Arteta is not weak at all. He's a good tackler as well. His main shortcoming is his mobility both on and off the ball (and he doesn't offer much of an aerial presence).

There is no way Martinez is anywhere on the level of Özil. You're fooling yourself if that's the caliber of player you think he is.

He is one of the best midfielders in the world. Same level as Özil to me.

Irish gunner wrote:

evoh wrote:

If Javi Martinez is rated at £30+ mil we should first just meet Diego Costa's £32 mil release clause and get that transfer bagged or lost.

otfgoon wrote:

Thought it was established that the Costa release clause in reality ends up closer to 60m+?

£32m is about €40m.

The tax rate in Spain on donated money (for sums over €800k) is 34% (there's probably a much smarter and cheaper way to give Costa the cash though).

€40m x 1.34 = €53.6m

So, the cost of buying him out would be €53.6m (£44m roughly).

not sure about that math
£32m
Tax rate (yours) is 34%
Therefore, in order for Atletico to have £32m in hand, we need to hand over an amount that after 34% tax is £32m.
Thus £32m/(1-0.34) = x
x = 48m pounds

I don't think Atletico can afford to turn down a big bid for Costa this summer. Doubt he'll have to activate his release clause in order to leave.

If the release clause is 48m pounds, I am sure something between 32 and 48 will get the job done. To be on the safe side though, we should err on the side of higher if we want to kill interest from other teams

Klaus wrote:

I don't think Atletico can afford to turn down a big bid for Costa this summer. Doubt he'll have to activate his release clause in order to leave.

Well they might sell for less at the end of the window. If your suggesting we wait till the last minute to try sign him you'll be upsetting a lot of forum users. I think you should upgrade your antivirus before you bring that up again ;-)

Bids will come in nice and early for Costa's services next year, and then it will be up to the player.