Rex wrote:

We'd triple his wages and he'd play for a bigger club with realistically a better chance at further success? I'm just guessing though.

Those may be the reasons for going to City, Bayern etc but we don't currently offer those things. I'm sure we "could" triple what he's on currently, but they have an owner who can also do that to keep him and he's already at the champions. As for future success, well we still have Wenger for the foreseeable future. Not that we'd pay what some of the other big clubs will be offering anyway so it hardly matters.

Irish gunner wrote:

Well we'd have giroud dropping deep looking to get the ball into feet, Sanchez coming inside looking for the ball, mahrez coming inside looking for the ball, ozil in the congested spot as well or out on the wing doing fuck all because it's the only place with any space. Ramsey would probably completely abandon the midfield and run into the congested area just in front of the box, joining the rest of the retards. We probably have 5 players within 10 yards of each other by now, with bellerin and monreal playing dangerously high on the flanks, and mert and kos standing somewhere in the centre circle with acres of space behind them. One of our donkeys can't control the ball and loses it, allowing the other team to counter while everyone is out of position after pussyfooting about at the edge of their box for an age.

Spot on.

Claudius wrote:

Really, MD? Signing Mahrez and Kante would show that we are in a dark place? Just how many superstars has Wenger actually unearthed? His good players have typically been proven performers. The guys like Fabregas are not the norm. I would be elated if we bought one of these two guys.

the point is, we never pay top dollar for players whove just had a career year, especially in england. who is the last player we signed from another english club where we paid top dollar? has it ever happened? when has wenger been aware of someone, had a chance to sign them for pennies, and then paid top dollar? he said he knew about kante years ago but decided not to pursue him because he didnt think he was ready for england. so we could have had him for a few million pounds but now we'll pay 25M for him? i doubt it.

we should be paying top dollar for established talents with track records, or we should be buying 17-20 year old prospects with huge upside before they end up at top clubs. paying 30M for mahrez or 25M for kante would be crazy, imo. if either guy ever replicates their 2015-2016 i will be shocked.

Sound post, only problem with it is where market value sits. In the new world £25-30m is certainly ballpark for a player who's ever had a year like Mahrez's 2015-16, and it's the minimum we should be looking to spend on any new forward signing.

Yep, it sounds like a bit, but we spent £16m on Welbeck and he's nowhere near good enough. We don't want a new forward signing who isn't at least as handy as Sánchez after all.

Now if Mahrez was £40m plus you might start to get a bit snippy about it, because he's a winger and we could probably look at a world class centre forward entering his twilight years for that sort of valuation.

If it is true that we can sell Theo for 25M, then getting Mahrez is a no-brainer - automatic upgrade and no money lost. We just need an out and out goal scoring striker. Just like last year. And the year before that. And the one before that one. Etc.

Goarn Wengs, sign RiRi

FEBravo wrote:

If it is true that we can sell Theo for 25M, then getting Mahrez is a no-brainer - automatic upgrade and no money lost.  We just need an out and out goal scoring striker. Just like last year. And the year before that. And the one before that one. Etc.

No money lost? Mahrez will be 40m+

I'm sure you can squeeze Mahrez for 30-35m pounds. Only issue will be if Barca or Real Madrid want to bring him as the shiny new toy that just won best player in England. Then they'll bid the price up to 60m pounds to make him appear to be the next Ronaldo.

Using common sense more like. What star player from a side that have just won the PL will be sold for £25m in this day and age? Even if Leicester were willing to sell or even being pressured into selling, let's say if Mahrez was pushing for a transfer, the sum they would demand would be huge. I'd guess 40m or so.

Claudius wrote:

I'm sure you can squeeze Mahrez for 30-35m pounds. Only issue will be if Barca or Real Madrid want to bring him as the shiny new toy that just won best player in England. Then they'll bid the price up to 60m pounds to make him appear to be the next Ronaldo.

Not sure about that. The days of Madrid and Barcelona plucking the 'best player in England' are gone because, well, we're a bit shit over here aren't we?

Optics matter more than reality. Look at the price James went for. He's brilliant, but he's not a galactico. Real and Barca could turn Harry Kane into a £50m player if he wins golden boot. Just so they can have an unvei
Ing ceremony and "pay his fee in first day shirt sales".
As for what they can and can't afford: these teams have neither balance sheets nor income statements. They'll soon race whatever money they need. Just as they did with Neymar.

I understand what you're saying but the fact is Harry Kane will not be signed by Real Madrid ever. Even for them that's stretching it too far. And that's the point. James Rodriguez is a genuinely brilliant footballer, no one in England is. Maybe Aguero but he's not going anywhere and Özil they've already bought and sold.

Burnwinter wrote:

Sound post, only problem with it is where market value sits. In the new world £25-30m is certainly ballpark for a player who's ever had a year like Mahrez's 2015-16, and it's the minimum we should be looking to spend on any new forward signing.

you and i both know that wenger is out of step with the market. he has paid current market value for 2 players (ozil and alexis) in the last decade. just about every other signing has been from the bargain rack

Claudius wrote:

Optics matter more than reality. Look at the price James went for. He's brilliant, but he's not a galactico.  Real and Barca could turn Harry Kane into a £50m player if he wins golden boot.

That's completely wrong. The thing is, James really is a galactico. He's a player who probably paid back his price in shirts because of his popularity in South America. If you check out his Facebook page it has 30 million likes. You can compare it to Harry Kane's 1 million, Benzema's 22 or Bale's 26. Fact is, James' immense popularity makes him the very definition of a galactico.

James is incredible. I don't know why people still doubt him. He has at least two top seasons in European leagues under his belt already and he was the rightful player of the tournament in the World Cup. If he stopped right now he'd still have achieved more than Kane ever will.