Qwiss! wrote:

Bellerin is the only defender we have who's worth his starting place. Obviously for the right money you'd sell but it'd need to be enough to replace him and have some money left over.

Exactly. Only reason I'd consider replacing him is if he's lost another step because of his injury. Other than that he's the only defender worth having around

Ray wrote:

Replacing Bellerin could transform the team

:brow:

I have to say I have a really hard time understanding why the topic of replacing Bellerin keeps cropping up. One of the few spots in the first XI that's relatively strong.

Emery relies on good attacking full backs and the amount of times Bellerin gets into a good position and just ends up playing a dead end ball to break up the attack. We need someone that guarantees a good ball. Liverpool could have been happy with decent full backs like Clyne/Moreno but would be worse off for it.

Bellerin is levels above Clyne and Moreno and under Emery was playing his best football in years before his injury. We keep talking about players who fit Emerys style and Bellerin is one of the few have already.

The problem there is Bellerin is infinitely better than Clyne and Moreno. He had 5 assists before he got injured and was probably among our top 3 performers. You mentioned earlier that he's not convincing at the back, how often do you ever see our right side targeted when he's playing? He's about as secure as they come.

If Emery persists with 5 at the back, we will need 2 Bellerins though, a bit like Spurs did before Walker left. They were eye effective with two constantly energetic fullbacks. AMN is not looking to be that guy at present. And we need a complete rethink on the left as well.

No I think we’re over rating him, everytime there’s a slightly physical winger who can dribble like Zaha, Richarlison, Martial etc then you can guarantee they will get past Bellerin multiple times to get a cross in or win a penalty.

Ray wrote:

No I think we’re over rating him, everytime there’s a slightly physical winger who can dribble like Zaha, Richarlison, Martial etc then you can guarantee they will get past Bellerin multiple times to get a cross in or win a penalty.

This seems like a fundamental misunderstanding of what makes a good full back. Every full back gets beaten by pacey wingers at times. Bellerin no more than most.

I'm just scared of the prospect of having half a defence that is recovering from ACL injuries while the other half is well past 30 next season. How often do people turn out right after those injuries, especially those who relied on pace to begin with?

My suspicion is that Bellerin post injury is not going to be worth half as much as he was before, either on or off the pitch. This summer could be the last time his value is high enough that we could secure a good replacement, and maybe even have a bit money left to put into other areas.

At the same time, who would want to buy a player who is still recovering from an ACL?

They'd do a medical anyway and see if there were issues.

Canal+: Thomas Meunier is #AFC number one priority. Unai Emery absolutely wants him. PSG not giving up for less than €22m-€25m [via @RomainCG75]

Kristof Terreur: Thomas Meunier is a wanted man. Unai Emery is pushing to get him to Arsenal. Man United have him on their list too. PSG are keen on selling him for the right fee - +/- €25m. Meunier is a childhood United fan and even attended some games this season.

This guy - Kristof Terreur -is tier 1 when it comes to Belgian football, very reliable.

French Journalist and L’Equipe consultant Dominique Sévérac: “Thomas Meunier? Between #MUFC and #AFC, I’d advise him to join the Red Devils. If he goes to Arsenal, his career will be over. Guaranteed. But if the coach was to be replaced, it’s another story.” [via @FootRadio_com]

I don't like him at all. I don't like that Unai only looks at and buys players he's worked with before.

L'Equipe consultant biggest insult of a job title I've seen in a while.

We're not getting him not worried about this.

Not keen at those prices. Seems like a poor use of resources, and another worrying sign of emerys lack of imagination gravitating to average players he's worked with before

Suspicious that all those links are coming from France. This seems like PSG and Meuniers agent put this out there, I don't think we are after him at all. Why would we buy an expensive player in one of the only positions we have starting quality?

Yeah, this makes no sense.

Gazza M wrote:

Not keen at those prices.  Seems like a poor use of resources,  and another worrying sign of emerys lack of imagination gravitating to average players he's worked with before

I'm not saying we're in for Meunier: I really hope not and I'll give Emery a little more credit than that for now.

But where is the direction going to come from this summer? It's just not Sanllehi's strong suit, or at least he's not done that before. Without a technical director--and even then, if it's to be Edu deciding the players we're going to sign is he really up to that task? The direction has probably got to come from Emery. And that's terrifying.

Any story where I read 'Emery is pushing for x' I immediately take with a pinch of salt because while I'm sure he has an input, I don't think he's leading anything based on what Sanllehi has outlined.

Ricky1985 wrote:

Gazza M wrote:

Not keen at those prices.  Seems like a poor use of resources,  and another worrying sign of emerys lack of imagination gravitating to average players he's worked with before

I'm not saying we're in for Meunier: I really hope not and I'll give Emery a little more credit than that for now.

But where is the direction going to come from this summer? It's just not Sanllehi's strong suit, or at least he's not done that before. Without a technical director--and even then, if it's to be Edu deciding the players we're going to sign is he really up to that task? The direction has probably got to come from Emery. And that's terrifying.

Why would it not be Sanllehis strong suit? Hes no head scout but I've little doubt he actually knows a good player and a good fee when he sees it. Emery has said himself hes not involved in player recruitment.

This is a bullshit link and you can smell it across the channel ffs.