I'm starting to think there will be late drama involving Zaha.

USArsenal wrote:
Klaus wrote:

Luiz is a 3/10 signing. I really hope someone else is coming and that it isn't Rugani.

Luiz isn't the top player I was hoping we'd get, but I would rate it at 6/10, which is better than the 1/10 that Mustafi is.

The fact that he'll most likely start for us means there's similarr potential for damage. I'd rather use Chambers until Holding is back... unless maybe he's off in the late window drama. Chambers and Iwobi out, Zaha in?

Shady wrote:

I'm starting to think there will be late drama involving Zaha.

Iwobi + money to Palace, Zaha to Arsenal?

100% Iwobi and Zaha are discussing deals right now, and it seems strange for it to be Everton in both cases.

Ricky1985 wrote:

Iwobi + money to Palace, Zaha to Arsenal?

I'm thinking Chambers + the money we'll get from selling Iwobi to Everton. That would make more sense for Iwobi too, who I don't think is too keen to join Palace.

Klaus wrote:
USArsenal wrote:

Luiz isn't the top player I was hoping we'd get, but I would rate it at 6/10, which is better than the 1/10 that Mustafi is.

The fact that he'll most likely start for us means there's similarr potential for damage. I'd rather use Chambers until Holding is back... unless maybe he's off in the late window drama. Chambers and Iwobi out, Zaha in?

If he's not better than Chambers, then we don't need to start him. I highly doubt that he won't be, though.

Quincy Abeyie wrote:
Klaus wrote:

The fact that he'll most likely start for us means there's similarr potential for damage. I'd rather use Chambers until Holding is back... unless maybe he's off in the late window drama. Chambers and Iwobi out, Zaha in?

If he's not better than Chambers, then we don't need to start him.

Right, and we also don't need to sign him, but here we are.

Klaus wrote:
Ricky1985 wrote:

Iwobi + money to Palace, Zaha to Arsenal?

I'm thinking Chambers + the money we'll get from selling Iwobi to Everton. That would make more sense for Iwobi too, who I don't think is too keen to join Palace.

I don't know about Chambers, but Iwobi -> Everton and Zaha to us seems on.

Palace have been really busy bringing bodies in this week.

Klaus wrote:
Quincy Abeyie wrote:

If he's not better than Chambers, then we don't need to start him.

Right, and we also don't need to sign him, but here we are.

We don't need to do anything. That a player will start even if he isn't better just because we signed him doesn't make sense.

What doesn't quite make sense to me is that we're bringing him in as a desperate last-minute grab if we have no intention of starting him. But we'll see soon enough.

He will be starting because he is better than our other options as a CB. simple enough

Shady wrote:
Klaus wrote:

I'm thinking Chambers + the money we'll get from selling Iwobi to Everton. That would make more sense for Iwobi too, who I don't think is too keen to join Palace.

I don't know about Chambers, but Iwobi -> Everton and Zaha to us seems on.

Palace have been really busy bringing bodies in this week.

I really hope it's on. I need this to lift my mood after the mess we've got in defence.

It's a shame Iwobi seems to be going though. Zaha and Wobers on the left and Pepe and Nelson on the right would be a terrific setup. Two good wingers of high Premier League quality and two big talents behind them.

Clrnc wrote:

He will be starting because he is better than our other options as a CB. simple enough

This..  plus I don't know why you'd start Chambers ahead of him. I dont particularly think he's any better than Luiz

Klaus wrote:
Shady wrote:

I don't know about Chambers, but Iwobi -> Everton and Zaha to us seems on.

Palace have been really busy bringing bodies in this week.

I really hope it's on. I need this to lift my mood after the mess we've got in defence.

It's a shame Iwobi seems to be going though. Zaha and Wobers on the left and Pepe and Nelson on the right would be a terrific setup. Two good wingers of high Premier League quality and two big talents behind them.

[Twitter][/Twitter]
Put a good bet on them being relegated if they sell him

Come on Klaus cheer up stop being so negative mate, this is easily the best window we've had in a decade

Uncork a bottle of rotten fish and celebrate with the rest of us

Clrnc wrote:

[Twitter][/Twitter]
Put a good bet on them being relegated if they sell him

I said the same thing when the links to us started to pop up, Clrnc. I had a look at a Palace forum a few weeks ago and several of them seemed to think the same. I get why Palace have been reluctant to ship him off.

jones wrote:

Come on Klaus cheer up stop being so negative mate, this is easily the best window we've had in a decade

Too many unknowns (and a few knowns...) for me to be comfortable, plus we haven't fixed the biggest problem area. We'll see where we're at when everything has been said and done though.

Andy Carroll back to Newcastle 😆

Klaus wrote:

What doesn't quite make sense to me is that we're bringing him in as a desperate last-minute grab if we have no intention of starting him. But we'll see soon enough.

To me having the intention of starting him doesn't equal to keep starting him even if Chambers proves to be the better option. 

Klaus wrote:
Ricky1985 wrote:

Iwobi + money to Palace, Zaha to Arsenal?

I'm thinking Chambers + the money we'll get from selling Iwobi to Everton. That would make more sense for Iwobi too, who I don't think is too keen to join Palace.

The only way I can see Palace selling is if they get Iwobi in return. It's too late for them to get anyone else of a similar quality this late.

Unless they have been planning for this eventuality for a while and have someone lined up. But I've heard nothing and the fact that they allowed Allain Saint-Maximin to go to Newcastle last week gives me the impression they didn't anticipate the transfer request from Zaha.

They're looking at Sarr.

Klaus wrote:
jones wrote:

Come on Klaus cheer up stop being so negative mate, this is easily the best window we've had in a decade

Too many unknowns (and a few knowns...) for me to be comfortable, plus we haven't fixed the biggest problem area. We'll see where we're at when everything has been said and done though.

Fair enough. To be honest although I was trying to honestly cheer you up I was mostly trying to fit in my quip about your people celebrating with exploding fish cans

Ricky1985 wrote:
Klaus wrote:

I'm thinking Chambers + the money we'll get from selling Iwobi to Everton. That would make more sense for Iwobi too, who I don't think is too keen to join Palace.

The only way I can see Palace selling is if they get Iwobi in return. It's too late for them to get anyone else of a similar quality this late.

Unless they have been planning for this eventuality for a while and have someone lined up. But I've heard nothing and the fact that they allowed Allain Saint-Maximin to go to Newcastle last week gives me the impression they didn't anticipate the transfer request from Zaha.

You're probably right. Looking at their transfers they've only gotten four players in this summer, and two of them are free transfers (Gary Cahill and a goalkeeper who last sat on the bench for Nottingham). The other two are Jordan Ayew and James McCarthy. Not a lot of attacking bang for those bucks.

Zaha seems like a stupid or douchey guy. Signs a shiny new long-term contract and then puts in a transfer request when they won't let him go. Would like to see have him anyway, although does he favor the left or right side?

Quincy Abeyie wrote:
Klaus wrote:

What doesn't quite make sense to me is that we're bringing him in as a desperate last-minute grab if we have no intention of starting him. But we'll see soon enough.

To me having the intention of starting him doesn't equal to keep starting him even if Chambers proves to be the better option. 

Yes, but seriously Quincy, my objection isn't that we're bringing in Bob to maybe make up the numbers. It's that we're bringing in Bob as the only reinforcement of a useless central defence. The fact that I think Chambers is better doesn't mean I think Chambers should start either. Do you honestly not see the issue, or why are we still arguing about this?

Quincy Abeyie wrote:

Zaha seems like a stupid or douchey guy. Signs a shiny new long-term contract and then puts in a transfer request when they won't let him go. Would like to see have him anyway, although does he favor the left or right side?

Left, like Coombs says, so we could play both him and Pepe in their natural positions.

Sky Sports reporting Jean-Kevin Augustin to Palace rumors.

And that Zaha missed training yesterday, too. It's more likely precautionary from his camp I think, in case a deal goes through and he has to run to sign and complete a medical.

Luiz played more through balls in the league than any other player last season. Guy is genuinely the best CB on the ball that I've seen.

With him and Chambers as options our passing out the back should hopefully go up a level.

Quincy Abeyie wrote:

Zaha seems like a stupid or douchey guy. Signs a shiny new long-term contract and then puts in a transfer request when they won't let him go. Would like to see have him anyway, although does he favor the left or right side?

Sure it limited his options for charting his own destiny, but it guaranteed money in the pocket for several years. The downside of not signing the contract is finding yourself injured and without a contract like Welbeck. That’s many millions of pounds farted away.

I'd keep Iwobi. He's inefficient, but I think he'd do very well if he's surrounded by better players (such as Tierney and Ceballos). Iwobi is a clever pass and move type of player who would benefit from quicker passing and more passing options around him.

goon wrote:

Luiz played more through balls in the league than any other player last season. Guy is genuinely the best CB on the ball that I've seen.

With him and Chambers as options our passing out the back should hopefully go up a level.

Rugani is decent on the ball too, and Mustafi, for all of his faults, knows how to pass it out from the back too. I assume the same is true for Upamecano. Also seems like the main reason we haven't sold Chambers this summer; his distribution was key in the game against Barcelona. It definitely seems like an important feature for any defenders we're looking at.

[Twitter]
Not that it's really a scoop at this point, but it is legit.

Clrnc wrote:

Celtic fans on social media needs to get real and accept they are a much smaller club than us. Lennon sutton and brown are happy for him which says it all. Dont get why they are so upset. Who would stay in the one club league?

they clearly have an over-inflated opinion of themselves. they usually lose players to southampton, at least they can say it's one of the top clubs in the world this time.

Klaus wrote:
Quincy Abeyie wrote:

To me having the intention of starting him doesn't equal to keep starting him even if Chambers proves to be the better option. 

Yes, but seriously Quincy, my objection isn't that we're bringing in Bob to maybe make up the numbers. It's that we're bringing in Bob as the only reinforcement of a useless central defence. The fact that I think Chambers is better doesn't mean I think Chambers should start either. Do you honestly not see the issue, or why are we still arguing about this?

I think it's just a case of being realistic. We've committed £140m on incoming players over the past month, so someone like Upamecano always felt like a bit of a pipe dream. You could argue we should have spent less on a winger or signed a defender now rather than for a year down the line, but personally I think I'm happy with our approach.

Kel Varnsen wrote:

I'd keep Iwobi. He's inefficient, but I think he'd do very well if he's surrounded by better players (such as Tierney and Ceballos). Iwobi is a clever pass and move type of player who would benefit from quicker passing and more passing options around him.

The whole team will benefit. We need to be able to build attacks more confidently with 6 or 7 quick passes. Aim should be to get more movement up front to get create open chances. I’m excited for the season

goon wrote:

I think it's just a case of being realistic. We've committed £140m on incoming players over the past month, so someone like Upamecano always felt like a bit of a pipe dream. You could argue we should have spent less on a winger or signed a defender now rather than for a year down the line, but personally I think I'm happy with our approach.

We bid £60 million for Upamecano though and then landed Luiz instead. If the money was there, how come we didn't go in a more forceful and planned way for a defender of real quality who can contribute this season? Why did we leave it so late? Why hasn't it been an absolute priority this summer considering what the last two seasons have looked like?

If we're pulling off a late-hour deal for Zaha I could understand reallocating that cash, but getting Luiz and then closing shop - after losing Iwobi on top of it who's our best left winger - would be hard for me to stomach.

Klaus wrote:
goon wrote:

I think it's just a case of being realistic. We've committed £140m on incoming players over the past month, so someone like Upamecano always felt like a bit of a pipe dream. You could argue we should have spent less on a winger or signed a defender now rather than for a year down the line, but personally I think I'm happy with our approach.

We bid £60 million for Upamecano though and then landed Luiz instead. If the money was there, how come we didn't go in a more forceful and planned way for a defender of real quality who can contribute this season? Why did we leave it so late? Why hasn't it been an absolute priority this summer considering what the last two seasons have looked like?

There is obviously the caveat that timelines and the information we have is incomplete - there could be an answer to all those questions, we just don't know them.

I don't think we've ignored defence like in previous seasons considering we signed Saliba, Tierney and, finally, Luiz. There's nothing to suggest we won't go all out next summer either - it's not ideal but I do think the club have genuinely tried, which is a nice change.