Watts is good. He is rarely the first to get scoops, but when he says something it's not something that he's made up.

Sicario wrote:

Mark Irwin [size=large]of the sun[/size] says we are no longer interested in Upamecano. How reliable is he?

Captain wrote:

Really not on board with selling iwobi.

What price would you let him go for?

Guys, Iwobi was way ahead on our xA and xG chains. He’s the guy who’s dribbling past guys, cutting in yo set up fullbacks. He doesn’t look exciting and explosive, but he’s been incredibly useful. We don’t have an immediate replacement on the squad if we sell him.

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They seemed to have treated him disgracefully. And I think they'll regret not having him around this season. Especially if Mandzukic or Llorente are his replacement

That's great. Showcasing how much class they have yet again.

On Iwobi, forget what he brings, Everton might give top 4 a serious push, no way should we give them Iwobi unless we have a definite upgrade.

Temo wrote:
Shady wrote:

The money they'll get from staying up is worth the £20-£30mil loss on Zaha's value in the next year.

Why would it be a 20-30m loss. He has 4 more years on his contract.

Worst case scenario. He'll be 27, fast approaching 28, and wingers typically decline soon after that point due to a loss of pace or injuries, as they receive more tackles than other players.

Iwobi's ceiling depends on whether he can sort his finishing out. His "progressive play" is all well and good, but we need end product.

Shady wrote:

Iwobi's ceiling depends on whether he can sort his finishing out. His "progressive play" is all well and good, but we need end product.

If we become more fluid as a team, the end product will come. Everyone has to work hard for shots.

if all things were equal, id prefer coutinho at LW over iwobi this season, if we are really going for it.

that said, taking £35m for iwobi and paying £25m in loan fees and salary for coutinho is bad business.

mdgoonah41 wrote:

if all things were equal, id prefer coutinho at LW over iwobi this season, if we are really going for it.

that said, taking £35m for iwobi and paying £25m in loan fees and salary for coutinho is bad business.

All these fees have to be paid at some point. Coutinho, Ceballos, Pépé, etc. sounds like a recipe for financial collapse

I’ve heard the Tierney deal is unlikely and he may even sign an extension.

We have shaved around £20m net from the annual wage bill.

Is there any disadvantage to our doing that or now that the PL have scrapped the rule limiting annual wage growth to £7m?

As far as I am able to see, we could increase the wage bill £100m next summer if we wished to and provided we don't end up making a loss at the end of the 3 year FFP period, we'd be fine in doing so.

Tam wrote:

I’ve heard the Tierney deal is unlikely and he may even sign an extension.

That's a shame.

speedy wrote:
Captain wrote:

Really not on board with selling iwobi.

What price would you let him go for?

150m. 

I like Iwobi. I think he's a good player and I like the fact he has been at the club since he was a kid. Without knowing him, I'd also wager that he is mentally very strong and determined (and not that fake determination like some people).

Quincy Abeyie wrote:

Imagine if we don't get Tierney nor Upa.

It's not looking like we will right now, but we can still hope.

Barcelona midfielder Philippe Coutinho has turned down a loan move to Spurs [Sky]

I will be massively shocked if we don't sign Tierney.

Quincy Abeyie wrote:

Imagine if we don't get Tierney nor Upa.

Need a CB by hook or crook.

I think Celtic have already prepared for life without Tierney (didnt they get a replacement LB already?). So I think it will be completed before the end

Ricky1985 wrote:

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They seemed to have treated him disgracefully. And I think they'll regret not having him around this season. Especially if Mandzukic or Llorente are his replacement

Lukaku pulled the same stunt of going back home to keep fit when he forced a move from Everton too though. Fuck United obviously but it's not like he's innocent here

Captain wrote:

I will be massively shocked if we don't sign Tierney.

As would I. That said, you have a theory as to why with 24 hours left it has not been done? Even with his injury rehab it seems to be cutting it fine.

Ricky1985 wrote:
Captain wrote:

I will be massively shocked if we don't sign Tierney.

As would I. That said, you have a theory as to why with 24 hours left it has not been done? Even with his injury rehab it seems to be cutting it fine.

Perhaps we were waiting as long as we could so we didn't have to pay his wages until the last second while he's rehabbing

USArsenal wrote:
Ricky1985 wrote:

As would I. That said, you have a theory as to why with 24 hours left it has not been done? Even with his injury rehab it seems to be cutting it fine.

Perhaps we were waiting as long as we could so we didn't have to pay his wages until the last second while he's rehabbing

I don't think even the previous lot at our club would have jeopardised a £25m signing to save a few hundred thousand in wages.

I would imagine with his well publicised issues that any medical would be a bit more stringent and time consuming than normal too, doesn't bode well with time running out.

Ricky1985 wrote:
Captain wrote:

I will be massively shocked if we don't sign Tierney.

As would I. That said, you have a theory as to why with 24 hours left it has not been done? Even with his injury rehab it seems to be cutting it fine.

Your guess is as good as mine. Seemed like all parties knew exactly what they needed to do weeks ago, so I have no idea unless we got nervous because of the injury.

USArsenal wrote:
Ricky1985 wrote:

As would I. That said, you have a theory as to why with 24 hours left it has not been done? Even with his injury rehab it seems to be cutting it fine.

Perhaps we were waiting as long as we could so we didn't have to pay his wages until the last second while he's rehabbing

Maybe we wanted to make sure the injury was healing well. So we're letting it heal as much as we can before we decide if we should take a punt on him. 

It could be healing really well like Kos did or terribly like Verms did.

Selling Iwobi would be ridiculously bad business.

well we can't complain about how other clubs get big money for wasteman and we hold onto ours in the face of 30m (and hopefully 40m) bids.

Meatwad wrote:

well we can't complain about how other clubs get big money for wasteman and we hold onto ours in the face of 30m (and hopefully 40m) bids.

Except he isn’t a waste man 🙂
He’s the kind of depth that you’ll be crying for in December and February

Madness that we left it till the last 24 hours for the most important area of the pitch to strengthen.

Id like iwobi to stay, he looked great in the last 4 games this season. But overall he still shows a lot of the same weaknesses.
If he pays for 2/3 of Upamecano then that's a no brainer. Iwobi is back up while Upamecano could be the most important person in the team.

I don't think the valuations of Iwobi are in sync with most of us feeling that £50m being the most we should've expected to pay for Zaha. The latter is the better player by some distance.

Quincy Abeyie wrote:

I don't think the valuations of Iwobi are in sync with most of us feeling that £50m being the most we should've expected to pay for Zaha. The latter is the better player by some distance.

Except Zaha’s team wants £100m for him. So adjust as necessary.

if we sell iwobi for £40m, then spend £70m + ESR for upamecano, then pay a £10m loan fee for coutinho, i think we're clear favorites for 3rd place, and if things break, we could stay within shouting distance of the top 2

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The broken ankle really limited his options. Good signing for Watford though.