Emi Buendia
Didn't see that coming, probably because of the earlier talk re a 15m figure although that didn't make sense.
If Norwich want 40m is he still the #1 choice ahead of the likes of Brandt / Aouar so far as value for money?
Does his price then make him a starting player ahead of the likes of ESR, in which case would a loan for Isco make more sense if someone was to start ahead of ESR?
TBH as much as I want him here I'd rather put those options to a bid for Sabitzer as a genuine starting player who is a free agent in the summer.
Would also much rather Sabitzer at the quoted prices. The only thing that makes him interesting is the rumored Willock / Nelson trade in, but if we want to sell them, why not create a real open market for them and then just buy Sabitzer?
The only concern with Sabitzer is he does turn 27 in March. Buendia just turned 24 last week. So we’d be buying Sabitzer with little resale, his last big contract. While Buendia would have more runway to build a team and even be sold later if need be.
Chucking Nelson and/or Willock would be a shit deal. Just pay Norwich instead.
if we get emi, Willocks path to the first team is pretty tough. buendia, esr and willian would be ahead of him. Nelson is somewhat similar, with saka looking like he could lock down that right flank, with pepe and willian as back up. not surprised their names are coming up
Gazza M wrote:if we get emi, Willocks path to the first team is pretty tough. buendia, esr and willian would be ahead of him. Nelson is somewhat similar, with saka looking like he could lock down that right flank, with pepe and willian as back up. not surprised their names are coming up
I don't see Willock as an AM. IMO he's more in the Rambo mold of B2B/CMA.
If we didn’t waste the whole summer on Aouar we could have got Emi for a lot cheaper, and integrated into the squad. Too much dithering from Edu / Arteta. Hope they learn from that.
The more I think of it the more p*ssed I'd be if we ended up paying the equivalent of a 40m valuation on a player in a team that was relegated last summer, after not making a bid for him that same summer.
IMO it would be akin to AW refusing OL's 35m valuation on Lacazette one season, and then paying 15m+ more the following season.
Claudius wrote:Would also much rather Sabitzer at the quoted prices. The only thing that makes him interesting is the rumored Willock / Nelson trade in, but if we want to sell them, why not create a real open market for them and then just buy Sabitzer?
The only concern with Sabitzer is he does turn 27 in March. Buendia just turned 24 last week. So we’d be buying Sabitzer with little resale, his last big contract. While Buendia would have more runway to build a team and even be sold later if need be.
27 used to be considered as entering the peak years 27-31.
If we're after resale sign him for 5-7 years and sell after 3-4.
Or why get Emi? I’m still nervous about how Norwich fans complain about his inconsistency and reliability. The type of stuff that we complain about with guys like Pépé etc pops up when they discuss him. We need to recruit talented players but we also need to ensure that every starter is someone we can depend on. More Tierneys.
Ray wrote:If we didn’t waste the whole summer on Aouar we could have got Emi for a lot cheaper, and integrated into the squad. Too much dithering from Edu / Arteta. Hope they learn from that.
I think the plan was to convert to a 433, whereas the emergence of ESR has changed both the intended formation and the transfer needs/priorities both in terms of positions and role/attribute requirements.
Klaus wrote:Chucking Nelson and/or Willock would be a shit deal. Just pay Norwich instead.
It's not clear in the independent article but it's been mentioned elsewhere that the kids going in the other direction would be on loan.
Claudius wrote:Or why get Emi? I’m still nervous about how Norwich fans complain about his inconsistency and reliability. The type of stuff that we complain about with guys like Pépé etc pops up when they discuss him. We need to recruit talented players but we also need to ensure that every starter is someone we can depend on. More Tierneys.
Which is where I'm not sure I'd sign him as a starter as opposed to being part of a rotation roster, and less so @ 40m (not that I think that is a serious/realistic valuation post COVID).
goon wrote:Klaus wrote:Chucking Nelson and/or Willock would be a shit deal. Just pay Norwich instead.
It's not clear in the independent article but it's been mentioned elsewhere that the kids going in the other direction would be on loan.
That's a bonus, but still doesn't negate any 40m valuation.
Buendia - Partey - ESR midfield sounds tasty. Would be good for Nelson or Willock to go on loan and gain some experience too. Win-win deal for us potentially.
Claudius wrote:Or why get Emi? I’m still nervous about how Norwich fans complain about his inconsistency and reliability. The type of stuff that we complain about with guys like Pépé etc pops up when they discuss him. We need to recruit talented players but we also need to ensure that every starter is someone we can depend on. More Tierneys.
What do they mean by inconsistent? He's always looked technically consistent to me. His g/a and stats in general look pretty decent for a young player too.
He feels like the sort of player Liverpool would snap up to me.
No chance I pay £40mil
Norwich are having a laugh.
Go after Brandt and then in the summer revisit this and Aouar.
40m for a Championship player? 
Out of curiosity, what's the most expensive Championship player ever? I found Maddison to Leicester for £22m and Bowen to West Ham for £22m.
Ole Watkins? That was around £32m or something. Benrahma was about £30m in total too I think.
Also is Buendia definitely going to start? What’s the plan that people see?