When we are done we should go back for his Argentine friend Martinez

Both of his Argentine friends Martinez.

And inter are broke. Why are City and United being linked to Kane when Lautaro is 23!?

I'm hoping this guy can be our bruno in terms of impact. united were on a one way trip to nowhere before signing that guy, and they're still no great shakes but they were legit spiralling before they bought him. his impact solidified them back into a top 4 calibre team, and it was just a case of getting 1 intelligent player capable of knitting together their brainless pace merchants

Don’t think he can be Bruno. Bruno was getting silly numbers for at least 2 years before he was signed. It is amazing it took him so long to go to a big club. Maybe his agent wanted £20m. But he can be a catalyst for change. Saka especially would feel a massive burden come off his shoulders.

I don't expect him to be as big a stat machine, but just in terms of knitting things together, being a well positioned pressure release further up the pitch etc. and all things considered, his stats have suffered by dint of playing with pukki and co. he could explode with us if used correctly

Yeah. I’m less concerned about stats as well. It’s the front footedness and providing an alternative to Saka, so the latter can also play off the ball more.

Sicario wrote:

Don Pacifico wrote:

If we are indeed going for him, question has to be, why the fuck didn't we go for him last summer when we could have got him cheaper...?

Muddled thinking then or desperation now?

Also, isn't Bell just parroting the Sun article?

Prob because we were mainly after Aouar as our number one target and perhaps it was too late in the day to get Beundia. Don’t forget the Aouar saga lasted till almost the last day of the window.

Makes sense but if my memory serves me correctly, we were looking to pay circa £40m for Aouar, which is likely what we'd have to pay for Buendia now.

Can't help but feel it's another example of a poor transfer strategy particularly given the dearth in creativity we suffered for much (or even all!) of last season.

Minus all the penalties United get Bruno's numbers don't look all that unsurmountable to me.

Let's see if we can even land Buendia before we start comparing him to Penandes.

Don Pacifico wrote:

Sicario wrote:

Prob because we were mainly after Aouar as our number one target and perhaps it was too late in the day to get Beundia. Don’t forget the Aouar saga lasted till almost the last day of the window.

Makes sense but if my memory serves me correctly, we were looking to pay circa £40m for Aouar, which is likely what we'd have to pay for Buendia now.

Can't help but feel it's another example of a poor transfer strategy particularly given the dearth in creativity we suffered for much (or even all!) of last season.

Not really sure if that's the case.

We had a CB signing as a priority.

Beyond that people seem to think we were loaded with cash.

The reality is we had to sell players.

We have to maximize the value of square pegs and get the players we need.

Willock had a great loan and his stock is at an all time high. Comes back as a bit part player and his value will go down again. AMN too.

Norwich had already sold Godfrey and only sell at the right price which is why Max Aarons, Todd Cantwell and buendia all stayed.

@lorddulaarsenal wrote:

Not only that but he says it’s been accepted

wait, what? I was expecting them to hold out for more. 30 mil is an absolute steal.

Lost in translation from the arabic. It was REJECTED.

Claudius wrote:

Yeah. I’m less concerned about stats as well.

Really? I want "stats" from him if we are talking goals and assists. Serious lack of people putting up numbers in the squad and if that doesn't change it wont matter how nice our patterns are or who knits together well.

I'll be really disappointed if we sign Buendia and he doesn't rack up some decent numbers.

I think it is a given that he can deliver numbers. He’s multi-talented. What our offense needs is greasing. We need players to be constantly moving and available. I want to see Saka liberated to play more off the ball (and rest). I want to see Pépé played in more so we can de-emphasise his build up and emphasize his finishing. That’s the process I want. If it works, you’ll get your stats from everybody.

End product is important but I think we desperately need someone to bring our football together, think of the impact Hleb had.

The end product would the naturally follow, if not from the player in question than those around him.

With Hleb in 07/08 we mostly played with two strikers plus Fabregas who was an end product machine though. But I think Saka, Pépé and Auba is plenty of end product to be fair. Hasn't been like that this season, but if Auba isn't improving from this season we're in trouble either way.

Yeah. That's a good point. We badly needed one person to link up and provide for the rest to be productive.

That said he does really looked fantastic both in compilations and stats wise. Generally players who shine in championship does well in PL too. He's more mature and experienced than 2 years ago

goon wrote:

think of the impact Hleb had.

So you want Buendia to be shit for 2 years then manage half a decent season before fucking off to Barca and tanking his career?

Quincy Abeyie wrote:

With Hleb in 07/08 we mostly played with two strikers plus Fabregas who was an end product machine though. But I think Saka, Pépé and Auba is plenty of end product to be fair. Hasn't been like that this season, but if Auba isn't improving from this season we're in trouble either way.

Funnily enough I remember arguing with Asa about this on the eve of that season when he claimed that side had nowhere near enough goals in it. A young, optimistic otfgoon claimed the likes of Adebayor and Rosicky had it in them to step up.

Rosicky doubled his league goal tally from 3 to 6 despite missing half a season. Cesc went from being a non-factor with regards to goals to scoring 7 while Adebayor went from 8 league goals to 24.

But yeah, Cesc is one of the reasons why I'd like to still prefer to see a technical player next to Partey rather than a Bissouma type.