i want to get him in, but what's the upper limit we should be spending? shakhtar are clearly in sell mode and are trying to publicly pump his price tag. he really shouldn't be going for more than 50-60m.

  • goon replied to this.

    It's time for me to post my ITK source. I'm told this is pretty much in advanced stage and will be done in January. Fee is alot lower than 100m

      Gazza M

      £50-60m is probably about right and that's after you add on Jan premium etc. Given his age and I assume modest salary it probably wouldn't be too bad overspending on him provided he isn't a flop ofc.

        goon I would post photos but realised there are no private forums anymore and everything is public here.

          I'm slightly miffed we're hunting for a winger where we have cover when we have a striker and a Thomas Partey issue. Maybe the club thinks Balogun is the next great thing.

            I think it's more that they think Mudryk is the next big thing.

            I'd also imagine the thinking is that that another winger helps free up Martinelli to play centrally and Saka to be rested (if we were to use either on the right, which admittedly seems a bit unlikely).

            Can he play left and right? That would be ideal.

            This is the 3rd wide forward Ornstein has linked us with after Raphinha and Neto. Let's hope it's third time lucky, we also have confirmation fron Clrnc's source so what could go wrong? 🙃

              banduan I reckon Martinelli will play through the middle more often

                Even if we do sign this kid, do people really think he is going to be in the starting lineup right away?

                He doesn't need to be, but what he does provide at the very least is a viable option off the bench, cover for injuries and a high quality rotation option. We need to get to a place where he have 15-16 players who are genuinely starting quality across the pitch. We have that in defence I'd say, but in midfield and the forward areas is where we're lacking right now.

                Easy to see this guy earning us 3-6 points with a couple of winning goals/assists in tight games. Keeps the others on their toes as well.

                Panda Can he play left and right? That would be ideal.

                I have looked into this a few times and could be wrong, but there's no real suggestion out there he can play right.

                Bit of a problem as we end up with Martinelli, Smith Rowe and Mudryk contending on the left unless we "convert" one of them.

                    Burnwinter Saka is such an important player that no one else will have s chance to play on the right. Hasn't he started all but 2 of our last 60 or so games in the league?

                      Burnwinter I suspect Arteta doesn't see Smith-Rowe as a legitimate option for the left except in exceptional circumstances

                        I think you're both probably right. In the bigger picture it becomes a question of whether Arteta can actually handle Premiership and Champions League simultaneously next season.

                        Saka starts 95% of all our matches, sure, but is it really because he's all important or because Tet doesn't know how to rotate?

                        As for Smith Rowe, we really ought to be playing him for a transfer at an absolute minimum. He has brilliant talent and scores late run goals from a different school to our other forwards.

                          I think Smith-Rowe's squad role at present is as Odegaard's competition/backup, we just haven't seen that as he's been injured and Vieira has been given that role in the meantime. Long term I think Vieira will play deeper, or maybe Odegaard will. Or maybe Arteta just doesn't rate Smith-Rowe, what do I know. Though there was a time when Martinelli couldn't get into the team because of ESR and we thought Arteta didn't rate him