TambourineMan Could be a week or two ... shouldn't be any longer based on the Euros, though, our England players are already back in action. I'm sure he'll get at least a week's training with the XI, however ... anything else would be daft, we don't need him to plug a hole in the Titanic or anything.

Might ride the pine this weekend to get a taste of it if everything comes together astoundingly quickly, or get a little run-out at home to Brighton.

    MistaT So do we see Califoria or Timber enabling Rice to actually press higher than we’d typically expect of a 6? No way Zinchenko can offer what I’m envisioning…

    Zinchenko is already dropping in between the two CB during the build-up phase, so those two will likely follow the same template.

      Happy Merino Day!

      Something to get the juices flowing. Have a watch whilst you sup on your morning latte

      I'm glad we signed him but I'm not that excited. I think he's more of a depth signing to help us maintain the way we finished last campaign across an entire season, which is great, but I'm not sure it'll too noticeable in individual games.

      QuincyAbeyie Tifo and the Athletic spend a lot of time sucking Arteta off. If Arteta bring his wife into the team, they would make a video about how great she is gonna be.

      Excited about this signing, he will fit in very well. Hope he breaks into the first 11 really fast

        QuincyAbeyie I remember when Tifo/The Athletic made that video about how Havertz would fit in at CM and it totally tricked me into thinking it would work.

        Ha. Well at least in this case I think we're going to play him in exactly the position he's used to playing!

            QuincyAbeyie he’s played in CM in pre-season and it has looked good. I think we often get too married to positions without considering things like a) who else is around these players?, b) how versatile are players, c) how flexible is the coach’s system, and d) what are the game states?

                Claudius I guess it's only when we lose against Liverpool we're not supposed to care about preseason. 😉

                I've seen enough of him in CM. He was put into a functional team without managing to get involved, and without doing enough when he was.
                He's a striker for me,and luckily that's probably where he'll play.

                    TambourineMan Wonder how long it'll be before we see him in first team action?

                    I'd be shocked if he's not at least on the bench for Brighton. Perfect chance to give him a debut off the bench at home.

                    Anyway I like the signing, he's a player with qualities that should suit the PL. I do wonder how he'll be deployed and what the shape of our midfield will be once he's up to speed. Good to have more solid options there though.

                        QuincyAbeyie he's been brilliant as a striker. The idea of putting him back into midfield when we haven't signed another striker is a really weird one for me. Especially given we are about to be one striker lighter than last year.

                          Kai's not dominant enough with the ball to play in CM. All his skills lean towards being a centre forward.

                          Qwiss it's good we got him in now. he can spend this season bedding in as we phase partey out

                            I just saw this.. For real, we're building a monster team...

                            Saliba: 6ft 4
                            Gabriel: 6ft 3
                            Havertz: 6ft 5
                            Merino: 6ft 3
                            Rice : 6ft 3
                            Partey : 6ft 2
                            White: 6ft 1
                            Calafiori: 6ft 2

                              Imagine standing next to them in the tunnel. Mind already turns to the next game.