el Janny Tranny
Cunha looks like a clear upgrade on Jesus. But I don’t think you can continue to neglect our squad by signing him unless one of Jesus or Havertz is moved this summer. Have the three of those for one position is almost as bad as trying to fit those players into the wings (or Havertz to 8).
Barcola benched for the second game in a row.
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Brazil media are saying we had a loan bid rejected for Jesus, another brazilian striker
Week and a half before our next PL game. Let's get something done before that and really go after Liverpool. A good signing could add some positive vibes too.
DiabyKungFu I’d be more than happy to pay above market prices for Barcola this month. I’m not saying he’s better than Cunha right now but he fits the squad better as a pure out and out winger. I do have some concerns about how most of his goals come in transition but we need a transition monster anyways as our squad is painfully slow (this weekend’s starting XI was the slowest lineup I can ever remember us putting out). Put whatever we would be willing to pay for Cunha towards Barcola (plus more probably)and I’m game.
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Barcola isnt the right fit for us. We need someone to put away the chances we get , not another player who misses too many of them.
I think creativity is a bigger issue for us than finishing tbh.
at this moment in time we just need bodies. A good loan or two is much needed cos there's nobody in the youth team that can fill the gaps we have now.
A forward signing isn't enough although I'd take that this January.
We are also a bit of an eyesore in midfield and need someone with an elite technical profile to come in.
La Stampa from what I know is a decent source. Now the Juve fans don't really like him, say he is not good enough and a diva. Also a lot of ITK's from Italy are saying he has such a bad injury in his abductors that they don't think he will ever pass a medical.
Now some shit sources:
Wolves going for some South America talent again. They have good record from there, right?
Same for Brighton
What's the vibe on Vlahovic these days? Seems his stock has gone down since he joined Juve but potentially still one of the best options on the market.
GooneriC He's 22 and has 10 g from 8.2 xG. I'd hardly say he's someone who's missing too many chances but admittedly I am not watching full PSG games, other than Champions League. I'd be curious who you would be looking at for a LW that fits those requirements because there really aren't a lot of available ones out there that are world class finishers (and that aren't already at Madrid). Everyone loves Rafael Leao but he has 3 goals this year from 4.5 xG. I love Kvara but he isn't exactly the most prolific either with 4 goals from 3.5 xG (pens excluded from both). My favorite for last summer, Nico Williams, has a whopping 1 goal from 2.4 xG. It's just really hard to find available LWs that score in bunches at the moment, which is what I think we need if we are going to persist with Havertz up top for now. Bringing in a more output oriented striker like Isak or Gyokeres might alleviate the need for end product from the left wing though.
One signing won't do much. It's systematic. We need a CF, LWF and CM/DM to make this shit work and start winning the big trophies.
Bring Back Kerrea Gilbert we need one good signing for now. Next year we need to move Partey and Jorginho on, but Partey has been our best CM this year, so we need to handle that change with real care
Barcola strikes me as an interesting profile for us. I'd have a long talk with Nico Williams's agent first, but if we're not getting Nico in the summer Barcola now makes sense to me.
Claudius I keep seeing this Barcola talk. PSG have an Mbappe-lite replacement that they paid €45m. Why are they selling him?
I don't know, but I also don't know why they're benching him. Maybe they're just dumb. We should test that hypothesis just to see.
samthegooner this is why a striker should be our top priority ahead of a winger. Martinellis numbers aren't that bad. Trossards forms bottomed out but he has goals in him. We have less quality and depth up front than on the wings IMO.
Claudius this is the problem with waiting to solve issues. When you leave one, and IMO we left a Partey replacement and a forward last summer, then it all comes to ahead and you end up with way too much to do. If we'd solved either of those issues last summer then we'd be far better off this season and going into the summer. Now its January and we are in panic buy mode.
We need creativity (both on the ball and with movement against tightly packed defenses) more than goal output, particularly on the left wing IMO. Our finishing is fine, we’re just too ‘system dependent’ when it comes to creating chances, besides Saka.
I like Vlahovic. Bulldozing style with a hunger for goals
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Qwiss I think part of the issue is we have really been active each summer, turning over the squad from the Covid team. 2023 summer we got Havertz, Rice, Timber, Raya. They are 4 of our 8 most played players.
It’s a ton of change. And a lot of work for the recruiting team. We need the other forward. Summer let’s deal with maintenance
Claudius Not last summer but the one before.
Qwiss that was the original plan, right? As much as Havertz has proved his worth, I don't think he's ever going to be enough at CF and I don't think we've seen enough of Havertz to say he can't own the left 8 role.
Don Pacifico Havertz is fine. What we need is another Saka out left, and then Havertz will be maximised. If we find a scoring left winger we are set. If we find a striker, I think we will find that we probably still need to deal with left wing anyway
Claudius for sure, I don't think it's a case of either/or, we should definitely get both of we want to be elite.
Don Pacifico difference is I think we can be the best team in Europe with Havertz starting. Don’t think we can do it with Martinelli starting
Claudius I agree with your prioritisation but not sure I quite have the confidence to believe it would make us the best team in Europe!
Also very much depends on who we bring in; I know I'm a broken record but I really don't want another 'system' player as I think we need more options for when that system breaks down. Don't think I'll get my wish though.
Don Pacifico he's a good squad player but he's not good enough in any position to be a first XI player if we want to consistently win things. He's a very solid player but there is little to no magic there. I think we have a squad with too many players like that but when its your centre forward it really shows.
some source I have never heard of before are saying we want Damsgaard. Horrible.
Its a bit of an issue if we can't afford £58m for one of our main targets this window.
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Qwiss nah with Williams it's his wages, he is on over 200.000 euros per week now, and wants 300 or over, depending on what report you read. Add the sign on bonus, agent fees. He won't get that from anyone bar Barcelona. Not even Chelsea will pay that for him, as he is simply, not worth that much, I mean we are talking about a guy that Gabriel Magalhaes smokes when it comes to scoring rate
Eze and Esse at Palace!
Lee Kang-In links are interesting