Claudius that's my point..? Nothing suggests that Cunha would be more available after half a season of good form in the middle of the season, so if we buy him now the problem in the summer wasn't that no strikers were available and that they've somehow suddenly become available in January. It was that we want him more now than then. Identification issue. Not identifying his existence as a player, but our need for him.

    JazzG probably because we sold a bunch of players this summer. Including Nketiah and ESR who were pure profit.

        • JazzG

        • Post #413

        Big Willie Yup, shows we have money to spend if we want.

        I think this window we need to work hard for the wide player. In the summer go all out for a striker.

          Marmoush and Cunha weren't as attractive in the summer, so the fact that they could have been purchased then is irrelevant.

          It's precisely their form since the summer which is the reason clubs are now interested in them. Before that, no-one had even heard of Marmoush and Cunha had had only one good season under his name. The fact that he's now having the best season of his career is why clubs are interested in him.

          So... Identification then.

          And by "nobody had heard of" I hope you're referring to the average Twitter user and not our employed scouts.

            QuincyAbeyie

            Identifying which player with a very limited track record (a single season in both cases) is going to have a breakout is as easy to identify as which company in the stock market is going to break through it's ATH.

            It's always obvious in hindsight and ridiculous to claim that it's an error on the part of the clubs. Either you're speculating on who will, in which case you could just as well end up with someone who doesn't build on their previous season, or you're waiting for more information/evidence of sustained performance before you pull the trigger.

                • Qwiss

                • Post #417

                Cunha was in the PL last season and looked excellent at times. I don't think its unreasonable to say that our scouts should have known about his ability then. He's been excellent since Pereira came in at Wolves. So what QuincyAbeyie is saying about us being able to buy him just as easily last summer is entirely correct.

                  daredevil so we agree that the issue isn't that players aren't available but that we don't know which available players will do well and not. Identification.

                      • Qwiss

                      • Post #419

                      QuincyAbeyie how could a professional scout possibly identify talent before every casual fan who watches MOTD every now and then has started hyping them?

                        They're not mutually exclusive.

                        Using hindsight to justify that a player could have been bought earlier is still using hindsight. Both him and Marmoush are now highly sought after for their form since the summer in addition to what they previously did. You can't ignore that their recent form is a huge catalyst for the surge in interest.

                        To be fair most of our signings have been scouted and checked up on for months

                        If Kvaratskhelia is truly available this window, we need to be all over it. He's got everything we need (okay maybe not game breaking pace but he's not slow by any means) to play opposite Saka. Can create chances in any game state, is a great finisher, and works his socks off on both sides of the ball. He's been on the top of my list for the LW since the summer and is the type of signing that would keep our title chances alive IMO. I like him more than Leao.

                        Guys, chill out. All well and good saying our scouts should identify X, Y, or Z or they're failing at their job but...