QuincyAbeyie indeed Quince. And then we after we get Isak etc., we still need to solve the problem of replacing Gabriel in defense. It’s not like moving on from Pepe because we had discovered an internal upgrade in Saka.

Claudius exactly. If you get, let's go mad and say £100m for Big Gab then you spending over half that to replace him with someone not as good and who needs to settle in. So that's less than £50m to your transfer kitty. Not to sniffed at but not money that suddenly gets you Wirtz and Isak.

Whatever naysayers. I see a donut.

Big Willie The post this thread needed and I agree with the rankings.

Reckon we might benefit psychologically from one or two big sales this summer, so long as it's a massive window for signings. It'd hurt, but time has come to feel the mortality of the whole project with Arteta.

Coombs a good test for this is name 4 to 5 better players globally in each position. That helps you understand where players rank. We actually have a fair few players who sit in this place. And then some positions will stick out as opportunities.

I will contribute what I think are the top 6 forwards based on their most common position (no particular order):
Top 6 right wingers: Salah, Saka, Dembele, Lamal, Rodrygo, Olise
Top 6 strikers: Kane, Lewandowski, Haaland, Mbappe, Isak, Osimhen
Top 6 left wingers: Kvaratshkelia, Vinny Jr., Son, Raphinha, Barcola, Williams

Claudius -- top 6 CBs?

Gabriel, Saliba, Rudiger, Van Djik, .... I actually think after those 4 the last 2 spots would be incredibly debatable.

Claudius a better test, though, is what makes for good football that wins trophies. I appreciate we have a magnificent defense, but we play to their strengths as well. There are other ways to get things done.

Coombs most opposition fans I talk to are very high on Saliba, Gabriel and especially Raya. There is a ton of respect for these players. Part of why we have the strengths you highlighted is exactly because of these players. Arteta started with Leno, Sokratis, Luis Mustafi, in these positions. He could not play his football perfectly with that group for various reasons.

MistaT I would throw Bastoni, Militao, Dias, Kim and Araujo into the conversation behind that 4

Panda not if they’ve got a release clause. See Dean Huijsen at Bournemouth. Very good young defender, only 19/20.

This guy and Williams please

Claudius his audition can be the destruction of Spurs in the QF's.

Him over Sesko by a mile for me.

JazzG this is a crazy compilation. I love his speed on the counter. We just lack that right now. I would prioritise him if I was the new DoF.

Although I like this Hugo kid, he is not made in our (Arteta’s) current mold of striker. Physical strength, hard pressing ability, hold up play, aerial duel winning machine, those are our prioritized qualities. Sesko is the target I believe - for good or for ill. Arteta prefers to have workhorses upfront rather than thoroughbreds.

A whole set of clubs after him , we will have to be very convincing to land him.

Panda just trying to help make the math math. If he’s good enough, he’s old enough as the saying goes, and by all accounts this kid is another monster in the making. Saliba learned his trade on the job as well, and we were fine. He can be the mentor this time around.

Anyway, if I’m honest, I don’t know why I’m still advancing this conversation - I do like Gabriel and saw what he could potentially become early, kudos to him for leveling up his game and improving his focus. I guess I really just got triggered by the statement that without Gabriel the project was dead and that he’s irreplaceable.

Ekitike would be perfect which is why we won't get him. We'll get another flimsy, loose striker.

flobaba . I guess I really just got triggered by the statement that without Gabriel the project was dead and that he’s irreplaceable.

As Arsène once said, "the cemeteries are full of useful people". Nobody is truly irreplaceable.

But maybe big Gabi comes close...

Bring Back Kerrea Gilbert Arteta adding Klinedienst to cart as we speak.

Losing Trent is a huge blow for them. His creation numbers are off the chart and while he's not a great defender, he's such a difference maker for them from that right back spot - literally no one else in the world does what he does from that position. I still expect them to hold onto Salah and VVD but even that end result of undoubtedly overpaying two players on the wrong side of 30 is a scary proposition.

Losing him on a free. Fuck me.

If Pool lose even half of the players mentioned (between TAA, VVD, Salah, Diaz and Nunez), they are potentially gonna take a significant hit next year.

At least city have some semblance of a plan in place for losing players like De Bruyne, Grealish (no big loss on the pitch), Stones, Silva, Gundogan, Walker, Kovacic. They will have Rodri back and have purchased some players in January that might be a bit more settled by next season. And they will bring in plenty more (unless they are sanctioned)

And we all know what our needs are. Extremely significant summer for the top teams.

Liverpool already needed to spend on a new LB, new CM and a new ST and that was assuming Nunez leaves this summer. Now they need to sign a new RB and also ensure they re-sign Salah and VVD, which will be no small feat. If they let Diaz go, that's another top player they need to replace. Even if they keep Salah and VVD, if Salah doesn't have another Balon D'Or quality year and his performance goes down by just 10-20%, that's such a huge hole to fill with his performances, no TAA, and new players around the pitch. Clearly winning a title is worth it but I would not feel great going into this summer as a Liverpool fan.

daredevil I don't think they will fall back to like mid-table like United, Spurs or Chelsea have since they have a solid manager with good players. But I do think that Salah and TAA have saved them multiple times this year and in past years due to their awesome attacking and creating abilities. If you take out TAA and just put in a solid RB, they'll arguably get better defensively but they lose that X-factor that has been so crucial for them this season.

I'd love for all of you to be right but I just know that Liverpool have had the gods with them for a decade now.

There's no accounting for every chance or setback as we've seen this season, but most judges would say we've got more squad upside than Liverpool.

A lot more if Salah heads off, but I wouldn't be surprised if Salah stayed on for three seasons for Haaland's wages or even more.

In any case, if we have the summer we need and normal luck, I think we are better than Liverpool.

They could keep Salah and VVD, and add Isak

Claudius I doubt that'll happen. If Salah and Virgil were going to stay why haven't they agreed a deal already? The whole situation has been handled horribly by Liverpool. They're lucky Salah is having an all time season because if they weren't riding the good vibes from that there would be a lot more scrutiny.