I think people are underrating the possibility that Yan Diomande is actually the real deal. He is the anti-Mudryk where the more you look into him, the more impressive he looks. He's shockingly good at passing and shooting with both feet. For the concerns about Bundesliga fraudulence, it's small sample size but Diomande also put up off of-the-charts numbers on a terrible team in La Liga. I reckon he's probably just an off-the-charts good player. It's not impossible he's a fraud but if the only major barrier to signing him is ~ £80m, then I would just sign him. I think that seems about fair for the risk-reward profile. I wouldn't be mad if we signed Barcola but:
- Gun to my head, I'd probably pick Diomande over Barcola.
- As far as I'm aware, PSG ITKs seem convinced Barcola isn't leaving.
He's not an attacker but if the only major barrier to signing Elliot Anderson is ~ £110m then I would just sign him. Just like with DIomande, it's a large number but it really seems about right to me. We could do worse than Fernandes, but it seems like a poor man's version of Anderson.
Furthermore, the idea of signing small techy players to player center forward seems fanciful to me. With the current man-to-man tactical meta, I think center forwards need to be able to consistently beat PL centerbacks in one-on-one physical duels. I think that's non-negotiable. So the only areas that I think Kroupi or Alvarez could play would be at 10 where we need to get rid of players more than we need to add players.
I also think that the biggest difference between Kroupi and Nwaneri is that Kroupi didn't play for a club that did everything in their power to screw him over across the last 12 months. I also think Morgan Rogers is just flat out not good.
