The College Dropout

If they continue people will watch it. Football is much more star led than many like to believe

A good Saudi league will force change to UEFA rules that will make us more competitive imo

He’s not retired like. At this pace the Saudi league will be at least as good as Ligue 1 or Eredivisie.

Set pieces. Aye great. general play? Good passing but not Pirlo, Modric or even Bruno G or Gundogan. He’s a good passer but not an elite passer (or particularly close). The potentially elite aspects are more physical and mental. From the clips I’ve seen he’s not a deep lying midfielder. He looks box to box to me with a fantastic engine. He covers far too much ground to be considered deep lying.

What do the stats say about dribbling then? Btw the vast majority of Tonali’s creativity comes from set pieces. He’s not a creative or penetrative passer from the eye test or statistically.

Let’s agree to disagree. If there’s two things Lavia is 100% better than Tonali at - it’s close control and dribbling. That take is wild and lazy. And 100% incorrect according to the data. likewise their passing stats are similar. I’ve seen Lavia split our defence with his weak foot. Through bodies in midfield and defence in one go.

I would expect some elite attributes - particularly technical ones. Like Camavinga at his age has a Unqiue combination of elite athleticism, dribbling and a passing technique. Or even a Bruno. I spent a good while yesterday watching Tonali. I thought 60m is a lot but he’s a wonder kid on a long contract, had some big success already, at a massive club etc. hence the premium. And he seems to have all those mental intangibles too. Skills wise….. I like Lavia more. I’ll be honest.

I agree with this. To me he’s the Longstaff replacement at RCM. He can rotate with Bruno. Ur he’s not going to sit in front of the defence for 90 minutes. That’s what Longstaff and Bruno already do. I think that’s a better strategy than the pure DM route. All of Longstaff attributes at a higher calibre is extremely difficult to find but I think we’ve done it. It doesn’t scream €60m to me either but the combination is rare. It’s a level above your Hojberg’s and Bissouma’s, Fred etc. it took Gundogan genuinely about 2-3 years to really adapt to the PL. Rodri 1 year. But Tonali looks to have the profile to do well from day one. Aggressive, strong, athletic. Ceiling maybe not as high but his floor is higher. People forget how off the pace Rodri was in his first season - it was Pep’s worst season since his debut. That Rodri-Gundo axis was too slow and easily bypassed. The attacking midfielder is Maddison or Szo. If we get one that solves the ‘lack of guile when Bruno doesn’t play’ problem.

My only ‘concern’ was that he didn’t look like he would solve the problems we have when Bruno doesn’t play. That lack of ball progression or guile in midfield to create a bit of space. But I think the JM / Szo signing solves that.

Nah Bruno progresses the ball with passing and dribbling much better. Silkier. The Tonali comps are full of hard running, interceptions and tackles, good feet and decent passing. A Bruno comp will have more skilful runs and less obvious passes.

Tbh I thought that after looking at his fbref, reading a few articles (particularly the more DeRossi than Pirlo one) and watching a few YouTube comps.

We are already kinda cheating.

A part of the appeal for you is that ‘unknown factor’. Foreign players based abroad have that. English PL footballers do not. My reply was facetious but not facile. I’m in the right ballpark. We all get it sometimes.

Thanks for sharing @TonaliFan . Sounds like a champions league version of Longstaff

‘I want him because he’s foreign and exotic.’

Makes JM the better prospect for me. Playing in a more difficult league in an inferior team.

Villa, Brighton, West Ham, Brentford, Fulham if he’s lucky. Forest if he’s not. Arsenal need to balance the books and FFP. Havertz can play anywhere ESR can play, ESR has to leave.

Aye but He’s communicating net salary to communicate info about the player - not FFP.

But aye the figures quoted are difficult to believe.

Net pay is important in football because of the different tax laws in different countries. A €5m gross salary in France, UK, Italy and Saudi are all very different.

I mentioned it elsewhere on the forum. Havertz is Balogun & ESR money.

They don’t care for Manchester City. It doesn’t have a soul. And if you want to go you can go. Bernardo has been on the verge of leaving for 3 years. I pray to God we never become like that. I can see Havertz replacing Xhaka in the starting XI.

Yeh and his fbref - doesn’t scream ‘elite midfield technician’. His progressive passing stats are middling. everything I’ve read and seen suggests his ‘elite’ potential isn’t down to passing or technical brilliance. Great mentality, athleticism, work rate with tidy feet and solid technical abilities. Somewhere between De Rossi and Jordan Henderson. It’s more if Sean Longstaff was a level or two better.

Never paid him much attention. YouTube highlights I think he reminds me of a supercharged Longstaff which is great. But doesn’t scream €70m midfielder.

The Milan lad is arrogant. But so are we. Balance.