KaKa

Reports that we're interested in Saliba.

16 minutes ago, Slim said:

Why would he?

New contract dispute with Liverpool isn't it?

My God man ... surely Arsenal aren't going to sign Morata

The guy can be so incredibly frustrating, which is probably not the profile of striker you want to sign for Arsenal, who are already an incredibly frustrating team. The fans are going to keel over next season man  

25 minutes ago, Gavin400 said:

Love the positive energy.

I can just see it already. Think so many English players get overlooked so quickly for some reason. They seem to have such a short leash when they're coming through. 

I think the likes of Milner and Henderson at Liverpool have been very fortunate. In slightly different circumstances the pair of them could easily have been written off as not being good enough, but they landed in situations with decent managers that put them in position to maximise their abilities, and contribute at the highest level.

Harry Winks would be another Dan Burn and Matt Targett type transfer.

Everyone being underwhelmed about it, and then changing their tune when Howe starts getting great performances out of him.

3 minutes ago, Mikky said:

£25m for Harry Winks - worlds gone mad 

 

I despair at any club that buys this gimp

There were a lot of strong rumours in Jan that he was a priority target for Howe, and that Howe liked him a lot.

Only reason it supposedly didn't happen in the end is that when Conte first came in, he was using him at Spurs initially.

Think Winks has lost his way at Spurs, but he's got ability and had some really good moments under Pochettino.

3 hours ago, midds said:

Can't see anything wrong with admitting that other clubs have bought well and improved, we don't have a monopoly on ambition. We have to remember that continual improvement and investment is normal, the fact we've been shorn of that for so long recently doesn't mean others haven't. They'll sign good players, but we'll sign good players too. I trust them to get it right more often than not and I'm only really concerned with who we buy. Doesn't mean I'm not going to acknowledge other clubs signing quality, it's perfectly healthy 

Yeah, I agree.

I want the league as competitive as possible, as it will mean greater opportunities for other clubs to get into those European places and shake things up, and we'll be one of them.

Besides, I think Villa managing to sign these calibre of players bodes very well for us this summer, as we should be able to do the same, and I have no doubt we will.

29 minutes ago, Keegans Export said:

That would be a disappointing use of £30m 

Absolutely no chance whatsoever.

We already bought a 29 year old left footed centre back in Jan, in Dan Burn, who I would start over Mings anyway.

Any centre backs we bring in will be younger players, no older than 25 I imagine, as Schar is getting into his 30s as well.

Think this is wishful thinking by Villa, who are probably trying to drum up interest. Good luck getting £30 million for that guy.

44 minutes ago, GeordieDazzler said:

You can see why the PSG fan are fuming like. Letting local lads like Nkunku and Diaby go and bringing in mercenaries on 300k a week.

They are phenomenally dumb

Nkunku and Diaby are exactly the types they need to compete at the very highest level, as they are very modern inverted wingers with all the dynamic athleticism in the world. And they both rack up a ton of goals and assists.

Imagine those two either side of Mbappe upfront. Would be a terrifying front line.

1 hour ago, Manxst said:

Yes fucking please. Bye bye St Max though. 

Diaby is left footed and cuts in from the right, so would be on the opposite side.

23 minutes ago, toontownman said:

At times I have thought he has been a bit lazy but I think he has been  told to stick up front. He definitely has the physical skills to track back and has done so for Canada. 

 

I'm not convinced we are in for him though. 

Yeah, be interesting to see if we do go for him.

Like @Keegans Exportjust mentioned his manager for Canada is from the North East and supports Newcastle and all, and so we should have a lot of info on him.

8 minutes ago, toontownman said:

David is similar to Wilson imo. He is best as a false 9 or coming from deep. Had a great spell as an AM in Belgium before he went to Lille. Not a big target man and not a wide forward either, maybe he could do a job out there but definitely predominantly played through the middle. He Isn't rapid but does have good acceleration. Is a very good positionally, great movement and is a pretty damn good finisher.  Nicknamed the ice man for his calm under pressure. I think Howe would drive up his work rate.

 

He dipped in form the second half of the season which should drive his fee down a little. Second dry spell he has had at Lille is a little worrying. I think that might have put off the likes of Liverpool, Arsenal (heavily linked) Manure (ten hag apparently wants him) and Inter who are also very heavily linked.

 

That Lille side is absolutely horrific though, in fact even in winning the league last year I haven't seen many league winners incapable of passing to each other (especially David) and being so enfuriating to watch. I think he would thrive at Arsenal or Liverpool and in a team that actually passes to him lol. I'd worry we would ruin him but he has a strong character and I'd be pretty excited if we got him. Would prefer Davies though haha.

Interestingly he has been playing as a second striker at Lille, in a narrow 4-4-2 tactic, which is the tactic Howe has mostly preferred as a manager. Good breakdown of how David functions in this setup in the video below.

28 minutes ago, McCormick said:

I wouldn’t say he’s particularly pacy tbh; faster than Bruno and a very good ball carrier though.

 

Different types of player but imo he’s a more talented footballer than Bruno.

Think his stocky build and his gait are deceptive, the guy is pacy IMO.

Agreed, he is really talented and versatile. At one point at Gent he played as an attacking mid behind two other strikers, and threaded assists through to them along with still scoring regularly.

43 minutes ago, gbandit said:

More pacey as well isn’t he? We’re crying out for some pace through the middle and up front 

Yes, loads of pace, and another that can play as a support striker, attacking midfielder, left side and right side.

Read an article this morning saying Everton are after £45 million if they sell DCL. Hopefully we steer well clear of that.

4 minutes ago, worthy said:

This guy is class in my Nice FM save. As an armchair expert manager ( ) sign him up

It's pretty cool when the club is linked with a player that has been class for you on FM.

10 minutes ago, Cookie1892 said:

just posted on the aviation thread that a a private jet went farnborough > nice then nice > newcastle yesterday and is going back to nice this morning.

 

Plane is owned by the Nice chairman Jim Ratcliffe so wonder if we were interested in anyone from there?

 

Amine Gouiri, apparently sent a senior official to watch him recently ...

2 minutes ago, Hovagod said:

'TheOther14.' Fuck off.

1 minute ago, sushimonster85 said:

 

Maybe, but at least Luke Edwards won't take a shit on your bed.

Just now, Joey47 said:

 

Yeah, I don't get the people turning their noses up at Gray, think he'd be a good signing. He's better than Almiron, Murphy, and Fraser. More direct than Maxi too and a better striker of the ball. 

I'm with you. I like him. Still just 25 years old too.

He's exactly the sort of player you could see Howe getting a lot more out of, as he has such a great foundation of skills.

It's going to continue to be a hallmark of Howe's while he's here. Maximising the talents of a lot of players.

8 minutes ago, Joey47 said:

 

Rafa played Gray as a second striker a fair bit this season.

Yeah, I know. He looked really dangerous in that position too. Howe might have really liked what he brought to that position playing off another front man.

9 hours ago, The Prophet said:

I'm a fan of Gray, arguably Everton's best player this season. 

 

Strange how we're being linked with left sided wingers though, when that's ASM and Fraser's starting position.

A lot of them can play as a second striker/attacking midfielder too, which is the way Howe often used Josh King really successfully at Bournemouth. Think it's probably the same sort of idea.

4 minutes ago, Fantail Breeze said:

 

A bad watch that got to a cup final?

 

Kane and Son also got 74 goals and 41 assists under Mourinho  They were class under him and both loved him.

 

Man Utd have also done impeccably well after booting him. From a European cup win to fuck all.

Look, both teams often looked terribly disjointed going forward under Mourinho. It was all very unconvincing.

Yes, you can look awful and get to cup finals. If he was so amazing he would still be at one of those clubs.

The fans were bored, and ultimately certain clubs are just not going to accept his football unless he is competing at the very top. He was not able to convince Spurs he would have them competing at a higher level, and he wasn't able to convince Man Utd he would have them back where they were under Ferguson.

5 minutes ago, Fantail Breeze said:

 

It’s not as successful either.

 

It’s such a myth that he plays dull defensive football week in week out. He does, when the time is right to get a result. That’s what top managers do, change their tactics based on the opposition.

Man, this guy had Kane and Son at Tottenham and they were a bad watch. The guy's football is dull as dishwater man.

That's why he ultimately had to leave Man Utd and Tottenham. The fans were not going for it.

3 minutes ago, Fantail Breeze said:

 

Did you like Rafa?

Yes, his football is nowhere near as dreary as Mourinho's.