ponsaelius

It's more that with both Barella and Tonali they are basically the 'emblem' players for both clubs. Both national team midfielders, boyhood fans of the clubs and with plenty miles left on the clock. Italian clubs are skint but even then there tends to be untouchable domestic players that they'll put a high price on even above the players actual value - particularly in cases where the players themselves I think would take some convincing to move and otherwise will happily keep signing new contracts. They're more likely to shuffle/recycle others out the door - wary of missing out on transfer fees when players' contracts run down. I think you'd be looking at closer to 70-80 million to get either club to sell. I can definitely see why we're testing the water with the bids rumoured but I'm just not convinced they're going to be doable in our budget unless we're happy to go silly.

Yeah, fair point. I didn't really comment on his time at Brescia because they had 1 season in Serie A when he was 20, were pretty hopeless, and went straight back down. Didn't think it was a great sample to judge on either way. I actually saw him play live in Brescia in 2020. 1-1 draw with Udinese just before they went behind closed doors for COVID. Remember being disappointed after the hype but like I say Brescia were poor.

Different players but definitely Barella. More of a complete package in both directions, more made for the PL, and more made for our current system. Also more established in the national team while Tonali has not really started many games. Only thing to say is however that Tonali is 3 years younger.

The Pirlo comparison was never a perfect fit, and was more because of his appearance and the fact he came through at Brescia. There's similarities, but he's never had the passing ability of Pirlo. More physical and high energy though. Worth noting that he's never played in a midfield 3 really, always in a double pivot. So it's hard to really say whether we'd see him as a 6 or as an 8 if we stick with the current system.

Somewhere between Gattuso and Pirlo in terms of style, but nowhere near as good as either. I've never been entirely convinced by him ever since he came through with Brescia and wouldn't be as confident in him as a signing as I would Barella - but still a good player with years to improve. Again feel however it's unlikely for all the same reasons the Barella one was. You might as well copy and paste that thread. Our transfer operations are starting to feel a little slap dash if these reports are true.

Last one is more realistic

The way Chelsea went about spending last season seemed so wreckless at the time that it was almost incredulous. Now I'm convinced it was done in full knowledge that they'd be able to do this.

Saudi has a foreign player cap too (7 per team). This is to increase to 8.

Nobody of the star of Haaland/Odegaard but surely better 1-11 and 12-23. That team in the 90s had loads of PL players at big clubs.

I wouldn't say it to his face no, cos he's huge. He's been a superb signing and love having him around the squad. I wouldn't even say he's clearly a CB - I think he can play both positions effectively. However if your model is to replace the weakest starters with clear upgrades (which seems to be the case) them he's obviously up there as a priority. No top club would have a full back who can't/doesn't cross the ball.

Scored against Ghana but he'd already left for Liverpool by then.

Don't think Howe is ever playing Targett over Burn again unless Burn is needed in the middle. Left back absolutely a priority position for me. I know people worry about his fitness record but I think Tierney would be absolutely superb in our system. Bit of a shame it appears to have gone slightly quiet on that one.

To be fair that side is honking on paper.

Is that first NUFC goalscorer for England since Owen btw?

It's not just culture but language too. Italy in general has much lower English proficiency than northern Europe - particularly the kind of demographics who become footballers. Obviously this is not too dissimilar to France/Spain/Portugal but there's a much bigger critical mass of players who speak those languages because you have South Americans and West Africans in abundance too which makes it easier to adapt when there's already an enclave of players there too speaking languages and sharing culture. Italian is much more of a language isolate. Jorginho is Brazilian and moved to Europe at 16. Di Matteo was born in Schaffhausen and speaks German as a first language - didn't even move to Italy to play football until he was in his 20s.

I mean I definitely answered this. The real question is how many have there actually been? I can't think of a single first choice Italian international midfielder in the last 30 years has ever moved to England since PL began. Albertini, D. Baggio, Pirlo, Gattuso, Ambrosini, De Rossi, Verratti etc. Even players in the next bracket down there has been very few/none who have actually moved to England. You can probably say the same for most other positions on the pitch too like CB and centre forward. The kinds of players who have tended to move to England have been younger players, peripheral international players, or those in their older years. Jorginho and Di Matteo probably the only real examples I can think of first choice Italian midfielders who played in England during peak years. And neither of them are actually Italian so only reinforce the rule tbh. If we signed Barella he'd be probably the most prominent example I can think of as an Italian player moving to an Engish club. It's why I think it so unlikely tbh.

Almost goes without saying really. The main irony for me is that as money in football has ballooned as it has become an entertainment industry (particularly through TV and commercial revenue) it is actually perfectly possible for all PL clubs to sell matchday tickets at a reasonable price. They don't even need the money - but do so to keep up with the joneses on fees/wages and to squeeze everything for what it's worth. Conversely if you are going to watch lower league or non league football that money actually is needed to keep those clubs going. Like it was for top flight clubs in the 80s. Yet many actually begrudge the cost of football at that level more than they do in the PL.

It's probably in line with inflation if you look at CL ticket prices for our early 2000s CL games. But then they were expensive then - hence why we had a load of empty seats at the time. I think it's on the expensive side. Don't get me wrong I've spent more than that on football tickets before - sometimes from resellers and touts - but that's when I've been on a trip to somewhere and the match is the entire reason I'm there. In that instance you don't mind the cost because it's a special occasion and you're already sinking a load for the trip anyway. Same principle for dropping £60 on a ticket for the Sam Fender gig - it's a one off big occasion for people. I think the difference with supporting your team is that 'going to the match' is/used to be something that is/was a routine. A bit like going to church once a week. It's a commitment, and many have an expectation to be able to every match. For a lot of people that's not the case anymore and will become less and less so as ticket prices go up. When ticket prices go up to £60 a pop and beyond - it becomes the type of thing that you have to pick and choose when to go. A special occasion thing like a night out at the theatre, or going to a big concert. This brings it in line with what US sports are like. I think this can also begin to have a detrimental impact on atmosphere. Not just because of the demographics who can go - because it slides further into being a piece entertainment to be bought and those paying to be there expect value for money. That is not necessarily condusive to the best atmosphere - as is seen at many clubs. Just because there's enough demand, and the ground will be full at X price, it doesn't make it not worth questioning and critiquing the price point.

£55 quid a ticket for CL, good job I've got a dodgy box now then

I think Havertz is a good footballer but agree he suffers in not really having an actual role or position. Germany have become experts in producing positionless players.

He's also got even more minutes in his legs at that age than Dele Alli did, and already plays games with strapping all over his legs. Not to say he's going to go anywhere near the same way - but definitely needs to watch out for physical burnout.

Yeah I'd say pace on the transition both with and without the ball was probably his most definable attribute. Even now he's still got a decent turn of pace. Can't think of many at 35 who are quicker tbh

It's definitely a combination of both, tbh.

Di Maria slow? Definitely not. Even now at 35. He had absolutely no interest in being at Man United though.

Ravanelli's salary increase was about 6x when he went to Boro IIRC (7k to 42k).