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8 minutes ago, Optimistic Nut said:


I know we’re no longer under Ashley but I’m still surprised at the level of player people seem to be turning their noses up at. For me the likes of Schmeichel, Tarkowski, Calvert-Lewin are all players who will improve the squad and see us pushing top 7.

It's the context, which I think is being missed. 

 

Is Schmeichel an exciting signing for the next 10 years? No, is he better than Dubravka? Yes.

 

Is Tarkowski as good as Botman etc, no. Could he be a valuable squad player to serve as 3rd/4th choice? Yes.

 

Calvert Lewin would have cost 50m 18 months ago. His injuries are a concern but he was absolutely class, not so long ago and if he can prove his fitness would be a great addition.

 

Also, these lads play for Everton, Leicester and Burnley (their captain), when was the last time we started taking players from rival clubs?

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4 minutes ago, cubaricho said:

Howe very specifically mentions bringing down the age of the squad in his latest presser. The rumors involving older players might not be as solid as they seem.

What he actually says is that he needs to make sure there is the correct balance.

 

I agree that it seems unlikely that he will bring in a 35 year old keeper AND a 29 year old defender though but we don't know what the club has planned in other areas.

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Schmeichel would be a very good signing for 2/3 seasons, he’s better than Dubs in almost all areas and as has been said he’s a great character/leader to have behind any defence. 

 

Tarkowski would be a solid signing as well, considering we are most likely letting go of Clark and Fern I see him as a good bit of business. Without doubt he’s an upgrade on those 2, a wealth of PL experience and while he may not be great with the ball he’s pretty good without it. 29 is a good age for a CB, if he’s happy to come here and not be a guaranteed starter week in week out then it would work for all parties.

 

I think some people might have to lower their expectations on what our window will look like this summer, I expect it to look pretty similar to January overall in terms of which leagues we buy from. 1/2 younger players from abroad (of Bruno’s level) and 4/5 from the PL, just with slightly more quality throughout the signings. The run we went on and our wealth has some people thinking we will be looking at raiding Europe for all the top young talent there, we are just not realistically able to do that at the level we are at this season.

 

 

Edited by Nine

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Interest has seemingly cooled a bit on Aleksander Isak due to not scoring quite as many goals this season.

 

We were said to really like him towards the end of last year. I wonder if we might look to capitalise on other clubs maybe moving slower for him now.

 

Think he'd be an ideal signing as a second/deeper striker, similar to how Josh King was playing off Wilson, if Howe is looking to return to his Bournemouth 4-4-2.

 

Wonder if a bid in the £40 million range does the trick.

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21 minutes ago, KaKa said:

Interest has seemingly cooled a bit on Aleksander Isak due to not scoring quite as many goals this season.

 

We were said to really like him towards the end of last year. I wonder if we might look to capitalise on other clubs maybe moving slower for him now.

 

Think he'd be an ideal signing as a second/deeper striker, similar to how Josh King was playing off Wilson, if Howe is looking to return to his Bournemouth 4-4-2.

 

Wonder if a bid in the £40 million range does the trick.

Didn’t they want 70 plus million in January ?

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11 minutes ago, SUPERTOON said:

Didn’t they want 70 plus million in January ?

 

That's his release clause, and they weren't really looking to lose him half way through the season, and so I think they were insisting on the clause being met at the time.

 

He ended up not having as good a season goal scoring wise, and apparently is looking to move on this summer. I think Sociedad played a diamond formation last season that didn't quite work out to well for him.

 

It's kind of led to a lot more hype around Nunez who is attracting a lot more interest now due to his scoring record this season. I just wonder if we might be able to sneak in and do a deal for Isak.

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5 minutes ago, KaKa said:

 

That's his release clause, and they weren't really looking to lose him half way through the season, and so I think they were insisting on the clause being met at the time.

 

He ended up not having as good a season goal scoring wise, and apparently is looking to move on this summer. I think Sociedad played a diamond formation last season that didn't quite work out to well for him.

 

It's kind of led to a lot more hype around Nunez who is attracting a lot more interest now due to his scoring record this season. I just wonder if we might be able to sneak in and do a deal for Isak.

I’d rather go for him than DCL

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2 minutes ago, SUPERTOON said:

I’d rather go for him than DCL

 

Oh yeah, for sure. I find the DCL link a bit worrying tbh. He would cost at least £50 million, and I could just see it going wrong and him not doing that well for some reason. For that kind of money I think we could get a bigger talent on the continent.

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2 hours ago, SUPERTOON said:

Can’t listen currently, does he mention any names ?

He mentioned Aaron Hickey from Bologna as someone we are seriously looking at, but I guess all the top clubs would be circling as he has a bright future 

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2 hours ago, STM said:

Schmeichel is shite now? :lol:

 

Honestly winds me up the shit people talk. 

 

Schmeichel would transform our distribution from the back and he's an absolute boss of a leader. Leicester have had a shite season and conceded loads of goals but that might have been due to their chronic injuries at the back rather than their goalkeeper.

 

What if, and I know this is crazy, the club see Schmeichel as a great option for a couple of years before we find the next Allison/Ederson. I know my scouting isn't the greatest but last time I checked world class progressive goalkeepers don't grow on trees. 

He has certainly slipped this year

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3 hours ago, toontownman said:

Saw that yesterday. Was stunned he is 35. Scary how time flies. 

 

Good bloke. We have been linked to better. 

 Would never have guessed he was 35 either. Looks good for his age to be fair to him. 

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1 hour ago, KaKa said:

 

That's his release clause, and they weren't really looking to lose him half way through the season, and so I think they were insisting on the clause being met at the time.

 

He ended up not having as good a season goal scoring wise, and apparently is looking to move on this summer. I think Sociedad played a diamond formation last season that didn't quite work out to well for him.

 

It's kind of led to a lot more hype around Nunez who is attracting a lot more interest now due to his scoring record this season. I just wonder if we might be able to sneak in and do a deal for Isak.

Good article on Isak, would certainly be a real coup to get him and his dip might just help us.

 

https://theanalyst.com/2022/01/alexander-isak-stats-overview/

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Remember when Arsenal fans were tracking thay Rolls Royce with ISAK as the reg plate thinking it was him coming for his medical.

 

I can't wait to be that pathetic this summer

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2 hours ago, KaKa said:

 

Oh yeah, for sure. I find the DCL link a bit worrying tbh. He would cost at least £50 million, and I could just see it going wrong and him not doing that well for some reason. For that kind of money I think we could get a bigger talent on the continent.

We already have wilson who's legs are made of cheese strings last thing we need is dcl who's also constantly injured 

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Seen the discussion earlier regarding Tarkowski on a free. Don't think he uses the ball well enough for a Eddie Howe team.

 

A defender on a free that is far better suited is the guy from Lyon that was at Sunderland when he was young, but who has developed really well since then Jason Denayer.

 

We were linked with him as well in January, and I wouldn't be surprised if we have that deal sewn up already.

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I think the aim should be incremental improvement. All of our signings should enhance the squad or have the potential to do so in the future.

 

To take some recent examples:

 

Tarkowski: currently plays in a team that regularly deploys the low block, where there isn't an emphasis to play the ball out from the back. Howe wants his CBs to play higher up the pitch and be progressive with the ball. That firmly places him behind Burn and Schar in the pecking order, on par with Lascelles. He can only play RCB so he doesn't tick Howe's flexibility criteria either. Basically he'd help pad out the squad, but he's limited and would be more of what we already have. We'd also have an imbalance between right and left footers.

 

Lingard: in his purple patch at West Ham, he played ahead of the Soucek-Rice double pivot where he could break with pace and support Antonio. Essentially, he plays where Miggy wants to and while he's probably a better player, we'd experience the same problems that we do with Almiron. He doesn't have the ability to play in a three and he doesn't have the skill set to be playing out wide. Unless you're using him in the hole in a 4-2-3-1 or a 4-4-1-1, he's wasted and not what the squad needs.

 

DCL: an absolute beast in the air and not too bad on the deck either. He'd offer more of a physical presence than Wilson, meaning we could go horses for courses and rotate to manage both players fitness. If we are confident we can keep him fit, he'd definetly enhance our forward options. At his peak he was roughly a one in three man, but he's only 25, meaning we've probably not seen the best of him yet either.

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4 minutes ago, The Prophet said:

I think the aim should be incremental improvement. All of our signings should enhance the squad or have the potential to do so in the future.

 

To take some recent examples:

 

Tarkowski: currently plays in a team that regularly deploys the low block, where there isn't an emphasis to play the ball out from the back. Howe wants his CBs to play higher up the pitch and be progressive with the ball. That firmly places him behind Burn and Schar in the pecking order, on par with Lascelles. He can only play RCB so he doesn't tick Howe's flexibility criteria either. Basically he'd help pad out the squad, but he's limited and would be more of what we already have. We'd also have an imbalance between right and left footers.

 

Lingard: in his purple patch at West Ham, he played ahead of the Soucek-Rice double pivot where he could break with pace and support Antonio. Essentially, he plays where Miggy wants to and while he's probably a better player, we'd experience the same problems that we do with Almiron. He doesn't have the ability to play in a three and he doesn't have the skill set to be playing out wide. Unless you're using him in the hole in a 4-2-3-1 or a 4-4-1-1, he's wasted and not what the squad needs.

 

DCL: an absolute beast in the air and not too bad on the deck either. He'd offer more of a physical presence than Wilson, meaning we could go horses for courses and rotate to manage both players fitness. If we are confident we can keep him fit, he'd definetly enhance our forward options. At his peak he was roughly a one in three man, but he's only 25, meaning we've probably not seen the best of him yet either.

 

 

Depending on the cost, I'd love DCL.  What sort of cost is being speculated?

 

 

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