Now That's What I Call Transfer Rumours! 7

[LionOfGosforth]

1 hour ago, Sempiternal said:

God I’d love Osimhen here, he’s built for the PL. 

 

Gonna be puke-inducing when he lines up for Man Utd or Chelsea. Honestly think they're the only two who could and would pay what Napoli would want. 

[kingxlnc]

Isak was elite level when he signed, he was being spoken of in the same breath as Haaland and Mbappe, slightly below that tier, in the Vlahovic or even Osimhen level.

 

Bruno was less known but known amongst the bigger teams, Liverpool in particular were absolutely shocked he went when he did as we caught everyone unaware. He would have been unattainable in the summer had we tried. 

[toon25]

28 minutes ago, LionOfGosforth said:

 

Gonna be puke-inducing when he lines up for Man Utd or Chelsea. Honestly think they're the only two who could and would pay what Napoli would want. 

Osimhen is a nailed in Chelsea overspend if ever there was one.

 

150 mil plus.

[Skeletor]

McTominay would be grim as fuck.

[KaKa]

It's all about timing.

 

Bruno, Botman and Isak are all elite level players, which they will continue to show more obviously as more quality is added to the team, but we just bought them before it was as obvious as it will continue to be going forward.

 

Osimhen is likely going to be the number one striker target for any of the top clubs in the world that are looking for a striker, so any conversation cannot even begin below £100 million. We will not be in for him.

 

I think we'll again look to get a player in that position that is an elite level talent, but one that we've perhaps identified before it has become so obvious that it rockets their price up.

 

I think the likes of Goncalo Ramos, Evanilson, Kolo Muani and Jonathan David will likely be considered. Those ones have all shown a lot of very strong signs of being special, and I'm sure there are a few others out there.

 

 

 

 

Edited March 6, 2023 by KaKa

[Guest dazzanufc1892]

Would take firmino now he’s leaving Liverpool for a year or 2, Keita too, pack the squad for free

[Whitley mag]

5 hours ago, Skeletor said:

McTominay would be grim as fuck.

Totally agree he screams West Ham, Everton type signing, great if you just want to survive or hover around mid table, but is most definitely not a player to take us to the next level. 
 

As much as I love Eddie he should be overruled on this one, I don’t care how big of a fan he is.

[maze]

6 hours ago, KaKa said:

It's all about timing.

 

Bruno, Botman and Isak are all elite level players, which they will continue to show more obviously as more quality is added to the team, but we just bought them before it was as obvious as it will continue to be going forward.

 

Osimhen is likely going to be the number one striker target for any of the top clubs in the world that are looking for a striker, so any conversation cannot even begin below £100 million. We will not be in for him.

 

I think we'll again look to get a player in that position that is an elite level talent, but one that we've perhaps identified before it has become so obvious that it rockets their price up.

 

I think the likes of Goncalo Ramos, Evanilson, Kolo Muani and Jonathan David will likely be considered. Those ones have all shown a lot of very strong signs of being special, and I'm sure there are a few others out there.

 

 

 

 

 

Quite obvious tbh. If we don’t, then we might as well forget top 6. 

But we need more than that. 

[Dr.Spaceman]

We need another two elites and about 4 more Gordon level signings, covering at least LB, CM, DM, RW & CF

[aussiemag]

Top 6 level players: 

 

GK: Pope, Dubravka (Backup), Karius (Backup)

RB: Trippier

CB: Botman, Schar (Backup), Burn (Backup)

LB: Targett (Backup)

CM: Bruno G, Joelinton, Longstaff (Backup), Willock (Backup), Anderson (Backup)

RW: Almiron (Backup)

LW: ASM (Backup), Gordan (Backup)

ST: Isak, Wilson (Backup)

 

Thats 18 players that are good enough to remain in the squad for next season. I would argue that we need a  starting RCB, LB, CM & RW/LW in the summer window. 

 

[bowlingcrofty]

1 minute ago, aussiemag said:

Top 6 level players: 

 

GK: Pope, Dubravka (Backup), Karius (Backup)

RB: Trippier

CB: Botman, Schar (Backup), Burn (Backup)

LB: Targett (Backup)

CM: Bruno G, Joelinton, Longstaff (Backup), Willock (Backup), Anderson (Backup)

RW: Almiron (Backup)

LW: ASM (Backup), Gordan (Backup)

ST: Isak, Wilson (Backup)

 

Thats 18 players that are good enough to remain in the squad for next season. I would argue that we need a  starting RCB, LB, CM & RW/LW in the summer window. 

 

Would agree with that but think we need 2 CM and another striker as well. No way we can go the whole season with just Isak and Wilson.

[The College Dropout]

McTominay hides from the ball. He doesn't take responsibility.

 

Conservative with his passing and not progressive at all.

 

He's got some size and athleticism but doesn't use it well.

 

He's not a good player. He'll not look out of place in a PL relegation battle or in the Championship. His career arc will be similar to Cleverley.

[The College Dropout]

I don't think we'll have spent £40m on a backup winger.

[Ash]

22 hours ago, 80 said:

I won't pretend I know a lot about João Pedro, but I think people are living in the past still dreaming of players like him. I think he was what we were looking at pre-Isak when we were aiming to step up from relegation candidates to Europa League spot contenders.

 

This summer, I think the club will be looking to make significantly bigger strides forward than relatively expensive 2nd Division forwards, as I doubt players of that calibre will be the key to creating wins out of the draws that are currently strangling our potential. Happy to be proven wrong if the time comes..!

 

17 hours ago, 80 said:

My point isn't against Pedro per se; he might come in and be great and I'll back him from the start if it's the club's choice. It's just striking to me that people think our targets will remain static after 12 months of significant progress on and off the pitch. It's reminiscent of wanting to still be in for Jesse Lingard last summer. 6 months earlier than that he was a sensible option, but come the next window he wasn't.

 

14 hours ago, 80 said:

I somewhat agree with what you say about a mid level PL club showing ambition should go for such players though, that's kind of my point. At their age and stage, they were players who could bridge the gap and, as you said earlier, grow with the club. Coming from the Champion's League tier of a mid level league to the sub-CL tier of the top league to make their mark. I get that logic; that's why the pining for a 2nd Division Watford forward who'd cost 2/3rds of their fee seems odd to me.

 

Don’t really get this mentality. You’ve already said you haven’t really watched Joao Pedro so seems daft to be making assumptions on his ability just because of the league he plays in. There are a good number of players in the Championship that would walk into our squad and several others that would have no issue getting into our starting XI too, Joao Pedro being one of those. There are also numerous examples of players being signed from the Championship and showing their ability at the top level, as well as those that end up in the PL when they win promotion (Brennan Johnson is doing just that this season and is another that would waltz into our side). 

 

Ultimately, it doesn’t matter what league a player is from and while I get your point about our targets not remaining static, there will always be some that we retain a long-term interest in and that will be for good reason. On Joao Pedro specifically, he’s captaining Watford at 21, has a lot of experience over here already (which is something we appear to want, not that I agree with it) and has a load of likeable attributes that would suit our style of play under Howe with him also having a huge amount of potential to develop further. There is talent to be had in any league; we just have to ensure the numbers and data back-up the scouting so that we sign the right ones. It’s wrong to be under the impression that players coming from a lesser league wouldn’t improve us to the level required. 

 

 

Edited March 6, 2023 by Ash

[healthyaddiction]

2 hours ago, The College Dropout said:

I don't think we'll have spent £40m on a backup winger.

We spent 60m on a backup striker it seems. 

[Dr.Spaceman]

4 minutes ago, healthyaddiction said:

We spent 60m on a backup inside forward it seems. 

 

FYP

 

[Mikky]

3 hours ago, aussiemag said:

Top 6 level players: 

 

GK: Pope, Dubravka (Backup), Karius (Backup)

RB: Trippier

CB: Botman, Schar (Backup), Burn (Backup)

LB: Targett (Backup)

CM: Bruno G, Joelinton, Longstaff (Backup), Willock (Backup), Anderson (Backup)

RW: Almiron (Backup)

LW: ASM (Backup), Gordan (Backup)

ST: Isak, Wilson (Backup)

 

Thats 18 players that are good enough to remain in the squad for next season. I would argue that we need a  starting RCB, LB, CM & RW/LW in the summer window. 

 

I think we are all pretty unanimous that in the summer we need 

1 x CB

1 x LB

 

Burn becomes 4th choice CB if we cash in on Lascelles 

 

2 x CM (1 that can play holding role too)

 

1 x attacking mid - in the mould of Maddison - who can play and as wing forward too if needed 

 

1 x Winger/Forward - someone that can score and create and play in all 3 positions up top

 

Watching Liverpool yesterday brought home to me that we are 2 seasons away from even challenging for a CL spot - the Europa and Cups should be our goal for the next few years until we have a complete squad, and we need a further 3/4 windows to achieve this 

 

 

Edited March 6, 2023 by Mikky

[80]

36 minutes ago, Ash said:

 

 

 

Don’t really get this mentality. You’ve already said you haven’t really watched Joao Pedro so seems daft to be making assumptions on his ability just because of the league he plays in. There are a good number of players in the Championship that would walk into our squad and several others that would have no issue getting into our starting XI too, Joao Pedro being one of those. There are also numerous examples of players being signed from the Championship and showing their ability at the top level, as well as those that end up in the PL when they win promotion (Brennan Johnson is doing just that this season and is another that would waltz into our side). 

 

Ultimately, it doesn’t matter what league a player is from and while I get your point about our targets not remaining static, there will always be some that we retain a long-term interest in and that will be for good reason. On Joao Pedro specifically, he’s captaining Watford at 21, has a lot of experience over here already (which is something we appear to want, not that I agree with it) and has a load of likeable attributes that would suit our style of play under Howe with him also having a huge amount of potential to develop further. There is talent to be had in any league; we just have to ensure the numbers and data back-up the scouting so that we sign the right ones. It’s wrong to be under the impression that players coming from a lesser league wouldn’t improve us to the level required. 

 

 

 

Sure, it's fair enough if he's that good, but there doesn't seem to be that level of thought going into him whenever I've seen him name-dropped as our much hoped for third forward each time I look in here over the past 6 months. It's similar to the Pacqueta obsession which has gone ice cold since people have had the chance to actually watch him at West Ham. That's what I was picking up on, the fixations people develop on players just because we were linked with them once.

 

No issue at all with getting players from lower leagues in and of itself, but I'll be surprised when people want us to spend solid chunks of our transfer budget on them rather than trying to move our current first teamers into the bench positions. Particularly as I'm not aware of Pedro being linked with us at all since we secured the Isak signing, with all subsequent press briefings indicating he was always our primary, 'luxury' purchase.

 

Again, if the new contract he signed at Watford involved a £10m minimum release clause triggering should they not get promoted, my attitude would change. As things stand though, I'd rather have Wilson moved into the third spot unless we're actually getting rid of him as well, in which case, once again, that opens up our options.

 

 

Edited March 6, 2023 by 80

[The College Dropout]

48 minutes ago, Dr.Spaceman said:

 

FYP

 

This  not true.

[Jack27]

 

"Newcastle United are plotting a move for Arsenal full-back Kieran Tierney, who could cost in excess of £30 million if the Premier League leaders are willing to sanction his departure this summer.

 

As reported by Telegraph Sport last month, signing a new left-back is one of Newcastle’s transfer priorities ahead of next season.

 

Newcastle have spent much of the campaign with Dan Burn, who is usually a centre-back, operating on the left of their back four.

 

Eddie Howe is understood to be a long-term admirer of Tierney, who joined Arsenal from Celtic for £25 million in the summer of 2019.

 

Tierney signed a new long-term deal in north London two years later, in June 2021, and will have three years remaining on his contract this summer.

 

If Arsenal decide to sell the Scotland international, they will therefore expect to receive a significant fee for the 25-year-old.

 

Tierney was one of the most important players in the early part of Mikel Arteta’s rebuild in north London but he has fallen out of favour this season following the arrival of Oleksandr Zinchenko from Manchester City.

 

The signing of Zinchenko led to a change of formation at the Emirates Stadium, with Arteta now expecting his left-back to operate as an extra midfielder for much of the game.

Tierney’s best performances for the club have come as a more traditional, overlapping full-back in previous seasons, and he has made only four starts in the Premier League this campaign.

 

His future could be intertwined with the prospects of Nuno Tavares, another Arsenal left-back, who is currently enjoying a successful loan spell at Marseille.

Tavares, 23, has scored six goals in 21 league appearances in France this season but it remains to be seen whether Arsenal will want him to be part of their first-team squad next year."

[SUPERTOON]

A lot of money for someone so injury prone. No doubting his quality but it would be a no for me.

[The College Dropout]

Don't like this rumour. He's so injury prone.

[Jack27]

I'd be all over that for 30m max, has had his injury problems but that's always a gamble. Him and Targett, be solid on the left.

[Kimbo]

Targett is a goner IMO, and if we sign Tierney I could see Burn still playing the majority of games. I’d avoid any injury prone players.

[TheInfiniteOdyssey]

Tierney would be a good signing, he adds quality to our starting 11. It’s a move I can see happening.
 

That £30m fee would also look a whole lot better if we could include clauses like playing a certain amount of games.