Not if I was smart… which means Nunez must be smart too.
Watched him Sunday in a friendly against USA. He looked very dangerous again top left of a 4-2-2, even though USA’s best defender marked him everywhere. Got in behind, and laid off perfectly for Cavani to win it in stoppage time, but Cavani went wide.
He also set up another earlier on that a teammate blew into the 20th row. Looked really fast, blowing by guys all game. Did miss one he should have done better with, but looked the best player on the pitch, IMO.
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International football is hard to judge players from in the first place but I’m definitely not using a game where one team had only 8 outfield players.
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Oops, fat fingers! 4-4-2!
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Uruguay is in the World Cup, so he will be away mid season. 
As will almost all of the best players in the PL 
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I’m more surprised that elliott has a hair dresser!
Elliott’s hairdresser is wanted by Interpol for crimes against decency and good taste.
I think he has contract until 2025, so you can understand Benfica not wanting to sell below their valuation. 85m seems excessive from our pov as he’s really only had one really good season.
I’m thinking if it does get done, it will closer to 60 than 90 but will have big add-ons based on winning the league or Champions League and perhaps some smaller ones for goals/appearances etc.
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“Huge blow for Liverpool as half their squad leaves for minor international competition in November/December”
“Klopp will rely on youngsters to provide cover in the U23 games”
Sorry I missed the exclusive part.
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Just checking back to see if it’s done deal yet. Guess not.
See you in 5mins.
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The clue is in the thread still being open 
80m Euro is around £68m - big money!
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Alternatively, there is a bit of a tradition of Portugal being a proving ground for top world class talent. Nothing is ever a slam dunk, but over the past 10 years or so the record is pretty good for a “lesser league.” Those top 3 teams have come to play on that reputation with their fees though so I accept there is also a fairly long list of big signings who flopped.
The flip side is that in those games we need to work harder to create quality chances and that calls even more for someone who is going to contribute in the build up and help unlock some doors. That has been the main cause of contention over Jota’s role…someone who scores at a good rate but often fails to impact games where we’re needing to create more.
This sounds like me and Zinny in 20something with Stewart Downing 
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This sounds like me and Zinny in 20something with Stewart Downing
[/quote]
Remember the Seven Stages of Accepting Stewart Downing?
I remember denial, anger, grief but forget the rest…
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Remember the Seven Stages of Accepting Stewart Downing?
I remember denial, anger, grief but forget the rest…
[/quote]
Yeah but remember when he cut inside and smashed the crossbar on his debut?
Yes that was the highlight of his Liverpool career but for a brief moment it looked like he may be a good signing.
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Some Portuguese journalist called Pedro Sepulveda is saying the deal is done for 80m + 20m in add ons. I assume he is talking about Euros.
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That would tally with the fees being chucked around earlier, equates to £68m up front and £17m add-ons.
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The issue you point to is the same as how a false 9 and number 10 end up picking up the ball in the same positions, but are not the same thing. It’s more about how the different starting positions make it difficult for defenders to track the movement into the areas where they get on the ball, than that position where they get on the ball itself.
So to the larger point, I would disagree that goal scoring wide players are rare. Ever since Henry arrived at Arsenal and Ronaldo turned from step ver merchant to 30 goal a season forward, these sorts of forwards have increasingly become common, to the point of squeezing out traditional goal scoring CFs from the top levels of the game (because once you start relying on the wide guy to score you need the guy in the middle to facilitate that rather than plug the spaces that player is going to try to get into). Sure, they’re rare to find them as prolific as Mo, but its rare finding a traditional CF who scores at that rate as well. What is rare about Mo is his quality, not that his primary role as a wide forward is scoring. That gives us a bit more freedom to find his replacement because what we’re trying to find is another source of goals who can fit into our overall style of play rather than trying to find a clone of Mo. It’s possible to find one who is ostensibly a RW, but as long as we’re willing to adapt the dynamic of the front line a bit there is no reason we have to limit ourselves for such a like for like.
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Interesting. We were prepared to walk on Diaz until his fee came down to below £50m. I wonder had he not moved in January, whether we would have gone back for him this summer and met the higher fee asked by Porto?
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