I based it on the superior knowledge that I gained through my extensive research on Skysports and ESPN.
But honestly, as 5th Choice…if even Konate and VVD and Gomez stayed fit, not even counting in Matip, 5th Choice is not going to play much. Nat has played well enough to attract attention for other clubs, so do Rhys, so that leaves Davis who will be more than willing to do this role without agitating for a move (pretty much like how Nat was when he first came back from his loan) so for this reason, he is a good fit for our 5th choice.
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Trouble is that 5th choices can rapidly become second or third choices as we well know…I dare say we might see him play preseason games but if not, I will just have to take your word how good he is. 
Arsenal are overpaying buying Ben White for £50m I think Edwards eyes just lit up!
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Arsenal just don’t have bloody clue, do they?
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Burnley don’t burn money like Arsenal.
And they’ve got a Saliba who they’ve purchased for 30m and who hasn’t played a match for them yet.
Arsenal’s transfer policy is shit. You might atleast think they give saliba a run for his money before spending 50m on one more (admittedly a very prospect) defender who’s overpriced by the english tag.
I’d still say this should ramp up the amount for nat Phillips. Not in favour of him being sold considering the fact that three of our four starting defenders have question marks over the injury records. And that doesnt include matip among the three.
But if liverpool do decide to cash in… Wait till close of transfer window and drive the prices up. 20m i should say is sound money for a 24 year old defender who’s played for a top premier league team , is local and is relatively injury free. Even if considering the current economic situations and his contract length
I think there’s a danger of getting carried away thinking we can get premium prices for our players and then end up not moving them on at all (like Wilson last year).
For me it’s more important to get our sales done early than hold out for longer in the hope we might eek out an extra 15-20%.
Clear the decks, count the coin, then splash out on some tasty new wenches.
[My son’s Pirate themed day at nursery tomorrow clearly rubbing off on me.]
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For me , its important to make a statement that we aren’t going to be desperate to make a sale as well.
So it’s a balance that edwards needs to figure out.
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Did White even play well for Brighton? I didn’t see a lot of him after Christmas but I thought he was pretty poor in the first half of the year. Looked very slow on the turn and was pulled out of position chasing the ball multiple times.
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We’ve already got that “tough sellers” reputation and this summer can be blamed on Covid financial recovery. Don’t cut your nose off to spite your face. We can likely fund pretty much any deals we want to complete with even reasonable prices for our departing players.
Lot of times . that has to do with the players around him as well… w.r.t him being pulled out of position etc.
He’s headed to Brighton, to replace White who’s headed to Arsenal for 50M pounds lol. It’ll be good business all around…except arsenal
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Short answer for me, no. I couldn’t agree more with your post, Sweeting.
Ben White legitimately one of the most overrated players in the Prem. I have zero idea what anyone sees or how we’ve arrived at a £50M valuation. Garden variety CB that can sometimes do a job as a below average holding mid.
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Burnley just signed a defender from Stoke so is Phillips even going there? Have they actually bid for him?
I would prefer it if he hung around at least until we were confident that the 3 coming back are going to be OK for the start of the season, although Matip won’t last long even if he is fit.
There are two things in play here though. First is we need money and of all the players we might be open to selling Nat is currently our hottest property with 4 PL clubs all expressing an interest. His stock will never be higher than it is now. Second is that the player has hinted he would be open to a move. He is no doubt on a piss poor contract with us and having proved himself a PL player probably fancies being paid PL wages. Good luck to him if he can get it.
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Suits me.
He’s dependable and sound as fuck, solid head. If we have any major set backs, I’d rather we had him come in than be stuck without him. If come Jan, we’re looking good in terms of CBs, he will be sellable at a similar price - and clubs buying in Jan are always paying more.
If he’s sold this window, then so be it, but I’m not yet convinced by Billy the kid or Williams. Williams could prob do with a loan to a Championship club, if he can find somewhere he will get to play.
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We need a fifth CB at least until January and Nat is head and shoulder above the other contenders.
I’d take Williams over Phillips, Phillips may be a bit better at intercepting aerial balls with his noggin but Williams is actually as good or better at everything else. And with the likes of VvD, Matip and Konate around we aren’t likely to be targeted as much anymore and Phillips wouldn’t have as much opportunity to shine.
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