I’ve looked at a few places, he’s 181cm tall. That’s alright, a bit above average, but not too tall. Or better to say, not tall to the point that mobility should be an issue (even if we do have all sorts of fast and slow players).
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I think this is a fair point, however Arsenal have probably spent more on Rice than they probably intended, and Chelsea themselves appear to be trying to tighten up their spending this window, so we could be tempted to join the bidding here…key might be whether the player has a strong preference?
He would have fitted in well to our midfield last year!
He looked at least seven feet tall to me! 
I don’t like the Lavia rumors, specially at the rumored fee. He has just one season of senior football, played as many minutes as Henderson, and has missed eight games through injuries. Yes, he looks like a top talent and there would be a premium for the potential. But 100% premium?
Is he an essential component for our squad/midfield rejuvenation? Fabinho had gone stale last season, but he has hardly become a passenger. Besides, it’s highly probable that his performances will improve playing alongside more athletic and energetic players. Then, there are Henderson and Bajcetic.
Right now, our most pressing concern is strengthening the CB. The roster of VVD, Konate, Matip, and Gomez is hardly inspiring. What’s more alarming is the fact that we don’t even have any young CB who can fill in like Bajcetic did last season.
Could it be that Thiago or Fabinho would be sold? Could it be that Fabinho would become a stand-in CB?
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A year ago he was worth £10m and some add-ons. He’s not proved himself to be worth double that let alone more.
We shouldn’t entertain paying the finished article price for someone who is some way off that when we already have a prospect we’re very excited about that plays in that same position. Maybe at a push £25m and some performance based add-ons but anything more than that is just silly.
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TalkSport gave it decent attention on the radio this morning, and they usually don’t land on something until late in the day.
What’s more than a rumour but less than a certainty?
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United signing a striker?
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Any fee close to £50m is buying potential and for the homegrown factor.
I wouldn’t be against us paying that in total, but I’d want it structured to include payments at 50 and 100 appearances or something along those lines.
I wouldnt mind Sofyan Amrabat. I have been impressed most of the times seen him play. Should cost around 20-25 million pounds.
Lavia at 50 million would be a bit of a gamble but I don’t see it as ridiculous as some are making out.
I’d guess most would be happy if we signed Thuram for 50 million, and Lavia looks comfortably a more talented player than Thuram, even if he does lack a bit of the experience.
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I agree with you except for the part about Man City not letting good players go. Even just to Southampton last season they allowed Bazunu and Larios to go there who are both excellent (I knoe Bazunu has a hard season but hes 21 and ahead of Kelleher, who most here rate as a PL starting GK, for Ireland).
Darko Gyabi will is an England U20 international they’ve let go to Leeds. Adrian Bernabe left on a free and he starts at CM for Spain ahead of Gabri Veiga who most see as good investment at £45m. They let Joe Hodge go for basically free and he immediately got into the Wolves team. Tosin left for £1m and hes one of the better players on a Fulham side that finished top half of the PL with a great defensive record.
Then of course they let Zinchenko and Jesus go to Arsenal and nearly lost the league title s a result. Joao Cancelo was player of the year and left 6 months later. Pedro Porro left for £8m and was signed by Tottenham for £35m 12 months later. Ariajnet Muric left for £3m and will now be a starting PL goalkeeper.
We’ll have to see what they do with Harwood-Bellis, Palmer, McAtee, Borges and Doyle this summer - players who can fairly atgue that they should be starting games for City by now.
Anyway, point is that while Man City probanly aren’t bothered by losing those players its mostly just because they can always afford to replace them - but they do let good players go and will do again very soon.
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This is why I shouldn’t post so late at night.
Sell them Nat and loan them Elliott plus 30m. Sorted.
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We do have Sepp van den Berg who, while missing most of the season with a broken leg/ligament tear, was good for Schalke when he did play and he’s done the whole “CB but also plays at RB” thing.
Jarell Quansah is also a top talent. England U20 starting CB, was on loan with Bristol Rovers last season, super quick and athletic, very calm in possession. Would be a big jump up for him but Rhys Williams made a bigger jump and he’s definitely not as talented as Quansah is.
Not that I’m necessarily expecting either of these players to be options for this season but we do have good CBs coming through/available if we wanted to use them.
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It’s a more than “a bit of a gamble” if you ask me. £50m is huge money, even in the current market. For a kid with a season under his belt where he did well but wasn’t exactly some wonderkid that single handedly kept Southampton competitive.
He was good but that much better than Bajcetic that it would make it would make it worth spending £50m on? Not for me.
He’s also not at the level where we’d be comfortable letting Fabinho leave so you’d imagine he has a squad type role than expecting him to start week in week out. That then impacts on Bajcetic and his opportunities and development.
I’d rather we held onto that cash and found the genuine Fabinho replacement next summer than spend £50m on a project player this summer in the hope he’s able to fulfil that role in a years time when he’d still only be 20.
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How’s one player supposed to keep that Southampton squad competitive?
As for ‘wonderkid’, he is. He’s a player that you might call ‘generational’ if that’s your thing. He’s a seriously good talent.
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More on Lavia (from 0:50):
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I think people are taking the £50m number to literally. Last time I checked, the way a negotiation works is that each party throw a figure in, knowing fine well there is wriggle room.
If the club decide he’s the right player, I don’t really what he costs to be honest with you.
Watch us sign JWP this week from Saints…
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What I mean by that is he wasn’t exactly Rooney or Gerrard or one of those youngsters that bursts onto the scene and who is obviously going to be a star. He was good for the situation he ended up in but “generational talent” would be a massive reach based on what he showed.
If we didn’t have Bajcetic I’d be more inclined to think it worth pursuing. As it is, whilst Stefan clearly isn’t ready to be someone we can rely on week in week out, he’s still a talent and someone we want to nurture.
I think if you’re eyeing up a new “starting” DM you’d want someone who has shown more than Lavia so far.