You mean macca right, so who then takes macca’s position?
Because he is very good for his age… but hardly one of the top DMs in the league (if we ignored age). He would NOT have been a regular, at least in the first half of the season if Fabinho and Henderson had stayed.
Two weeks is not going to make much of a difference for someone coming off the bench or who will gradually win his spot.
No one is talking about not signing anyone additional (I think) before the end of the window… just that these two weeks make little difference for the targets currently being mentioned.
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@JustHitMyHead, I disagree with your whole premise in the strongest terms lol…but lets move on.
That’s fair… the difference in opinion might be from you rating him much higher than I do at the moment.
We’re not trying to replace 8 players. We’re short now but not by six bodies.
Either the market is what it is and we should pay Southampton what they want or we should move on. Which is it you have an issue with them not doing? And yes it’s dragged on longer than we’d like but there’s not a lot of options out there to move onto. And as you say, we’re short of bodies so if you just go round paying what people want then it doesn’t leave you as much money to then buy the other players you might want.
At this point it’s as if some people are arguing with themselves. They’re not sure what they want to happen, they just need something to happen to feel better about things.
You mean like we did with Bajcetic and immediately looked a lot better?
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We have six midfielders on the first team books already, and others who can step in.
If Lavia, or whoever we sign, is only going to be coming off the bench in the first month or so, then being signed a week or two earlier while nice isn’t critical.
@rab, you tell us. how many players do you think we need to sign to have a good team able to challenge in the PL and Europe?
would the quality be the same for those players who do step in? Its not just about having bodies available, its the quality that comes with it and that is what separates City from everyone else (being able to sub like for like in terms of quality)…
With no one else going out the door? In an ideal world i’d want three more. Two midfielders and a centre back.
In the real world, I think we’ll actually do one more midfielder and then either the additional centre back or centre midfielder depending on budgets and deals available to do.
Now your go. How many, what positions and do you want them to pay what Southampton want for Lavia or move on. And if it’s move on, then to who?
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Yes.
The quality of City’s squad isn’t what separates City from other teams so much, they benefitted from a number of things ranging from dodgy decisions and favourable cup draws, while their key players always seem to return to fitness surprisingly quickly.
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I agree on the numbers for midfield (we do need two more at least) and most definitely do need a CB (who can also cover RB if possible). With the current market, I would say pay the ask for Lavia. If not prepared to do that then maybe get a Sangare (not sold on Andre) in.
Realistically, Cody Gakpo was signed with a view to Bobby leaving so we have replaced 3.
Henderson and Fabinho were not (I believe) planned and they would have been moving into the senior experienced positions that Milner occupied.
Keita and Ox should have (by their age) been backbone players but where almost continually injured. Arthur was meant to cover for them but proved just as fragile. We have replaced them with younger, fitter and (hopefully) better players. That’s good.
We have a fair few younger players that should be coming into their own but they aren’t that experienced yet. Lavia would be amongst them, not a replacement for Fab and Hendo.
The squad at the moment is looking thin rather than threadbare. It’s actually more the defence that worries me. A centre back that could double up as a sweeper would help no end with this.
Who is the other first-teamer that’s gone? Carvalho?
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well he isnt coming any time soon.
https://twitter.com/JoshLFC1909/status/1689232393360523266?s=20
You would also hope Jones will fill more than minutes, I think we need two players one at CB and one in CDM.
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We not lost 8 players. We lost 4 backup players and clear 4 deadwoods. Its better to have smaller but more stable and reliable. I very satisfied with our departures. Currently its already 6/10 rate window. If we get Lavia and another CB will be 10/10.
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Nonsense article. Jürgen NEVER throws in new player into the playing squad let alone be part of the match day squad LET ALONE be a starting player without having extensive training with the team. Even if we signed and registered him he would be in the squad for Chelsea.
I’d say we’ve lost two starters who were looking past there best (Fab & Hendo)
A youngster (Cav)
Two guys who gave our medical staff over time (Ox and Keita)
A loanee who did likewise (Artur)
Milner ( Who was basically cover for cover)
And Firmino who we had replaced with Gakpo but also with Jota and Nunez, all 3 can do that role.
In:
Gakpo
Dom S
MaCallister
but also as I suggested you probably want more mins from Jones and Doak potentially along with Bajectic, your numbers are not too bad but yeah I would say we need two as I said
Yes it is, but not when it’s TOO small. Granted we don’t have to have a new DM signed by the time we face Chelsea (should have happened at the start of the transfer window) but I doubt we will have a successful season by any measure if we don’t get at least one 6 in. And I see no movement on the CB front either.
Also, it’s too early to say how Dom and Macca will physically hold up in the long run. Remember, Keita had a record number of consecutive matches for Leipzig before he joined us.
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