But they have the money and spend it, 280m net spend last 2 seasons…& that was without CL.
I wonder do we have anyone who might like to move there this summer?
He’s apparently corrected this to say a record fee for an U21, which if it means a Saints U21 is I think Shaw at £37m?
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But which was the last signing of theirs you were actually impressed by enough to think “Damn we should have got him”. Jesus and Zinchenko? Solid players, a bit like our own signing of Milly all thos years ago, but nothing that’d leave you jealous. Basically players Pep didn’t want any more. Jorginho? Coming to the end of his career, and it is debatable if his status is deserved. Viera? More or less unknown quantity.
Partey possibly, and Xhaka since we were heavily linked to him, but again these are not really “wow” category signings. Rice and Caicedo would be out of the norm. First of all, do Arsenal have that pull? Both the players would want to go to a team which wins things which Arsenal isn’t yet. Also their European record is dodgy.
Lavia is actually more their level. Or Kalvin Phillips maybe since they seem to have made a habit of targetting City rejects.
Arsenal’s spending and player targets have always been more similar to ours, except theirs are much more hit and miss (obviously since they don’t have as good coaches). And their transfer strategies are almost guaranteed to drag on and on. I bet you half their fans are already fuming about this constant change of players they are linked with, without actually making progress on anybody.
so £37m + £1 
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They haven’t played in the Champions League since 2017, their transfer activity is going to look somewhat different now. Our transfer activity in a comparable period didn’t look that much different - we just managed to unearth some gems in that period.
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Fair point, I’m just getting a bit more sceptical now after watching their approach for last few weeks. Is one out of five years in CL enough to convince players on the verge of becoming world class? And also, is their owner that type of guy, having watched his side finish out of top 6 for two of those years without much fuss? Lets see.
I think they end up making signings similar to us: 30-50m. Especially if Partey & Xhaka leave cause then they’ll need bodies. They are also targetting a goalscorer if I’m not wrong. Having to count on a midfielder to be their top goalscorer doesn’t seem very reliable.
Edit: Has anyone posted above? Apparently they’ve made 30m offer for Jurien Timber too.
It feels all over the place and their bids are such that even I could have told them they’d be rejected. Feels more like they’re making a show rather than doing business.
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They are a limited squad and can further improve with additions in pretty much any spot. CB proved to be a big liability for them last season once Saliba got injured, but they have already brought in the Polish lad and so whether it is still a glaring hole will depend on whether he turns out to be good enough. Outside of that I dont think they have a glaring hole and instead just need to pepper the squad with quality additions to add strength and competition. From the outside that might look like a scattergun approach, but doesnt mean they dont have a vision for what they want to do.
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Benjamin Tahirovic from Roma to Ajax for €7.5m.
Gonzalo Escalante from Lazio to Cadiz for €2.5m.
Sergi Guardiola from Real Valladolid to Cadiz for €1m.
Famara Diedhiou from Alanyaspor to Granada for €500k.
Oumar Diakite from RB Salzburg to Reims for €2.5m.
https://twitter.com/TeleFootball/status/1671466413402333185
Knowing West Ham, they’ll accept it!
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Or accept a lower price if United will keep Maguire?
mctominay would be a decent replacement but west ham should do that deal separately.
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I don’t rate him as a top player but he is a useful one. That said, to accept him and Maguire as makeweight for Rice would be unexpected stupidity, even from West Ham.
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West Ham’s model over the last couple of years has moved away from bringing in has beens from the bigger clubs to cheaper signings from Europe. I would expect them to drive the price of the makeweights dow considerably if they are interested in this happening.
I think Moyes would be one of the few managers who would be open to signing Maguire - his defensive football can probably shield him from being too exposed and would put him under pressure to play out from the back.
The amount of different suggestions I’ve heard who should replace Rice at West Ham… just wow. I mean, I know they’re not able to buy the same calibre of player (maybe not even that level of talent). Hence why they’re probably appointing a new sporting director. There must be some more creative ideas what to do on the market.