Losing Trent and Bradley behind him has to have an impact on his game.
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Could it be post Ramadan, is the fasting causing issues and then no long periods of rest to recover properly?
This is my feeling.
Possibly something to do with Ramadan perhaps but he’s had a proper rest recovery this summer which he hadn’t had previously and no Afcon.
However the right side hasn’t looked dangerous for a few games now until Bradley came on.
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23/24 Jayden Danns would be a huge upgrade on 24/25 Darwin Nunez.
Would love it to see him become our 2nd choice CF in the next two years.
Do we really need a CF, a true #9? We have been successful with Mane-Firmino-Salah, and we have been successful with Gakpo-Diaz-Salah.
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We do.
We don’t have a player like Bobby (rare) and Diaz albeit a relative success centrally last season, for different reasons might not be a long term solution. Might not be here next season.
It’s easy for us to shout give him a new deal, but it would likely tie him here at least until he’s 32. Have to think well before doing something like that.
It might be that we look at the market options and also considering who stays.
Either we bring someone in or indeed we go into next season with Diaz/Jota/double false #9’s again.
Or Flo is the false 9.
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Ekitike. I think we need a new 9 and he would be my choice.
Obviously we can all do line ups without a traditional 9 as we have the players for it. If we don’t sign a new 9 we will be fine.
Still, I think we should add one, assuming Nunez departs. There may be a few games where we are more solid without a traditional 9 and Slot might set it up like that, but in the long run if we get a 9 on the wavelength of Wirtz, and the other great players behind him, we will be better for it.
We will have numerous angles of attack and would be able to beat teams in a variety of ways - Wirtz in tight spaces passing and dribbling; Kerkez and Frimpong bringing the width and probably getting to the byline more than we’ve been seeing in a while; and a new striker e.g. Ekitike giving a central focal point.
Add this to the considerable attacking talents that won the league last season - that Salah isn’t too bad is he (!) and it could be mouth-watering.
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Darwin had it all when he arrived. Passed the eye test but more importantly stats wise. For whatever reasons it did not work out.
Seems like people want Etikete because hes the best player out of those who are available. Does he fit all criteria or do we want to buy him just for the sake of it?
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I think his age and so-called ‘ceiling’ are factors too.
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Osimhen is probably better than Ekitike right now. The latter is four years younger - more time to work with Slot to mould him to suit, and would likely be on a lower wage too.
The striker market isn’t great, but Ekitike is very talented. Went to PSG, didn’t force his way in at a difficult club to do that, got a move, and then this last season started his rise again.
Not saying he is the best thing ever, but he would be the one I’d go for.
Got the Darwin fear about him.
Coming off the back of an outlier season where he’s significantly outperformed any other numbers he’s put up in previous seasons.
Is he on a hot streak or is he taking a the leap that makes him worth the kind of fee being asked.
The difference from Darwin is that he has better technical skills and is a player that can link the team , as he can play in the pocket or by stretching teams going beyond their last line.
The only worry is his finishing as he is underperforming his XG and appears to be erratic like Darwin when being offered good chances.
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Nunez having better technical skills, linking the team and playing in the pockets?
Sounds like a Nunez I never saw. Not Antonio, not Darwin.
No he means Ekitike has the better skills.
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There you go, when I’m sober on a Saturday night.
Not good.
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It’s not so much the attributes, it’s that this season is statistically so much better than any of his others. He’s being touted at €100m is because of the goals he scored last season because a season and a half ago he wasn’t worth €20m.
I know statistics aren’t the be all and end all but buying at top whack after one good season might not be something we’d want to rush into doing again.
I don’t expect us to get Alvarez or Isak.
I don’t expect us to go for Osimhen or Gyokeres.
Ekitike is obviously a target, but I feel the club will have a very strict line how far they want to go to get him. If it’s too high, I think we will avoid, even if it means not signing a #9 (if Diaz stays, for example) and leaving it for another day. Like we’ve done with some targets a few times.
I wonder if a completely new name, not mentioned so far, will pop up, but as time passes, the chances for that will decrease. Even if some pieces move on the market, unpexpected events. It can happen.
For what it’s worth, he actually scored fewer goals than expected. As opposed to Darwin’s “breakout” season at Benfica where he scored significantly more goals than expected.
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