I think they are just referring to our interest before he moved to Man City but SkySports are reporting that we are “credited with an interest” in Matheus Nunes should City look to move him on.
1 Like
Hmm. With all the high quality finishers that we have been blessed with over the years, I’m not sure I’d put Bobby in that group.
2 Likes
I’m not sure he didn’t have a point:
Since prime Firmino - he didn’t say it was Firmino though that was prolific… just since that time (everyone around him was clicking at his prime).
Nevertheless, Firmino had a pretty goos conversion rate but just really let others score and did the other heavy lifting so they could do so.
1 Like
Something interesting for comparison. The season when we won the PL, we pretty much had a quiet summer window too. Buying only Minamino and having a net gain of around 40mil. So you don’t have to spend big every summer to win. Keeping that core group can be equally or more important.
4 Likes
Did you mean to say “Slot Twist”?
I’ll get me coat.
6 Likes
According to various spurious sources such as Paisly Gates and Anfield Index we are interested in signing Eze, Koopmeiners, Jonathan David of Lille and Quinten Timber of Ajax. So there we are. We win the transfer window.
6 Likes
Quadruple medical check at one ?
Well, with a fully fit squad, the medical team are a bit bored at the moment, so they do need something to do.
2 Likes
Something interesting for comparison. The season when we won the PL, we pretty much had a quiet summer window too. Buying only Minamino and having a net gain of around 40mil. So you don’t have to spend big every summer to win. Keeping that core group can be equally or more important.
Mate, with all due respect, It’s important to sometimes call a spade a spade and not always give a positive spin on it. That’s the perfect recipe for falling into mediocrity.
It is criminal to ask 5 of the starting 11 from 2019 to still go again and again and again, every season. (Mo,Ali,Virgi,Trent,Robbo). The season you are referring to, that team had won the CL. It was at it’s peak and you won’t have to fix anything that isn’t broken.The whole squad had adequate depth.
Compare it to the last 2 seasons, we are the third best team in the league. The table does not lie at the end of the season. You are where you are. Everyone was even surprised to be in the title race last season and did we take it to the last day as that team of 2019 or 2022 did ? Sadly, the kids which pretty much kept us in the final of Carabao cup last season are all but gone as well.
Currently, squad wise,quality wise City and Arsenal have the momentum and are suited best to be in top 2… We are the third best team in the league.
The current squad cannot challenge on all 4 fronts. And, some of these players are mentally weak , unable to handle pressure, dare I remind the games against Everton and old toilet last season. If we keep standing still, we will let others either pass us by or just get further away from the top 2.
I can come up with all the silly reasons that we weren’t able to sign anyone this summer, but even the contracts of the existing ones ? Now, I assume many who voice out similar opinion may be wrong? But, Do you believe even the club captain and Gk are wrong coming out , asking for signings for the club to progress. Are they really wrong in their part ? Why did we even got into this situation that our captain has to come out and beg for signings. Did this ever happen in the last 8 years ?
I am going to wait till the end of the transfer window to completely judge Hughes/Edwards, but it will definitely be a huge disappointment to end this window with this narrative that there isn’t a player available on this planet to improve us ?
8 Likes
Aside from Trent, 4 of those players will have to be replaced in coming seasons purely for age reasons. It looks like they have already lined up an Ali replacement. I expect that they are actively looking for replacements to others.
The problem is that, particularly with Virg and Mo, you aren’t exactly going to find an upgrade knocking around at a less fashionable club. They are probably the best in the world in their positions so, at best, you will find a replacement but not an upgrade.
They obviously identified Zubimendi as an upgrade but that didn’t work out, for reasons that are probably beyond what the recruitment team could have predicted.
For the most part, you can look at the squad and there aren’t any bad players. There aren’t many that you would regard as injury prone any more. If the opportunity comes up to improve the squad then we can do, but there is no point in signing a player simply because we have to be seen to sign somebody.
2 Likes
Fully agree. Especially as we seem to have failed with moves for a couple players. And we’ve still made no progress on new contracts for three key players or made moves to mitigate them potentially moving on.
The keeper move also seems somewhat odd in light of Alisson’s recent interview. Not fully against it but if we’re succession planning there are other areas we could also be looking at this summer if we don’t feel there’s big work to do.
4 Likes
Yes it does. Frequently.
8 Likes
Well, not coming seasons, in 10 months time 
(contracts for Mo,Trent and Virgil will expire in June 2025). By December/January teams can sign them on pre-contracts. That’s 3 world class players to be replaced in one summer then ? If it all happens. Ali is just 31, goalkeepers at the top level can easily go beyond 36-37 years of age. He does not need replacing immediately.
Anyhow, Nobody is asking for an upgrade on Mo, Virg or Trent, we don’t buy finished product ever, with Thiago being an exception. What we needed this summer was either an understudy for Virg if he signs a contract, or a top replacement like Hincapie or Inacio, if he doesn’t. For Mo again a person to challenge him needed as a priority, as he has less than a year left on his contract. You lose any of these 2 players to a long term injury , then either our defence is fckd or our attack will be blunt by atleast 15-20 goals in the league.
The injury record for Ibou/Gomez speaks for itself. It just smells of either arrogance or lack of judgement from the club to say that there is not a player on this planet which improves this squad.
CDM was never the biggest priority this summer, with Endo established and Baj coming back to fitness. When this narrative is spread, that the club has the necessary players already if Zubi does not sign, then that also establishes the fact that this position is not high priority for us.
Lastly, my point for going again and again is somewhat related to motivation. These players have lost a father figure in Jurgen. Some are at crossroads after going again and again for last 5-6 years and losing leagues by a point to City. They need impetus, they need top quality additions to make them believe and should not feel like it's them who carry everything on their shoulders every season , there are new additions who make us better, and take us to another level to compete with city, let alone Arsenal now.
Last season’s horror show at the end surely does not make these world class players believe, that by the change of Manager with the same squad will win you the league. Because, if we are saying that, then we are creating a new narrative that Jurgen was not good enough to win the title with this squad but Arne is ?? 
7 Likes
FIFY
3 Likes
agree with Max Pain.
its not that i cant see the mitigating circumstances…but i just cant believe we cant overcome them.
quiet transfer windows can be acceptable from a squad building aspect, but they are not ideal… im clinging to the idea its an anomolie as its Slots first window, but it certainly seems a precarious position we are leaving ourselves in this time next season… i can understand why some fans are calm enouh about it, but i can understand the concerns listed b y others…
what i dont like is the tribal divide in the fan base, seems like anyone who questions the process is a ‘panic merchant’ or ‘bedwetter’
bit less of the insults would improve the forums interactions no end…
5 Likes
Backup for Salah or VVD isn’t improving our starting 11. A Class A number six would. Look at Trent and Salah’s reaction yesterday, then think about how many games Salah would want to share with his “understudy.” And I don’t think we could buy better RB than Bradley. He is starter for any team. The only reason he on the bench is Trent.
I agree we need another CB, ideally someone who can also play on the right, at least at the same level as Quansah and more reliable than Konate. The reality is VVD will still start most of his games, while Konate is almost guaranteed to miss half the season, so having someone dedicated as an backup LCB is a luxury we don’t have.
For attackers, I think our group of Salah, Jota, Diaz, Nunez, and Gakpo is the best frontline in the league. Our subs yesterday were Nunez, Gakpo, and Elliott, which is at least top-6 quality. With that group, I don’t think it’s really necessary to have another attacker who would only play 10-15 games. The big concern for me is how Nunez performs while Jota is unavailable. Optimizing Nunez in this system might be the biggest task for Slot.
3 Likes
Man City and Arsenal, have have had minimum disruptions to their starting elevens with very few injuries and their main players play the majority of games?
We unfortunately can ot field the same 11 week in week out due to injuries.
So it seems that your argument is a moot point as the current top 2 teams play predominantly the same 11, never see Rodri rested in the Premier League or Saka, Odegaard etc etc etc
I am blase, yes we all no areas where we could do with an extra body, but a lot of us don’t want a scatter gun approach, sometimes you can to keep your powder dry.
The alternatives that I see pop up are no better than our current backups
1 Like
Welcome to TAN, Mr Matuidi.
9 Likes